Doing my initial burn on the 640. Placed a handful of pellets on the burn grate and filled the hopper. There was smoke for the first 5min or so but then nothing. It's at 350deg, the auger seems to be pushing pellets, but no smoke. Looks like there's a fire when looking through the vent slots in the hopper. Is this normal?
ps. Using the BBQDelight hickory that came with the pit.
Well, I'm just going to throw this brisket on and keep my fingers crossed. It's currently 45deg outside with continuous hail and rain. hah!
Far from an expert, but from here it sounds like air flow. Check your fans (especially the one on the hopper and make sure your baffles are open and not closed off.
Thanks. The outermost fan is running, but no way to check the internal one without shutting off the pit. Damper is in about 5" or so for an even heat. I've also noticed that when I had the temp set to 250deg my Maverick was reading 300deg! I'm getting some smoke now but certainly not as much as I would have thought.
EDIT: Lowered the temp on the pit to 230deg but the Maverick is now at 280. The Tel-Tru thermometer that shipped with the unit is hopelessly off - it's reading 200deg.
My first burn on my 640 I had pretty big swings in temp. If you have never had one before do not be alarmed as mine still has 20 degree swings from set temp. My understanding is the mavericks and the yoder temps will really never line up. The 5" damper position is fine.
As far as smoke...as long as your pit is clean the amount of smoke you see should be fairly minimal. Trust your thermometers and let the pit settle in. Most like the thermapen for internal temps.
Best advise...don't overthink and let the pit do the work especially settling in to the set temp.
Enjoy!
westhemess wrote:As far as smoke...as long as your pit is clean the amount of smoke you see should be fairly minimal. Trust your thermometers and let the pit settle in.... Best advise...don't overthink and let the pit do the work especially settling in to the set temp.
Enjoy!
Good advice!
You're looking for thin, "blue" smoke, not white, thick smoke from the Yoder, so it may just be that it's different than other grills you've used you may be having trouble seeing the actual smoke. I can usually see whitish smoke coming out for the first 3-5 minutes, when the pellets are first lighting, but once it's humming at temp, I can't always tell there's smoke coming out of it either depending on my angle of view and the lighting and background. I can always see heat coming out but I can't always see actual smoke. If the light is right and I have a clear background, I can usually see nice, thin blue smoke.
Westherness has it right. The Yoder pretty much knows what it needs to do all by itself. Hopefully, the taste of that first brisket will be all the convincing you need!
Good luck and enjoy!
Thanks guys for the help. About to unwrap the brisket after a nice rest. The jalapeño and cheese brats, along with some spicy Italian sausage, turned out excellent.
Sounds like it all came together. I've found with these grills it's almost hard to screw things up. On a side note, tomorrows leftover brisket is great thinly sliced and warmed up with a little bbq sauce on your favorite bread. Kinda like a high end sloppy joe.
Anyway...you're on your way! You'll be a hit with your neighbors, friends and family.
Well, the brisket turned out great. It was only a 7lb'er, but getting larger cuts up here in Michigan is always a challenge. The taste was absolutely fantastic, and I got a pretty decent smoke ring going on for my first cook. I like my brisket a bit more 'fall apart/melt in your mouth' - which is how I can get it on my Weber gas pit - but maybe next time! I think I need to go lower and slower, lol. Here's a pic:
When I was doing the sausages on the upper rack I did notice that the cook was very uneven. The right side was done long before the left - even though I had the damper in about 5" - which is supposed to provide the most even cook?
The other thing was that the pellet consumption seemed excessive - even for 45deg weather.
1hr initial burn off - 350deg
1hr seasoning - 350deg
8hr cook - 250deg
30lbs of pellets used
Yikes.
Not exact a set it and forget it cook. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Nice looking brisket!
I've had similar left to right temp issues and checking the items in Herb's post below (which you can find under the Pellet heading from the Board Index or click this link: http://community.yodersmokers.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=83) really helps to resolve most if not all issues.
Yoder_Herb wrote:Here are the common things that affect the side to side grate temperatures:
1. Check that the burn grate is fitting properly in the fire box.
2. Make sure that the chimney is flush with the inside wall of the cooker...it should not protrude into the cooking chamber.
3. If foil is being used in the cooker, it should not restrict the air flow under or around the diffuser plate. Do not foil the grease channel. Try a temp test with no foil in the cooker.
4. Be sure the diffuser plate is centered front to back.
5. Do not run temp probes into the cooker through the door. The cooker door needs to stay sealed because of the positive air flow in the cooker.
6. If measuring temperatures beyond the diffuser plate on the right side, move the probe at least an inch to the left of the end of the diffuser plate. The right side will be hotter because of the chimney exhaust.
7. A good starting point for the sliding damper is to pull it all the way out to the right, and then back in to the left about 5" or 6". Then adjust from there.
If your cooker has a manufacturing date prior to May of 2013, there is a fan diffuser update that greatly improves the grate temperatures and pellet consumption.
In terms of pellet consumption, if you're not using a cover in cold weather, your pellet consumption will definitely be higher. The Yoder cover is wonderful, but you can also use a welding blanket as a cheaper solution. I use a welding blanket plus two blue padded moving blankets and you'd be amazed how much of a difference the insulation makes in cold weather. It also really helps temp stability when you open and close the unit in cold weather too.
Brisket looks good from here! For a point of reference, the last one I cooked was about 7 lbs @225 for 9 1/2 hours...with about 19 lbs of pellets used at 60 degrees. Not to brag, but when putting in the thermapen probe the consistency was just barely harder than butter.
@westhemess, Nice. Yes, my mistake was not doing that brisket @ 225. Next time, next time. heh.
@TennesseeJed, thanks for that link. Thought I'd read all the sticky items but missed that bit! 2 things I'm taking away from that post: 1. Foil. I'm going to do a bacon test with no foil on the diffuser plate. I just checked my install and sure enough the foil eased back up a bit when reinstalling the plate and was blocking airflow in spots! 2. I do run the Maverick probe wires under the front of the door - only because I've seen countless vids and everyone seems to do the same thing. I was hoping the wires were flat/small enough that it wouldn't make a difference but now I'm wondering....!? I did get the Yoder jacket but it hasn't arrived yet.
Well, thanks again guys - especially for putting up with a newbie's fretting. 
A big part of my fretting is that my wife and her family are all Texans and I'm a Northern Boy - so, you know, the pressure is on...! LOL
I don't use probes much anymore but when I do I just run them either through the chimney hole between the chimney and the body or I also just run them down the chimney sometimes too. I've had good success both ways. Did you get the insulated cover? It's really nice and will definitely make a big difference in pellet usage in cold temps. Also, if your smoker is relatively clean, no need to run it at 350 to warm it up (IMHO), as it just uses a lot more pellets to get that huge hunk of metal to 350 if you're going to move it back down to the low 200's to cook. I only do the 350 warm up if I really need to cook off the gunk on the smoker; otherwise I just warm it up to my cook temp. Saves a lot on pellets in colder climates!
Most important thing is that the food tastes great--everything else is your secret! What the Texans don't know won't hurt 'em!
Scott wrote:A big part of my fretting is that my wife and her family are all Texans and I'm a Northern Boy - so, you know, the pressure is on...! LOL
I wouldn't fret too much. Some of the worst brisket I ever ate was in Texas. You might just blow them away with how great your brisket is.
Eagle River Barbecue
YS640 Comp Cart
Stumps Platinum 5
One note if you are using a welding blanket, make sure the two vents on the hopper next to the smoker are not blocked. You will definitely have issues....just speaking from experience.
Joe
YS 640
Maverick ET732
Blue Thermapen
Q-Matz
6" & 12" AMNTS
Today's cook featured an 8lb pork butt - cooked low and slow. 230deg. 6 hours uncovered, 4 hours covered. Pulled apart like nobody's business. Did a nice homemade rub and my own version of Franklin's espresso BBQ sauce.
For this cook I did away completely with the external Maverick probes and relied completely on the pit. It did not let me down.
Big thanks to TennesseeJed for inspiring me to go without the probes and have faith. lol.
outstanding!!!
MMMMMMmmmmmmm...
~20" Yoder "Swiss Army Knife" Stick Burner~
Scott wrote:For this cook I did away completely with the external Maverick probes and relied completely on the pit. It did not let me down.
Big thanks to TennesseeJed for inspiring me to go without the probes and have faith. lol.
Liberating, isn't it? Congrats on the beautiful butt! Honestly, my 640 seems to be a lot smarter than me most days. Best thing I can do, usually, is let it do what it was built to do and get out of the way until it's time to take the credit for another perfectly smoked piece of meat...
jtrainor56 wrote:One note if you are using a welding blanket, make sure the two vents on the hopper next to the smoker are not blocked. You will definitely have issues....just speaking from experience.
+1 jtrainor56. I absolutely agree and, particularly when I add the two padded moving blankets over the welding blanket for additional insulation on particularly cold or windy days, I have to be very careful about how I place each blanket so that I don't block those 2 air exhaust vents. I've learned how to fold and place each of the blankets so that it doesn't cause me a problem, but it's definitely a critical consideration when using a cover that's not the fitted, factory cover.
Hey Scott,
I too have relatives from Texas. If they are anything like mine they will still give you props while gently reminding you that everything is always bigger and better in Texas.
As far as the probes - - Never used one. I'm sure many think its just one more way to insure a great and happy ending but honestly after about two months of getting to know my pit and its nuances I see no reason to start.
@westhemess, oh yes. I'm blessed in that they are all fantastic people on that side of my family, and we have great fun together. There's no doubt, however, that because the average Texan gets their first smoker at around age 5 they take their BBQ very seriously. LOL.
Had another great cook today - a couple of chickens that I had soaked in a homemade brine overnight. It was also the first cook using my new thermal jacket and, I'm here to tell ya, it made a significant difference. Pellet usage was easily cut just about in half.... Fantastic, Yoder! The breast meat was incredibly juicy - even after it was sliced and sat out for quite some time.
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