Yoder Smokers Community Forum

Hoping someone can help.

We cooked chicken and chicken wings this week in the 480 and there was an issue which produced lots of smoke (grease fire?). Temperature overshot the set temp and reached over 500 degrees.

After the unit had cooled, I had a look and the seal in the firebox is definitely gone (there is a gap which actually had pellets in it!). It looks as if the firebox itself may be warped (or the wall itself may be warped….you can see the gap which would require filling with sealant). Also the burn grate doesn’t fit flush with the wall. There is gasket on the burn grate. See attached photos.

Any help is appreciated…This was quite an investment, so to have it out of service after only about a week is disappointing (and I would like to fix it and ensure it doesn't happen again!).

What was the outcome here?

I'm really interested too, as my 480 has done this twice and now won't reach temp, I think it fried the thermocouple (still waiting to hear if that is the verdict), but given the similarity of our situation I'm wondering what happens/happened with yours.

I need to check the seal on mine, I haven't done that.