Yoder YS640 or CookShack PG1000: My Head is Spinning

[Jigstick]

Hey guys. I found your site only a few days ago, and the amount of knowledge here is outstanding. Ill get right to the point. Just finished my covered deck and patio at the house, and its time for furniture and a new BBQ. Before i had my 3 kids I was much more into the "low and slow", but since then its been mostly steaks, burgers, and dogs. I want to change that.

Im anticipating still being about 70% grilling, and 30% smoking. Ive narrowed my choices down to the Yoder YS640, Cook Shack PG1000, or MAK 1 Star. And at this point I'm leaning heavy towards the Yoder. But I'm not sure my reasoning for that is justified.

From what Im seeing the Yoder YS640 can go from 100% surface area smoking to 100% surface area grilling with the use of their 2 piece diffuser and grill plates. So that would give me the most versatility...IE going from using the entire surface area as a grill for cooking burgers, chicken, and dogs with those items installed. While I could also go back to the standard grates and solid heat diffuser and use the entire surface area for smoking 6-8 pork shoulders.

I don't think this scenario is possible with the Cook Shack due to how the grill and diffuser is arranged? And if wanting the same functionality with the MAK 1 Star it would require the purchasing of a few very expensive add on items.

Am I thinking about this correctly?

 

[old sarge]

I would check out videos on these pellet grills as well as any others you may be considering. Diffuser plates or not, your direct hot or grill zone is going to be above the fire pot, not the entire grill (at least not on the models you have listed). Of the 3 you have mentioned, I favor the CookShack. I owned their model 066 Amerique electric smoker for a number of years and never had a problem. I like a unit made out of all stainless: no paint to chip. My son has my old 066 for the last 2 years and it is still plugging along. So there you have my very much biased opinion I get the itch for a pellet grill from time to time but have not been able to justify getting one. So no hands on; just my opinion. Good Luck!

 

[Jigstick]

I had a chance to check out these Yoder pellet grills in person yesterday at a dealer located in Ohio. After reading all about them and watching what I could on youtube i was really excited to get there. But honestly I wasn't overly impressed with them. Yeah, they are built out of heavier gauge metal than the Traegers and GMG's that the dealer also sold, but from all the "fluff" on forums and youtube i was expecting the yoder to be substantially more heavy duty. To put it in perspective they Meadow Creek side burners they had were built like a brick house. Thats how I was expecting the Yoder to be. and it wasn't.

 

[old sarge]

Well, on the bright side, you got to look around and kick the tires.