Thank you for that. Do you have any answers to the rest of my problems? Do I need the upgrade for the Yoder to mange heat properly?
roushstage3 wrote:Funny I have nevery had mine over 350 yet it worped. Seems to be an issue that should be addressed by Yoder if there is this many problems.
I too have not had the pit above 350F with the deflector plate in. Use the grill grates once only without the deflector plate in and that was over 350F. That was the first cook. Only cooked low and slow since yet the plate warped. Seems a fundamental design issue to me.
Yes there is a fix with a rod but 10 odd cooks into the life of my new 640 on a comp cart I don't believe it is fair to expect new owners to have to correct for a warping issue. The cook that must have warped the plate in my case must have been cooking two pork butts low and slow for around 10 hours at 225F. Worked fine before that cook and not the one after. Cooked some St Louis style ribs which just needed a lot more cooking.
I am currently going to explore with a welding mate of mine the possibility of welding maybe some angle iron to the bottom of the deflector plate to force it to hold straight and stop it from bending up in the future. Shouldn't have to do this as a customer nor shove a bit of rod into a $4,000 new pit.
Fleetz
I never used my 640 above 350 with the plate in. Doing 6 chickens at once for freezing and mucho bones for yearly chicken stock.
Sometimes the multi use smokers like the 640 need a bit of understanding. It's a smoker and a grill. It's a hybrid.
Shouldn't have to I agree. You coulda bought a real smoker and tend to it every 45 minutes or less.
BBQ isn't easy done the right way. You'll figgure it out.
Don't get me wrong I love my 640.
Just a little disappointing to find things like the diffuser plate on a pedigree grill. Also just discovered the burn pot grate is not sitting properly. 10 cooks really! Lucky I love my Yoder....
I'm sure they will make the burn pot right. Can you upload any pics? I'm curious...
Fleetz wrote:Don't get me wrong I love my 640.
Just a little disappointing to find things like the diffuser plate on a pedigree grill. Also just discovered the burn pot grate is not sitting properly. 10 cooks really! Lucky I love my Yoder....
The diffuser warping actually only affects a very small portion of the cookers that are sold, and are easily fixed by using this article: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=338 The warping is a function of the metal curing from the heat and cooling it goes through in the cooker. Diffusers cut from the same large steel plate will all be fine, and then there is the exception where one will warp. You will find that with the fix from the article, that after some cooking sessions, the plate will settle and cure to a point where the fix will no longer be required.
The burn grate is a regular maintenance item, as outlined in the manual. Again, this is metal, under extreme heat and cooling, which causes the metal to change shape. The burn grate fitment must be checked before each cook, and takes just a few seconds to do when you have the burn grate in your hand cleaning out the ash, which is also a required maintenance item before each cook. Follow this best practice and you will minimize these, and other, issues: download/Best%20Practice%20and%20how%20to/Recommend%20procedure%20for%20starting%20up%20a%20Yoder%20pellet%20cooker.pdf
In addition, if you have not been making sure the burn grate fits tight in the firebox, please check the silicone seals around the firebox, especially the one above the firebox on the hopper wall. If there is any degradation at all, you should not use your cooker until you replace the seals with high temperature silicone.
Begs the question.....if yoder are aware of this as an issue irrespective how many it has effected now and possibly more into the future why do they not used tempered diffuser plates?
Mine is just on a year old, used a dozen times and now two trips to the hardware store to buy some rod (first one didn't have it) now have to install rod, monitor diffuser plate over the next X cooks. Yoder is as I see it a premium product......asking customers to fix a defective component is a bit rich.
Endth rant.
Fleetz
Curiosity has me asking the following questions:
1. How many diffusers that are experiencing warpage were foiled, and possibly not having the foil wrapped tight, and diffuser not centered creating a hot spot?
2. How many were spritzing/mopping their cook (spraying a cooler liquid onto a hotter metal surface)?
i also paid in excess of $4000 for what I assumed to be the 'Rolls Royce' of smokers, and to have to jury-rig it is unacceptable. I had mine delivered only last week and after making all the required checks and temperature tests with Maverick ET 732 and ET 733 probes I had to apply an offset of 25 degrees, ie to get a temp of 225 I had to set the yoder to 250. Having done all this without even having a cook on it the diffuser plate warped, I applied the 'jury-rig' fix with the bar, 1/4 inch wasn't big enough so I went with the 1/2 inch.
I set it up this morning and put a 3kg butt on when the temp had settled at 225 (probe), it held the temp for only 2 hours and began to drop off to 185 and up to a max of 216 for more than 2 hours, I upped the temp and it hit 240 for 2 hours and then dropped off to 214....I think I may have the runt.
Tom
Tom...for the third time, in three posts - Please answer these questions:
What is the serial number and build date from your cooker's door plate?
What is the firmware version?
Mine warped during the first two days of ownership - never had the setpoint above 350F. 
Perhaps Yoder should include the optional rod? Or better yet, weld a stiffener onto the heat diffuser plates?
Yoder_Herb wrote:For the small number that have this warping issue, the rod is a very simple, cheap and easy DIY fix.
However isolated the issue may be, please understand that it's irritating to spend $2800 on Friday and need to make a trip to the hardware store for a $3 piece of steel on Monday...
Why doesn't Yoder just build a dedicated heat diffuser separate from the drip pan? Seems like this could take care of future warped heat diffusers and one would not have to worry if they were cooking at or above 350*. Yoder did good woth the updated burn grate, now maybe it's time to upgrade the heat diffuser? 
And how would that be made? I can't see a drip pan above the difusser because the heat would not come through the diffuser plate properly.
It's all about the quality of the steel that Yoder is using. They prolly build 30-50 of these a month at a minimum and sometimes the steel plate they get has issues. It's probably very few, but it happens.
That said, they need to make it right. At the price of these superior pellet smokers, they should ask for specific measurements and pictures from the owner of the warped plate. I'm sure there are some who think it's warped and it's not, or the warp is so minor only an OCD freak would worry. Mine isn't absolutely perfect, but it' doesn't hit the grates and I make great food. Mine if it warped only warped .00004 light years (Trekky). They could include a piece of the 3/8" steel just in case for a very small increase in build cost. Very small. That could help. Maybe it should be used as a burn in item, for the first 10 cooks etc.
If my plate is warped and I get the attitude, "It happens, go buy something", I'd be totally pissed and demand a new diffuser plate was sent to me, at considerable cost to Yoder. They ain't light, and they ain't small. Does the main man on this forum understand how he comes across to users with issues? Bit of an issue. I bet when you call Yoder it's a fully different ballgame.
Ohh Ware, I'm not gonna let any welding near my stiffener........ 
[quote="Conumdrum"]And how would that be made? I can't see a drip pan above the diffusser because the heat would not come through the diffuser plate properly.
How would that be made you ask? Many pellet grills are made with an actual heat diffuser over the fire box and a drip pan over the diffuser. Those pellet grills heat up perfectly fine with no warping to the drip pan. While Yoder does not make them that way it was just a suggestion to take a look and see if that could work.
My YS640 diffuser is not warped but I don't like that I have to be concerned each time I fire up the Yoder at 350F and wonder will it warp this time around. I'm paying to have Yoder make me a beefed up heat diffuser with handles to help with the installation and removal. I'm taking the warping equation out of my Yoder.
Aha, pellet smoker like ones with the burn pot in the middle? They have to do that.
You might have a point, but that would prevent the Yoder from being an awesome direct fire griller with the grill grates IMHO. Maybe the diffuser could be removed for direct grilling. Adding a diffuser now would alter the heat flow of the Yoder line and a complete re-engineering. I bet they are looking long term how to fix the issue of warped heat plates. My plate has been heated enuff times that it ain't gonna change now due to the properties of my plate. When you buy 20,000 sq feet of heat plate metal each year I bet, some of it is gonna be a bit odd. So Yoder needs to work it out, I'm sure they do on the phone and customers are taken care of.
Quoting Yoder_Herb:
"The heat diffuser plate can be used in the cooker to about 375 to 400 degrees. If you are cooking hotter, then the heat diffuser MUST be removed, and the direct grilling option (Grill Grates) must be used in the cooker."
I read that manual 3 times BEFORE I bought the grill.
THAT WOULD BE A GOOD SENTENCE TO PUT IN THE MANUAL. (Not yelling, emphasizing)
Probably on my second burn I turned up the temp to 450 just to see how long it would take to get there. Checked today and my drip tray is a bit warped, I believe there is still a 1/4" gap in hopper side corners but I will still be getting a 1/4" rod (it can double duty helping to push stuff down the grease hole).
From page 26 of the manual:
The versatility of your Yoder is realized by choosing one of its three unique setups:
1) Smoking from 150 to 275° F & baking from 350 to 400° F (with diffuser plate in place)
2) Indirect grilling from 275 to 350° F (with diffuser plate and optional Direct Grill Grates installed)
3) Direct grilling where searing temperatures are desired, simply by removing the heat diffuser plate and installing the optional Direct Grill Grates.
Yes but it does not say that you will damage the heat diffuser if the grill is turned up past 400° F.
It's been 5 or 6 cooks, and the rod is held TIGHT, when removed, the end spring back up! Any susgestions?
Question - I have a 640 coming in here in the next couple weeks. Would is be a good idea to place the 1/4" rod in place prior to the Initial Burn in Process? Thinking this would keep the metal plate flat while it "cures"
This is a personal choice. There should not be a problem either way.
Hi, I'm a newbie to this forum and a potential buyer of a YS640. I've joined the forum to get some education on the equipment prior to purchase so to be forearmed with as much know-how and procedures as possible. I have to ask whether or not Yoder has addressed this problem on its new equipment or are they just proffering fixes for the current owners? I really hope the former is the case.
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