Yoder YS640
Product Review

HD Video's
Introduction
Startup
Heat Consistency Test 1
High Temp Test 2
Direct Grilling with Grill Grates
Smoked BBQ Pulled Pork
Upgrading the Firmware
Tour The Yoder Fabrication Facility
Update! See What's New - YS640

Yoder YS640 Q&A FAQ Video Page

Disclaimer: The point I'd like to make is this review is a work in progress and will most likely be receiving updates for the next year. That's right! About a year. One thing I have come to realize is it take allot of time and work with a product to really know just how well it holds up. What I can tell you at this point is it's one hell of a beefy cooker! It's also consistent. This article has allot of my observations as well as opinions. I have been working on the slow and low cooking aspects of the YS640. Later I will move onto the higher temp cooking like baking and grilling.

First let's discuss wood pellets fired smokers in general. What intrigued me was the ease of operation and the auto feed system of pellets the pellet fired cookers. Operation of these pits is simple. You fill the hopper and the electronic temperature controller controls the auger on and auger off timing feeding the appropriate amount of pellets into the burn pot to maintain desired temperature. The burn is hot enough to efficiently burn the wood pellets and produce a nice thin blue smoke. For those who may not know, one of the skills an accomplished pit master acquires over time is achieving and maintaining thin blue smoke for the duration of the smoke. Constant white smoke is a sign of an inefficient fire causing the smoke to be high in creosote particulates and these particulates will get on the meat leaving a bitter taste.

The most intriguing thing about the wood pellet fired cookers is the fact they are just so easy and handy to operate. This results in more frequent use. In fact don't be surprised if you use your pellet smoker all year round and many times during the week after work. They are that easy to use. One should know out of the gate that these smokers will not equal a wood fired pit in strength of smoke flavor. That said, the leave little to no room for error in the quality of the smoked foods and this is not the case with wood burners. Also known as stick burners. You still get good smoke flavor and with that you will get a high degree of temperature consistency and convection type cooking. The smoked meats coming off these cookers is amazing.

Yoder YS640 Introduction
(HD Video)

 
Learn about the functionality, specifications, features, build quality and warranty of the Yoder YS640.

The Build - Tour the fabrication facility

See the most versatile pellet cooker in action
Direct Grilling using the optional Grill Grates

Take a good look at the quality of food products that come off  the Yoder YS640.

 

Note: Maximum temps will vary depending on ambient air temperature, humidity and altitude.

Here's a bonus. Smoking at cooler temps! While doing some BBQ beef I stumbled on a nice feature. In 45 degree weather the YS640 will run at temps well below 165 degrees. I was able to run at 160 degrees. And it made for some of the best BBQ beef I have made. What I did was cook smoke 4 beef roasts medium rare the prior day. Then i let them sit over night and sliced them thin the next morning. I place the beef in aluminum pans and put it back on the smoker on the lowest setting. The meet basically cold smoked. It was able to take on the smoke without cooking any further. I did this for 45 minutes and then into the Crockpot with sauce for 8 hours. I couldn't do this on my Traeger. The picture below says it all about how well the new Yoder smokes ribs. These were the best I have done. The meat pulled away from the bone as it should bite by bite. Awesome Pig-Sicles! See recipes & videos of my YS640 cooks below.

 

Meat Smoked	Results	Link
Cuban Style Mojo Citrus Chicken Breasts (Stuffed)	Juicy and moist, evenly cooked	Recipe & Video
Caribbean Key Lime Party Wings with a Tiger Sauce Glaze	Excellent Glaze all evenly cooked	Recipe & Video
Chicken Breast with a Zesty Italian Marinade (3 separate smokes)	Juicy and moist, evenly cooked	N/A
Whole Turkeys (3)	Extremely moist	Recipe & Video
Thick Sliced Bacon	Awesome bacon and evenly cooked	Video
Pork Butt's (6)	Pulled pork to die for!	Recipe & Video
Baby Back Ribs (3 Racks)	Without a doubt the best ribs I have smoked. Meaty, juicy and evenly done end to end.	Recipe & Video
Double Smoked BBQ Beef (Mesquite & Hickory - 4 Roasts)	Most tender & juicy BBQ beef I have made! Flavor was awesome!	Video 1 of 2 Video 2 of 2
Cherry Smoked Maui Teriyaki Chicken - Pineapple Stuffed	Amazing. Tender juicy chicken evenly cooked with great flavor.	Recipe & Video

Based on what I know at this point, the Yoder YS640 is a precision cooker designed to maintain consistent temps as well as temperature consistency across the cooking grates. I no longer have to move the meats around to avoid over cooking due to hot spots of hot areas within the cooker. This to me is key to producing quality BBQ every time. Other manufacturers could learn allot from this alone. I have more slow cooking to do over time and will update this as time permits. I will also work on doing the high temp testing that will involve grilling burgers and steaks. I will also get into cooking Pizzas at the highest temp possible.

 Cleaning

We have all scooped ashes from charcoal burners. It's messy to say the least. The pellets burn so efficiently that there is very little ash left behind. What is there, you just use a shop VAC to remove. it's very quick and painless to clean. Since there is no flame the cooking grates do not get caked with excessive amounts of burnt matter. Just give the grates a quick brushing then wipe it with a paper towel. Prior to each use I spray them down with PAM and cleaning is effortless.
 

HD Video of  Care and Cleaning

Coming Soon!

Operating Costs

Pellets are a bit more expensive then Charcoal. In comparison to running LP and wood chucks for smoke the cost is about the same. At least this has been my experience. My cost for smoking or my smoking budget as I like to call it has gone up. It has gone up because pellet grills are so handy to use, the food is so tasty,  I find I am smoking or grilling on it at least 4 days a week and some weeks I don't miss a day. I have been buying Pellets for between $5.50 for a 10 pound bag. I found it to be less expensive to by 1,000 lbs. at a time from BBQr's Delight ($530 total) and have them on hand. In short the simplicity of operation and quality of the smoked meats or grilled meats far out weigh the cost of pellets.

Design and Build

Body: The Yoder YS640 is an extremely high quality built built cooker. The main body is 10 gauge metal so it takes longer to come up to temperature but it holds temperature far better then thinner walled cookers. This cooker weighs in at 315 lbs.

Hopper: The hopper is 14 gage metal. There are allot of pellet smokers out there that use thinner metal in there cooker bodies.

Cooking Grates: There are two cooking grates made of 3/4 #9 expanded metal in a 1/2" frame. Having two smaller grates instead of one large one makes cleaning and removal much easier. I also like the additional support the expanded metal provides for your meat in comparison to bar type grates. The cooking area on the YS640 is 640 sq. in. and I find it to be a perfect size for a family of 4 or larger. Larger capacity also allows for a variety of foods to be cooked at the same time like pork butt's and some ABT's etc. Maybe a pie tin of beans to liven up the meal.

Shelves: The shelves are removable and are made of 1/4" and 1/2" bar. These are the strongest shelves I have encountered on a cooker and can easily support the weight of the smoker. This allows them to double as handles when moving the cooker around your yard or patio.

Door: The door is like the rest of this heavy weight, a stout component. To take the feeling of the weight away, the Yoder builder has added a counter weight that not only provides for ease of operating the door but it gives the cooker a very nice look as well.

Controller Board: The controller board is weather proof and allows for granular heat control from 150 degrees to 600 degrees in 5 degree increments. In standard configuration I achieved a high temp of 514 degrees. Remove the heat management plate and install the direct grilling grates and you can char and sear your meat (see Video). There is also an optional griddle. how's that for versatility? There is a prime button so you can send in some extra pellets after opening the door or priming ht auger in the event you run it out of pellets. Heat control is extremely accurate with a 4-8 degrees fluctuation as I have experienced so far. Keep in mind you have to bring the unit up to temp and let it stabilize first to achieve this. The video below is a demonstration on the temp consistency across the grate. By using bacon and not turn it or moving it you can easily see how consistent the heat of a cooker is across the grate and in all four corners. This test is done at 225 - 230 degrees and takes 3 hours. 

HD Video of Heat Consistency

Hopper: Made of 14 gauge metal, the YS640 hopper holds a whopping 18 lbs. of wood pellets. This will allow for non attended over night cooks or the ability to get other things done instead of feeding a fire.

Auger Motor: The Auger is driven by a very quite 2 RPM .5 HP motor. The YS640 has a short throw auger which means it moves less pellets for a shorter distance then other units. This type of auger is less likely to jam and most likely will last longer.

Thermocouple: The thermocouple is mounted through the back side of the smoker and extends into the cooking chamber just above the drip pan and below the cooking grates. The Thermocouple wiring is protected by conduit that runs the length of the back of the cooker to the hopper and controller enclosure. The conduit protects the wiring from getting hooked or snagged on something and causing damage.

Burn Pot: The burn pot is made of 7 gauge steel and is drilled with the right number and diameter of air vent holes to allow the fan forced air to flow across the burning pellet fuel circulating heat throughout the cooking chamber.

Warranty:

• 10 Year warranty on the body
• 3 Year warranty on the burn pot

3 Year warranty on Control System
♦ Control Board
♦ Auger Motor
♦ Thermocouple

• 1 Year warranty on the Igniter
   

Quality of Foods

When it comes to the quality of the smoked and grilled foods that come off the Yoder YS640, this is where it shines most of all. Let's talk about thin blue smoke VS. white thick smoke. The professional pit masters work to achieve a thin blue smoke and try to avoid at all cost a allot of of white smoke when smoking. Why? It simple, white smoke is an indication of lack of air and with this an increase in creosote particulates in the smoke. The creosote makes for a bitter taste on your food. Smoke with thin blue smoke and you will produce amazing flavored foods. The Yoder YS640 takes out all the guess work. This cooker is professionally and accurately tuned to continuously maintain an efficient fire and provide for heat consistency within the cooking chamber and across the cooking grates. You do nothing and the YS640 does everything. What a concept!

In summary

The Yoder YS640 is the best built wood fired pellet smokers I have come across. And I feel its is worth every penny of it's MSRP: $1,299. The Yoder YS480 has a MSRP: $1099. This cooker was built by cooks for cooks. I have had many conversations with the Builder Don Cary of All Things BBQ and I can tell you he is all about High quality products and service. Satisfied customers is what build business. It's truly refreshing to see companies like Yoder building high quality products right here in the great old USA! The Yoder YS640 is also one of the most versatile cookers.

With a broad heat range of 150 to 600 degrees (high temp testing still in planning)

♦ Smoke fish & Jerky at 160 - 170
♦  Smoke Turkey, Chicken, Ribs, Pork Butts or Beef Brisket at 225- 230
♦  Baking Pies, Biscuits or Scone at 350-400
♦  How about Wood Fired Pizza at 450 - 500 degrees.
♦  Grilling Burgers, Steaks or Chicken at 550 using Optional Direct Grilling Grates

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Firmware Upgrades

One of the cool things Yoder is doing for it's customers is a continuous effort to tighten and improve its heating performance. If and when a substantial firmware upgrade is available for your unit they send a firmware flash tool to you. This is the current method while they have a small number of pits in remote locations. As they take on dealers in the areas, they will change to having the dealers do the upgrades for you. Until then I put a handy video tutorial together demonstrating the correct method of flashing your firmware. It takes about 20 minutes and is very easy to do. Keep in mind that firmware upgrades are not offered by other manufactures that I know of and demonstrates Yoder's commitment to improving the customers experience with BBQ and the their Yoder equipment.

What I like so far:

♦  Made in the USA
♦  Great customer service
♦  Extremely sturdy build - Nice looking and functional construction as well.
♦  Consistent Heat
♦  Simple Startup
♦  Auto three startup modes for cold, mild and hot climates (Automatically adjusts between modes)
♦  Self adjusting temp control - Pit will sense changes in temps due to weather changes etc and adjust.
♦  Worry free operation
♦  Granular temp control in 5 degree increments
♦  18 lbs. Hopper capacity
♦  Comes up to temp quickly (20 minutes)
♦  Fan shut off delay on power off - Allows the pellets in the burn pot to fully burn and blows out most the ash.
♦  Two Cooking Grates - Easier Cleaning & Handling
♦  Optional second shelf - (A must in my opinion.)
♦  Easy access to Drip Pan
♦  Grease bucket tucked up out of site
♦  Easy access to Igniter - At some point the igniter will require replacement years out.
♦  Removable shelves that are extremely solid
♦ Optional GrillGrates for that perfect Grilled Steak
♦ Optional Griddle for breakfast or other griddle type cooks.
♦ Adjustable heat zones via a patent pending heat management baffle system.
♦  Easy to read 3" diameter Thermometer (optional)
♦  Counter weighted door for ease of operation
♦  Prime button to add extra pellets when you open the door - Helps come back up to temp faster.
♦  Short Throw Auger - Less likely to jam if at all.
♦  Thermocouple wiring protected by conduit - Nice touch!
♦  Large rear wheel for ease of moving.
♦  Outstanding warranty - 10 Years on Body & 3 years on the control system (Fan, Auger, Control board, Igniter, Thermocouple and Burn Pot)
 

The Yoder YS640 is not just a smoker/grill. After spending a year cooking on it I look at it as the most versatile "cooking system" I have come across in the BBQ world. The ease of use and versatility will allow you to cook throughout the week and all year round. You will eat healthier as slow cooking removed more grease and fats then fast cooking. Since there are no flames touching the meats you will avoid the carcinogens.. There is a "Green" factor as well. The wood pellets burn cleaner and are made from recycled wood. What's more important then the "Green" factor is this is one sweet looking cooker. Standing next to this hefty built cooker as it's slow smoking your meal with precision just seems to bring out the "Tim the Tool Man" in a guy! If this pit has not got your attention by now... Take a look at the smoked meats I have been pulling of the Yoder YS640.

What's new update:

See what's new on the Yoder YS640 since I last write this review.

Hot off the Yoder Pit!

12.5 Hour Apple Juice Injected Pork Butt Smoke

5 Hour Thick Cut Baby Back Ribs - Awesome Pig Sicles!

Smoke It... And they will come!