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**gwapogorilla** · 03-22-2014, 04:51 PM

Okay...I can tel your a new grill owner by the way you compare the $50 unit to what your $1200 grill says it's reading.
1st...relax. Have a beer or two.
2nd...what kind of pellets are you burning? That "may" have an outcome on temp swings...maybe not.
3rd...With the Yoder, pull the heat deflector all of the way out, set to 225* for ribs. It's going to take about 7.5 hours at this heat. BUT, they will be fall off the bone but still moist....hard to do with other grills.
4th...Have another beer and relax some more...even if company if there. They aren't there just for food, but good times as well.

**barkonbutts** · 03-22-2014, 04:55 PM

The 21 mph wind is you problem.. that gets in there and cools the temps down.. it will fight that all day... with wind like that you will have some temp swings...for sure. Just relax and let the smoker cook... a few swings on windy days are going to happen!

**Conumdrum** · 03-22-2014, 05:12 PM

The Yoder has to dump pellets and it will swing back and forth. The Yoder probe is a lot closer to the fire. As you can see by the Mav it's right where it needs to be. Good temp control. The wall temps of the smoker are much more stable than the firebox. And as you use it more it seems to get better and possibly because you know it's doing it right. I had the same issues when I got mine. Find my first Yoder posts.

I also set my temp a bit higher to get 230-ish.

It's working perfect, the wind ain't helping. Also, look into drilling a hole on the side back for your probes, and get that gasket material for the door if you want. Ohh, any word on the grates yet? They pop up?

**Charcuteryan** · 03-22-2014, 05:15 PM

How do the spares look?

**Richtee** · 03-22-2014, 07:13 PM

I don't think you have a problem..other than wind. As mentioned.. remember where the temp probe is for the cooker... and where the grate is. Wind will exaggerate the temp differentials most assuredly.

**jtrainor56** · 03-22-2014, 08:47 PM

I first want to thank you all for your support, comments and suggestions. I guess jumping from my Weber gasser to a Yoder was a big jump, but for me I felt is was the right choice. I definatly have a lot to learn. ~ Joe.

Mark, so there was no company just trying to learn at this point. I figured that if I messed up it was no loss since I made pizza dough from scratch last night and had that for dinner.
I use BBQ Delight Apple pellets, bought a half pallet when I order my Yoder.
Unfortunately I stopped drinking beer years ago after my daughters were born. Now if I have a beer I'm asleep in my recliner in no time! I am going to have a glass of Moscoto as soon as I clean up the kitchen though.

What I did find interesting is that at the start the damper was all of the way out, when the swings started I thought moving it in might even things out. Probably should have left well enough alone!

I do not have a temp gauge on the door but have a probe port on the stack side.
The door looks tight and not much leaks out. I was going to give it a few months of use before adding a gasket to the door. I did place a welding blanket on the back to help cut the wind when I first started but the wind shifted around to the front about 2 hours into the smoke.

Conumdrum, I had no problem this time with the grates lifting. I am going to do two spatchcock chickens tomorrow and will run it at 350* so I'll see what happens.

The ribs looked good and the probe from my Thermapen went in real easy but they were not fall off the bone and a little tough. They were on for 6 hours, probably should have gone another hour.

I used TastyLicks Rib Rub, since they are local I have a lot of it to go through.

After 4 hours...I have the probe in the center until I get my other Maverick and extra pit probe. Using foil on the deflector plate and Q-Mats.

After just over 6 hours... I did cheat and foiled for a half hour and then unfoiled for another 45 minutes.

The welders blanket seemed to work until the wind shifted....

**Conumdrum** · 03-22-2014, 09:14 PM

Those are some great looking ribs! You'll get used to it pretty fast like I did. Foiling causes the 'fall off the bone' style, I like mine with more texture myself and don't like the hassle of foiling.

6 hours with that wind, and you never know about ribs, so I think they look great, much better color than the last batch.

Ohh those pellets are a mix of oak with apple etc? They are great for any pork and chicken product for sure. Popular brand.

Get a cheapo moving blanket from Harbor frieght put it on top of the welders blanket, and cover the whole grill, tuck the blanket UNDER the handle, I know it gets HOT at higher cook temps, I know..........

**qkrx7** · 03-22-2014, 09:23 PM

Just a small point these things are a lot like an oven. If you were to check your oven in your house with a probe you will get swings like this as well. Same thing with the yoder control. Like any pit you just got to learn the ins and out of it.

**veryolddog** · 03-22-2014, 09:52 PM

Just a note: the welders blanket and/or the jacket sold by Yoder will do wonders for keep and retaining heat. On my Yoder, I can control the feed of the pellets based upon the outside temperature. Every Yoder, in my understanding, starts in what they refer to as the H1 setting. If the temperature is cooler and you want to increase the feed of pellets to the combustion chamber, then you can increase the setting to either H2 or H3. I usually have wind to contend with and with the temperature hovering around 70, I usually place the setting on H3 and wrap the unit with a welders blanket. This really keeps the heat contained and maintains the temperature that I set for cooking.

Check your owners manual for more information.

**gwapogorilla** · 03-23-2014, 08:12 AM

+1 on the ribs...they look great. I also have a welders blanket on mine during the cold months. I also used high temp gasket sealer on the inside of the lid...as high winds would somehow work it's way into that tiny gap and cause fluctuations.
There are threads in here concerning gaskets for the lids on the Yoders.

**jtrainor56** · 03-23-2014, 11:20 AM

Thank you again, I just setup the welding blanket so that it will cover the entire smoker. I have two industrial magnets on each of the legs on the back and put the other two i have on either corner of the lid in front. I also have movers blankets from a moving company that they left behind years ago.

I'll look into only using the sealer and will probably get the thermal jacket by the end of the summer. I was going to order in the original order but opted for the half pallets instead. I save a ton on shipping doing it that way.

I am going to do two whole chickens that I spatchcocked this morning. It's about 41* with winds out of the NW@ 10mph. I am going to smoke at 350* but was wondering about damper placement. To me all out looks like the most logical but I read that at half way the temps should be more even across the grates.
Any suggestions?
Joe

**Conumdrum** · 03-23-2014, 11:35 AM

5" in from full out. Just place to the middle swap places every 15 min.

**Richtee** · 03-23-2014, 11:44 AM

Originally posted by jtrainor56 View Post

Any suggestions?
Joe

Nothing runs like a Deere. And yer gonna be fine with that blankie :{)

**Conumdrum** · 03-23-2014, 05:04 PM

The longer you wait for the Nomex gasket, the longer it will take to clean the gunk off.

'Jus sayin'. And it needs to be spotless. Last clean before I put it on was alcohol, 90 stuff, from one of the many pharmacy stores. Makes a perfect seal for the Nomex tape. You'll be scrubbing a LOT later. LOTS. Might even take the paint off in spots.

Seal early. I also put it around my exhaust tube, no more drip from it to the floor.

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