Yoder Smokers Community Forum

hello everyone,
my name is Marco and I am writing to you from Italy. I am about to buy a yoder pellet grill and i am very undecided between the ys640s and the ys1500s. I mostly prefer low & slow preparations such as brisket, beef ribs, pulled pork etc ... but I'd like to choose the one that allows the best direct cooking and the best searing. I have been watching videos on youtube for almost a year and the 640 seems exceptional to me. it could be enough for both the amount of cooking and performance. since with the import the prices double, (7,221.81 $ for the ys1500) I would like to be sure that the 1500 also performs direct cooking like the 640. it would be the purchase of my life, I don't think I will ever change a bbq like that expensive so i would be sure about direct cooking. direct cooking I would use it mainly for reverse searing and burgers. i searched youtube but i didn't find direct cooking videos with the 1500. have any of you tried both models? how do you find yourself with the ys1500s.
oh and one last thing... what is the maximum temperature of the yoder 1500? on the American site it is reported 600F while on the European one 500 F. which is the right one?
Thanks to all
Marco

Hi Marco,

I have the ys1500s. I do direct sear with the expanded grates and grill grates all the time. The average temperature I get is about 550 degrees F. I have not yet reached 600 degrees F. Because of the size of the 1500s it takes a while to heat up to that temp. I have never had any issues where I think it does not get hot enough. I leave the expanded grates in place when I am lazy and just sear with them. But I noticed that it does warp the expanded metal grates because of the heat. They return to normal when cooled and after a few smoking sessions. Not a big deal to me. The grill grates work great for searing and will give you much better results and perfect grill marks if you are going for that look.

I went back an forth like you deciding with the 640s and 1500s but setteled witht he 1500s becuase of the extra room. I am glad I did. One issue I found over time is that everything about the 1500s is heavy! The diffuser plates, expanded metal grates ect... but that just shows the quality that the 1500s is . I get perfect tempearture control everytime. I usually smoke between 225 and 250 and the 1500s is always dead even all around.

Just keep in mind that if you want to direct sear you cannot sear lots of items at once. Its really the area around the fire pot that is exposed. I find that I can sear 2 large steaks or a tri tip at once over the fire pot opening. I have done 4 large steaks at once with good results.

I was worried about the 1500s being able to direct sear before I made the purchase, but am very happy with its ability to direct sear after using it now. If I where to do it again, I would still go with the 1500s.