2 Problems for new Yoder Wichita owner - Page 13

slamkeys · 11-02-2017, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryan58

I received my Cheyenne today. When I ordered on 8/30, I was really excited to get this smoker. My excitement turned into regret and fearing what I got myself in to. I'm glad to report that my Cheyenne works as advertised. I followed Chef Tom's fire management video and had no issues with white smoke. While I was seasoning, I got the smoker to 325 on the firebox side and 285 on the stack side, grate level, and was able to set the firebox damper to 1/3 open and the stack to half open and the fire kept rolling and the temps stayed steady with thin blue smoke. The only caveat, like Chef Tom, I was using kiln dried wood. I did have the heat management plate installed.
The damper is lowered, as pictured below. Still the same damper size from what I can tell.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8X...ew?usp=sharing

I don't have any baseline measurements for the Cheyenne. We'd need to get the diameter for the outer circle and the inner circle shown in the photos in order to calculate the intake area in square inches. It looks to me like the new intake size is about the same as the original, but the new one has rounded corners.

YS-Joe · 11-06-2017, 04:16 PM

Couple of things.
The patent that was mentioned is for a pellet grill and not wood pit and is a valid patent under the US patent office. I have a couple of patents in on our pellet grills. Not sure how this is relevant to this topic. Had the patent been read,it clearly outlines a pellet grill.

As far as the design of the wood pit we have tested and made the modifications based on user experiences and input to all current production models. We also have a damper that we have sent out to numerous customers. We lowered the damper in new production models and made it slightly larger to allow more air into the pit. We will gladly send the damper or new door configuration to any customer, just email customer service. [email protected]

In regards to the current attack that we are under from Slamkeys in every place he can find. We did in fact offered to make this right and build a pit to his specifications. The other side of our business is the custom side where we will produce nearly 200 trailers or custom configurations. We can make a pit cook to a user specifications. I commend him to get the pit to cook exactly the way he wants. The continued public attacks aren't necessary and border line personal. Slamkeys if you aren't happy with your pit sell it or I'm happy to take it on trade for a pit built to your specifications.

The question on wood is simple. Kiln dried wood if available is the most predictable thing you can cook with. That doesn't mean you can't cook with other types of wood. You certainly can because I do routinely. If I can run kiln dried I do because it does run more predictably, but have run my fair share of other woods and have pear tree cut up and curing now.

We have listened and made changes to the products per customer feedback. Our designs have been enjoyed by thousands over the years. We have won on the smallest stages and the largest stages in the world. We continue to develop new products based on customer feedback and will continue to do so. We are glad to produce products and pits that can be enjoyed by our customers worldwide. We want everyone to be happy with the products they buy from us and doing everything we can to make sure this happens.

We will continue to be involved and are committed to listening to our customers to produce the best product we can. Anybody that wants a pit built a certain way just let us know and we are glad to accommodate. Otherwise we feel like we have produced a product that serves the market well and will provide a good experience to the user base.

Notorious Q.U.E. · 11-06-2017, 10:06 PM

Slamkeys, what say you Sir? I have been following these Yoder threads across multiple websites for the better portion of the year. I’m just a bbq enthusiast with no ties to either party. I will say that the concerns did in fact lead me away from getting the Loaded Wichita

Food for thought from a mentor of mine: fair conflict resolution has been executed just right when both parties walk away annoyed (but not enraged)

Rockinar · 11-07-2017, 04:09 AM

Theres's nothing wrong with the door or the firebox. That exhaust is simly too small, its creating back pressure and it cant breathe.

JokerBroker · 11-07-2017, 07:06 AM

In fairness, Slamkeys acknowledged the patent was on a pellet cooker in post #178. As far as Joe's offers, I am happy to see them. As a consumer, its imperative that a manufacturer stand behind their products. A problem with a product, whether real or perceived, is a problem for a manufacturer. Issues arise and how a company handles them makes all of the difference. On the surface, it looks like these offers took longer than they should have which may have been why the frustration grew to a fevered pitch but I have no knowledge of when the offers were made. It would be interesting to know if there were any charges for some of the offers as well. I am trying to remain impartial but as I've stated before, Yoder lost my business because of this thread and I know of at least one other person on this forum who didn't purchase a Wichita because of this thread. My buying decision may have been different if satisfactory resolutions had been brought forward several months ago.

YS-Joe · 11-07-2017, 05:13 PM

We have been working on ways to resolve customer issues that already own a pit and new production models. We have been extremely busy, everything we can build is sold and we wanted to be sure we are making good choices for the consumers. We have been committed to working on these products for months and have been working on them. We need to implement changes that serve current owners and future owners.So I understand this really seems slow, but we have learned over the years to get to the bottom of things before we post anything. We are building hundreds of cookers per week so every decision needs to be carefully measured and implemented so that we aren't mixing and matching. We need to create a clean cut over test in the field and locally with consumers before releasing to the masses. I think we have made some nice progress and made some nice improvements. We will continue to run and test to be sure we do our best at maximizing the designs.

We sold hundreds and hundreds of pit with very minimal complaints over the last 10 years. So when this started popping up months ago, we where really caught off guard. The volume in all products has gone vertical over the last several years. There began to be more complaints (this really has been a very small number) our consumer feedback prompted me to have a look and see what we can improve to make the experience better. The feed back is appreciated and always taken seriously. We never ignore feedback, there have been hundreds of running changes to the Yoder product line in the last decade. We will continue to evolve our products to meet the customer needs and do the very best we can to take care of new and old customers.

We appreciate our customers, obviously we couldn't do this without them.

IXL · 11-07-2017, 07:36 PM

I don't know how many complaints were made, and to whom, but several years ago I was told by a Yoder DEALER that they didn't recommend purchasing a Wichita because of all the complaints they had received on them. They further stated that as far as they knew, all of the larger Yoder smokers worked well and everyone was quite pleased with them. So, I believe the problems have not been limited to just one dealer's experience along with the friends of mine who purchased this model, only to each sell them later for a similarly sized smoker of another brand which worked very well and with no demanding and finicky adherence to vague "protocols."

As I understand the offer that was originally made to Slamkeys, the invitation to have a smoker built to his specs was to be accompanied by an invoice for same.

And, once again, we are just tickled pink with our YS640! Its getting long in the tooth and has never given any problem of any kind, if you don't count my wife wanting to know why I didn't order the 1500, or even that really big bruiser Yoder now offers, because she enjoys the food from the 640 so much that she wants to overload it beyond it's capacity (which seemed quite huge when we started down this path).

Also, on those occasions when I have had a question pertaining to some aspect of the YS640's operation and use, the Yoder folks have been very helpful and prompt with their responses.

I sincerely hope this situation ends with everyone, both factory and customer, happy and content with any transactions.

SmoothBoarBBQ · 11-13-2017, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YS-Joe

Couple of things.
The patent that was mentioned is for a pellet grill and not wood pit and is a valid patent under the US patent office. I have a couple of patents in on our pellet grills. Not sure how this is relevant to this topic. Had the patent been read,it clearly outlines a pellet grill.

As far as the design of the wood pit we have tested and made the modifications based on user experiences and input to all current production models. We also have a damper that we have sent out to numerous customers. We lowered the damper in new production models and made it slightly larger to allow more air into the pit. We will gladly send the damper or new door configuration to any customer, just email customer service. [email protected]

In regards to the current attack that we are under from Slamkeys in every place he can find. We did in fact offered to make this right and build a pit to his specifications. The other side of our business is the custom side where we will produce nearly 200 trailers or custom configurations. We can make a pit cook to a user specifications. I commend him to get the pit to cook exactly the way he wants. The continued public attacks aren't necessary and border line personal. Slamkeys if you aren't happy with your pit sell it or I'm happy to take it on trade for a pit built to your specifications.

The question on wood is simple. Kiln dried wood if available is the most predictable thing you can cook with. That doesn't mean you can't cook with other types of wood. You certainly can because I do routinely. If I can run kiln dried I do because it does run more predictably, but have run my fair share of other woods and have pear tree cut up and curing now.

We have listened and made changes to the products per customer feedback. Our designs have been enjoyed by thousands over the years. We have won on the smallest stages and the largest stages in the world. We continue to develop new products based on customer feedback and will continue to do so. We are glad to produce products and pits that can be enjoyed by our customers worldwide. We want everyone to be happy with the products they buy from us and doing everything we can to make sure this happens.

We will continue to be involved and are committed to listening to our customers to produce the best product we can. Anybody that wants a pit built a certain way just let us know and we are glad to accommodate. Otherwise we feel like we have produced a product that serves the market well and will provide a good experience to the user base.

Since we're "airing it all out here" can you be firm on the cost for getting a replacement door / damper for my Cheyenne? While that smoker is built to amazing standards in terms of welds / quality, it is very difficult to operate because of the drafting issue. Even with the firebox door open I often had issues keeping a fire with shifting winds and had to rotate it constantly to keep the wind going directly into the firebox. For the record I've been cooking on a Johnson Smokers offset smoker for the last 9 months using the same wood and in the same location and I have NEVER had to rotate that smoker.

So what kind of cost is associated with the new door / damper system? Can you give me solid details rather than have me hash it out with your customer service department? If so I'll use your response when I send my email to them so there will be no issues on either end.

Thank you

Bryan58 · 11-13-2017, 12:28 PM

I have the new door on my Cheyenne and it will not keep you from having to rotate your smoker due to the wind. I smoked some wings yesterday, and the wind kept changing on me, so I ended up moving it so the stack was about a foot away from my fence, the smoker was perpendicular to the fence. That made a HUGE difference! Nice, clean smoke and it chugged along at 275 with no issues. Stack was halfway closed and the damper on the firebox was halfway open. Maybe the issue is more of an exhaust issue.

Overall, I'm happy with my Cheyenne. Now that I have it where my fence blocks the wind, hopefully it will continue to run great. I ran it for a couple of weeks without the heat management plate installed and I put it back in yesterday. It didn't seem to make any difference with airflow to where it affected the fire. It only cooked different, which I prefer it with the plate installed.

SmoothBoarBBQ · 11-13-2017, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryan58

I have the new door on my Cheyenne and it will not keep you from having to rotate your smoker due to the wind. I smoked some wings yesterday, and the wind kept changing on me, so I ended up moving it so the stack was about a foot away from my fence, the smoker was perpendicular to the fence. That made a HUGE difference! Nice, clean smoke and it chugged along at 275 with no issues. Stack was halfway closed and the damper on the firebox was halfway open. Maybe the issue is more of an exhaust issue.

Overall, I'm happy with my Cheyenne. Now that I have it where my fence blocks the wind, hopefully it will continue to run great. I ran it for a couple of weeks without the heat management plate installed and I put it back in yesterday. It didn't seem to make any difference with airflow to where it affected the fire. It only cooked different, which I prefer it with the plate installed.

Are you still running with kiln-dried wood?

Bryan58 · 11-13-2017, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmoothBoarBBQ

Are you still running with kiln-dried wood?

I am. That is all that I currently have access too. I will definitely try to get a hold of a few logs and try them out.

SmoothBoarBBQ · 11-14-2017, 03:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryan58

I am. That is all that I currently have access too. I will definitely try to get a hold of a few logs and try them out.

TONS of oak in your area. Best way to get your hands on wood for your smoker is to use Craigslist and search "firewood." Just need to make sure it's hardwoods and no spruces, firs, or gums.

https://columbia.craigslist.org/grd/...351577634.html

Anyways, it sounds like your Cheyenne is treating you well and that's good. Kind of not a good deal that you have to mash it up against a fence to keep the airflow constant, but I guess it's better than nothing.

Bryan58 · 11-14-2017, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmoothBoarBBQ

TONS of oak in your area. Best way to get your hands on wood for your smoker is to use Craigslist and search "firewood." Just need to make sure it's hardwoods and no spruces, firs, or gums.

https://columbia.craigslist.org/grd/...351577634.html

Anyways, it sounds like your Cheyenne is treating you well and that's good. Kind of not a good deal that you have to mash it up against a fence to keep the airflow constant, but I guess it's better than nothing.

Okay, so maybe not an access issue, but a storage issue. I just have to figure out where to put it and how to get it there. When I had my fence put up I only had a walk-in gate put in. I'll see what I can do in the meantime.

SmoothBoarBBQ · 11-14-2017, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryan58

Okay, so maybe not an access issue, but a storage issue. I just have to figure out where to put it and how to get it there. When I had my fence put up I only had a walk-in gate put in. I'll see what I can do in the meantime.

I hear it man I had a tough time figuring it all out when I first switched over to cooking on an offset from cooking on a kamado. I bought a log rack online which holds a 1/2 cord of wood and it's still holding strong ~2 years later. Last year I bought a full cord of pecan (my absolute favorite wood) and ended up picking up a few pallets from the local landfill. I put them on a few bricks (to keep them off the ground) and have been storing the wood on those... so much cheaper than buying a log rack.

I was also in the same boat with my fence only having a walk-through gate. So I had the wood delivered (in the link I posted earlier delivery was available) and just had the wood dropped in front of the gate. I used an old wheel burrow to take a few splits at a time and within an hour or so it was all done and stacked up nice and neat. I'm kind of a hoarder when it comes to stuff like bbq wood so it was a nice relief to have so much wood on hand and never really worry about running out mid-cook. I forged a relationship with a local farmer and he gives me a very good deal on wood and it's a win/win as he's a nice guy who also loves to cook BBQ. haha

Bryan58 · 11-14-2017, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmoothBoarBBQ

I hear it man I had a tough time figuring it all out when I first switched over to cooking on an offset from cooking on a kamado. I bought a log rack online which holds a 1/2 cord of wood and it's still holding strong ~2 years later. Last year I bought a full cord of pecan (my absolute favorite wood) and ended up picking up a few pallets from the local landfill. I put them on a few bricks (to keep them off the ground) and have been storing the wood on those... so much cheaper than buying a log rack.

I was also in the same boat with my fence only having a walk-through gate. So I had the wood delivered (in the link I posted earlier delivery was available) and just had the wood dropped in front of the gate. I used an old wheel burrow to take a few splits at a time and within an hour or so it was all done and stacked up nice and neat. I'm kind of a hoarder when it comes to stuff like bbq wood so it was a nice relief to have so much wood on hand and never really worry about running out mid-cook. I forged a relationship with a local farmer and he gives me a very good deal on wood and it's a win/win as he's a nice guy who also loves to cook BBQ. haha

Pecan is my favorite too. I'd have to do the same thing with having them drop it off in front of my gate and then I'd have to use the wheelbarrow to go up the hill in my back yard... I have a couple of wooden pallets in my garage that I can use to stack them on. I just need to get off my butt and do it.

11-06-2017, 04:16 PM	#182
YS-Joe Got rid of the matchlight. Join Date: 10-02-17 Location: Wichita, Kansas	Couple of things. The patent that was mentioned is for a pellet grill and not wood pit and is a valid patent under the US patent office. I have a couple of patents in on our pellet grills. Not sure how this is relevant to this topic. Had the patent been read,it clearly outlines a pellet grill. As far as the design of the wood pit we have tested and made the modifications based on user experiences and input to all current production models. We also have a damper that we have sent out to numerous customers. We lowered the damper in new production models and made it slightly larger to allow more air into the pit. We will gladly send the damper or new door configuration to any customer, just email customer service. [email protected] In regards to the current attack that we are under from Slamkeys in every place he can find. We did in fact offered to make this right and build a pit to his specifications. The other side of our business is the custom side where we will produce nearly 200 trailers or custom configurations. We can make a pit cook to a user specifications. I commend him to get the pit to cook exactly the way he wants. The continued public attacks aren't necessary and border line personal. Slamkeys if you aren't happy with your pit sell it or I'm happy to take it on trade for a pit built to your specifications. The question on wood is simple. Kiln dried wood if available is the most predictable thing you can cook with. That doesn't mean you can't cook with other types of wood. You certainly can because I do routinely. If I can run kiln dried I do because it does run more predictably, but have run my fair share of other woods and have pear tree cut up and curing now. We have listened and made changes to the products per customer feedback. Our designs have been enjoyed by thousands over the years. We have won on the smallest stages and the largest stages in the world. We continue to develop new products based on customer feedback and will continue to do so. We are glad to produce products and pits that can be enjoyed by our customers worldwide. We want everyone to be happy with the products they buy from us and doing everything we can to make sure this happens. We will continue to be involved and are committed to listening to our customers to produce the best product we can. Anybody that wants a pit built a certain way just let us know and we are glad to accommodate. Otherwise we feel like we have produced a product that serves the market well and will provide a good experience to the user base. Last edited by YS-Joe; 11-06-2017 at 05:24 PM..

11-06-2017, 10:06 PM	#183
Notorious Q.U.E. is One Chatty Farker Join Date: 04-21-17 Location: Denver, Colorado	Slamkeys, what say you Sir? I have been following these Yoder threads across multiple websites for the better portion of the year. I’m just a bbq enthusiast with no ties to either party. I will say that the concerns did in fact lead me away from getting the Loaded Wichita Food for thought from a mentor of mine: fair conflict resolution has been executed just right when both parties walk away annoyed (but not enraged) __________________ Battleship Row: --Pitmaker Vault IVC (Charcoal Metallic) “Dreadnought” --Shirley Fabrication 24x50 Traditional Door Patio (3/8” CC/FB) "Precious Metal" "...can't you see? Sometimes your words just hypnotize me and I just love your flashy ways. Guess that's why they broke and you're so paid!!!"

11-07-2017, 07:06 AM	#185
JokerBroker On the road to being a farker Join Date: 08-14-17 Location: Commerce Twp, MI	In fairness, Slamkeys acknowledged the patent was on a pellet cooker in post #178. As far as Joe's offers, I am happy to see them. As a consumer, its imperative that a manufacturer stand behind their products. A problem with a product, whether real or perceived, is a problem for a manufacturer. Issues arise and how a company handles them makes all of the difference. On the surface, it looks like these offers took longer than they should have which may have been why the frustration grew to a fevered pitch but I have no knowledge of when the offers were made. It would be interesting to know if there were any charges for some of the offers as well. I am trying to remain impartial but as I've stated before, Yoder lost my business because of this thread and I know of at least one other person on this forum who didn't purchase a Wichita because of this thread. My buying decision may have been different if satisfactory resolutions had been brought forward several months ago. __________________ LSG 24x40, BGE (Large)

11-07-2017, 05:13 PM	#186
YS-Joe Got rid of the matchlight. Join Date: 10-02-17 Location: Wichita, Kansas	We have been working on ways to resolve customer issues that already own a pit and new production models. We have been extremely busy, everything we can build is sold and we wanted to be sure we are making good choices for the consumers. We have been committed to working on these products for months and have been working on them. We need to implement changes that serve current owners and future owners.So I understand this really seems slow, but we have learned over the years to get to the bottom of things before we post anything. We are building hundreds of cookers per week so every decision needs to be carefully measured and implemented so that we aren't mixing and matching. We need to create a clean cut over test in the field and locally with consumers before releasing to the masses. I think we have made some nice progress and made some nice improvements. We will continue to run and test to be sure we do our best at maximizing the designs. We sold hundreds and hundreds of pit with very minimal complaints over the last 10 years. So when this started popping up months ago, we where really caught off guard. The volume in all products has gone vertical over the last several years. There began to be more complaints (this really has been a very small number) our consumer feedback prompted me to have a look and see what we can improve to make the experience better. The feed back is appreciated and always taken seriously. We never ignore feedback, there have been hundreds of running changes to the Yoder product line in the last decade. We will continue to evolve our products to meet the customer needs and do the very best we can to take care of new and old customers. We appreciate our customers, obviously we couldn't do this without them. Last edited by YS-Joe; 11-08-2017 at 09:32 AM..

11-13-2017, 12:28 PM	#189
Bryan58 Found some matches. Join Date: 06-25-17 Location: Columbia, SC	I have the new door on my Cheyenne and it will not keep you from having to rotate your smoker due to the wind. I smoked some wings yesterday, and the wind kept changing on me, so I ended up moving it so the stack was about a foot away from my fence, the smoker was perpendicular to the fence. That made a HUGE difference! Nice, clean smoke and it chugged along at 275 with no issues. Stack was halfway closed and the damper on the firebox was halfway open. Maybe the issue is more of an exhaust issue. Overall, I'm happy with my Cheyenne. Now that I have it where my fence blocks the wind, hopefully it will continue to run great. I ran it for a couple of weeks without the heat management plate installed and I put it back in yesterday. It didn't seem to make any difference with airflow to where it affected the fire. It only cooked different, which I prefer it with the plate installed. __________________ Bryan / Yoder Cheyenne, WSM 22", WSM 18", Weber 22" Master Touch

11-07-2017, 04:09 AM	#184
Rockinar is One Chatty Farker Join Date: 07-19-13 Location: Houston, TX	Theres's nothing wrong with the door or the firebox. That exhaust is simly too small, its creating back pressure and it cant breathe.

11-07-2017, 07:36 PM	#187
IXL is one Smokin' Farker Join Date: 01-29-10 Location: Oklahoma	I don't know how many complaints were made, and to whom, but several years ago I was told by a Yoder DEALER that they didn't recommend purchasing a Wichita because of all the complaints they had received on them. They further stated that as far as they knew, all of the larger Yoder smokers worked well and everyone was quite pleased with them. So, I believe the problems have not been limited to just one dealer's experience along with the friends of mine who purchased this model, only to each sell them later for a similarly sized smoker of another brand which worked very well and with no demanding and finicky adherence to vague "protocols." As I understand the offer that was originally made to Slamkeys, the invitation to have a smoker built to his specs was to be accompanied by an invoice for same. And, once again, we are just tickled pink with our YS640! Its getting long in the tooth and has never given any problem of any kind, if you don't count my wife wanting to know why I didn't order the 1500, or even that really big bruiser Yoder now offers, because she enjoys the food from the 640 so much that she wants to overload it beyond it's capacity (which seemed quite huge when we started down this path). Also, on those occasions when I have had a question pertaining to some aspect of the YS640's operation and use, the Yoder folks have been very helpful and prompt with their responses. I sincerely hope this situation ends with everyone, both factory and customer, happy and content with any transactions.