Yoder Smokers Community Forum

I got the YS 640 for Christmas. Tried to cook some ribs yesterday and the temp would not rise to the 225 degrees I wanted. It was pretty cold and very windy outside so I thought maybe that was why. I gave up after an hour and half and used the cook shack I had.

Today it is still very cold out (about 25 degrees) but much less wind. So I tried again. I set it up with the dampener in about 5 inches, the temp set to 220 and started in in the h2 mode. It's went for another hour today and never reached the set temp. It's actually still on right now and not up to temp. I see a lot of smoke but still trying to reach temp.

Any ideas??

Tom

Are you hearing pellets dropping into the burn grate?

Do you hear the auger turn, but no pellets dropping into the burn grate?

If you hold the prime button in for 30 seconds, do you hear pellets dropping into the burn grate?

Does the fire sound like a "roar" after it gets going, and does it angle up out of the burn grate at a 45 degree angle?

I can hear pellets dropping and a fire roaring. I haven't looked at the angle of the fire because it has the diffuser in. I can see the glow of the Flames though.

This last time when I turned it on at initia startup, the fan sounded like it had a bad bearing. After a minute it smoother out and was quiet.

I read your response to Customer Service. One of the top things that you should never do, is change the set temperature on the cooker in an attempt to compensate for temperature issues or fluctuations. Every time you change the set temperature, the controller starts from scratch to reach and manage the new set temperature. The best way I can explain this, is to relate it to building something with Legos, and just before you put the last Lego piece in place, someone kicks it all apart and you have to start over again.

I assume that you are using BBQr's Delight pellets, if not, what brand of pellets are you using?

I would like you to do this test, and let me know the result: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=354

I will try that tomorrow and let you know.

I had read this under the how to section and it seems to say to do the opposite of what you recommend concerning reducing the temp.

download/Best%20Practice%20and%20how%20to/Recommend%20procedure%20for%20starting%20up%20a%20Yoder%20pellet%20cooker.pdf

I certainly don't know which is the best practice on this machine. I've tried both however and neither seemed to work anyway.

I'll post a follow up tomorrow about the fan.

I appreciate your help.

Tom

The fans both worked and sounded fine this morning. I am using the BBQr's Delight pellets,

It sure sounds like you are doing everything correctly, and that everything is working correctly with the cooker, so it is hard to understand why you are having issues.

Lets do a baseline test with the cooker. If you have any foil in the cooker, remove it all and run this test: download/Best%20Practice%20and%20how%20to/Yoder%20Pellet%20Temperature%20Test.pdf

I am about to start the test you requested. While I was vacuuming the ash, I saw that there are a couple of gaps around the fire-pot and was not sure if this was how it needed to be. I added a photo to see of you could tell me if this was normal. I guess I cant upload the photo. Can you send me an email address to send it to?

to attach a photo, use the full editor, look toward the bottom, and click on the upload attachment tab.

Customerservice@yodersmokers.com

I sent the photo to the email. I tried twice using that attachment option but it didn't show up in my message.

Once you have uploaded the attachment, you will see a new section below the message to insert the message. Put the cursor where you want the picture, and then click insert inline.

The file size was too big on the original post. here is the photo.

After the 2 hours test, and the cooker has cooled, take a picture of the ash in the firepot before you clean it out, and post it up,.

I set the temp for 225. no external probe.

30 min 150 ramp up
40 min 188 ramp up
50 min 211 ramp up
60 min 202 maint
70 min 190 ramp up
80 min 242 maint
90 min 225 maint
100 min 204 maint
110 min 243 maint
120 min 233 maint

I believe that according to the document, this is within normal range?

Also attaching photos of firebox and inside of cooker after cool down.

What flavor of BBQr's Delight pellets are you using?

I would like you to do a 10 minute test. Plug the cooker in, flip the power switch to ON and hit the START button. 10 Minutes after hitting the START button, push and hold the START button in and get the H mode reading from the display. You can then shut the cooker down.

Hickory. It showed H3.

Ash looks pretty normal to me, possibly more than I'm used to seeing on a short test, could be the camera. Have we discussed the pellet brand yet?

Fired it up again this morning. I replaced all of the pellets with a brand new bag of bbq delight hickory pellets. I set the temp at 225 and it was there within 30 minutes. Guessing I had a bad batch of pellets. There wasn't as much ash in the pit after I was done as well.

Appreciate all the help received. I'm still a bit surprised but thankful that the pellets caused all that trouble.

Compare the difference in ash with new pellets also.