So, im debating between the 480 and 640. I have no interest in high heat direct grilling, cool feature to have, but i have a gasser for that. i know the 640 has about 33% more cooking area and has the VDD system. i think both units can handle a family of 4 and an occasional sunday football crowd of about 10.
lets just say for argument sake you have both units side by side and you want to smoke....
1 full packer 12-16lb brisket
5-6 racks of ribs
1 6lb shoulder
I'm pretty sure the 640 can handle that load with ease, can the 480 do it, or will it be jam packed?
if the 480 can handle that cook as well, and you have both units side by side with the same meats inside, will the 480 consume less pellets than the 640? and if yes, by how much of a percentage? if not, and they consume equal amounts of pellets, then the 640 is a clear no brainer
i don't know why I'm trying to talk myself out of the 640, in the long run its only $200 more than the 460, i mean its not like its a monster pit or something. and i would certainly prefer to not be crowded or limited on available real estate, especially upgrading from a puny and pain in the butt 14.5 WSM. but if pellet consumption was considerably more on the 640, i could be talked into sticking with the 480.
I'm locked and loaded and finally able to pull the trigger on my new smoker. ill be buying one or the other, that is a fact. i just need to be bitch slapped in the right direction. any and all opinions will be greatly appreciated.
Fort Lauderdale, FL
"Pissing off muslims one rack at a time"
The difference in pellet consumption between the YS640 and the YS480 is negligible, virtually the same.
With the load of meat you suggest, you would need to be creative with meat placement in the YS480.
I have a 640. I can fit that cook.
You are asking a lot, you have to leave space on the sides, and for sure away from the temp probe in the upper left, at least 1" from any meat.
The far right side where the heat escapes from the diffuser plate is quite a bit hotter. So you try to keep the meat 2-4" from that side. It's the nature of the cooker, they all have their differences. When I do a 7 butt (67 lbs of pork) cook, I cook for 5-6 hours and rotate the meat. I need to.
Same with 9 chickens etc.
So creative as Herb says is a good thing. The price isn't that different. Once you start cooking and neighbors etc get 'wind' of the magic, you can do more.
For example: I cook 7 butts, 1 or 2 for me. I charge $7 more than the meat. It pays for my pellets, my rub, all the pans I use and about 1% profit.
That 1% means my meat was free. Of course my trimming prep, rubbing, cooking time is free, butt that makes everyone happy. Life is grand!
640 or regret it later........
thanx herb and drum. that is really good input. and exactly what i needed to know. i kinda had the feeling the 640 was the way to go all along.
here is another dumb question....the 640 has the VDD the 480 does not. is the VDD feature more for direct heat grilling as it can concentrate most of the heat towards the fire-pot? do you guys ever play with it during low and slow cooks?
Fort Lauderdale, FL
"Pissing off muslims one rack at a time"
I have it pulled almost all of the way out and never touch it. Been that way since 2012.
I'm ready to go with similar questions. Here's another I hope yall can answer. I'm replacing a small Weber gasser so even the 480 has more space than what I currently have.
Coming from gas, I am curious/concerned about how long they take to heat up to 500 F. I assume the 480 will heat up faster and recover faster? How much does a cold night play into that heat up time?
I realize few can answer that question - except maybe Herb!
Thanks
Cold? How cold? Might think of getting the blanket on the smoker. I Use a welding blanket and a moving blanket as my cover.
Heat up time to 500? Well 30 mi for sure. What are you cooking at 500f? If steaks etc you will be having the firepot exposed and the smoker open, the smoker will be in full heat mode and the chamber temp isn't important.
The difference between the 640 and 480 heat up time is pretty much the same.
Conumdrum wrote:Cold? How cold? Might think of getting the blanket on the smoker. I Use a welding blanket and a moving blanket as my cover.
Heat up time to 500? Well 30 mi for sure. What are you cooking at 500f? If steaks etc you will be having the firepot exposed and the smoker open, the smoker will be in full heat mode and the chamber temp isn't important.
The difference between the 640 and 480 heat up time is pretty much the same.
I currently have a Primo XL and a Weber Spirit gas grill. May have to give one of them up...kinda figured on the Weber. Since I'd expected to give up the Weber I'd be doing the Weber things on the Yoder (grilling burgers, dogs and chicken) in addition to relieving my Primo of some smoking duties.
I'm REALLY impatient so I'm afraid I'm gonna miss the quick heating of the gas grill. It's the only reason I don't own a Yoder to date.
I didn't think about not worrying with heating the entire chamber vs. open flame, so I guess my question should be: how long does it take between ignition and grilling burgers, dogs and chicken?
Thanks!
Oh, as far as cold, Tennessee cold - not Green Bay cold - so 30's is about as cold as I will get out and GRILL in. As for smoking meat, I don't have a limit since I'm not standing out there (CyberQ WiFi takes care of that on my Primo)
Smoking meat.... You will use more pellets in the cold, that's why I cover mine. I live in Las Vegas, and overnight cooks when it's under 50 I cover it.
Well, 10 minutes till you get a huge flame for direct cooking? And the area is smaller, maybe 15" x 15" where you get searing hot. Hotter than your Weber can get to. So if you want to do 20 burgers at once, that's gonna take a lot of moving around.
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