Yoder Smokers Community Forum

hi everybody, I'm a prospective yoder 640 owner. ill be pulling the trigger as soon as i can scrounge up a few more bucks. the question i have is....living in miami, it can get rather wet and humid, especially in summer months

1. can the yoder be left uncovered, and will it affect the the pellets left in the hopper? normally i leave my gassers uncovered, i find that if i cover them up that they actually promote humidity and rust as opposed to letting them just breath and dry up on their own. now granted..we are talking cheapo box store chinese products. i just recently bought a $1300 broilmaster P3 gasser, heavy duty thick cast aluminum body, 100% us made, and i leave that bad boy uncovered with no issues at all. i know the yoder is a totally diff animal 10 and 14 gauge steel. its not that I'm lazy, but it is a p.i.t.a sometimes to cover up. can the 640 and the pellets left in the hopper handle the humidity and rain uncovered? hopefully somebody living in my area will chime in.

You don't want to let rain get into the Yoder pellet hopper. Driving rain WILL get in there. You DO want a cover and you DO want to find the best practices to prevent bits of rust. It won't effect the operation, but it just won't look good. Get the cover, and consider a patio cover.

And you have salt air. The paint is very top notch on the Yoder, but over time in your environment.... Keep it covered and keep it under a covered patio etc.

yeah, i kind of figured as much. was hoping for the " hell no, that thing is a bullet proof tank!". but i guess i have another project in the works, ill take your advise and build a nice covered roof over my cooking station. i actually have the perfect setup for it. ill make sure to post some before and after pics. thanx conundrum

btw....cant wait to retire my puny WSM 14.5 it did me right, and got the smoke bug in me. hopefully ill be earning my man card with a 640 in the very near future.

This is why it's nice. 10 PM, 7 pork butts on the fire, monitor at 235 for 30 min, go to bed. Up at 4 AM. Rotate butts, back to bed. 7 AM, pan them if you want the golden butter. Make breakfast, hang out. Wait till done.

Some call it lazy. I'm too old to worry anymore about such talk.

Cooking steaks it's awesome. Get the grill grates. Get a probe hole, one is enuff.

i like your style conundrum, if its a party night, and those are far and few between nowadays. id rather set it and forget it. the WSM is ok, but forget about getting a good nights sleep if your cooking a brisket, or butt. just too much temp maintenance, and baby sitting. not too mention it is ridiculously small and clumsy, but i had to get my feet wet somehow.

as far as steaks, burgers or anything needing high direct heat, i have the broilmaster p3 to handle those jobs with ease, i can get 900 degrees or better at the grates with that thing...but its good to know the 640 can handle that as well

I def want the probe port or 2 of them. i can see running 4 probes inside the cooker on big cooks