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February 7th, 2017, 2:43 pm
#1
* Abilene ** Abilene *
  • Joined: January 14th, 2017, 6:16 pm
  • Posts: 3
  • Location: Minnesota

Hello,

I have only had my Yoder for about a month, and I vacuum the ash out after every cook. This past Sunday I cooked 2 pork butts, and when I went to clean out the ash, I noticed there was some grease on the very bottom of the cooker, but only towards the back side of the cooker. Is this normal?

I put a level on it and it seems very level. Just wanted to make sure if this was normal or a cause for concern.

February 7th, 2017, 3:28 pm
#2
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  • Joined: April 18th, 2014, 3:12 pm
  • Posts: 2408

Leveling the cooker is important, and needs to be done from the lower grate to get the best result. Level it side to side and front to back.

Make sure that the heat diffuser is centered front to back, and that it is tight up against the hopper wall.

Yoder_Herb
February 7th, 2017, 9:44 pm
#3
* Wichita ** Wichita *
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  • Joined: December 20th, 2015, 4:30 pm
  • Posts: 171
  • Location: Wichita, KS

Mine is leveled properly and does the same. I get good grease drain action. But just like how the walls of the cooker get grease on them, the floor of the cooker does also... especially after a greasy cook like pork butts. I find that periodically I have to use a plastic putty knife to scrape the built up grease off the walls, lid and floor as just normal maintenance. Maybe every 30-50 hrs of cook time (depending on the greasiness of the meat).

Wichita, KS!
New to pellet grilling/smoking

YS-640 ON ORANGE COMP CART
February 8th, 2017, 5:38 pm
#4
* Abilene ** Abilene *
  • Joined: January 14th, 2017, 6:16 pm
  • Posts: 3
  • Location: Minnesota

Yeah I didn't have any problems until cooking the butts. It wasn't bad, barely enough to scrape off

February 8th, 2017, 9:13 pm
#5
* Abilene ** Abilene *
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  • Joined: January 5th, 2017, 8:36 pm
  • Posts: 5

I'm new to this forum, and please pardon my lack of comprehension, but the question is if the accumulation of grease towards the back of the unit is normal or not.

Is it normal?

February 8th, 2017, 9:40 pm
#6
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  • Joined: April 18th, 2014, 3:12 pm
  • Posts: 2408

Depending on how level the cooker is, how much fat is left on the meat, there is a potential to get grease on the bottom of the cooker. After all, it is a cooker, so there is going to be cooking debris in the cooker. I trim what I cook, and I normally get very little grease below the diffuser, but even if I do, it is a simple clean up and normal. Is there a cooker that is greaseless, I haven't seen one yet. Is there a kitchen oven that doesn't get dirty, haven't seen one of those yet either.

Yoder_Herb

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