Anyone Using Yoder YS640?

Once I decided to go pellets, I came so very very very close to getting the Yoder instead of the FEC100 (I jut bought a used 2010 FEC three weeks ago-thanks Mel). I love the traditional stick burner look to them. The carts are perfect for portability.

I couldn't find any info on them by comp teams. I "heard" an elite comp pitmaster has ordered one but that is just a rumor. I bet we will hear much more about these cookers this season.

I think Chris with ique is looking at them...he's pretty elite...lol!

I don't cook comps but I do have the YS640. Solid smoker but can have some temp variations between what it is displaying and the actual temp inside the smoker. Mostly depends on the weather and wind too. In winter, I set it at 250-260 to get a temp of 225-230 actually inside the smoker. It's important to have your own temp probe in there to see what the actual temp is. I also got the extra shelf and it will hold a lot of meat. I've smoked 8 pork butts on it at one time, no problem. I also made sure and got the expanded metal grates instead of the rolled bar grates. They come with the rolled bar grates but if you ask, they will get you the expanded metal grates. It does burn through a lot of pellets too. More than I expected. I've burned 12+ lbs of pellets on a 9 hour cook before.

barnburner said:

It does burn through a lot of pellets too. More than I expected. I've burned 12+ lbs of pellets on a 9 hour cook before.

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I'm not a pellet cooker...so out of curiosity... Is that a big difference with the other pellet cookers out there?

A friend of mine "Gary" with able acres bbq team has one at home he is
using and says good things about. Very solid i think, but he did say that
it would go thru some pellets.

Hot Sauuce Hoss

(This is Andy not Kim - cross posting again... have been drinking on NYE) We used a YS480 at the Royal, and YS640 at the Jack. We finished our Chef's Choice on it at the Jack and won the Chef's Choice!

We have used the Louisiana Grills Country smokers for years, (with an FEC), and were looking for something that would take that to the next level. we had digital controllers, stacks, etc. added to the Whole hog I used in comps, and wanted something better.... the Yoder fits that bill to a T. IT uses more fuel than my FEC, but considerably less than my Country Smoker. I love the flexibilty also. The probe in it is excellent. IT reads the temp very accurately (for where it is placed). Lots of good convection going in there, and with the 10 gauge deflector plate hot, the top rack is actually about 10-15 degrees cooler than the lower rack. It is constantly adjusting feed rates to tighten the cooking temps in the chamber.

At comps I have been using it for the Chicken and Ribs, and my FEC for the pork and brisket. I like the brisket I get off the top rack of the Yoder, so I will likely use my Yoder for brisket next year too...

My PMs are hosed but email me if you want to get into details. I have been using one in comps since Emporia Beef Fest last year.

I picked up a Yoder grill last weekend for this very reason in mind. I have done just a few cooks on it, but like my results so far. I still will be doing some more tweaking with it.

Butcher, which model did you go with? Thx!

I ordered a YS640 (w/ comp cart & U21 firmware) last week. It should ship mid next week. I plan on using it for chicken at comps this year.

I've never used one but have seen a few in person. They feel like they are built really well.

JimmyDAL said:

Butcher, which model did you go with? Thx!

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I have the 480 with the comp cart.

I have a 640 I picked up this fall that I really like so far, it seems to have very even heat and is not nearly the fuel hog of one other uninsulated pellet cookers.I The thing is built like a tank and the craftsmanship is excellent and I have not had any problems that I could attribute to the cooker. I have had a couple of glitches that were caused by pellets or operator error. There are a couple of ergonomic things that I would like to see changed but overall, I'm very impressed with it so far

Muzzle, such as?

JimmyDAL said:

Muzzle, such as?

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What do you mean?

Don who owns Yoder Smokers is a great guy too, and if you ever have a problem he will make it more than right. All the upgrades and mods to the 640 over the last year were from feedback from the people who purchased the early ones, and they did the mods to all of the early ones who gave the feedback. (helps to live where the smokers are built).

watertowerbbq said:

What does the comp cart have that the base model cart does not? Didn't see any options on their website.

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The comp cart has an enclosed base, and large commercial hooks for strapping the cart for travel. IT also uses pneumatic casters to allow for easy movement in and out of the trailer, across all terrain (grass, gravel, etc). And it looks P-I-M-P!

BasicPatrick said:

Once I decided to go pellets, I came so very very very close to getting the Yoder instead of the FEC100 (I jut bought a used 2010 FEC three weeks ago-thanks Mel). I love the traditional stick burner look to them. The carts are perfect for portability.

I couldn't find any info on them by comp teams. I "heard" an elite comp pitmaster has ordered one but that is just a rumor. I bet we will hear much more about these cookers this season.

Click to expand...

I ordered one and am elite when it comes to staying up too late playing poker and making a mess during turn ins, so that must be me.

Jambo is going on sabbatical. Thinking of trying to do whole contests on the 640, 2 butts, 1 brisket, 3 racks and then chicken. If its too tight will supplement with a WSM22.

Will report back when I get the cooker in a couple weeks.

What? No Jambo? Can i use it when i come out east?:becky: