Yoder YS640 vs YS1500.....

You have owned a YS640. Will the stuff you plan to cook fit into that platform? If so, save two grand. If not, spend the money required to have the needed size.

Of course, there's always the "cool factor" of that big ol' YS1500...........

^^^^ What he said!

Stick with the 640. 2k is a lot of money

rwalters said:

^^^^ What he said!

Click to expand...

^^^ Yep.

FWIW, I absolutely LOVE my 1500. I love it so much I want the new (pellet) Cimmaron too (for larger parties/vending). I can cook a small amount if i want, or a decent amount if I want. I have not found a pellet cooker that puts out the same flavor as the 1500. It's just different. IMO it puts just the right amount of smoke on the meat. Of course if you want more smoke, then you could, of course add Mojobricks(r).

No experience with the 640, but I always heard flavor was better on the 1500. Can say that there is no need for a tube in the 1500. Love mine

Its simply about space. Until late this year I was doing KCBS comps on a single ys1500. So, one brisket, two pork butts, 18 chicken thighs, and 4 racks of ribs. At one point during each cook, all of that would be on the smoker. You can't do that with a 640.

I didn't notice a diffence in flavor between my 640 and 1500. The 1500 also can't go quite as hot as the 640 (500 vs 600 degrees I think) and the 1500 didn't work as well to sear steaks with the grill grates.

I'll say that I much prefer the bigger space on the 1500, but I wouldn't spend the extra on it if I didn't need it sometimes.

On a LONG cook, I use my 1500. Thicker body hold heat better, less pellet consumption.
Ribs, chicken, go my my 640.

(bought 640 used, needed more space for church cooks, bought YS1500, no regreats!)

I will tell you that the 640 can hold a lot of meat if you have the second shelf. I can see cooking 10 to 12 butts on it with some space for fatties. I've run it full with 6 baby backs, 2 butts, 8 fatties, and a bunch of wings. The only time I've wished that I got the 1500 is when there was a 99 cent per pound sale on butts so I could load up on them.

I ended up with a 1500 because I was lucky enough to find a cheap one used.
That being said, I love it. My only complaint is with the comp cart it is one heavy beast and for me not easy to move even on concrete. I non starter on gravel driveway, just digs in.
I run the wheels onto boards when outside. I have had to jack it up when it dug into stone driveway. The wheels do not pivot easily and changing directions is cumbersome.
Perhaps the 640 being lighter is easier to work with.

I am considering these two options also. Have you purchased the 1500 since starting this thread?

I have heard the the Timberline has lots of problems. The 640 is the Lexus of pellet poopers and the most versatile cooker on the market. My suggestion is to sell the Treager and get the Yoder. If you liked the 640, get another one. But if you have the cash and want the bigger cooker, get the 1500.

According to Yoder the two cookers are identical except for space and looks. They have the same controller. I haven't used a 1500 but love my 640. It would be hard for me to believe that there is a pellet cooker out there that could be any better. I have done no mods and don't see a need to, except I did just get some gasket tape to seal the smoke stack better. It leaks where it goes into the cooker. I have had 6 butts on my 640, I would think 12 would be pretty crowded. I think about 8 slabs of ribs without rib racks would be about it. If you plan on cooking more than that, I would really consider the 1500 if you can afford it. I have never had a cooker, that I wished was smaller.

I'm not much help here, but i went from the 480 to 640 and it has been awesome. I think the results on both are the same, but I love the extra cooking space. I think you need to step back and look at how much extra cooking space you will get, plus cost, as well as portability, and see if that justifies it.

For me, no Yoder sleeps outside. So, a 640 is about as large as my garage can handle. So happy I upgraded and interested in hearing if you do!

You are correct, forgot about that. With the 1500 you are suppose to be able to setup different heat zones for cooking at different temps at the same time. They have added the variable damper to the 640 which is suppose to accomplish a similar thing, but I set mine for even heat and leave it alone. Unless I am direct grilling. But the HMS, is something to consider if you want to cook at different temps at the same time.

I love my 640.....this spring I cooked 10 butts for my daughter's HS graduation party and it was a tight fit. 6 on bottom and 4 on top shelf. I'd think it would mess up the airflow if it was any tighter.

I came to the 640 from a offset RF cooker that was a little bigger than a 1500. I am completely happy with the size and most importantly the smoke flavor from it as I think it is pretty close to my stick burner.

Yoder YS 1500 v. YS 640

My buddy bought a 640 and sold me his YS 1500 for $1000. I upgraded the fire board, the igniter, and painted the black parts. He and I compare finished cooking and the grills themselves. Here's my take on 1500 v. 640

The 1500 has more cold spots in the cooker than the 640. One place the 1500 is cooler than the rest of the area is the right hand side at the door seam. Even choking the smoke stack won't warm that area up. It's hottest spot (besides over the fire) is the far right side by the stack. The 640 does not seem to have that hot/cold area as far as i can tell. I'm OK with cold areas as i learned to smoke on an offset wood burner.

The 1500 takes longer to warm up as well. The 1500 typically spikes the temp over the set point in the warm up. Setting it to 350 gets me a 550 spike about 15 mins into the warm up then it calms down and holds steady.

A smoker is a tool. Think of it like a Stihl chain saw- they all cut wood but a Stihl Farm Boss is quite a bit different from a 660. In the end some guys like big ass stuff- Diesel Excursions, Stihl 660s, John Deere 980s, PHAWGs, etc. Is the 1500 "too big"? Not for guys who like big. Is it the ideal size for the man cooking for his family and a couple of friends? No. The 640 is better sized for that. BUT if you like massive and like margin in reserve buy the 1500.

PS I think the 640 feel a little too "Finite Element Analysis" for my taste. I don't think it will last as long or wear as well, but that's just my hunch. I have no years to look back on as it's still too new. My 1500 is 4 years old, lived outside, and had minimal depreciation when I bought it. I'd buy it again.