Yoder YS640 Owners, Question????

[tomharr51]

I have done many 10 to 12 hour cooks on my YS640, and never had any problems with pellet feed, or burn back. That is exactly why the programmable control isn't important to me though. Anytime you are dealing with fire, and mechanical things or electronics, you risk failure of some kind. I don't want to be asleep, while my deck catches fire. I am fine with watching some TV or surfing BBQ brethren while my cooker goes. Just monitor my remote thermometer and check in once in awhile.

Good point. After doing the research it seems that there are so many satisfied YS640 owners out there.

 

[patrickd26]

Thanks everyone for your insight. The YS640 really sounds like a great cooker with a lot of fans. One person brought this up so I'm asking everyones opinion. Has anyone experienced back burn with their YS640? I'm asking because it's something I've read about some other cookers but this is the first I'm hearing it regarding the YS640, Thanks again.

Tom

I'm not an official Yoder guy (because they take that stuff pretty serious) but having owned both the 480 and 640... In the 5 years I've been using their grill... Never a hopper fire. Yoder is big on following the instructions. Basically, turn the power switch OFF and let the fan blow until it shuts down (up to 20 minutes) I'm not the smartest guy in this forum, but I have NO problem shutting my Yoder down and then parking it within 5 feet of a gas tank in the garage. She goes to bed nicely, just follow instructions!

 

[tomharr51]

I'm not an official Yoder guy (because they take that stuff pretty serious) but having owned both the 480 and 640... In the 5 years I've been using their grill... Never a hopper fire. Yoder is big on following the instructions. Basically, turn the power switch OFF and let the fan blow until it shuts down (up to 20 minutes) I'm not the smartest guy in this forum, but I have NO problem shutting my Yoder down and then parking it within 5 feet of a gas tank in the garage. She goes to bed nicely, just follow instructions!

Thanks man. That makes sense. Appreciate the information.

 

[tomharr51]

How's the YS640 in the cold? I see there's an option insulated jacket, do you feel it's necessary?

 

[TwinSmoker]

How's the YS640 in the cold? I see there's an option insulated jacket, do you feel it's necessary?

I use my 640 in 0 degree weather with no problems and do not have the thermal jacket. It may burn a few more pellets in colder weather, but otherwise operates just as usual. Also, I’ve used my 640 in a wide variety of outside temps (below 0 to well over 100), and have never had an issue with burn back into the hopper.

 

[Joshw]

I have the thermal jacket, it is not necessary. You could just as easily use a welding blanket if you are wanting to add some insulation. The jacket is nice, and has a nice custom fit. I have cooked in subzero temps, don't remember the exact temps and it uses about 1.5 to 2 lbs of pellets an hour. That is with lumberjack hickory. Different pellets will have different burn rates. Also I have noticed if you have a strong cold wind blowing into the fan, it will increase consumption some. It has always held temps perfectly, in all conditions.

 

[ktval]

Totally love my 640 and 1500. I would recommend both units highly. Btw lumber jack pellets run the best in them.

 

[OklaDustDevil]

I'm not sure if you are like me, but there ARE nights that I do still want to stay up all night smoking meat (and having my time with God and a beer). However, you're correct... it is nice to go to bed and not worry. I'm really looking forward to a 70 degree night and a 6 pack of beer with my offset. Best times of my life are around 2AM smoking brisket... Not a friggin care in the world...

I totally agree. And although I bought the Mak to be able to program all-night cooks, I have kept my horizontal and vertical stickburners. I am sure there will be times I use them for daytime cooks, or even pull an all-nighter with them. But now I have the Mak to avoid that when I want to spend family time, need to work the next day, or just want a good night's sleep.

 

[stljay]

Just to complicate things, Pitts and Spitts, a very reputable stick burner manufacturer of over 30 years has recently started making pellet grills based on their offset barrels but tuned for pellets. They use a very reputable Roanoke controller and slot in between the Yoder and Mak in price. Their 1250 model offers a 24x36 main cooking grate and a second grate standard. Both grates slide out which is something you will not find on most any other pellet grill, a nod to their stick burning lineage. I own a GMG and if we get a new grill this year, the P&S is the front runner. WiFi for it comes out early May.
I have not cooked on the Yoder but the firepot fires directly up towards the drip tray which I would think would make for a very hot drip tray with lots of radiant heat. Perhaps folks that cook on it can comment but FB group complaints mention lower grate radiant heat as a reason to use primarily the upper grate.
Including the Pitts and the Blazn, you would be considering most of what is considered the premium US Made Pellet grills. Pretty sure you will be happy with whatever you choose.

 

[Joshw]

I have had no issue with the bottom shelf running hotter than the top shelf. It actually runs very even from top to bottom, and left to right. I am a cook once, eat multiple times person, so regularly load it full. When I am only cooking enough, to fill the top rack, I use it, because it puts your food directly in the smoke flow, from bottom left, to upper right. You can use the entire grill. So I see no down side to the fire pot. The upside of it's placement, is in conjunction with the variable damper, you can run multiple heat zones if you want.

I am a low and slow cook, 99% of the time, so this could be an issue, if you are running it hot, but that seems it would be a benefit, if you are hot and fast cook?

 

[tomharr51]

I've had my YS640 for about two years and recommend it without hesitation. It consistently turns out good food. I recommend adding the 2-piece heat deflector and the grill grates to your purchase. The 2-piece heat deflector makes it much easier to clean the burn pot and allows plenty of fire to reach the grill grates for direct grilling. An A-MAZE-N smoke tube works really well if you want to supplement smoke. Lastly, my wife has no trouble operating the smoker when I'm not home. Attached are pictures of the my first brisket cook. Good luck your decision.

Awesome! That’s what I’m looking for!

 

[tomharr51]

I use my 640 in 0 degree weather with no problems and do not have the thermal jacket. It may burn a few more pellets in colder weather, but otherwise operates just as usual. Also, I’ve used my 640 in a wide variety of outside temps (below 0 to well over 100), and have never had an issue with burn back into the hopper.

Thanks for the info.

 

[mattmountz94]

Love my 640. Reading through the comments i would agree that the 2pc deflector is a must. I also never had an issue with the back burn. I take cleaning the yoder pretty serious. I vacuum out the ash after every cook within a day. I also will empty the hopper if i wont be using for a day or two and vacuum out the dust that falls to the bottom. I sift the pellets when i take them out as well to shake the dust off of them. You would be amazed at how much dust you get out of a new bag.

Some other things i find that help are starting it up and letting it heat to 350 before you touch the temp dials. This is in the directions. Once it stabilizes at 350 i then drop it to whatever temp i want. I have had much better success running it this way then setting it to 250 right off that bat. In the long run it holds the temps much better.

 

[MikeyZ]

I love my YS640, if I could only have 1 pit ( I have several) this is the one I would choose. I've never had an issue with the "back burn", I do not hesitate to do an overnight unattended cook, I live where it is cold & use it year round without issues. I do place a folded wool Army blanket over it, I think this helps & maybe uses less pellets. I've used it for Competition BBQ & done well. Most important the Customer service at Yoder is top notch. You can't go wrong.

 

[hittman]

I have been smoking on the YS640 for a year and and half now. I have smoked

overnight many times with no issues. I have never had a burn back. It cooks everything

I have thrown at it very well with great results. The only cons I have found is the paint

doesn't hold up very well. Having said that I keep it on a deck that has a roof and the

smoker covered with the cover made for it. The last con I have is with temps below 35 F

the bushings in the fan motor makes a bad noise. I contacted Yoder regarding this and

was informed this was normal and after a while it would warm up and quit making the

noise. This was not true in my case. Over all this is a great smoker and I plan to use it

for years to come.

 

[gtsum]

I’ve cooked on mine for about a year and really like it. Cons are as stated above...paint issues and my bushings in the fans don’t like it when below freezing. It’s a great cooker, although I just ordered a Memphis Elite so the yoder will be going up for sale soon


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[FreeDivr]

Nothing earth shattering to add here as most everything has been covered but I got my ys640 last August for my 40th bday and have never had a complaint. Got the two piece diffuser and the comp cart as well as the stainless solid shelves over the wire, I’d recommend all the above. Numerous overnight brisket cooks without any issue, loaded full of pork shoulders and it’s heat was even and solid with a ton of meat in there. Makes ribs an absolute joy to cook. Can’t say anything but good! Good luck in your decision.....get the Yoder LOL!

 

[RedFlowerBBQ]

If you're looking at Yoder and MAK it looks like you are going for quality. The Yoders are built like tanks. One other brand that makes heavy duty pellet smokers is Sawtooth. I don't know how the food comes out on them (I'd imagine pretty similar to other pellets) but the wood shed in Orange, CA has them on display and they're built SUPER heavy duty!

 

[SDAR]

Thanks for the information. That's good to know. That's one negative I've read about many of the pellet smokers. I thought one of the high end units would have eliminated that.

I don’t know if it was because mine was a 2014 model or not. I could not get the pellets to feed into the hopper for more than about 3 hours. When I talked to Yoder, they recommended waxing the inside of my hopper with carnuba wax.

There used to be several posts on their website regarding the issue. I guess they scrubbed them off the site.

It’s a good cooker, just not the set and forget like I thought I bought. As far as the posts implying that instructions may not have been followed or I let it get dirty...not the case for my lack of trust.

 

[JohnnyVanWinkle]

I'm on the best known pellet forum often and there have not been recent threads about pellet feed issues on the Yoder for a quite long time. I've had my Yoder YS640 for a year and never a hit of this issue. Burn back is also an issue I've never seen mentioned elsewhere. The Yoder uses a design that drops the pellets, not a continuous feeds chute like some models that can occasionally burn back. I also used Traegers for 25 years and never had a burn back either. Traeger is the continuous feed style. So, honestly, I'd take these worries off your list.