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March 1st, 2015, 4:40 pm
#1
* Abilene ** Abilene *
  • Joined: September 26th, 2014, 5:57 pm
  • Posts: 32
  • Location: Australia

Just wondering if YS640 owners are experiencing an even heat when using the 3 piece grillgrate kit with the heat management plate remove and the damper pushed all the way in.

Should I expect an even heat from one side of the kit to the other or are the hot spots expected?

At the moment the hot spot is right in the middle grillgrate which means cooking the same types of meat (especially when you do a lot requires you to rotate the meat between the hot and cold spots on the grillgrates which can mean a hit and miss on doneness of meats.

Thanks
BigBadGus

March 2nd, 2015, 12:04 pm
#2
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  • Joined: April 18th, 2014, 3:12 pm
  • Posts: 2408

If you are setting the cooker above 400 degrees, you must remove the heat diffuser plate, and yes, there will be a hotter spot in the middle, as that is where the flame comes in contact with the grates. No different than cooking over direct coals, as there are always hot spots as well.

My process is to leave the heat diffuser plate in place, leave the cooker set to the default 350 degrees, and put the grill grates in as you have been. Doing this will get you a surface temperature of over 450 degrees on the grill grates, as read with a infrared laser thermometer. Since the heat diffuser is in place, the heat is more even.

Yoder_Herb
March 2nd, 2015, 6:09 pm
#3
* Kingman ** Kingman *
  • Joined: September 3rd, 2014, 11:04 pm
  • Posts: 422

I take my diffuser plates out when doing steaks. It gets the grill grates very hot, perfect for searing steaks, that flame really heats them up, I bet over 600f. I like to do the reverse sear method for steaks.

March 2nd, 2015, 10:39 pm
#4
* Abilene ** Abilene *
  • Joined: September 26th, 2014, 5:57 pm
  • Posts: 32
  • Location: Australia

Yoder_Herb wrote:If you are setting the cooker above 400 degrees, you must remove the heat diffuser plate, and yes, there will be a hotter spot in the middle, as that is where the flame comes in contact with the grates. No different than cooking over direct coals, as there are always hot spots as well.

My process is to leave the heat diffuser plate in place, leave the cooker set to the default 350 degrees, and put the grill grates in as you have been. Doing this will get you a surface temperature of over 450 degrees on the grill grates, as read with a infrared laser thermometer. Since the heat diffuser is in place, the heat is more even.


Cool, thanks Yoder_Herb.

I'll try that next time around and see how I go.

Ended up taking out the heat management plate and set the temp to 495F and stayed away from the hot spot on the middle grill grate peice.

March 3rd, 2015, 10:58 pm
#5
* Kingman ** Kingman *
  • Joined: September 3rd, 2014, 11:04 pm
  • Posts: 422

I max it out for steaks, but seems you got it to you liking. What are you cooking? You never mentioned that part.

March 4th, 2015, 6:01 am
#6
* Abilene ** Abilene *
  • Joined: September 26th, 2014, 5:57 pm
  • Posts: 32
  • Location: Australia

Was cooking hanger steaks coated with tatonka dust.

Set the temp to 550F, heat management plate taken out, damper pushed all the way in and grill grates in place.

Sprinkled a generous amount of tatonka dust on the pieces (Had a total of four pieces)

Image

Put the pieces on away from the hot spot on the middle grillgrate.

Was hoping to get the whole grill done in about 8 minutes (4 minutes a side)

Flipped the steaks after about 3.5 minutes and put in a temp probe until they hit 125F internal temp.

Took them off and let them rest for about 8 minutes then got ready to take my first bite of hanger steak.

End result:

Image

Image

I think i got the steaks between rare and medium rare and damn did they taste good, nice and soft, tatonka dust really gave it a nice flavor, sliced through it like butter.

Also mode some sweet potato fries while waiting for the meat to rest.

Image

March 4th, 2015, 8:23 am
#7
* Durnago ** Durnago *
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  • Joined: May 10th, 2014, 12:33 pm
  • Posts: 576
  • Location: Sitting Near a Yoder Smoker, Smelling Sweet Blue

That looks really good! Great work.

Image

Image
March 4th, 2015, 5:02 pm
#8
* Kingman ** Kingman *
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  • Joined: August 16th, 2014, 7:43 pm
  • Posts: 299
  • Location: NORTH

that looks outstanding man!!!
love the Tatonka Dust,,,
tried it on many things
its especially good on red meat and any kind of potatoes...

~All that is gold does not glitter ~ Not all those that wander are lost~
~20" Yoder "Swiss Army Knife" Stick Burner~
July 25th, 2021, 9:38 pm
#9
* Abilene ** Abilene *
  • Joined: June 8th, 2021, 5:25 pm
  • Posts: 1

If you remove the diffuser plate door (on the new 2-piece design), how do you keep grease from dripping directly into the pellet firebox when using the Grill Grates? Seems like that would result in massive flare ups next time.

July 26th, 2021, 8:58 am
* Kingman ** Kingman *
  • Joined: September 3rd, 2014, 11:04 pm
  • Posts: 422

The flame is right there, any dripping are vaporized.

July 26th, 2021, 8:59 am
* Kingman ** Kingman *
  • Joined: September 3rd, 2014, 11:04 pm
  • Posts: 422

The flame is right there, any dripping are vaporized.

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