We firmly believe that the best way to get more flavor into food is to provide an accurate path for smoke to be in contact with it. When smoke leaks from the door of your smoker, you lose flavor.
If this is happening with your Yoder Smokers YS480 and YS640 pellet grill, we recommend adding or replacing the Yoder Smokers Lid Seal Kit. In this article we'll share our experience with replacing the gasket and give you a few helpful tricks to make the process easier.
When should you replace your door gasket kit?
If you see smoke leaking around the door, replacing the door seal gasket will help. Follow the steps below if your Yoder Smokers YS480 or YS60 has stainless steel hinges.
Note: This lid seal kit will not work with welded hinges on older models. Yoder Smokers owners with those models will need to purchase and install a new Stainless Steel Hinge Kit prior to installing the lid seal kit.
What can you tell me about the installation process?
We created the following instructions to help make the process simple and easy to follow.
The most time-consuming part will be removing the old adhesive. We recommend being as thorough as possible with this step to make sure the new gasket adheres well.
Requirements
Time commitment: 1-2 hours
Tools needed: Sharp edge metal scraper, scouring pad, clean rags, gloves, protective eyewear, food-safe citrus adhesive remover, mineral spirits and/or denatured alcohol, #2 Phillips Head screwdriver, 3/8" box end or socket wrench
Grill Setup
Remove the front shelf, all cooking grates and diffuser from grill and set aside.
Steps Required
Step 1
Scrape off the old gasket. Be gentle and try not to dig into the paint.
Step 2
Use the citrus adhesive remover and scouring pad to remove all adhesive left behind.
Pro Tip: To make it easier to remove the old adhesive, spray the citrus cleaner on it and allow it to soak for 20 minutes first.
Step 3
Once the old adhesive is removed, use mineral spirits and/or denatured alcohol to clean any residue off the metal from the outer edge to at least 1" toward the center all the way around the edge of the lid. This will provide a clean edge for the new adhesive to adhere to.
Step 4
Remove adhesive backing and install long felt strips across top and bottom of lid first and trim to fit.
Step 5
Install felt strips along each side of the lid.
It helps to align the outer edge of the gasket with the outer edge of the lid so no gasket material is left that can be pulled off by accident.
If your grill hinges have stainless steel shims, you can now move on to the Clean Burn stage of the process.
How to Install Stainless Steel Hinge Shims
The gasket kit includes stainless steel hinge shims and screws to allow a tighter seal for grills that did not come equipped with shims. We recommend installing the shims if your grill doesn't have them.
Step 1) Inside the cooking chamber, locate the flange nuts below the hinges. Using a 3/8” wrench, loosen and remove flange nuts from the hinge closest to the hopper, as shown. Set these aside for reassembly.
Step 2) Remove the screws from hinge closest to the hopper. WITH THE AID OF ANOTHER PERSON, slightly lift the lid and slide the shim under the hinge and align holes.
Step 3) Install and hand-tighten the 3/4” long Phillips Head screws supplied in the kit through chamber with flange nuts removed in Step 1.
Step 4) Repeat Steps 1-3 on the hinge closest to the chimney.
Step 5) Close lid to make sure it sits square and is centered on the chamber, then carefully lift lid again.
Step 6) Using a #2 screwdriver and 3/8” wrench, tighten all flange nuts on screws.
Final Step) Reassemble the diffuser and cooking grates, along with the front shelf.
Clean Burn
We recommend you burn your grill at 400 degrees or more for at least an hour to burn off any cleaner, gasket material or other residue that may have found its way into the smoker. Once this burn is completed, you are free to enjoy the great wood-fired flavor from your grill again.
