# New Yoder YS640 Just Arrived...in CT



## smokingrk (Mar 21, 2013)

After a long wait and some research, pulled the trigger on the Yoder

it arrived in the mess of wet snow and sleet ...but then the sun came out 













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Uncrated and not a scratch on it  -













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All parts inside wrapped nicely













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Taking it off the pallet by myself was not easy but used some boards removed from packaging...

Our dog Java helped ,looks like he's saying I'm smelling something cooking. 













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First mod was wheel change, there was no way the original wheels were making it thru

our grass and hill













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Easy change













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Wanted to point out that the seams on the door and contact seal is almost perfect.

Great job in assembly and welds













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Grates installed and ready for burn-in













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Did the burn in, added bacon as first cook to season...













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Removed heat deflector and left side grate and add grill grates, fired it up to 600 F













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12 min later steaks went on...













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Finally dinner...timed it from lighting to dinner plate 35 minutes! steak had great flavor with touch of smoke, as did the asparagus

and added it all to some tortellini...













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Apologies did not take shot of steak after cutting.

Will post next mod for temp probes, tomorrow or Saturday. 

Anyone in Northeast have a good distributor for wood pellets? 

Ordered some on line but shipping basically doubles the price. 

Hope you enjoyed the pics!!


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## smokingrk (Mar 23, 2013)

The Port Mod -

Found ports here  or   - they are the same, I ordered both - the turned out to be same - one was a much better price. 

Things to Note - you need a step drill or about a 3/4" drill - use step drill if possible .

What I used:


The internals of the port are NOT for high heat so I replaced with woven (cloth like) Fiberglass sleeve, kept it in using a 1/2 inch copper pipe nipple about 3/4" long -placed inside the fiberglass sleeve applied high temp silicone to fib. cloth (only where it will make contact on inside of port aka cable gland) then into opening of port, pinching the cloth to the wall of port. Make sure that copper pipe length allows cap to be replaced. The cloth can be collapsed by a small clamp to keep probe wires in place and prevent airflow out (little anyway) via port - do not overtighten if used. Mounting was just below the top shelf rail as was recommended by others and towards the front on right side. I'm only mounting 1 port that can handle at least 4 probably max of 6-8 probes (based on my probe wires)
Original assembly:


Remove rubber grommet. Remove internal plastic sleeve replace with copper and fiberglass.


CAREFUL - Make sure the length of this port and fiberglass sleeve allows for probes to enter or if you have removable ends, then no issue. I use MAV 732 so my ends do not remove.

My current version - need to "pretty" it up by cutting fiberglass fabric back, added too much silicone to end and painted black since fib cloth was white :




Ultimately looking like this with small length of fiberglass sleeve protruding enough to clamp.


Hope this helps-


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## smokingrk (Mar 23, 2013)

Started my first smoke on the yoder with three pork butts last night Fired up the smoker at around 9PM it was very cold out, about mid 20s F.

After coming to to temp, set it for 185F.  Waiting for the rub (all night before):


Meanwhile had the three little piggies all rubbed down with a basic rub recipe, one with a slight change in the recipe adding more ancho

and chipotle powder combo with more deep red paprika. Rub On:


On they go 10PM - don't have AMNTS tube yet so used AMNPS -seemed to work OK after I found the right spot for it.

At about 12:30 set temp to 225F and went to bed, after setting the MAV alarms on food and temp probe (just in case!!)


5:30AM - So 6+ hours later they are looking really nice (note AMNPS still going, filled only two lines!):


8:30AM - from left to right temps 199F, 189F, and 194F - seems it is going faster than I am used to with electric, though it is for learning on the
Yoder!


And a few close ups:




Can't wait to try, bringing two of these to a B'day party tonight. I'll try to get finished product here later.


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## geerock (Mar 23, 2013)

Wow...nice post Grk!
Looks like you got bit by the bug pretty hard.  I'll bet you Ferraros is happy you got the Yoder.  Best of luck with the new smoker and pray we get out of this weather pattern pretty soon or I'll be smoking in the Carribean.


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## bama bbq (Mar 23, 2013)

I'm jealous.  I lust over the Yoder cookers.  LOL


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## smokingrk (Mar 23, 2013)

geerock said:


> Wow...nice post Grk!
> Looks like you got bit by the bug pretty hard. I'll bet you Ferraros is happy you got the Yoder. Best of luck with the new smoker and pray we get out of this weather pattern pretty soon or I'll be smojing in the Carribean.


Carribean Smoking huh?! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






   We'll have to explore that..its pretty mild out this AM been up early with the pork, much better than last night when I started it was probably in mid 20s.

Thinking of Pizza for tomorrow, so Ferraros will have to wait till next week.

This is much more enjoyable than what I had to deal with before, all temps held within 8-10 degrees across the smoker.

Waiting for the last butt sitting at 198 now for the last 2 hours, the other two smaller ones are resting, pulled them at 205. 

Time to finish on the other two butts was about 12hrs @225 they were about 7.5 lbs each.  - faster than I expected.


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## seenred (Mar 23, 2013)

Congrats on the new smoker!  Those Yoders are nice lookin' rigs.  Thanks for posting the pics.


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## smokingrk (Mar 23, 2013)

OK the finale for today - so pulled the last butt off at around 205 @15.+ hrs its bizarre how similar size and weight just sometimes finish much later.
So here they are, apologies for out of focus did not notice till upload...




After a nice long rest:


The bark was amazing, best I've had in a long while.


YUM!!! So far very pleased with the cook and the flavor. Hopefully friends at the B'Day will enjoy ...


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## seenred (Mar 23, 2013)

I'd say you got a good cooker there.


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## smokingrk (Apr 22, 2013)

Sharing a Fatty and some rib Views...  Ground Pork and Sausage, Sauteed onions and garlic, fresh Jalapenos,

sliced ham, provolone, cheddar, mozzarella and a handful of grated Parmesan. 













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Baby backs with a Moroccan dry rub, heavy on the cinnamon...













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Finished products,













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hope you enjoyed the pics...


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## lu1847 (Apr 22, 2013)

Great posts. Awesome looking q there.


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## bbq pit vulture (Apr 23, 2013)

Way to go grk, Great photos, getin right into it. Got the mods done first thing. Then on to Quein. Way to go!!!

I can smell the smoke from here, No waite that is mine on the deck.

According to UPS tracking my wheels will be here to day.

Suggestion, When smoking several cuts of meat. place the largest cut closest to the fire. At the 8:30AM check,

place the cut with the lowest temp. at the hot end.

Did you get the nylon sleeve at Amazon too?


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## smokingrk (Apr 23, 2013)

Ollie8974 said:


> Way to go grk, Great photos, getin right into it. Got the mods done first thing. Then on to Quein. Way to go!!!
> 
> I can smell the smoke from here, No waite that is mine on the deck.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the suggestions. By keeping the YS640 VDD (damper) about halfway (with some tweaking during the cook) I am able to stabilize temps on bottom and top racks. By setting the temp to say to 225* I can keep the bottom rack around that temp and the right side top rack gets to about 10*-15* higher. That is why I placed the flat on top and the lamb and ribs on bottom racks. Still learning the pit so stay tuned...

As for the wheels (16" side) one thing I did not post is that I also used a 1/2" solid axle all the way across,making it a bit more stable. I used small cotter pins on the outside of each wheel, with 1/2" stainless washers on both inside and outside wheel bearing surfaces, so make sure when you measure you take those into consideration, along with the width of the wheel bearing, if you go down that path.

Not sure what nylon sleeve you refer to? If you mean the probe port, those are stainless,  I removed the internal nylon sleeve and replaced with 1/2" copper tube with the inside of the copper covered with fiberglass sleeve to offer some level of heat protection,although most good temp probes have cables that withstand high heat.  Link to where I found the ports is at the top of that post.  Let me know if you meant something different.


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## bbq pit vulture (Apr 24, 2013)

You did replace the two axe's  with a solid one. The local big box store has the 1/2" rod in 3 ft length, so there is plenty of length.

My thought was to use the two pins on the outside ends to hold the axel in place,  

Yes, I meant the fiberglass sleeve.  

The UPS tracking number I had was for the caster wheels.

So they arrived yesterday. Still waiting for the 16" wheels.

Can you post a close up photo of how the castor wheels are mounted. 

What is the screen you have between the meat and the grill grates?

Looks like a good idea to help keep the grates clean..


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## ddemerath (Apr 24, 2013)

I drool every time I see the Yoder.  I would like to get one but I am really concerned about pellet consumption.  In your 15 hour smoke, how many pounds of pellets did it use?  Is it fairly easy to clean out the ashes?

Thanks.


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## sqwib (Apr 24, 2013)

Wow!

Nicely Played Sir!!


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## bbq pit vulture (Apr 24, 2013)

Pellet consumption depends on ambient air temp,wind and cooking temp. At 225 - 250 cooking temp consumption is about 1/2 to 3/4 lb per hr.

I think cleaning is easy. clean the grates with a wire grill brush wipe with cooking oil. Wrap the drip pan in foil replace the foil from time to time.

I have a small wisk broom and dust pan about 6"wide to sweep up most of the ashes. Then use a shop vac to clean the nooks and crannies.

Then don't forget the small bucket to catch the grease.


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## smokingrk (Apr 24, 2013)

ddemerath said:


> I drool every time I see the Yoder.  I would like to get one but I am really concerned about pellet consumption.  In your 15 hour smoke, how many pounds of pellets did it use?  Is it fairly easy to clean out the ashes?
> 
> Thanks.


Quick removal of the grates and heat diffuser (drip pan) I remove the ashes with a shop vac. Really easy from my perspective. 

For the pork butts not an exact measure but about 24Lbs of 20lbs Lumberjack / 4lbs BBQ Delight at about 15.5 hrs so a bit over 1.5 lbs an hour. Not bad considering no blanket and temp outside was in the mid 20s when started in the PM and went overnight, did get milder in AM though.


Ollie8974 said:


> Pellet consumption depends on ambient air temp,wind and cooking temp. At 225 - 250 cooking temp consumption is about 1/2 to 3/4 lb per hr.
> 
> I think cleaning is easy. clean the grates with a wire grill brush wipe with cooking oil. Wrap the drip pan in foil replace the foil from time to time.
> 
> ...


As Ollie says it is very dependent on on many things (add to the list "meat" load) - What I've experienced now for the last few weeks as Ollie, the Yoder uses from 3/4 to 1.5 lbs pellets /hr. on average between 180* and 245*F. With that said many claim Yoder pellet use is more than some other cookers, however I bought mine for overall performance and quality than just pellet use.  Now if you want to see some additional pellet efficiency and spend some extra $$ look at the YS1320 - with a recessed fire box etc.


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## smokingrk (Apr 24, 2013)

Ollie8974 said:


> You did replace the two axe's  with a solid one. The local big box store has the 1/2" rod in 3 ft length, so there is plenty of length.
> 
> My thought was to use the two pins on the outside ends to hold the axel in place,
> 
> ...


Sent you a PM - Exactly what I did two pins on the outside of each wheel, which is why I recommended to use washers between inside and outside wheel bearing surfaces. As for the fiberglass sleeve (really a cloth of fiberglasss) I had it from years back when I worked on high temp devices. Search some high temp oven / element stores online, if you cannot find readily, PM me with an address and I'll mail you a piece.

The casters require you to drill out the existing hole with a 5/8" bit. Careful as it twisted and bound on me almost took my wrist out, I used a straight metal bit, but if you have a step bit it would be easier, careful not to overshoot. Also you will need about 8 to10 5/8" washers and 2 nuts (M-14 or 15 can.'t remember) I used lock nuts so did not use lock washers - you can find both these at HD or Lowes , bring a caster with you to try nut for fit. 

The screens as you called them on the grates are called a Q-Matz or Frog Mats.  Todd, from Amazing Products ( a site sponsor) sells these in two widths by the foot http://www.amazenproducts.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=46  .   They work well with small or sticky type cooks.


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## turnandburn (Apr 24, 2013)

That smoker looks like the bees knees!!! Along with the cooks in rapid succession it seems. I can't blame you. Beautiful smoker. Have you talked to Todd about buying pellets in bulk? Right now I currently use traeger pellets that can be bought at ace hardware in 20lb sacks for about $17.


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## smokingrk (Apr 24, 2013)

TurnandBurn said:


> That smoker looks like the bees knees!!! Along with the cooks in rapid succession it seems. I can't blame you. Beautiful smoker. Have you talked to Todd about buying pellets in bulk? Right now I currently use traeger pellets that can be bought at ace hardware in 20lb sacks for about $17.


Thanks, You should look into Todd's bulk and also Lumber Jack bulk.  It was more cost efficient for me to buy Lumber Jack pallet being on the east coast.  LJ pellets work really well and are 100% wood as are Todd's.  Starting to use them up as you can see


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## smokerman1 (May 27, 2013)

Can I get your recipe for the bacon wrapped goodness?


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## smokingrk (May 28, 2013)

smokerman1 said:


> Can I get your recipe for the bacon wrapped goodness?


Depending on the size you want I used 3 lbs ground pork and 1 pound sausage meat., chopped up 2 onions 5 cloves garlic and sauteed in a pan, let cool. Cut up about 8 fresh jalapenos (cored/deseeded) sliced into half rings.  Mixed the meats together then rolled out with rolling pin Layered on sliced ham,sliced provolone,the about 1/3 of the way from the edge added the sauteed onion garlic mixture, fresh jalapenos, added shredded cheddar,mozzarella,and Parmesan created like a "log" across.  Then I rolled,wrapped in plastic wrap placed in fridge.  Made bacon weave, after about two hours put on the bacon , and into the smoker it went at 250.  Do search on "FATTY" and you should find plenty of recipes/ instruction on making.  Try this link http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/newsearch/?search=Fattie+tutorial&type=all

Enjoy


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## humdinger4u (Jun 6, 2013)

SmokinGrk said:


> The Port Mod -
> 
> Found ports here  or   - they are the same, I ordered both - the turned out to be same - one was a much better price.
> 
> ...


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## smokingrk (Jun 6, 2013)

I'm at work so briefly I can say that using MAV probes I can fit at least 4 probes thru easily.  I insert the temp probe from the outside into tthe chamber since the connector will not fit thru.  Let me know if this helps - I'll look at the link later tonight.


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## smokingrk (Jun 6, 2013)

also the reason for 1/2" is that it allows for the probed to be inserted (with the curve ) based on  MAV temp probe.  Other probes you may not need that clearance if the connectors can be removed and attached.


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## humdinger4u (Jun 6, 2013)

Yeah a lot of probes are curved (not all) but this is my concern if the curved part will fit through the connector.  I'm trying to go as small as I can but has to big enough to fit the curve.

Thanks,  Michael


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## smokingrk (Jun 6, 2013)

smokerman1 said:


> Can I get your recipe for the bacon wrapped goodness?


Not sure if I replied to this yet:

Used Ground pork and ground sausage (hot and sweet) The amount depends on how big you want to go.

The recipe forum here has a good tutorial on bacon weave (use search for "bacon weave" will get you right there.

Sliced up about 8 fresh jalapenos (seeded and cored).  Sauteed onions and garlic in olive oil /butter mix and let cool. 

Rolled out pork / sausage mix onto a sheet pan lined with plastic wrap.  Layered on sliced ham, sliced provolone, then created a "tube" of the onion/garlic mix, jalapenos, on the meat sheet, more towards one end so you can roll into the center, and added handfuls of cheddar, mozzarella, and some grated Parmesan.  Roll the whole thing up using the plastic wrap and seal the end using the wrap as a "candy wrapper" to create a solid meat bar.  Then place in fridge for about two hours, in the meantime make the bacon weave, then place the meat loaf on the bacon wrap and wrap.  Season as you like and then smoke at 250-275.  Easy right? Enjoy -PM me if you have any questions.


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## patrick fjr (Jul 19, 2013)

Thanks for this thread - been looking very hard at different makes and models and have settled in on the 640. This'll be my first smoker and will mainly be used for smoking, really didn't have much interest in direct cooking as I have a dual weber kettle unit that I built years ago...   still works great, but its time to get my smoke on.....    Appreciate the posting of the stainless temp sleeves, which is easy and helpful. 

If I may ask, did you order yours right from the factory ? Looking to pick up a competition model at a decent price. Ha sometimes they call me Capt Overkill :)

I'm located SE Wisconsin and there is no place anywhere near me that is a dealer or to check them out in person.

New member here no PM's yet - if anyone has any additional helpful info, hit me up at shytbox @ gmail.com until I can get my post count up here. looking forward to learning the craft, already love cooking but need to add a new skills and flavors to my tool belt.....    

Thanks so much

Patrick


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## bbq pit vulture (Jul 19, 2013)

Congratulations on choosing The Yoder, You will not be disappointed.

Link to Yoder home page. Find a Dealer, lower right hand corner. Click there to find a dealer near You.

 http://www.yodersmokers.com/


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## striper (Jul 19, 2013)

Your gonna love that unit.  Had mine for just over 2 years now.


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## patrick fjr (Jul 19, 2013)

Thanks guys....

Pulled the trigger today on a 640 silver competition... ordered stright from Yoder - Now the wait.... 

I'll post up a new thread for suggestions and help on getting started....  so as not to poison this one any further... 

Thanks and Sorry OP...


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## smokingrk (Jul 23, 2013)

probably the best choice overall - i've been way too busy at work and have not visited here for a while, though I have been using my Yoder!.  Smoked 18 racks of ribs and 6 pork butts for a party and all were a hit.  You are going to really enjoy cooking on this unit,plus like many have resonated here its made in the US and built like a tank -  welcome to Yoder Pellet World...


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## hawgelujah bbq (Nov 14, 2013)

Curious about the wheels you installed on the Yoder.  I've ordered mine and would like to do the same type of modification to it when it comes in.


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## smokingrk (Nov 14, 2013)

Hawgelujah BBQ said:


> Curious about the wheels you installed on the Yoder.  I've ordered mine and would like to do the same type of modification to it when it comes in.


The large wheels are easy (if you ordered the same) using the existing axles.  I replaced my axle with a solid rodall the way thru forsome additional stability.  The swivel wheels were a bit more work.  makes sure you  use a step drill not a straight as the materialis very thick.  Use a straight drill only for the end to clean up.  enjoy your new cooker - I'm planning some on cooking another 4 butts this weekend....cheers


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## bbq pit vulture (Nov 15, 2013)

Welcome, to the forum Hawelujah BBQ

The swivel wheel holes can be drilled with the step drill. Drill in from the bottom, then finish off from inside.

Link to the wheel mod thread with photos.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/newsearch?search=Yoder+640+wheel+mod


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