I wanted a yoder... thinking about timberline

bosco0633

bosco0633

is one Smokin' Farker
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i came into possession of a traeger pro 34 back in December and love it. I have 2 Komodo Kamado cookers that I love but am really enjoying the pellet game. I have realized where a more insulated pellet smoker will come in handy in the colder Canuck climate and started looking at the yoder.

I love the YS1500 but just can't justify the money and I think it's too big for what I am after. So I narrowed it down to the YS640. I have read many things about this unit and it all seems good with exception of paint issues and the need to paint them on touch up.

But then this timberline came out. Traeger has priced very aggressively which makes it a bit scary. It the double lined steel, 3 racks for grilling with over 1300 grilling space, new controller with wifi to name a few of the upgrades makes this grill very appealing.

I still have time so I am hoping to get some real life reviews soon to help me decide on which way to go.
 
I really don't like the way that they look but have heard nothing but great things about them. Maybe I need to start reconsidering them again
 
I really like my treager but when it dies I'll get the 640 but I can't seem to kill it just yet FWIW good luck in you search
 
I don't like the temp swings I get with my Traeger. Im a month or 2 from buying a MAK1
 
How would you rate the quality of the end product produced by your kamados and the Traeger? E.g. smoke flavour, moisture, bark etc.
 
Turkey said:
How would you rate the quality of the end product produced by your kamados and the Traeger? E.g. smoke flavour, moisture, bark etc.
Click to expand...

It's different is what I'll say. The number one reason for me trying out the pellet smoker was for simple convienence. My boys play rep hockey and various summer sports and we really seem to have less and less time. The pellet is turn on and go in minutes.

As for flavour, it's different. Charcoal is wonderful, but I am slowly learning where some foods just taste better without lump. The pro 34 has produced some of my best low and slow to date.

I remember reading something that someone wrote after trying a brisket on a pellet smoker after being a die hard ceramic guy. He stated that he now understood the meaning of having the right tool for the right job.

I'm not a huge smoke flavour profile type and having that clean wood burn makes things wonderful for my cooks.

The pellet was suppose to be a fun grill, almost a toy grill... then I became a pellethead
 
Thanks for the detail. If money and space was no object, I would have a pellet grill, 32 inch Komodo Kamado, a gravity feed charcoal insulated cabinet smoker and a large stick burner!
 
Based on specs the Timberline is a great option. the insulated design and decent controller could allow for more stable temps than the Yoder - certainly better than the rest of the Traeger lineup. Great capacity too. The latter is what I find most attractive.

That said, I'll wait and see if the reality matched the marketing. It looks like about the perfect option for me as well but it's rare enough that I exceed the capacity on my Rectec that I can wait.
 
Sounds like the Yoder is the pick of choice.

I wonder if this will change once the timberline reviews start posting. Tough decision, but I still have some time

Thanks for all the suggestions, I am looking forward to hearing more
 
Having owned the YS640 I must say it was a beast of a pellet smoker. By far the best smoke output of the bunch of pellet smokers I have owned, but it wasn't without flaws. Granted, many of the flaws were resolved via upgrade firmware, fans, etc... that said, I have pre-ordered the Timberline 1300 and am hoping that it performs as well as they have hyped it. It has some great new features that I think are comparable to many of the higher end pellet grills (albeit they are a little late to the game). At least they recognized that they were falling way behind feature and quality wise and changed things up a bit. The new controller is supposed to keep temps +/- 5° so that will be huge if true. I guess time will tell. I do wish they had a direct grilling set up like the Yoder.
 
bproffer said:
Having owned the YS640 I must say it was a beast of a pellet smoker. By far the best smoke output of the bunch of pellet smokers I have owned, but it wasn't without flaws. Granted, many of the flaws were resolved via upgrade firmware, fans, etc... that said, I have pre-ordered the Timberline 1300 and am hoping that it performs as well as they have hyped it. It has some great new features that I think are comparable to many of the higher end pellet grills (albeit they are a little late to the game). At least they recognized that they were falling way behind feature and quality wise and changed things up a bit. The new controller is supposed to keep temps +/- 5° so that will be huge if true. I guess time will tell. I do wish they had a direct grilling set up like the Yoder.
Click to expand...

and this was what I have been waiting to see. I have been trying to convince myself not to get the 1300 timberline. I really think its a game changer in the pellet world. The yoder has such a great reputation that it makes it difficult to not consider it.

Please keep me posted on what your thoughts are. When do you anticipate delivery?
 
bosco0633 said:
and this was what I have been waiting to see. I have been trying to convince myself not to get the 1300 timberline. I really think its a game changer in the pellet world. The yoder has such a great reputation that it makes it difficult to not consider it.

Please keep me posted on what your thoughts are. When do you anticipate delivery?
Click to expand...

Hopefully in 3-4 weeks. I ordered it through a local dealer and I was #6 on their pre-order list, although 4 of them were for the smaller version. They think they are getting the smaller Timberline first with the 1300's to follow a couple weeks later.

The Yoder is a great smoker and the only reason I sold it was to fund the purchase of the FEC100. I was dabbling in catering at the time and needed more room. I'll be moving the FEC100 and my current craigslist rescue Traeger (paid $240:heh:) along once the Timberline is here.
 
Please keep us posted on what you decide and why. I am in a similar position you are. From what I have seen the Yoder is the best choice out there but now I am wondering how the Timberline is going to perform. I still don't think the Timberline is going to be built as well as the Yoder but Traeger seems to have finally fixed the majority of what was wrong with the last generation of smokers they produced. The "tech" they built into the controller is very attractive too. Just not sure its going to be worth the $$ given the other pellet smokers out there for that price.
 
Interesting about the traeger timberline. I'll have to check it out. Good luck with your search!

Just checked out the timberline...looks like a home run (assuming it works as advertised). The ability to control and monitor via app is great


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
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I can say after seeing the timberline at the Traeger booth at the Royal this year the build quality far exceeds their previous models.

I've used a friends ys640 as well and although it is built well the Traeger has some competitive advantages especially if the wifi controller works as advertised.
 
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