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  • Hello All from Nebraska

    For several months I have been considering purchasing a new pellet smoker, (traeger user) for years and have cooked some outstanding meals. I decided on a new Yoder YS640. I gave the Traeger to my son who I must say has used it almost every day. About a month ago Fed Ex arrived and delivers this monster of a grill, I was so excited to get it. Let me say it was no easy task to get it up on my deck. After reading all the directions, filled the hopper and fired up per directions (heat up for an hour at 350) Did I say how excited I was? OK, so about 30-40 minutes in, the digital indicator never reached the 350 temp and continued to drop pellets ( I could hear them dropping. It never stopped so I turned down the temp, didn't change. I turned it off after about an hour as the three lines continued upward. I used well over half a bag of pellets. Let it cool down and cleaned out the fire box and pellets. Read instructions again and started over the next morning. Same thing, never reached the desired temp and kept dumping pellets, the three lines dashing upward across the screen leveled out and stopping at desired temp. Used up the rest of the bag of pellets (nothing cooked yet). The following day (three day in now) called the company and explained my situation. I was told they have never had this happen before and would send me a new controller. A week later I got the new controller and instructions. Tore into my brand new Yoder YS640 (not what I wanted to do with a new machine) took pictures of everything I unplugged and put the new controller back in making sure everything was hooked up the same way as when I got it. Fired it up and yup you guessed it, it still did not work. So now I must wait until the store opens the next day only to find the person I talked to previously was teaching a cooking class so had to wait. Called the following day and spoke with Joe, not the same person I spoke with previously but was happy to talk to someone. I explained to Joe my situation and he said he was positive it is not the controller but was 100% sure the wiring to the thermo coupler wasn't hooked up properly. He gave me in detail how it should be hooked up. I assured him I put it back together the same as when I got it(I took pictures) Tore the thing apart again and sure enough the wire was turned around. So when the grill was put together they put the wires on backwards and I did the same thing as I put it back the way it came. Changed the thermo coupler wiring as per Joe, put it all back together (I am now expert now taking this thing apart and putting back together) and low and behold it worked. I called Joe back and thanked him for his help. So apparently whoever put my machine together at the factory turned the wires around. I also purchased a cover and discovered that several of the seems were not sewn so therefore holes and I was sent a new cover. I do want to say the all the people I spoke with were very kind and wanted to help and get everything right. I will talk about my first pork butt later. Thank you all for listening and I am here to learn.

  • #2
    Welcome & hope you have smoother sailing from now on.
    MES 30"
    A-Maze-N pellet smoker
    Weber 22" kettle
    E-Z-Que rotisserie
    Weber Smokey Joe
    Big Weber Gasser
    Cracker Smoker
    UDS

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    • #3
      Welcome from Oregon Wine Country Sorry that you had initial problems with your YS640, but am sure glad that you got it straightened out. You'll soon appreciate that amazing food that you'll be putting out with the YS640. I absolutely love mine. Make sure that you take time to season the pit before your first cook, as it will make a difference.

      A few things that I have learned since getting mine:
      1) YS640s use positive airflow, so the better that the air moves inside of the pit, the better your results will be.
      2) Be patient. Let the unit come up to temp before you muck with it. The controller will do an overshoot of about 50 degrees initially, then will even out to the pit temp you have set. I usually run mine for 30 minutes before I ever think about putting meat in it.
      3) The stack needs to be flush with the right side of the pit on the inside (don't leave a lip)
      4) The baffle is your friend. Learn how your pit temperatures work across the pit based on your location of the baffle. My sweet spot for even temp across the pit is pushing the baffle in 3-4" from the right. Others with newer models have found that the even temp sweet spot is all the way to the left, so you just need to get to know your pit to determine your sweet spot. Use an electronic thermometer like a Maverick ET-732 to test the temp on both the right and left sides based on the baffle placement. Run the wires through a thermo port if you have one, or through the smoke stack instead of the lid. Personally I have my wires ran through ports on the far right side of the pit after experimenting with through the lid and down the stack. It works best for me.
      5) An optional modification that I did was to put a nomex gasket on the lid to minimize leakage through the lid and improve the positive airflow. Doing this reduced the temperature swings to less that 2 degrees. I got mine at bbqgasket.com and purchased the 3/4" width x 1/8" thick nomex with the self stick backing. Best $20 bucks I ever spent.
      6) The most important - Don't be afraid to ask for help. There are many people here that have the YS640 and are more than willing to help you with anything. This place has an amazing group of people that have tons of knowledge and experience.

      Glad that you joined the fray!
      Smokem if you got em

      Yoder YS640
      Weber EP-310 Gasser Grill
      A-Maz-N-Pellet-Smoker (AMZNPS)
      A-Maz-N-Tube-Smoker (AMZNTS)
      Frogmats
      Maverick ET 732
      Super Fast Purple Thermopen


      Deano

      "May the thin blue smoke be with you"

      sigpic

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      • #4
        fellow Nebraskan!
        sigpic

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        • #5
          Welcome from Dayton!! Now go smoke some meat!!

          You will love that yoder!!
          Brian

          Certified Sausage & Pepper Head
          Yoder YS640
          Weber Genesis
          Weber 18.5" Kettle
          Weber Performer
          Misfit # 1899

          sigpic

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          • #6
            Jeez...was thinking about a Yoder maybe in the Spring, don't know now. Perhaps I'll just stick with what I know, never had a problem with any of my kettles or WSM. Anyway, thanks for the report and a big from New Jersey!
            Lang 36 Patio, a few Webers, 2 Eggs, plenty of gadgets and a MES 40 Gen 2.5 electric for bacon and sausage.
            My best asset however is the inspiration from the members on this forum.

            sigpic
            @SmokinJim52 on Twitter

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            • #7
              Glad you joined us Ubetdoc, from North Dakota!
              You got yourself a good quality product that sounds like it fell short to human error... after a few delicious cooks this incident will seem like so long ago and really not that big of a deal. Congrats on the YS640!
              Last edited by MossyMO; 08-23-2013, 07:14 AM.
              --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
              www.OwensBBQ.com

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              • #8
                Deano: thank you for the information, it is truly appreciated. While I didn't expect to have the initial problems and frustration, I am very excited to have the Yoder. As I said everyone was very helpful, very kind and wanted to make sure that I am happy with the Yoder. Last Sunday I tossed on a butt, chicken breasts, and some wicked beans and had the family over. Everyone couldn't say enough as to how good it was. I took some left overs to friends and have already have requests to cook for a wedding.

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                • #9
                  from Kentucky! Cograts on the Yoder and I'm glad you got it working right!
                  Becky
                  *****

                  https://www.facebook.com/jennie.r.smith.77?ref=tn_tnmn

                  Weber 22.5" One Touch Gold Kettle - Black
                  Weber 22.5" One Touch Gold Kettle - Copper
                  1993 Weber 22.5" Master Touch Kettle - Red
                  Weber 18.5" One Touch Silver Kettle - Budweiser
                  Weber Smokey Joe
                  Multiple Dutch Ovens and other Cast Iron
                  Pink Thermapen
                  Purple Thermapen

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                  • #10
                    from MN. with all that money invested you would think the factory would get it right.
                    sigpicbrinkman pitmaster deluxe
                    members mark upright propane smoker
                    kingsford bbq
                    23"weber kettle






                    __________________

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Ubetdoc View Post
                      Deano: thank you for the information, it is truly appreciated. While I didn't expect to have the initial problems and frustration, I am very excited to have the Yoder. As I said everyone was very helpful, very kind and wanted to make sure that I am happy with the Yoder. Last Sunday I tossed on a butt, chicken breasts, and some wicked beans and had the family over. Everyone couldn't say enough as to how good it was. I took some left overs to friends and have already have requests to cook for a wedding.
                      We like pictures here Sounds like you broke it in nicely. It's unfortunate that you had initial problems, but I would suggest letting Don at Yoder know what happened (if you haven't already) so that he can get his team on top of production QC. Let me know if you need his contact info.
                      Smokem if you got em

                      Yoder YS640
                      Weber EP-310 Gasser Grill
                      A-Maz-N-Pellet-Smoker (AMZNPS)
                      A-Maz-N-Tube-Smoker (AMZNTS)
                      Frogmats
                      Maverick ET 732
                      Super Fast Purple Thermopen


                      Deano

                      "May the thin blue smoke be with you"

                      sigpic

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Sent you a PM with Don's info.
                        Smokem if you got em

                        Yoder YS640
                        Weber EP-310 Gasser Grill
                        A-Maz-N-Pellet-Smoker (AMZNPS)
                        A-Maz-N-Tube-Smoker (AMZNTS)
                        Frogmats
                        Maverick ET 732
                        Super Fast Purple Thermopen


                        Deano

                        "May the thin blue smoke be with you"

                        sigpic

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          from Sunny Az, sounds like you are on your way. Looking forward to your posts...
                          God, Family and Friends is what it's all about. Great food just brings them all together... First John1:9...
                          Weber Performer Gold
                          Masterbuilt 26" twins
                          Big Chief Electric smoker
                          Brinkmann barrel smoker
                          LEM sausage stuffer
                          Cabela's pro HD grinder
                          Maverick ET-732
                          ThermoWorks Thermapen
                          GrillGrates

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                          • #14
                            from Tacoma WA.

                            When humans are involved there will be a margin of error. That said deal with Joe and he will certainly resolve any issues. I have Benn cooking on the YS640 since I received one of the first beta (non production builds). Even out of the gate it did an outstanding job at cooking.
                            Smoke it.. and they will come!

                            Rob
                            Recipes & Smokes in HD Video
                            SmokingPit.com



                            Yoder YS640
                            Yoder Wichita
                            Arizona BBQ Outfitters Scottsdale
                            Camp Chef FTG600 Flat Top Griddle
                            Blackstone 22" Flat Top Griddle

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                            • #15
                              Welcome to Smoked-Meat!
                              In God I trust- All others pay cash...
                              Check out the Mad Hunky and products at https://madhunkymeats.com or https://www.facebook.com/MadHunkyMeats
                              Lang 60D, The Beast, 18 and 22 WSM, Brinkmann Backroads trailer, Weber 22 Kettle, gutted MB burning watts

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