Yoder Smokers Community Forum

Went through another igniter rod and was wondering if there is another source besides All Things BBQ that you recommend. They really soak you on freight at $15 for a light weight $40 item.

Also, I bought my YS480 in late 2016 and the local rep said that the igniter was changing to a non-contact ceramic igniter, but didnt know if that worked in the existing YS480. If they aren't, how long do you plan on making the replacements? These go out fairly fast compared to my previous smokers and having them go obsolete without replacements would be an issue.

Thank you,

Tom

Here is a link that will help you verify if the igniter is bad: download/Best%20Practice%20and%20how%20to/Cooker%20Failing%20to%20Light%20.pdf

The new ceramic igniter can be retro fitted into any YS pellet cooker.

Thank you Herb. Yes, it is dead. I'll get the new ceramic igniter. Is the Wifi controller upgrade available yet?

There will be Yoder Smokers ACS retrofit kits for all current models of Yoder Smokers pellet cookers available in Q3 (fall) and the pricing will be announced at that time. We will email all registered owners when the kit is available. Ceramic igniters are available for purchase currently and retail for $52.95 plus shipping and handling. All items will be available for purchase from your dealer as well. Please follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

Hi Herb,

Thank you for the responses above. We're back up and running.

Question - When smoking pork shoulder or brisket I'm not able to get a bark on the meat like I see on the videos. Instead a get a very pretty orangeish-red hue from the paprika. I typically smoke at 225 to 250 for the first 4 hours of the process. The rubs have brown sugar in them, so I'm pretty sure I have all the pieces in place to get a good bark. I'm wondering if the pellets may be an issue. Here in the Northwest the pellets are typically a mix of the desired wood (oak, pecan, apple, etc.) blended with I believe alder. Could the addition of the alder be the reason for the lack of bark? I'm using pellets from "Gourmet Grills", who most likely private labels them from somewhere else as they are a retailer in the area.

Thanks again!

If you wrap, you must make sure that the bark is hard set prior to wrapping. From your description, it sounds like you are wrapping too soon, and the bark is melting away in the wrap. Also, never sprits/spray/mop meat prior to the bark being hard set, or you will soften or even wash the bark away.

Thank you sir. I'll give that a try.

Any reason why the smoker would just stop? Replaced the igniter yesterday, set up the meat, turned on the smoker and just as it was heating up it stopped.

OK, found out that the smoker is popping the GFI on the outlets. Did it twice. Any reason the new igniter would do this? its heating up fine and doesn't blow the fuse.

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