Hotspots on my Yoder YS480

[realdocBBQ]

So my new (to me) Yoder has some hot spots, apparently.

Last weekend, I did some chicken drumsticks and sausages and slot-dogged hot dogs. Everything was received very well, but I noticed some hot spots. I used some canned crescent rolls (didn't have any biscuits) spread across the top rack to check for hot spots, and I noticed the front right portion seemed a bit warmer, rolls were slightly darker on the bottom. Not burned, but noticeably crustier on these.

Then, I did the sausages and Slotdogs on top, noticed the same, kept rotating things to try to get some even cooking. The chicken drumsticks on the bottom had the same hot spot, but was much more pronounced, I believe. What do I do?

So... this Yoder has the single-piece drip pan. I notice it has a small slot in the leftmost edge, that makes it sit down on top of a notch to hold it in place. When centered, it has a tiny open channel running left to right along the front and back edges that allows air and presumably heat to flow upward. I wondered if shifting this heat shield/drip pan forward toward the front of the grill and narrowing or eliminating the front channel would reduce this hot spot. But when I try to shift it, I noticed there is a bracket on the right side that holds it essentially in place. I can get it shifted the way I want, but it makes the front edge sit up on a nub on that bracket, bringing it closer to the grates there, by maybe... ¾" or so? It also makes it tough to get it in and out for cleaning and changing the foil wrap, but that's not a huge issue. I can get it out with a little work.

But I'm wondering does anyone else have a front-right hotspot on their Yoder YS480 or YS640? How did you deal with it? What did you do? I think it's hot enough that it is going to make for some problems for me - I haven't broken out the grate temp probes yet, I really should do that to see how much of a difference I have from one corner to the other, but I am guessing it is significant.

[realdocBBQ]

I've got a total of 6 channels of temp monitoring, but only 2 or 3 grate probes, the rest are meat probes. I assume they work the same, the only difference is the bracket that holds it up off the grate, right? So, can I make a small foil mount to use the meat probes for this?



<edit> Just remembered, I have another Maverick ET-732 I haven't used yet. So I have 8 channels, but lack of probes is my problem. I've mocked up some foil mounts, moved the drip pan as far forward as it will go without jumping the backet, and it seems to have minimized the open airflow channel on the front. We'll see what my temps do here as I test it.

[Butchman]

I’d learn to work with it, embrace the hotspot and use it to your advantage.

[realdocBBQ]

Eh, I have a charcoal and a gas grill if I want to sear. I mean, it was hot enough it was burning things. For my smoker(s) I want even heat throughout, so I don't have to constantly shift things around all the time. I want to set it up, walk away.

[realdocBBQ]

Ok, so at a setting of 350°F, I had readings about 70° different from back left to front right. Consistently cooler in back, hotter in front, and hotter on the right than the left. <sigh> That's a big difference, I think? If I'm loading the thing up with meat, it's gonna make a HUGE difference in a long cook, or even just 4-5 hours for ribs.

So, now I'm turning it down to 225 to see how much variance I get with lower temp. I'm kinda bummed, not sure how to improve this. I'll have to give Yoder a call on Monday, I guess, and see if they have any suggestions on how to set things up for more even temps.

[realdocBBQ]

Looking now like about 40° difference from left rear to front right @ 225°F. That's significant, almost 20%, but I can probably work around it. I haven't checked temps on the top grate, though.

[Jerod Broussard]

Is this running without any meat at all?

[realdocBBQ]

Yes Jerod Broussard, no meat in there at the moment. That will be changing soon.

[Jerod Broussard]

The reason I ask is things evened up quite a bit on my offset with plenty meat. In fact when I filled it up with corn on the cob it got dead even. On my pellet grill it runs a tad hotter near the chimney.

[RonB]

Could you block the unwanted airflow with foil? I don't have a Yoder, so I'm just taking a stab in the dark. However, if it works, you can call me brilliant.

[Pirate Scott]

realdocBBQ I have some temperature variations on my GMG Jim Bowie as well. I think it is the Nature of the Beast, and it actually changes depending on the Pellets you are using. Everything burns at different rates. Unfortunately we thought it was going to be a bit more Precise than it actually is. That being said I pick my grill positions based on temperature variations, and it all works out ok. Check around on the web for Yoder Owner Forums, FaceBook etc... I think you will find some answers and work around for what you are seeing. Another thing to check is if everything is assembled properly, my GMG has several Layers. Heat Deflector, Drip Tray, Driptray Cover. Mine gets Better when it is Fully Loaded. I am sure you will be able to get it dialed in, don’t stress and have fun!

[Cheef]

It is so throw back for me to see the term HOT SPOT used. I haven't seen it used in years.
In the grilling world years ago the term hotspot was very common and used to deride a competitors gas grill. One brands dealer would put down the other brand for having a HOT SPOT in the top left, and bottom right. The competitor would respond with hot spots in the others brand on bottom left and top right. And on it went.
Through the years the nomenclature changed and the HOT SPOT became COOKING ZONE!!! Embrace the cooking zone almost like it was engineered with your grilling pleasure in mind!!
Actually for me at least embracing the COOKING ZONE and using it proved to be to my advantage.

[realdocBBQ]

I definitely remember the advantage of hot spots from my years as a steak cook in restaurants. They surely did come in handy.

I don't like them when smoking, though. I want it all pretty even.

Jerod Broussard, I did fill it up yesterday pretty good with 2 racks of STL and 2 of BB and though I still had a good bit of obvious variance in the cooking, I rotated my 4 racks of ribs and everything came out ok. Didn't seem to be as bad as when it was less loaded up and at higher temp.

However, as it sits now, I have 2 ~9 lb pork butts in, one on top, one on bottom, and I'm seeing temp differences of 40-50°F. It's a little frustrating, and I have 2 temp probes in each butt, as well as ambient probes near them on the racks to monitor things. My biggest problem is trying to keep track of which probe and monitor is tracking what! lol

I'm set at 250°F on the smoker and current temps show 295°F and 345°F at the racks. I am hoping that will settle down a little bit as the rig settles in and gets heat-soaked.

[realdocBBQ]

Some weirdness now....

Readings at my grates at 50-70°F above my setpoint. Still a good variance of 20-30°F between top and bottom, but with temp at 250°F, the Yoder is reading 265°F, but my grate probes are both showing temps over 300, like 304 and 330. I just went out and swapped the leads with the thermometers (I'm running 2 Maverick ET-732s at the moment) and the change was appropriate.

I'm lost now. Don't know why all of a sudden the smoker is reading itself so low, nothing has changed, certainly not from 7AM when I put the 2 pork butts in. <sigh>

The learning curve with this new smoker is tough. lol

<edit> I just dropped the smoker temp a little bit, we'll see what happens with the grate temp.

[Sweaty Paul]

You can always contact Yoder for advice. Yoder Herb has been very helpful.

[bten]

Did you ever resolve the "Hot Spot" issue? I ask because I am seriously looking at the YS480. Do you wish you had selected the YS640 instead? I am thinking that the YS480 is plenty big enough (800 sq inches with the second shelf) for a two person house with an occasional need to feed 6-8 people.

[Sweaty Paul]

Today I cooked steaks - reverse sear on Yoder YS-640. Did sear on my Saber Gasser which was already on to cook onions and baked potatoes. Grill held awesome temp. Set at 225. Top grate was 212-215. Bottom grate 223-227. Had Maverick thermometers as
confirmation of what Yoder said.

[bten]

You might try your test with no foil on the drip plate. Yoder cautions that the foil (especially if it is not wrapped tight everywhere) can affect the how even the temps are.

[realdocBBQ]

I wasn't aware of that... I still have a large variance with my hottest area being on the front right on the bottom and coolest being left rear on the top. It's a little frustrating. I didn't consider the YS640 because I got this used and would never have been able to afford a Yoder otherwise. I jumped on someone getting rid of it.

[bten]

I wish I could find a used one at a reasonable price. Let me know how it works without foil. I will be getting one in the next few months.