Yoder Smokers Community Forum

I've owned my YS480 since summer of '14. In that time I've:

-Repaint the unit twice
-Had to replace the thermocouple twice.

I was made aware that in '14 yoder did not treat the metal body correctly before painting it, and this has caused the paint to bubble off. When I complained to yoder that I expected a >$1K appliance to last more than year they sent me two cans of paint in the mail and told me to fix it myself. I think I treat the unit pretty well, it is under cover year round and I routinly clean it out. Well yesterday, I did my yearly cleaning and here is what it looks like:



Pretty great huh?

Here are some more close up shots:





And to top it off, when I went to use it today (Memorial Day) the thermocouple died AGAIN. Thats right folks, three thermocouples in three years. Pretty disappointing.

Just remember, that your warrenty is useless with Yoder. It's not like they will let you ship it back to them, so tread carefully if you dare to purchase one of these lemons.

The paint inside the cooker is minimal just for shipping. If the cooker is used, i.e., cooked on, the interior will season and not rust, unless it sits idle for very long periods of time, or it is excessively scraped and cleaned. We do see the interior and lid look that that from neglect and from grease fires caused from the lack of proper maintenance. Here is an article on the paint we use and why we use it: download/Best%20Practice%20and%20how%20to/The%20paint%20that%20is%20used%20on%20Yoder%20cookers%20is%20purposeful.pdf

The thermocouple can be damaged if your are not careful of the thermocouple and wire when taking out and re-installing the grates, or if you are not mindful of the thermocouple and wire when cleaning the grates when in the cooker, Also, never allow excess liquid to infiltrate the wire end of the
thermocouple,

If your desire is to send the cooker back to the factory to be refurbished, please contact us via email at [email protected]. You will be responsible for the cost of all shipping, parts and labor.