Hi Guys,
I've just purchased a YS640 comp cart from the Australian Distributor ‘Grill pro’ and I have a few questions and seeking a bit of advice!
This might be a bit long winded and drawn out so excuse the ramble on….
SO, first things first. Picked up the smoker on Saturday and got around to installing the Temp Probe Port in readiness to do the initial burn in on Sunday. While I was doing the initial burn in the temperature swung quite a bit and I was surprised. Set @ 350f the temp was around the 380f mark for quite some time and then dropped well below set temperature to around 320f. I brought this down to possibly the dumping of a few pellets in the hopper for the initial burn in having an ‘Overshoot’ affect and then the smoker trying to over correct itself then going well below.
I didn’t pay much attention to this anyways and let the smoker do its thing for around 1.5 hours to see if it would level out. Finished up @ 365f.
That night I did some simple chicken wings because I had to put some sort of dead animal on the new toy and they were amazing!!! Up until now I have been using a gasser and A-Maze-N Tube smoker and was amazed with the difference. I think I found the wings were a much cleaner flavor and all in all quite impressed with the flavor profile. I used to sit the tube smoker under the meat and now that I have tasted food off the Yoder I think I may have used the Tube incorrectly. The smoke flavor I used to get was very strong and unnatural, now it’s almost like I can taste the wood, If that makes sense?
The temp on this cook stayed within 5f of the target temp 
amazed!!!
So couple questions after my first cook:
1. I’m told to empty the hopper after each cook if the unit is unused, problem is I have a wire grate preventing me from getting the pellets out of the hopper. I have seen on this forum that a shop vac in a bucket is the best way but don’t have one… Is there any other way?? The grate is preventing me from getting anywhere near the bottom of the hopper.
2. Difference in temp from top shelf to bottom. Now I know this has been discussed but I couldn’t find the answer to the following (Temp gauge is on the top right). While I understand there is going to be a difference between top / bottom also dependent on how much meat, ambient temp etc etc etc BUT, how accurate is the Temp Gauge? I got it frankly because I like the look of it but its vastly different to the read on the Yoder, by approx. 50f. Should I try and raise the temp of the Yoder to compensate for the difference in temp – Example: Cooking chicken wings @ 225f, have the Yoder set to 275f to get a reading on the Temp Gauge of 225f on the top shelf? OR just set it to 225f and just cook… Second question on this topic, is there a setting on the baffle to have an even temp on top and bottom shelf (I tried 5inch in but this is what gave me the difference.
Questions on my next cook!!!!!
I have the family coming over on the weekend and doing a pulled pork butt. I have ordered an 11lb pork butt and would like to know approximate cooking times!!! Would like to cook @ 225f until internal temp of 165f then wrap tightly until over 200f IT or super tender.
Also I want to cook this on the second shelf to put a drip pan underneath the Butt, so do I adjust the Yoder until the Temp Gauge reads correct and cook on top shelf or leave it to do its thing?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!
Cheers from Down Under!!
Biggie!
The grate in the bottom of the hopper is a requirement in your country for certification. The reason that you have been told to empty the pellets, is that wood pellets contain between 5% and 8% water, and as such, are susceptible to take on moisture in humid environments in an attempt to normalize within the environment. If you use the cooker frequently, this shouldn't be a problem. If you don't use the cooker for a period of time, say 2 weeks, this can start to be an issue. This will manifest itself by hard to ignite, or fail to ignite pellets, and poor temperature performance. The easiest thing to do would be to make sure that you run the pellets out at the end of a cooking session.
The Yoder cookers cook from the bottom up, and the physical grate temperature is what the display is approximating. The further away from the lower grate, the potential is for the temperature to be lower. In an empty cooker, this is normally about 20 degrees cooler than what the display is showing. If you are cooking on the upper shelf only, and want to cook at a particular temperature, you will need to increase the display set temperature to compensate for the temperature differential.
This is regard to your question on the analog temperature gauge: viewtopic.php?f=53&t=1153, and not, do not set the display so the gauge shows your desired temperature.
Exact cooking times are tough, as each piece of meat will cook differently. A rule of thumb might be 3/4 pounds per hour at that temperature (assuming you have the controller set to compensate for cooking on the upper grate), but this timing is wrong if you plan on wrapping in foil to bust through the stall. I suggest that you approximate the time and add 2 to 4 hours to the time. When the meat probes tender, you can wrap it in foil (let it rest without foil for at least 15 minutes before doing this to stop the cooking process), wrap in some large bath towels, and put it in a cooler (this is called FTC, foil towel cooler). Doing this will allow you to hold the meat for up to 4 or 5 hours (depending on your cooler) until it is time to serve.
If you cook with foil or pans in the cooker you will also need to compensate for these, as they will block heat and airflow within the cooker. If you are cooking on the top shelf, and have a pan on the lower shelf, you will have to test this yourself, but there may be a 50 degree temperature differential, which means that if your desired temperature on the upper grate is 225 degrees, you potentially will have to set the controller at 275 degrees, but, again, you will have to test this to see what to actually set the temperature on the controller. The best way to do this is to use an external digital probe lying directly on the grate. Set the cooker up the way you want to cook, and take samples to find out what the actual temperature differential is.
Thanks Herb!!! You're a wealth of information, got another question for ya if you don't mind!!! I have got one of the Yoder Probe Ports to install, the new kind, I can find instructions on the duel probe ports but not the new larger one? Any tips? Or just center it between where the instructions advise for the duel ports?
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