I need Pellet Grill Info

[jjdick]

I know this is going to be a long one but please read and give me your thoughts. The best info is from owners. I don't want to start any wars, I'm looking for quality in site from owners. I'm comparing the Rec Tec and Yoder Ys640 grills/smokers. Both I feel both are quality built with excellent customer service, which is why I've narrowed my decision to these two.

First question yoder has the fire pot on the left rec tec is in the middle. Does it make a difference? I seem to think the yoder will be hotter on the left and cooler on the right. To where the rec tec being in the middle would be more even. Yes or no?

Question 2 I like the hood taller hood design of the yoder also with the second shelf. From the videos I've watched a larger turkey barely fits in the rec tec rubbing the top. Is this a concern or not?

Question 3 I love the thought of the rec tec big pellet hopper for the long overnight cooks. How long does the yoder last on a average 250-275 cook with comfortable outside temps?

Any other pros or cons I would appreciate.

Thanks for your input

 

[seenred]

Hi JJDick.

I own a Rec Tec...had it 3 years now, and am very happy with it.  Keep in mind that owners tend to be a little biased toward their own rigs, but I'll try to give you objective answers.

Your first question:  I've never cooked on a YS...so I don't know for sure how much difference the left-oriented fire pot makes.  I know that the Yoders have a sliding damper system built into the body to address this, but couldn't tell you how well it works.  I can tell you that there is only about a 10-15 degree variance from left to right in my RT.  Actually the right side (exhaust stack side) is the slightly hotter side in my cooker.

Question 2:  No doubt about it...there is more clearance in the YS than in the RT.  But I've never cooked anything in mine yet that wouldn't fit.  Perhaps a 20+ lb. turkey would be tough...but I've never tried one that big.  I cook about a 12-15 lb. bird every year at Thanksgiving...no problem there with clearance.  Yoder has the advantage of an available add-on 2nd rack, but there are ways to add 2nd rack to a Rec Tec too.  Pretty easy mod actually.

3rd Question:  To be honest, I think the 40 lb. pellet hopper on the Rec Tec is a little overkill.  I almost never completely fill my hopper.  Just not necessary.  20-25 lbs. of pellets will last through an overnight cook with plenty to spare.  And if you move your cooker around very much, that full 40 lb. hopper can make the RT a little top-heavy.

Don't know what else I can add...both these cookers are excellent machines.  Both have very high customer satisfaction and great customer service.  The Rec Tec is a little less expensive - by a couple hundred dollars, I think, when looking at comparably optioned cookers.  But all-in-all, I believe you'd be very pleased with either one.  

Hope that helps...if you have other questions about Rec Tec, ask away and I'll try to help.

Good luck!  

Red

 

[schabs81]

Wish i could help just bought my yoder. Reason i bought yoder was build quilt compaired to others. Cant say ive seen a rec tec in person cause i dont have any dealers close by. But only complaint about my yoder is paint quilty seems a bit poor.

 

[jjdick]

Hi JJDick.

I own a Rec Tec...had it 3 years now, and am very happy with it.  Keep in mind that owners tend to be a little biased toward their own rigs, but I'll try to give you objective answers.

Your first question:  I've never cooked on a YS...so I don't know for sure how much difference the left-oriented fire pot makes.  I know that the Yoders have a sliding damper system built into the body to address this, but couldn't tell you how well it works.  I can tell you that there is only about a 10-15 degree variance from left to right in my RT.  Actually the right side (exhaust stack side) is the slightly hotter side in my cooker.

Question 2:  No doubt about it...there is more clearance in the YS than in the RT.  But I've never cooked anything in mine yet that wouldn't fit.  Perhaps a 20+ lb. turkey would be tough...but I've never tried one that big.  I cook about a 12-15 lb. bird every year at Thanksgiving...no problem there with clearance.  Yoder has the advantage of an available add-on 2nd rack, but there are ways to add 2nd rack to a Rec Tec too.  Pretty easy mod actually.

3rd Question:  To be honest, I think the 40 lb. pellet hopper on the Rec Tec is a little overkill.  I almost never completely fill my hopper.  Just not necessary.  20-25 lbs. of pellets will last through an overnight cook with plenty to spare.  And if you move your cooker around very much, that full 40 lb. hopper can make the RT a little top-heavy.

Don't know what else I can add...both these cookers are excellent machines.  Both have very high customer satisfaction and great customer service.  The Rec Tec is a little less expensive - by a couple hundred dollars, I think, when looking at comparably optioned cookers.  But all-in-all, I believe you'd be very pleased with either one.  

Hope that helps...if you have other questions about Rec Tec, ask away and I'll try to help.

Good luck!  Thumbs Up

Red
[/quoteThanks Red for the honest info. I do realize people will be bias about their grills, love them or not their are pros and cons to all I just wanted the owners input before I make my decision. I really like both alot.

Thanks again

 

[westby]

I have a Rec Tec and will second all of Red's responses.  Yoder was one I was looking at as well, but the extra cost of the Yoder pushed me to a Rec Tec.  I have absolutely no regrets and have had no issues other than the heat rod (which all pellet grills will have).  Yoders are fine grills as well - I have nothing bad to say about them.  They are built like a tank.  If I ever need another one, it has a very good chance of being a Yoder or possibly a Blazin Grill Works. . . . . . not sure I'll need another for quite some time.

 

[jtrainor56]

I have had my YS640 for about two years and did a lot of research before dropping that kind of money. If I had to do it again I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Yoder. 

1. As Red has mention with the Rec-Tec, the Yoder is hotter on the stack side, the difference is that with the damper, you can adjust how hot you have the pit from side to side.

2. As for space, when I smoke turkeys or chickens I always spatchcock, they take less time to smoke and I can then put the birds on the main grate and put other stuff on the 2nd shelf. I can do six 10 pound Boston butts on the bottom grates, a half dozen racks of ribs on the top shelf and still have room for ABT's and moink balls scattered around.

3. As for over night cooks, the longest I have run my Yoder was 26 hours. Over night was not a problem since I filled the hopper all the way before turning in and still had a good amount of pellets in the hooper the next morning. Yoder specs say the hopper will hold 20 pounds but in reality, I have filled it to the top and it can hold 30 pounds. I have no idea how many pounds it burns an hour. I was never interested,

4. Support - I have no experience with other companies but I ca tell you from personal experience that their support is one of the best, if not the best. First time I put in a support ticket was on a Saturday at 6pm, within an hours, Herb from Yoder support was on the phone with my, calling from a restaurant while waiting for his wife to meet him for dinner. In 15 minutes he had me working. As someone who never owned a smoker I probably used their support more then most but each time I emailed them, I always received either a call or an email that same day, hell Don Cary who owns Yoder and ATBBQ called me one night to help me through a problem, which was not a problem but my dumb move.

     Support is a big thing for me, I have been in IT for 20+ years and we respond to server and network issues 24/7/365 and have clients world wide. Our clients pay some big money to have that kind of support, in the 4 and 5 figure range, per month. Yoder charges nothing.

Also, just recently Yoder offered a reinforced deflector plate to all YS480 and 640 owners for no cost except for shipping. They have made a few upgrades that were not free but could be ordered and installed by YS owners that improved the current design. I know of no other company that bends over backwards to improve their product without having to tell us that our smokers are obsolete and to get the upgrade you have to buy a new smoker. Additionally Yoder has a new two piece deflector that now has a removable plate so we can get to the fire grate and client it out without having to remove all of the shelves and deflector place. Just pop out two shelves, list the removable plate and we have full access now.

One more thing, my YS640 sits outside on my deck, hasn't moved in 2 years and only covered by a heavy cover. For the past 18 months I have had the thermal jacket on it. I took the jacket off back in December just to see how the past was doing and I had no flaking or no rust. Not sure if it's the newer models but I have ever seen a problem with paint and mine was built on 01/04/2014.

~Joe

 

[jjdick]

Thanks for all the information that's
exactually what I was looking for. I really like both grills but I'm really leaning toward the yoder basically for taller/bigger grill area. But thanks again