Yoder Smokers Community Forum

I found a used YS640 for sale for less than half price of a new unit. I have talked to the guy who is being transferred overseas and needs to get rid of it. He has sent me pictures and it looks nearly new.

I am going to look at it in person over the weekend or early next week and was just curious if any YS640/480 owners, or smoker owners in general, had any tips or things I should be looking out for when looking at a used YS640 to determine if it is in good condition and I should buy it as this will be my first pellet smoker and I don't have any experience with them.

I would treat your inspection pretty much how you would go about buying anything used from anybody!

First look at the overall condition to see how he took care of it. Is it clean? Kept outside or under cover? Does it have a cover that goes with? Look for rust both inside and out. Have him turn it on and watch the process to see if it has any quirks.

Of course the build date is right on the lid, look to see if what he told you is the same as what the build date and serial number says. Once again open to inspect the inside to look for cleanliness as well as rust. Open the hopper to for similar inspection as well as any telltale sign of a hopper fire. Ask if he has had any trouble and had to contact Yoder for replacement parts.

In the end these are really pretty basic, and for the right deal almost anything can be fixed. They should hold there value pretty well so for close to half price if the startup and eye test go well it really cannot cost too much even if you have a problem shortly afterward.

Of course warranty is always nice but I am not sure if warranty is transferable...Herb, Kirby or customer service can answer that question.

Thanks for the response.

Eye test for the structure seems pretty simple. I guess making sure it fires up correctly, reaches and hold temp, and making sure the auger runs correctly would be the main things.

Yup, these things do not have as many moving parts as a car or even a lawnmower. There are only so many things that can go wrong and you really do not need a mechanic to fix. The eye test shows what kind of an owner they were and also some of the small things like air flow issues that may need a little Nomex or gasket to fix...virtually pennies.

Honestly, not sure if you figured in shipping to get to your nearly half price figure, but if the 480 is the model for you I would jump on it before someone else does. Winter time might be a little different but summertime before the 4th gets here smoking and BBQing brings out the casual cookers.

Everything above is good advice. Not sure where you found it, but be wary of scams. If the guy wants money to hold it before you can see it, I would pass. I'm sure that you're on top of it, but you can never be too safe!

I have not personally owned a Yoder pellet grill, but a very close friend of mine did. He had a Yoder YS640 pellet grill and had other issues besides rust, such as: Due to the thick steel and having sush a large surface area, it took much longer to warm up, which drove higher pellet consumption. The controller just wasn't that good, they were always "tweaking" the programming, etc. After about two years he sold it and now owns a MAK 2 Star (https://cozzy.org/best-gas-grill-under-300/) which he loves.

What was his purchase date? I bet it was one of the firsts. Mine is over 4 years old, U26 software, been the same ever since and no rust. I let it warm for till it hits set temp, about 20 min.

What was his purchase date? I bet it was one of the firsts. Mine is over 4 years old, U26 software, been the same ever since and no rust. I let it warm for till it hits set temp, about 20 min. Your link shows no pellet grills.