Yoder Wichita: My solution to its airflow/drafting issues

[IXL]

^^^You could maybe get Horizon to build you a smoker. I hear they come with round smokestacks, wagon wheels and everything... :mrgreen:

 

[slamkeys]

^^^You could maybe get Horizon to build you a smoker. I hear they come with round smokestacks, wagon wheels and everything... :mrgreen:

Slamkeys, we trust you amigo. Kindly let us know if it’s resolved to your satisfaction . If Yoder can make it right with you then their stock will shoot up several points in my book!!

Let's see here:

1. Get a Horizon.
2. Ask Yoder to make it right.

Compromise: Yoder - make this right by sending me this:

 

[Notorious Q.U.E.]

Horizon is tried and true, awesome looking pit

 

[IXL]

^^^^^^ Plus, Slamkeys, if you have the pit shipped to you in Houston, it should be cheaper because it won't have to be shipped from BFE Kansas. Instead, if will be shipped from BFE Oklahoma......

 

[TravelingJ]

it should be cheaper because it won't have to be shipped from BFE Kansas. Instead, if will be shipped from BFE Oklahoma......

Always a good idea to find the closest BFE...

 

[slamkeys]

Always a good idea to find the closest BFE...

That settles it! I need to get Gator Pit to custom-build me a Horizon clone. Then I can just drive over there and pick it up with my Texas gas guzzler truck.

 

[CptKaos]

just don't let them know who you are, I cant imagine anyone who would want to deal with you now

Larry

 

[slamkeys]

just don't let them know who you are, I cant imagine anyone who would want to deal with you now

My trip to Gator Pit of Texas:

 

[IXL]

Sorry about your trip to Gator, Slamkeys. I think you would have no problem whatsoever in ordering a smoker from any manufacturer located in Oklahoma. None of them in this state will have been apprised of "yer whinin'," as none of us knows how to read. Football, boy howdy (some years); readin' n stuff, not so much......

 

[slamkeys]

I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, but "Yoder_Herb" so reminds me of the guy that Saddam Hussein had going around with a bullhorn, broadcasting that "the Americans are killing themselves in the streets!" as Baghdad fell.

To me, "Yoder_Herb" has about as much credibility as "Baghdad Bob" did, in how he addresses the whole 'Yoder's smaller offset smokers' thing.

Yoder has been pretty good about controlling their narrative. I was particularly annoyed when I joined their forum and saw some of the fascist rules they have in place:

• Posting links to other websites or forums is prohibited and will be removed.
• If a topic is closed or removed, please don’t repost that same topic or material.
• The admin and moderating team will use their sole discretion to pre-screen, refuse or remove any users or content from YS community.
• The admin team does have access to PM’s. While we normally choose not to utilize this tool, we may review PM’s if problems arise.
• The “User Guidelines” is a live document and will be modified periodically as required in order to best suit the forum’s changing needs.

Frankly, I'm still surprised they haven't removed all of the posts that don't help promote their products, considering how they reject product reviews that are less than 5 of 5 stars on the ATBBQ site. I'm still betting they'll wait until the heat dies down and then remove any negative content that has drifted off the most recent pages.

That's why I spend more time on sites like this one, because I feel like I have more freedom to voice my opinions without censorship. Yoder would probably have a bylaw like this one if they could get away with it:

• Leaking discussions from Yoder forums to other websites or forums is prohibited.

 

[Rockinar]

I found a solution for the Yoder draft issue....

 

[slamkeys]

I found a solution for the Yoder draft issue....

And we pay you in 2 dollar bills!

 

[bbqpitsmoker]

I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, but "Yoder_Herb" so reminds me of the guy that Saddam Hussein had going around with a bullhorn, broadcasting that "the Americans are killing themselves in the streets!" as Baghdad fell.

To me, "Yoder_Herb" has about as much credibility as "Baghdad Bob" did, in how he addresses the whole 'Yoder's smaller offset smokers' thing.

"This is the cleanest burning, least dependant on kiln wood pit, with the firebox door that closes the most out of all other brands of pits to be to be ever witnessed, period, both in-person and around the globe”

 

[patrickd26]

I was holding out for the Wichita "re-design", but it's never been announced. So, I went with the Horizon a couple weeks ago. I did the initial burn-in and then did a full packer brisket. All I can say is that it is EXACTLY what I expected out of a high quality offset. It has very efficient airflow and holds heat steadily. I played with the sliding plate to get temps evened out, but really couldn't. That's ok, though. As long as you know your cooker you can use that to your advantage.

My wife (who is my biggest critic) said that it was one of the greatest cooks. I really like this unit. The only thing I would do differently is to NOT get the counter weight. I feel like the door opens way too easily. It's engineered just fine, but just not my style.

If you want to do the "true craft" of smoking meat, then this is the unit. Just know that you will have to intervene every 45 minutes for your cook. If you don't like that, then look at a pellet or ceramic cooker.

 

[slamkeys]

"This is the cleanest burning, least dependant on kiln wood pit, with the firebox door that closes the most out of all other brands of pits to be to be ever witnessed, period, both in-person and around the globe”

Crikey! Baghdad Bob has struck again! This time, the emphasis is on the size of the fire, which apparently needs to be very small or else it might require more oxygen than the Yoder design can provide:

If you can not close the door and manage the fire via the door damper, your fire needs to be smaller.

Here is the latest cook by Chef Tom at ATBBQ, which is done on a Wichita. Please note the size and placement of the fire. The fire in the Cheyenne will need to be smaller to accommodate for the smaller volume inside the cooker: http://thesauce.atbbq.com/how-to-make-pastrami/

After watching the video (which is not at all about fire management) I mentioned that Chef Tom was cooking without the heat management plate installed, and suggested it was because the unit definitely flows better without it. However, Yoder Herb replied that Chef Tom was cooking without the heat management plate for the sole purpose of showing where the fire was placed! So there!

The heat management plate was removed for this cook to illustrate the proper placement and size of fire for a Wichita offset, as was the scene showing the placement of wood for preheating. The Cheyenne will require a slightly smaller fire, and the Kingman will require a slightly larger fire.

You can run any size of fire that you desire, but a larger fire than recommended for each cooker model, will require you to leave the door open, or modify the cooker to allow the required amount of oxygen into the cooker to support the amount of burning material.

The video doesn't really show any fire management so it's surprising to hear they removed the heat management plate for one brief glance at the fire. What I did see was bags of kiln-dried wood lined up and ready to go, and a huge coal bed clearly visible spilling out below the fire grate.

The interesting part of Yoder Herb's response (in bold) implies that you need to build your fire of a certain "recommended" size, or else you'll need to modify your cooker or open the door. Holy cow. I don't even know how to respond to that, but know I'm still to blame because I didn't get the memo on the tiny fire requirement. Where is the "recommended" fire size posted anyway?

Bags of kiln-dried wood readily available courtesy of ATBBQ:

Kiln-dried wood fire at the rear of the firebox, pre-heating, and loads of coals spilling out below the grate. That fire looks bigger than any fires I typically burn in the Wichita. Hmmm.

 

[slamkeys]

Speaking of heat management plates, I have always cooked with mine installed (except for a test or two), and with tin foil stuffed into the big gaps on the sides because otherwise my cooking chamber gets intense heat on the edges of the firebox end.

I removed my heat management plate temporarily a couple of months ago in order to take some photos of the ash deflector, and when I put it back I neglected to stuff new tin foil into the side gaps. After 8-10 cooks you can already see the scorching on my cooking grate for the first time. It would probably be even worse than what's shown in the photo except I've been placing a water pan in that spot.

Without the heat management plate installed I would have that intense heat across that entire side of the cooking chamber.

Classic Yoder Loaded Wichita scorching from HMP side gaps:

Yesterday, I put some more foil in the gaps, and then I cleaned up that cooking grate and oiled it so I can get it properly seasoned again on the next cook.

 

[slamkeys]

I tested out a cheap wood basket over the weekend to see if it offered any performance improvement over my existing setup. I had been overlapping 2 fire grates to keep coals from falling through or falling over the edge (the Yoder heavy duty wood grate isn't wide enough to extend to the edges), but I still struggled a bit with preventing the coals from spreading out too much. Considering how much time is involved in creating those coals from actual log burning (not the Yoder way using 2 chimneys full of lump, and then another chimney for every 3rd log), I want to keep them concentrated enough to form the "coal base" needed to ignite new wood.

I found a light-weight basket that matched my size requirement for about $65 bucks online. It's 12x12x6, but made from heavy sheet metal that has been laser cut. It feels light and cheap, but at least it doesn't hurt my back when I pick it up.

The basket is the same width as the Yoder charcoal basket, but it's square, so it can slide back and forth. Notice the dark smoke line on the inside of my modified door. Now that the upper vent is blocked, the smoke line dropped down almost to the mounting bolt in the center.

I did my first cook without using a grate to support the basket, but after seeing how much warpage the basket bottom had after cooking 1 brisket I decided I'd start using the factory grate to support it from now on.

The basket seen through the SE vent opening. Note: This photo was taken on Saturday, and I have been cooking on my modified Wichita every weekend since the door mod, and still no scorch marks.

This is probably the best view I have right now of the black high-temp silicone bead I added to seal up my fire door when it's closed:

I did a reverse-seared tri-tip on Sunday night, and needed to use the grill grate, so it was important that the basket height not interfere with the grill grate. The factory grate was just a tad too wide for the basket to fit, so I removed 1 rib from the grate to lower it down enough.

The removed rib:

Ready for my second cook test, after placing the basket on top of the narrowed factory grate. It's just about the right size for the small splits I've been working with. I'm thinking I might try moving it all the way to the rear for the next brisket cook to see if it works better back there.

Warpage on the bottom of the basket after the first cook:

There is visible distortion in this shot if you look at the bottom section of the basket. My guess is this basket wouldn't stand up to heavy usage for very long, but if only the bottom blows out maybe a new piece could be cut to overlay the flanges to prolong its life. The sides didn't warp at all.

Impressions

The basket did a good job of containing the coals, no doubt. I was able to get a good pile of coals going without having to worry about them rolling off to the sides or through the grate.

I found that the basket was wide enough that my fire tended to pile up against one side, so I still had to make sure the wood didn't roll off the pile, and if it did it was a little more difficult to pick it up with my usual fireplace tongs because of the confined space within the basket.

I do actually think my coal bed was more stable and fresh logs ignited more quickly with the basket. I definitely had a bigger coal base when it came time to sear my tri-tip over the fire. That's one area I struggled with before when I cooked steaks on the Wichita. The last time I tried it I had to get out the charcoal chimney because I could not build up a big enough bed of coals with oak on the factory fire grate.

I'm going to keep using the basket for now to see if it grows on me.

 

[PotBelly]

Glad you got your smoker working right.