2.5 years after owning my YS640... Here are my thoughts, opinions and review. Watch this before buying one. Unboxing of my YS640 Here (Link • Full Review and unboxi... ) How has the Yoder held up to the weather and usage.. watch to learn
Thanks for making the video. Mine is about a year older and works great. The display is a pain but it still cooks great. The heat diffuser with the trap door made all of the difference in vacuuming easily. Paint peeling seems to occur normally from grease drips but was not a problem to touch up. I am getting ready to add the KZL slide trade shortly though I have their grease gutter and was worth the investment.
Doesn't sound like you have the heat diffuser with the door in it. If not, I highly recommend it! Not only can you do a quick clean of the firebox area between cooks, but you can also add on grill grates so you can get some high temp sears. Win/Win in my book! You still have to take it apart and clean it fully from time to time, but the door makes it so you can clean the box every other cook no problem.
I already had a Shark Rocket ($100 on Amazon) when I got my smoker. I vacuum it out once a week, clean the grates and surfaces with citrus cleaner (amazing stuff) and I’m good to go for the next week. The Rocket is great for car interiors, stairs, etc. One of the best household purchases I’ve made. I never get any dust on myself when I clean the smoker. This sounds too obvious to mention but regular cleaning is pretty easy. Waiting until the gunk builds up is a pain.
I've had mine for almost 2 years and those are the only two issues I have with it as well. I made tri-tips this weekend and was bent over like an idiot in the sun trying to see the temps when I tried to turn it up after wrapping. Cleanout is a total pain. Just plan on throwing the shirt you're wearing out when you're done.
Thank you for taking the time for both your Yoder vids. I’m still researching and am undecided between newer YS640 and the Pitts & Spitz Maverick 1250. Decision time soon 👍
when I was shopping to replace my SmokeFire I found several forums where Yoder owners moved to Pitts & Spitts due to issues they experienced but I have not found any Pitts & Spitts owners that moved to Yoder. That being said there were plenty of Yoder owners that loved their smokers and would never change so I'm sure you'd be happy with either.
TommyKnockers _ thanks for sharing that. Sorry to see so much Weber issues. Curious a) did you have the same problems as others ie grease fire and b) what
@@tommyknockers_8608 Yoder fixed most of those issues within the past 2 years. I've had my ys640 for 1.5 years and haven't had a single problem. Pitts & Spitts are very nice too.
Pitts & Spitts better!! Pitts & Spitts are made with 7 & 10 gauge metal. Yoders are made with 10 & 12. Thicker metal is better *imho* And P&S are all solid welds, whereas yoder is bolted together
They’ve upgraded the controller, heat deflector, ceramic fire element and thermo coupler which are all great upgrades. I’ve had my YS640 since 2014 and I use mine at least 1-2 times a week, was I bummed to have to spend money to upgrade it? You bet, but technically changes Yoder has learned things and has modernized their equipment. All good companies do, but not all companies provide those upgrades to their previous customers, they’ll make you buy the latest version if you want the upgrades. Yoder’s customer service isn’t awesome. I love my YS640 and totally agree the food it produces is outstanding!
With Father’s Day approaching Rec teq has a good deal right now. But I’m so torn between going that route with the 1250 or buying the Yoder 640. Ugh. Decisions decisions. Any thoughts guys ? Also heard lone star grillz are awesome as well. Looking for a top end well built pellet smoker to go along with my drum smoker
Great video.Getting ready to sell my Reqteq RT 700 Bull to buy a Yoder 480 comp.My question to you is what made you get the 640 over the 480?Im torn between the two.The 480 is about the same size cooking as my big reqteq
Honestly, for the amount of money.... I just wanted the bigger one. Only a handful of times I've filled it up... When we hosted parties. Mostly its just the family... and the 480 would do just fine.
I don't know if I should buy the Yoder YS1500S on the orange competition cart or the RecTec RT2500. The Yoder YS1500S definitely looks badass and love the orange cart. I am sure both are great, just don't know which one to go with.
They were good and super easy to work with. 50% down got the order in line for production. Cleaning, I take out all the grates, the heat defuser and the ash box, then shop vac it all out. no mater how hard I try, I'm always get soot and grease all over....
Linkster...Customer service is phenomenal in person or by phone. I'm in Wichita KS where they are sold at All Things BBQ (the retail store), who owns the manufacturing plant in Yoder Ks. The owners are there all the time, very nice, down to earth people plus all of their employees. You can buy a diffuser plate with a trap door above the ash box where only 2 grates are removed to vacuum out for a price of $175 extra, I don't agree with that as I think it should be a option. Now you have 2 diffuser plates, 1 never used. I know. On occasion you will have to remove all shelves & diffuser to vacuum out the whole box. Don't know how he gets soot & grease all over, I never do.
Thanks for making the video. Did you but it locally? I'm a little concerned with shipping cost (to Chino Hills) because it's so heavy. Did you but it locally and/or did you pay for freight? Can you recommend a dealer.
rawtry65 thanks dude. Did you pay similar to what Yoder list price on their website, or was there a premium for freight. I can’t imagine it’s cheap to shop that 300 plus LB monster from Kansas.
@@patrickshade6224 Not sure if this will help you. But I just ordered a 640s from All Things BBQ. I live outside Indianapolis and shipment cost me 180.
I have it right at about half way out... it holds pretty good... its hottest over the fire box and near the smoke stack at the end of the heat defuser.
i have a new one... get the controller upgrade, you will like it.... i didn't buy the comp cart and i'm happy with that... i am on concreate and i keep my cookers inside. i roll mine about 50 ft to and from my shop on the standard cart... it's fine.... now if you can just tell me how to make it cook like my hasty bake i would be happy.... it literally has no smoke flavor. i use 2, 12 in smoke tubes.... still not the same....
Its all in the pellets.Try and get Smokering bbq pellets they are hands down the best pellet out there.Great smoke flavor over any other pellet and very low ash!
I’ve been contemplating getting a Yoder. However I’ve only ever used a stick burner and this would be my first pellet. Anybody have both that can make a good comparison? Thanks
I came from a stick burner and at first I constantly checked temps air flow etc. Ive since learned there is literally nothing you need to do with this pellet smoker except ensure not to run out of pellets. This unit holds and maintains temps excellent. Set it and forget it. I love it. Ill throw a pork butt on late at night and go to bed. ready around lunch time.
I have both. And I use both . I use pellet grill for brisket and pork shoulder as I simply don't have 16 hours to watch the fire. And for shorter time cooks I use my offset smoker. Offset smoker produces more smokier flavor . Cheaper to run and more hands on fun. And pellet grill is convenience. I like to compare it to keurig coffee maker. The biggest difference in smoke flavor I see in between the pits are in short time cooks like ribs and chicken. You get more flavor of of offset smoker period!
99% of the time its just cooking for the family, so the space is fine... I will say that it can fill up fast tho. So if you're cooking for a lot of people it might be small.
@@ExecutiveRealtyGroup thanks. I bought mine yesterday and doing the Burn then I'm going to season it. Mine didn't have the thermometer at the dealer. I'll add one though I found a great video on how to do it.
