# Hello from Kansas



## coacher72 (Mar 16, 2010)

Just wanted to say hi and that I have "messed" around with smoking for the last several years but recently have decided to get more serious. I have recently purchased a Wichita model offset smoker from Yoder Smokers out of Hutchinson,KS. They have a BBQ store in Wichita. I went by yesterday and saw them and really liked the craftsmanship. They were more expensive then I wanted to pay, but I'm sure it will last a lifetime. It will be delivered tomorrow. I'm anxious to get it seasoned and then start learning how to use it to turn out some good BBQ.
I would appreciate any input that any of you might have on how to properly season the smoker.

Thanks


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## chef jeff tx (Mar 16, 2010)

Howdy, welcome  to   the *SMF*!!


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## denver dave (Mar 16, 2010)

Welcome to the forum. The Yoder is a great unit. Congrat on the new smoker. I'm sure there will be someone along soon that can answer your questions on seasoning your unit. I would suspect Yoder would have a procedure in the paperwork that came with the unit.


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## irishteabear (Mar 16, 2010)

Welcome to SMF.  Glad you joined us.


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## davidmcg (Mar 16, 2010)

Howdy Coach, welcome to SMF.  I live up here in McLouth and my smokers consist of a UDS, a homemade offset, an ECB and a gourmet electric.

To your Wichita Yoder model we go.  I would say load her up with some lump and bring her up to 350 or so and keep it there for between 4 to 6 hours.  That will open the pores on the metal up and burn off any nastys.  The lump you use should be good quality stuff like Royal Oak.  That way you will have more consistent heat and less ash.  The RO is also based on oak so it does burn hot and requires less fuel.  During the burn in I would toss in some chunks of maybe hickory, mesquite, cherry or apple.  Next day I would go out and take a dry old cloth or rag and wipe down the smoke chamber.  Some will tell ya at this point to take a little vegetable oil or bacon grease and rub it in.  Either way I would burn it one last time.  Reason being to make sure it is burnt good and to have one more empty practice run so you can get used to the way the unit breathes and maintains heat.

Then of course, you got to go out and get a pork butt and smoke it up.

A lot of people like those Yoder smokers and they are doing great business.  Enjoy your toy and the world of smoking.  Hope your a Jayhawk fan.


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## caveman (Mar 16, 2010)

Welcome to the forum & congrats on your new purchase.  I wish you many long smokes to come & qviews for proof.  Have fun.


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## deltadude (Mar 16, 2010)

You have gone and done it now! Stumbled into a whole nest of grazed smokers. Next thing you know you will be getting funny looks from your family while you snap pics of the excellent Q you just smoked. 

You got yourself a great smoker. We will look forward to some fine Q pics....

_*SMOKE ON DUDE !*_


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## coacher72 (Mar 16, 2010)

David, and others thanks for the welcome. I have been a fan of this forum for a couple of years but didn't join until today.
David, thanks for the advice on how to season the smoker. Yoder had a special for buyers. They call it their "Starter Kit". They tossed in 20 lbs of lump charcoal and 2 cu.ft. of wood splits along with some other things like rubs, spices and book on BBQ. It looks like it will take most of the lump and splits to get her good and seasoned.
If I get it tomorrow, I hope have my first meal out of it by the weekend.
Thanks again to everyone.


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## jaso (Mar 16, 2010)

welcome to the smf hope ya enjoy everything here. Can't wait to see a qview


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## etcher1 (Mar 16, 2010)

Welcome 


to the *SMF* forum, You came to the right place. Good people and good info.


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## beer-b-q (Mar 17, 2010)

[font=&quot][/font]

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[font=&quot]When you uploading to Photobucket I always use the Large IMG setting, 640 x 480 it is a nice size...[/font]

[font=&quot]Everyone here enjoys seeing the Qview so be sure to post plenty of pics...[/font]

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## treegje (Mar 17, 2010)

Welcome to the SMF, We are glad to have you onboard


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## coacher72 (Mar 17, 2010)

Everyone thanks for the help on seasoning my smoker. It arrived this morning and I'm in the process of seasoning it. It has been going about 3 1/2 hrs. My other question has to do with what I should do next. The guy I bought the smoker from said he seasoned his with just one burn for about 3 hours. I've read that some will wipe down the inside with vegetable oil and then run a second burn.
My question is what's the purpose of the oil and does it really help? How do you feel as far as it being a necessary step in the seasoning process?

I would appreciate any input.


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## meateater (Mar 17, 2010)

Welcome to the SMF. Glad to have you here. Lots of good folks here and knowledge. Looking forward to your first qview.


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## morkdach (Mar 17, 2010)

*Welcome Fellow Kansan to SMF.*
*them yoder smokers are K.A from what i seen.*
*lets see some pics.
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	



*


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## okjsmoker (Mar 18, 2010)

Congrats on the Yoder purchase. Those are dead ringers for the original Oklahoma Joe units.

They are 1/4" thick which helps hold the heat. One thing you will notice is that if you try smoking in cold weather, make sure to run a super hot fire for at least an hour, maybe longer. It seems that if the smoker isnt up to temp it dont flow real well and will sometimes belch out in a reverse flow effectively putting your fire out.

Once the whole thing is up to temp, it flows well.

Did you get the propane log starter? I found that it really helps not only to start the fire, but once you get a good fire going you turn it down and it helps regulate the temps so you dont have any massive up and down swings.

Get that new toy seasoned and get to smokin!!


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## smokinsteeler (Mar 18, 2010)

Welcome and congrats on your new smoker!


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## coacher72 (Mar 18, 2010)

Okjsmoker, thanks. If you hadn't heard, one of the guys from Oklahoma Joe's is making these (Yoder) smokers. He went to work for this company in Hutchinson, Kansas. He had signed a 2 year non-compete contract with OK Joes. When that ran out he began building these Yoder Smokers. The smoker business now is making up almost 30% of their business.
I just finished 5 hour burn to season it. What are your thoughts on wiping it out with a cloth, giving it a coating of oil and doing a second burn to season it further? I've read that some do it this way. Is it necessary?


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## okjsmoker (Mar 18, 2010)

Necessary? .... No I wouldnt think so, its more of a personal preference.

But... I tend to think of a oil wipedown as sealing the interior, kinda like seasoning a cast iron pan.

Thanks for the info on the Okie Joe-Yoder connection, I didnt know any history behind that.

Good luck with your smokes, that smoker will also last a long long time.


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## realtorterry (Mar 18, 2010)

Welcome to SMF! Your head will soon explode!!


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## coacher72 (Mar 19, 2010)

Okjsmoker, thanks for the info.

I forgot to mention that another ex-employee of Okie Joes is also building smokers for Horizon. If you go to their website you'll see the similarity between them and the Yode models.


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## waysideranch (Mar 19, 2010)

Welcome 72!!


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## okjsmoker (Mar 19, 2010)

By the way... did you happen to get the heat management plate?

If you did could you snap a pic of it, Just curious to see how it installs and how big it is.


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## coacher72 (Mar 20, 2010)

Ojsmoker,

Yes I did get the heat management plate. I'll take a picture of it and post it later. It may be a day or so before I get to it. The plate just drops in. If you got to the Horizon smoker website, I believe under Acessories they have a picture of theirs. The Yoder heat management plate looks just like it. Horizon's is half the price of Yoder's. If I remember right Horizon might even custom make one for you.
I'll try to get that picture for you tomorrow.


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## coacher72 (Mar 20, 2010)

Ojsmoker,

Yes I did get the heat management plate. I'll take a picture of it and post it later. It may be a day or so before I get to it. The plate just drops in. If you go to the Horizon smoker website, I believe under Acessories they have a picture of theirs. The Yoder heat management plate looks just like it. Horizon's is half the price of Yoder's. If I remember right Horizon might even custom make one for you.
I'll try to get that picture for you tomorrow.


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## okjsmoker (Mar 20, 2010)

Ok I checked out the Horizon pics, looks pretty simple. I can probably fab my own, so no hurry on the pic, I think it installs with the smaller holes towards the fire, with the end that is bent right up against the firebox? Im also assuming it sits flat, but how much space is left below the plate?

Thanks for the info.


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## mballi3011 (Mar 20, 2010)

First off welcome Coach to *SMF*. It sounds like you are well on your way to be an outstanding new member of this fine site. You'll like it here cause there are abunch of good folks here that would just love to help you out with just about anything to do with smoking. We really like to have newbies here because they can bring in a new propective to how things are done. There's nothing like a new set of eyes to give and new way to make things that little differant to make things alittle better. So I hope you know about the *Qview* here. 
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=58920
Here's a link to photobucket it's free and easy to download pictures. Then if your really new to smoking Look up the E-course. 
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...play.php?f=127
It's also free and it will give you the basics of smoking. So after all of that you just need to go grab something to smoke and if you have any question just post them here and we will answer it quickly so you don't have any mishaps with your smoke. 
Welcome To Your New Addiction


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## coacher72 (Mar 21, 2010)

Okjsmoker,

Here the picture of the heat mangement plate in my smoker.



As you can see it slopes downward from right to left. The highest point on the right matches the highest point of the opening from the firebox. It drops on an angle about 1 1/2 - 2 in. It is just a drop in and is not welded in place.
Hopes this helps.
P.S. I saw you are from South Central Kansas. Where do you live, I'm in Pratt.

Mballi,

Thanks for the welcome. You're right I have learned a lot already and a lot more to learn. I did my first smoke the other day and I did post it with Qview. I smoked 2 chuck roasts. You can check it out if you like.

Thanks


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## okjsmoker (Mar 21, 2010)

Thanks for the pic!

Pretty much like I imagined. I enjoy working with metal so I will probably make my own.

Ive got 80 pounds of brisket to smoke here soon, probably wont have it done by then, but im curious as to how the plate changes the temps.

Im from Haysville, just south of Wichita. I havent been to Pratt in a long time, probably 10 years ago when my son was playing in a baseball tournament there.


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## bigolboysbbq (Mar 21, 2010)

Welcome to the site man.


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## okjsmoker (Mar 31, 2010)

Here's a couple mods you might want to consider...

Water pan, I used foil pans for a long time but they always ended up with pinholes and leaked all the water out. I finally made a trip to the local restaurant supply and picked up a stainless steam pan, should last a long long time. It was $16



And while your at it, grab the drill and make an access hole for your temp probes, start with an 1/8" bit, then move up to 1/4"


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## coacher72 (Mar 31, 2010)

Thanks for the ideas. For 1/4 in steel does it take a special type of bit?


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## okjsmoker (Mar 31, 2010)

Regular steel bit should work, keep a lot of pressure on it while drilling slowly. If you spin the bit too fast it will get too hot and dull really fast.

If you dont have a variable speed, then use an "on and off" action on the trigger.


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## coacher72 (Mar 31, 2010)

OK thanks I might try it this week. Would you drill 2 separate for the 2 probes or 1 larger one. I have a Maverick ET #73.


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## okjsmoker (Apr 1, 2010)

I bet one 1/4" hole would be plenty good for both probes.


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## billbo (Apr 1, 2010)

Coach that sounds like a nice heavy, well built type. Welcome aboard!


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