Hey All, We were at a comp last weekend and had a pellet hopper fire. It had been running the same low temp for a long time then we upped it. I can't figure out if it was the temp change or what. When we seen the smoke I opened the hopper and seen that the pellets had funneled to the point the auger was out of pellets, but after re-leveling them it had a half full hopper. Did it backdraft a flame when the auger was empty? Also, after that incident the temps were very inconsistent. Gonna do a good cleanup today and see if I've damaged anything. I'm running BBQ Delight Hickory-Cherry that I mix 50/50. It's the first time it's happened and I want to make it the last.
Any suggestions on what everyone does to make sure their pellets go down at an even rate? I read somewhere that a person "waxed" the bin to help them slide evenly. Thinking of trying that.
Thanks to all, and especially Yoder for making this Forum for Yoder'er's.
Snoring Hog's BBQ
Yoder Competition YS640
Yoder Competition YS1500
Yoder Competition Frontiersman
XL Big Green Egg, Back Woods Smoker & a small herd of "Dead" smokers in the smoker cemetery.
The absolute number one thing to always check, is that the burn grate fits properly in the firepot. Number two, is to verify that the high temp silicone around the firepot isn't damaged. If these two things are not done regularly, the potential for a hopper fire increases dramatically. Number three, always close the lid for the cool down cycle. Number four, always unplug your cooker when not in use.
Using a good car wax will help the pellets flow down in the hopper. Make sure to wipe out any residue before putting pellets back in the hopper.
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I use a decent carnauba car wax in my hopper. I re-wax maybe once every 6 months to a year. I'm not sure if it helps vs. not having it, but it doesn't hurt. The manual for my YS640 said it can be done, so I did. 
Otherwise follow Herb's advice. Make sure the burn grate is fitting properly and there isn't any more than about 1/8" gap between the burn grate and the hopper/cooker common wall. And if there are any gaps or cracks in that high temp silicon bead, fix it immediately before you next cook.
This topic is a great reminder to everyone with a YS pellet cooker to go check their silicone bead and burn grate fit now to greatly reduce the risk of this happening. It's easy to get in a rut and forget routine maintenance. I even do sometimes.
Thanks gentleman. Guess I will do a major cleanup an wax it as well. Have a good rest of the weekend.
Snoring Hog's BBQ
Yoder Competition YS640
Yoder Competition YS1500
Yoder Competition Frontiersman
XL Big Green Egg, Back Woods Smoker & a small herd of "Dead" smokers in the smoker cemetery.
So what do you do when you have a hopper fire? Unplug the pit, try to empty the hopper?
Blown UDS
PK
Official Beer Taster
Smoke-a-holic
We will preface this by stating that if the proper safety, usage, maintenance and cleaning procedures, as outlined in our manuals, are followed, hopper fires are very rare for any of our products.
In the rare instance that there is a hopper fire, here are the suggested steps for resolution:
The first type of hopper fire is a slow smoldering fire. There will be thick visible smoke, with no flames apparent, inside of the pellet hopper box.
1) Unplug the power cord from the cooker.
2) Leave the cooking chamber door closed.
3) Open the pellet hopper door, being careful to not burn yourself by wearing heat resistant gloves, and standing away to protect yourself from potential burns.
4) The pellets will be hot, so be very careful not to get burned. While wearing heat resistant gloves, scoop the pellets out of the hopper box with a nonflammable utensil such as a large metal spoon. Scoop all of the pellets into a nonflammable container, such as a metal bucket.
5) Once the pellets are removed from the hopper and placed in a container, in order to prevent further burning, run water over the pellets to insure that they are completely extinguished.
6) Once the cooker is cool to the touch, open the cooking chamber door and remove the grates and heat diffuser.
7) Remove the burn grate from the firepot.
8) Plug the unit back in and turn the power switch to the on position.
9) Push the start button and hold the prime button until the auger is empty of all debris.
10) Unplug the power cord from the cooker and allow all of the remaining embers to burn and extinguish completely.
At this point, before using the cooker again, the routine cleaning, inspection, maintenance and any needed repairs must be accomplished.
1) Vacuum all of the ash and debris from the burn grate, firepot and the inside of the cooker.
2) Wipe all debris from the all surfaces inside of the cooker.
3) Inspect the silicone seals around the firepot, especially the one on top of the firepot and below the auger. Remove any compromised or damaged silicone, completely clean and degrease the area, and replace with high temp silicone as recommended in the manual.
4) Inspect the burn grate fitment in the firepot, and correct per instructions in the manual.
Once you have completed all of the steps above, reinstall the correctly fitting burn grate, heat diffuser and cooking grates, and follow the startup procedure outlined in the manual.
The second type of hopper fire is a visible flame fire. There will be visible flames from the inside of the hopper box.
1) Unplug the power cord from the cooker.
2) Leave the cooking chamber door closed.
3) Please wear heat resistant gloves to carefully open the lid of the pellet hopper. The pellet hopper lid could potentially be extremely hot. Distance yourself away from the hopper lid to prevent the flames from coming in contact with you.
4) Pour water into the center of the hopper, until the visible flames are extinguished. You will experience some smoke for a few minutes after you have done this. If the smoke doesn’t go away in a few minutes, pour more water into the center of the hopper assembly, to insure the fire is put out.
5) Give the unit 20-30 minutes to cool.
6) Scoop the pellets and debris out of the hopper box, with a utensil such as a large metal spoon, into a nonflammable container such as a metal bucket, and pour water over them, if needed, to fully extinguish any remaining embers.
7) Once the cooker is cool to the touch remove the grates and heat diffuser.
8) Remove the burn grate from the burn box.
9) Plug the cooker back in, and turn the power switch to the on position. This is being performed to see if the controller board is still functioning. You should see the firmware version flash on the display for a few seconds, hear the fans start, and see the blue power light turn on.
10) If the board does not light up and function as stated in step 9, contact customer service immediately. If the board is functioning move to step 11.
11) Push the start button and hold the prime button until the auger is empty of all debris.
12) Please contact customer service to discuss the next steps of getting your cooker back into safe working order.
Contact: customerservice@yodersmokers.com or 877-409-6337
If you need the most current manual for your Yoder Pellet Cooker, click on your model below, or to save the manual, right click on your model listed below, and select SAVE AS:
YS1500 Manual
YS640 Manual
YS480 Manual
Great info Herb! This will be good to have in the unlikely event of a hopper fire.
Blown UDS
PK
Official Beer Taster
Smoke-a-holic
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