I just received my ys640. I love the way it cooks. However, I cannot cook much longer than 3 hours without stirring or evening out the pellets in the hopper. The pellets don't slide to the auger. They only gravity feed and there winds up being a hole from the top of the hopper all the way to the auger with many pellets staying in their original position on the sides of the hopper. How do I avoid this?
From the YS640 manual, page 31, step #2:
2. Inspect and clean the pellet hopper area. The interior hopper surface can be wiped
down using warm water and detergent. To protect the surface, and promote smooth
pellet feeding, coat the surface with car wax.
The current versions of all manuals are here: viewtopic.php?f=49&t=153
Car wax did the trick for me. It still sticks a bit but waxing helped a lot. After2 years I probably need to reapply
Thank you for the replies. I don't really like the idea of car wax inside my bbq pit. I will look for a way to modify the pellet feed somehow.
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I've used and continue to use carnauba wax in the hopper of a YS1500 and YS640 with no ill affects. It states in the owners manual that you can do this. It's not inside of the cooking chamber, just the hopper, so there is no need to worry.
I agree with you Kirby. After removing the wax from the hopper walls thoroughly with a clean polishing cloth, whatever microscopic film left behind doesn't cause me any concern at all.
sdar wrote:Thank you for the replies. I don't really like the idea of car wax inside my bbq pit. I will look for a way to modify the pellet feed somehow.
I would strongly urge you to reconsider modifying the pellet hopper. Putting a coat of wax on the pellet hopper surfaces works perfectly to rectify this situation, unless the pellets you are using are moisture contaminated or too soft so that they "stick" together.
Yoder_Herb wrote:sdar wrote:Thank you for the replies. I don't really like the idea of car wax inside my bbq pit. I will look for a way to modify the pellet feed somehow.
I would strongly urge you to reconsider modifying the pellet hopper. Putting a coat of wax on the pellet hopper surfaces works perfectly to rectify this situation, unless the pellets you are using are moisture contaminated or too soft so that they "stick" together.
I am using BBQer's Delight. It was humid here this past weekend, but I poured the pellets out of a freshly sealed bag to fill the hopper.
You talked me into the wax. I will need the sleep cooking two days straight at the Royal. I just want to make sure I can reproduce that excellent brisket I won with on my first time out with my new YS640 without a ding for a lighter fluid comment.
Trust me, after >1000 lbs + of meat, you have nothing to worry about! Just use a really good, clean polishing cloth to remove the wax and you'll be good! When I do overnights, I pack it full of pellets (no pressure obviously, just top it off) just before going down, usually around 11 or midnight and I'm always out to check between 5 and 6 am. Only time I've ever had a problem was when it was really cold out and I didn't use a cover. Other than that, I've been fine after waxing. Good luck at the Royal!
After waxing the hopper with the best carnuba wax I could find, my hopper still channels extensively. Those walls were slick! I still have to stir the hopper about every 3 to 4 hours or there will be a very narrow tunnel all the way to the bottom of the hopper with the auger almost empty. I live in a very arid climate relatively speaking (average about 15% humidity) so that is not the problem.
I have seen several posts about hopper fires and I had a hopper fire on my Traeger when I almost let it run out of pellets once. I do not want that to happen to my new beautiful cooker...and so I stay up with it all night on long cooks to keep it from happening. I know that on this forum, the hopper fires are attributed to software upgrades and burn pot adjustments; do you think some of the hopper fires could be from this channeling effect of the hopper?
It's as if the side walls are not steep enough. It was highly recommended that I not modify the hopper. I won't, but I am currently working on a tall hopper extension drawing to send to one of my welding buddies. I am designing a tall hopper with straight walls that will allow the pellets to fall straight down and directly onto the auger.
I would like to know if more people are experiencing the same thing with their pellets. I would also like to know if a fix is in the works from Yoder. I would also like to know if anyone else has designed a hopper extension for this unit.
Thank you for the replies.
There have been no instance of a hopper fire caused from what you have described. There have also not been any hopper fires from any firmware version on the cookers. In 99% of all cases where there has been a hopper fire, proper procedure, maintenance and cleaning of the cooker are missing.
No hopper extensions that I am aware of.
I have not experienced what you describe. I use BBQr's Delight pellets exclusively. If the pellets are not "flowing" after you have waxed the sidewalls as we suggest, then the issue must be that the pellets are "adhering" together for some reason. Have you leveled your cooker from left to right and front to back?
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