Question for Yoder owners

[bertgamble]

I just got my Yoder 480, and there is smoke coming out of the door.  Is this normal?  Not a tremendous amount, be more than I thought there would be.  I have never smoked before, so I am nervous.

Thanks

 

[chef jimmyj]

I don't own one but from the pics on the website, there is no gasket on the door to seal it to the body. I would expect a few whisps but a lot may be a problem. Does the leak get worse or better once it warms up?...JJ

 

[seenred]

My pellet smoker isn't a Yoder (it's a Rec Tec), but it has always leaked a little smoke around the lid.  It's never bothered me much, and doesn't seem to affect the performance...it still turns out great 'que.  I've heard of some folks adding a Nomex gasket around the lid to make it air tight.  If you think the leak is hurting the performance of your rig, you might try that...just google search for Nomex or BBQ gaskets

Red

 

[wolfman1955]

My Yoder 640 has always leaked smoke around the lid.

 

[scott struik]

Hey there!  I have the Yoder 640 and as the pit is initially heating up there's usually quite a bit of burn off smoke that's leaking like crazy through the door (bits of the previous cook on the grates that are sizzling and causing huge amounts of dirty white smoke).  This is perfectly normal and in fact is seen on nearly every kind of smoker - stick burner or pellet.
 

I believe the reason for this initial leakage has to do with good ole' fashion thermodynamics:  Your pit, particularly the thick metal, hasn't yet gotten up to temp but it's hot enough to start burning off residue.  Heat rises, but in reality it will expand in any direction it can.  Since the overall ambient temp of the pit walls/metal is still low - but the outside air is cool - the heat and smoke are in a mad rush to get out any way it can.  Then, once that pit really gets settled and toasty, the hole at the top of the stack ends up being the 'path of least resistance' for the heat and smoke and things start working normally.

Now, if you're constantly leaking smoke even well into your cook then you've got a door seal problem, but I suspect - especially with a Yoder - that it's just that initial burn smoke and that all is well!

 

[striper]

My 640 has also always leaked a little smoke around the lid.  Never seemed to affect the way my Q comes out though.  I don't worry about it.

Joe

 

[jtrainor56]

I have had my YS640 for well over a year and ordered a 3/4"x1/8"x15' self stick Nomex gasket from bbqgaskets.com. I haven't had an issue since. Surprisingly enough it has held up well after all of this time and I don't see having to replace it any time soon.