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smoker went out

PostPosted: August 4th, 2016, 8:07 am
by Montanashawn
I loaded up my 640 before bed last night with 8 butts. All seemed well. This morning, I awoke to the smoker being out. The display said 220, the set temp with the declining dashes. The fire was out and there was a couple handfuls of unburnt pellets. It had been smoking nicely when I turned in. The pit is not dirty, as I had recently removed all the ashes. I am trying to get it restarted now. I hope I didn't just ruin 70 lbs of pork....
Any ideas what would cause this?

Re: smoker went out

PostPosted: August 4th, 2016, 11:56 am
by Yoder_Herb
Do you unplug the cooker when not in use?

Did you start this cooking session by plugging in the cooker into an outlet?

Was there a power brown out or outage during the night?

Re: smoker went out

PostPosted: August 10th, 2016, 6:45 pm
by Montanashawn
Yep, always unplug it. No surge I'm aware of. I talked with tech support, sounds like a bad thermocouple. They are sending me a warranty replacement, and I bought an extra in case it happens again. I hope they come out with a kit to move the thermocouple to a less vulnerable spot. I switch out grates frequently, and the wire is pretty exposed. Hopefully the thermocouple is the culprit and I can get it fixed soon. By the grace of God, an instant pot, a weber gasser with a couple of amazn tunes and a borrowed traeger Jr, I was able to salvage the meat!

Re: smoker went out

PostPosted: August 5th, 2017, 10:30 am
by t3cassidy
Search brought me to this post. I just turned my 640 on and then moved the plug to a different outlet. Never hit start so I don't think there would be any issues. Now, I hit start and set to 350 to do some cookies. It fired right up but the dashes are going down while the smoker heats up.

Is there a reset I should have done?

Clean pot
Always unplug between uses

Re: smoker went out

PostPosted: August 5th, 2017, 10:34 am
by Yoder_Herb
The immediate cool down mode indicates a bad thermocouple.

Send an email to customerservice@yodersmokers.com with the serial number and build date from the door plate on your cooker, along with your name, shipping address and contact phone number.

Re: smoker went out

PostPosted: August 5th, 2017, 10:45 am
by t3cassidy
Done. This is the first issue I have had with this bad boy.

Re: smoker went out

PostPosted: August 5th, 2017, 11:34 am
by t3cassidy
Herb, buddy had another one he let me borrow until I can get a replacement. It's not exactly the same. Looks a little longer and instead of a retaining clip to hold it, this one has two small holes. I can make it mount but will it work? He bought it from ATBBQ as a backup for his 640

Re: smoker went out

PostPosted: August 5th, 2017, 11:49 am
by Yoder_Herb
That thermocouple is for an older cooker, and is mounted on the lower left back wall. Your cooker needs a shorter thermocouple, which is mounted in the hopper wall, just under the upper shelf. They are not interchangeable.

BTW, the thermocouple in your cooker is not supposed to be removed from its mount. When you get a new one, you will get the mount with the thermocouple pressed into it.

Re: smoker went out

PostPosted: August 5th, 2017, 11:59 am
by t3cassidy
Roger. I'll give him this one back.

Re: smoker went out

PostPosted: August 12th, 2017, 12:22 pm
by t3cassidy
Got my replacement super fast! Now when I am about to close it back up, I see two extra wires that are in accounted for. Are these supposed to be left free hanging?

Re: smoker went out

PostPosted: August 12th, 2017, 12:23 pm
by t3cassidy
Never mind. Limit switch on the outside panel.

Re: smoker went out

PostPosted: August 12th, 2017, 2:16 pm
by Yoder_Herb
The purple wires are for the fuse mounted in the end panel of comp cart cookers.

Make sure to hook up both fans.