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scotts1919
12-15-2019, 10:51 AM
So I'm trying to decide If I bite the bullet and get a Yoder. I mostly cook for my family of 4 and other small gatherings. I also have a primo xl and Weber es310 so I do have other grills and the Yoder won't be my only one. I'm not overly concerned about the price difference between the 480s and 640s, it's more about weight and room on my deck. The 640 is a lot heavier and might be more than I need so that's why I'm looking at the 480. Does the 480 have enough room for a packer brisket and other large cuts of meat? Can anybody share any internal pics of the 480s with meat in it?

Thanks all

Nomamm
12-15-2019, 12:00 PM
I did the same thinking a year ago. We are a family of 3. But I do have a get together almost once a month where I have loaded my 640 up. 4 racks of ribs, 2 butts, a pan of Mac and cheese, and a small post of beans can all fit at the same time

For your brisket question, this was my deciding factor. A small packer will fit. My last full packer weighed in at 19.4 pounds from the butcher. For fun, I took a picture with a tape measure to tease a friend of mine. With the 480, you have 24” of grate room. But the stack side you loose about 1.5” where the diffuser ends. Everything would burn at the end.
A brisket this big would be from wall to wall on a 480. You may want to go bigger. If the money is not an issue, go with the 640. If weight and room are a big issue, just keep you packers smaller.

Huskres
12-15-2019, 12:08 PM
Get the larger.

gtsum
12-15-2019, 12:23 PM
Go with the 640.


Memphis Elite





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pjtexas1
12-15-2019, 01:08 PM
Nobody here is going to say go smaller. Measure your meat and sides and do the math. Hopefully somebody has pics of a loaded 480. I just measured my 12LB brisket and it's 15". 20" grate is small but that doesn't mean it won't work for you. I can cook for 4 on my little Red Box Smoker.

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mcyork28
12-15-2019, 01:20 PM
Malcom Reed at How To BBQ Right has a few videos using a YS640 on Youtube. That might help you get a feel for how much fits on it.

Here is one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnLSq1qboe8

scotts1919
12-15-2019, 01:41 PM
Thanks for all the replies guys

ssv3
12-15-2019, 05:16 PM
Get the 640. I will say that I'm no longer an advocate for go big or go home but in the case of the Yoder I do recommend the 640. It can get crowded even in the 640 sometimes especially if you stuff a drip pan underneath for easy clean up like I do but that's a personal choice.

https://i.imgur.com/emrVYlFl.jpg

Sid Post
12-15-2019, 05:28 PM
Have you considered a cabinet smoker or a gravity-fed model? With tight real-estate constraints and a need for some capacity, it is hard to argue against one of the cabinet options.

I'd check out TK and Assassin for at least a comparison to a Yoder given your constraints and suggested desires. An IVC will run hands-off buy itself once loaded as one option, and the GF is another similar option.

electron_si
12-15-2019, 07:38 PM
I would go 640.

My 640 even feels small sometimes when I have it loaded up

scotts1919
12-16-2019, 04:55 AM
I would go 640.

My 640 even feels small sometimes when I have it loaded up

Thats what im leaning towards!

LordRiffenstein
12-16-2019, 06:24 AM
I was in the same position a year ago and I ended up buying the 640 and most of my cooks are just for me and the misses.

As with all smokers, there are hot and cold spots, once you know where they are, you can use them. From all I read about the 480, there is a significant difference in temp left to right. With the more limited space, it's harder to cook things evenly. Now you may or may not care to much about temp differences but I can say that on the 640, the differences are minimal. Main hot spot is right above fire pot and close to chimney. Even Yoder will tell you that the 640 has more even temps.

Sid Post
12-16-2019, 07:20 AM
A bit of a thread-jack but, I noticed the Roccbox and Uuni Pro pizza ovens in your signature. How do they compare to each other?

On a related note, have you considered the Weber Smoke Fire? Granted it's the new kid on the block but, if I was in the market for a new pellet pooper I'd sure consider it along with an Assassin pellet pooper.

scotts1919
12-16-2019, 12:04 PM
A bit of a thread-jack but, I noticed the Roccbox and Uuni Pro pizza ovens in your signature. How do they compare to each other?

On a related note, have you considered the Weber Smoke Fire? Granted it's the new kid on the block but, if I was in the market for a new pellet pooper I'd sure consider it along with an Assassin pellet pooper.

I first bought the roccbox and i liked it well enough. It has some issues/shortcomings in my opinion. About 6 months later i found an online deal for the ooni pro and i bought it. It is better in my opinion. It has a better design when I want to use a wood fuled fire, I feel like the propane attachment and the flame it gives off is better on the ooni. Also the size of the ooni is a big advantage. You can cook a lot of different types of pizza in the ooni compared to the roccbox. Don't get me wrong, they both do a great job but i prefer the ooni. I'm actually thinking about selling the roccbox. Its in great condition.

I was debating at getting the weber but all the emphasis they have been putting on the searing/grilling abilities im concerned what the smoke profile would be.

Sid Post
12-16-2019, 01:38 PM
I think Weber is pushing the Smoke Fire searing/grilling feature as a differentiator to the other similar competitors in the marketplace.

Time will tell just how good it is as smoking but, I'd be surprised if it didn't do a good job relative to other pellet poopers.

Have you considered the Assassin: https://www.assassin-smokers.com/pellet-grill/? I'd be strongly inclined to get one of these if I was in the market for something better than the big box store options.

mcyork28
12-16-2019, 07:58 PM
Just realized I miss spoke here. Mean't to say he is using a 480, not the 640.

Malcom Reed at How To BBQ Right has a few videos using a YS640 on Youtube. That might help you get a feel for how much fits on it.

Here is one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnLSq1qboe8

scotts1919
12-16-2019, 08:07 PM
Thanks for all the replies guys. Bit the bullet on a ys640s from attbbq.com! Now..... The wait begins

Nomamm
12-16-2019, 09:38 PM
Congrats on the Yoder. You will love it

pjtexas1
12-16-2019, 10:05 PM
Thanks for all the replies guys. Bit the bullet on a ys640s from attbbq.com! Now..... The wait beginsThat's how it's done! Some guys take months to pull the trigger. Congrats!

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rwalters
12-16-2019, 11:10 PM
CONGRATS and welcome to the wonderful world of pellet cooking!

LordRiffenstein
12-17-2019, 07:04 AM
Thanks for all the replies guys. Bit the bullet on a ys640s from attbbq.com! Now..... The wait begins

Congratulations, it's an awesome cooker!

scotts1919
12-17-2019, 09:36 AM
so what really made me pull the trigger was kind of a weird thing.

End of November I bought a GMG Jim bowie prime from a local dealer. Got it assembled, did initial burn, then a week later did first cook (smoked porked chili Verde). Things went well and according to the app, the unit was running how it should, even though pork finished way early (now i know why). Fast forward to this past weekend and i decided i was going to do pulled pork on it and i was also going to use my new thermoworks smoke to actually verify temp. That's where Jim bowie went off the rails.

First and foremost I had only done cooks to date. I began the startup process as indicated and while it was going i was doing stuff around the house, came back to the app to see that the grill was still at 39 degrees after 45 minutes! I was like wtf, something is wrong. Wet outside to hear the auger moving, fan going, no smoke, nothing. So I decided to turn off unit, clean out the burn pot which was now full of pellets since it never ignited and start over. Well, this time it lit and things seemed to be ok. Almost immediately into the cook, I noticed a huge temp difference in what the GMG was reporting and what the actual temp was according to the smoke, almost 100-degree difference. So strike 2 for today on this grill! So what i decided was, I was going to set the grill at approximately 160 on the green mountain app, that way it should fluctuate around 250 for this cook and once this cook is done for today i can contact green mountain and figure out what's going on. Well, about 1 hour into the cook i noticed the temp dropping like crazy, i go outside to find the fire out, the fan blowing and the auger not pushing pellets. so now strike 3 for today on this damn grill. At thi point i was so pissed off, I fired up my primo and finished the cook. I then proceeded to tinker around with the GMG. I thought pellets were jammed, nope, i tried to do some more ignitions and sometimes it would light even, etc. Then i looked on my deck and saw a bunch of grease right around the auger motor, at this point im like well this grill has 3 strikes against it and im pissed.

I then proceeded to work with GMG support (who was great). They offered to send parts at first, then I said this grill is brand new I want a new grill, they said ok. As I thought about it overnight I said to myself this brand new grill has 3 major problems with it, I think I've lost confidence in the product in general. So this past Monday i reached out to my dealer and GMG and said to be honest at this point, I want my money back, i am going to come into the store and return it. The dealer wasn't very easy to work with to be honest. They wanted to charge me a 20% restock fee, I said no way in hell am i paying a fee to return a faulty product. After much back and forth and threating to talk to the local better business bureau, they returned it for a full refund and i ordered a Yoder!

To be honest, green mountain was very accommodating and easy to work with. I probably got a lemon, but with so many major problems on a brand new grill, I made the decision to part ways.

Sorry about the long story, just wanted to share my experience.