Considering a Yoda

[mark2457]

Hi All

Moved house recently and lost my 75K BTU built-in .

Bought a Vision Pro-S (actually got for free due to HomeDepot mistakes :clap2.

Missed my gas grills for searing stuff or quickly cooking a chicken breast/salmon steak etc. Bought a Weber Q3200 for the gas side (space constaints, which I no longer have), but I really miss the temps of my sear burner. I know I could buy a sear box, but that's yet anther piece of gear and no easy way to attach to weber Q

I have a CyberQ themometer/controller, which is OK, but I have to run extension cord, not waterproof, worried about it being stolen on overnight cooks.

Other annoyance of Kamodo is replenishing fuel mid-cook (bottom openings sealed tight with silicone): i have to remove all the food/grates/heat deflector and put in new coals, so I have to disconnect all wires, and the temp drops hugely

I'm looking at alternatives and recently discovered Yoder

I do about one smoke a week (8-16 hours) and will grill steaks, fish, chicken 3-4 times a week

Recently came across Yoder and the 480S/640S look really nice (I think 480 is big enough - just two of us mostly). Never used a pellet grill and have a few questions

How long would it take to come up to 600+ to sear a steak (both from zero, or from 200 when doing reverse sear).

What does it cost to run compared to hardwood lump wood charcoal (not Kingston briquettes:wink?

Anyone made the change to pellet from Kamodo/Gas and do you love it/regret it?

TIA

Mark

 

[rwalters]

Hey Mark- Used to be a big kamado guy myself UNTIL I discovered pellets. Totally get it. The kamado’s are long gone. I cook on a MAK 2 Star and absolutely love it. That said, and based on what you are describing, I kinda think the Fast Eddy PG 500 or 1000 would give you exactly what you are looking for...

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Cookb4]

I made the jump from a Kamado to a YS640. There are a lot of things I liked about it, but ended up selling it after a year. I could never get the smoke favor I wanted without using a A-Maze-N tube. With the tube I was able to get the favor I wanted. The YS640 was great for grilling. The only reason I sold it was because I was not using it as much as I thought I would.

 

[gtsum]

I went from a kamado and lump (8 years) to a yoder 640 and then a Memphis Elite pellet...now burning sticks on a M1

The yoder works better than most pellet grills for grilling. Look at atbbq on YouTube and chef tom..he has a ton of recipes using the 640 and was a main reason I bought one. It’s a very versatile cooker. No need to take it to 600 when grilling...use grill grated and temp at about 450 and with the direct flame, you get good results. Takes maybe 15 minutes max to go from ambient temps to grilling temps. Shorter time going from 200 to grilling temps. Smoke flavor is subjective but it is lighter than a kamado...more of a smoke seasoning. Kamado smoke can be stale and nasty...not so on the yoder or others. However, if you like a heavier smoke flavor, it might not be for you. Rust issues on the yoder made me sell it (and I wanted to try a Memphis Elite). Hope that helps a bit


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[mark2457]

Hey Mark- Used to be a big kamado guy myself UNTIL I discovered pellets. Totally get it. The kamado’s are long gone. I cook on a MAK 2 Star and absolutely love it. That said, and based on what you are describing, I kinda think the Fast Eddy PG 500 or 1000 would give you exactly what you are looking for...

Just my 2 cents.

Thanks. will investigate

 

[mark2457]

I went from a kamado and lump (8 years) to a yoder 640 and then a Memphis Elite pellet...now burning sticks on a M1

The yoder works better than most pellet grills for grilling. Look at atbbq on YouTube and chef tom..he has a ton of recipes using the 640 and was a main reason I bought one. It’s a very versatile cooker. No need to take it to 600 when grilling...use grill grated and temp at about 450 and with the direct flame, you get good results. Takes maybe 15 minutes max to go from ambient temps to grilling temps. Shorter time going from 200 to grilling temps. Smoke flavor is subjective but it is lighter than a kamado...more of a smoke seasoning. Kamado smoke can be stale and nasty...not so on the yoder or others. However, if you like a heavier smoke flavor, it might not be for you. Rust issues on the yoder made me sell it (and I wanted to try a Memphis Elite). Hope that helps a bit


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Thanks a lot. Not really into the heavy smoke flavors, so no problems there. Will checkout your recommendations. Rust is concerning (Chicago)