re: Yoder Smokers - Anyone have any experience with these?

I bought my Yoder ys 640 when they first came out. I believe that's about 11 years ago now. I've burned close to 3,000 lb of pellets through it. The only issue I ever had was the thermostat and the igniter going out. They were cheap and I bought an extra one to always have one on hand.

When I got the unit originally it was on version 12 of the software. Every so often I would get a box in the mail with parts and a software update to upgrade my unit. They sent new fans, burn plate, heat deflector and so on. To have a company that stands behind their product like Yoder does is refreshing.

I am glad that I purchased mine when it was still a relatively affordable pit.

I have a Yoder 640 and have had it for five years. It is a cooking machine. I use it at least three times a month for smoking brisket, pork butt, fish, baking pizza, etc. I never used a stick burner that much.

It is heavy duty, much more so than the Traeger to which I was comparing.

You will absolutely love it.

I have a YS480, bought it in 2017. It's a tank , cook on it pretty much every week. Only thing that has failed was the original igniter, I replaced it with the ceramic version that comes on them now. The Fireboard controller is great too, it's nice having an app to monitor things.

I pulled the trigger on the YS480SYfi. We shall see what the Yoder experience is all about. Appreciate the input from everyone.

FIL got me a Grilla Grills Alpha for my birthday several years ago. Grilla also has a small mobile option called a Chimp that would fit on a counter and is pretty cost affordable. Used to be made in America but not anymore unfortunately