Yoder vs lousiana

J

Jesway

New member
Hello, jumping into the big leagues from my electric 69.00 smoker, why cuz I am ready to take the tastes that people love and make them better.

Please share your experiences with grills good and bad! Customer service, craftsmanship, ease of use. Looking for more negative than praise, I am sure they will make great foods, but which is better to purchase for my first pellet?

Thanks in advance for any help.
 
D

dnew

New member
Everyone has an answer for this one. I will go with the MAK 2 Star as my favorite. It has the best controller on the market and the workmanship is the best. Customer service is also top notch.
 
6

68sting

New member
I have both and prefer the Louisiana as long as it has the digital controller. Heats up faster, uses less fuel and holds temps great. I have to clean the fire pot pretty much every time on the yoder or it won't start. That gets old. Obviously it's not built the same but it's been rock solid and does exactly what it's supposed to do.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
J

Jesway

New member
I have not looked too much into the mak grills will look. I like them both I was leaning originally with the Louisiana but the warranty that yoder gives means excellent craftsmanship ship. So electrics controller a must?

I want the option to cook burgers and steaks by man function is to smoke low and slow and bake a pizza from time to time. My infrared grill does well on steaks, so the smoking and making great barbecue is what I am after
 
J

Jesway

New member
Mak seems a bit over priced are they really that much better and why?

Curious to hear? I am a coin toss between the other two right now.
 
Big Poppa

Big Poppa

Administrator
the mak is a ground up pellet smoker with hands down the finest controller in the business...it has the most relevant accessories and best service.
 
TentHunter

TentHunter

Moderator
Echoing what 68sting said, the main complaint I hear about the Yoder pellet grills is about how much longer they take to warm up (because the steel is so much thicker) and that they do use more fuel to maintain temp. A friend of mine in NC had a Yoder and got a MAK 2 Star and eventually sold the Yoder for this very reason. Otherwise the Yoders are known to be built tough.


Jesway said:
Mak seems a bit over priced are they really that much better and why?
Click to expand...

I too wondered about this, but I have to say it wasn't until we actually got one that we saw first-hand what all the hoopla about the MAK Grills was about. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that they are worth every single penny you pay for them. They are built tough with absolutely no shortcuts taken and every single part, right on down to the stainless steel machined screws are the best they can be.
 
J

Jesway

New member
So I looked at the mak, they appear to have a smaller smoking area than others? This seem due to the grill area? Is this correct my main reason is to cook smoked foods! I have a great infrared grill that cooks steaks ans burgers very well, and I normally cook for a lot of people.

The mak 1 seems a bit smaller and I am trying to stay under 2k dlvd?

Did I miss something in what I looked at?

Based on what you said there are a lot of complaints for getting up to temp, you are correct, but a lot of complements about holding temps? the yoder.

For the lousiana grill the electric controller is only way to go I read?

Maybe I am ring on mak but can you smoke 20-25 pounds do pork but at a time easily on a mak1?

The the fast eddy jumped into conversation, any thoughts on that.
 
scooter

scooter

Moderator
MAK 2 has 858 sq inches of cooking area with optional upper shelf.

Here's 20lbs of chicken on a Mak1 courtesy of TentHunter: http://www.pelletsmoking.com/mak-central-14/how-much-chicken-can-mak-1-star-hold-7065/

Does this factor into your decision?
MMobileCLR_zpsfa7b7dbd.jpg
 
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TentHunter

TentHunter

Moderator
Thanks scooter. Exactly the post I was thinking about! :)

Also...
Jesway said:
Maybe I am wrong on mak but can you smoke 20-25 pounds do pork but at a time easily on a mak1?
Click to expand...

It will hold 25 lbs of pork butt easily and whole lot more! With the upper grate(s) installed your cooking surface area is doubled. :)

This is around 19 - 20 lbs of pork butt just on the bottom grate alone, with a water pan taking up space.
JDPORK01.JPG


This past August for the H.S. Marching Band cookout, with the upper rack in place, I cooked three whole pork shoulders on the MAK 1 star each weighing around 18 - 19 lbs totaling about about 55 lbs.

AND... I could have gotten a fourth one on but didn't need it. Three was more than enough to feed about 120 kids & staff. I just wish I'd gotten pictures of it!





Here are a few pics of the 1 Star with the upper rack installed so you can get an idea:

24 lbs bacon smoking.
BACON08.JPG


3 racks of beef ribs and some country-style ribs.
B2BPTY05.JPG


Two 16" pizza at one time:
CP2013B.JPG



Again, not trying to "push" the MAK, just answering your questions about how much food it will hold.
 
J

Jesway

New member
That is exactly what I was looking for real examples, now seriously considering the mak. I just not sure i want to spend the coin on the mak 2 yet, but now really checking it out. I assume whole turkey fit easily with what you showed me. Also a lot of ribs smokable. Looking at the now more, not many bad reviews either.

So talk about controller and the auger for consistency and reliability if you would from your experiences?


Thanks all
 
Darwin00537

Darwin00537

New member
Check out this review on the Mak1: MAK Grill 1 Star General Pellet Grill | Amazing Ribs
And this Mak 2 review has good info as well: MAK Grill 2 Star General Pellet Grill | Amazing Ribs

My Mak 2 is in transit so I can't speak to real world experience, but I ultimately decided to go with the Mak based on the above reviews and from all the love this forum has for the Mak. It's American made, has a great controller, lots of accessories, and I've seen lots of comments stating Maks are well supported by the manufacturer and retailer (BPS).

If you want to stick to a lower price point I've also read great things about the Rec Tec. You might want to consider that one as well. It's not American made though, which I counted as a strike against it.
 
Darwin00537

Darwin00537

New member
TentHunter said:
Thanks scooter. Exactly the post I was thinking about! :)

Also...


It will hold 25 lbs of pork butt easily and whole lot more! With the upper grate(s) installed your cooking surface area is doubled. :)

This is around 19 - 20 lbs of pork butt just on the bottom grate alone, with a water pan taking up space.


This past August for the H.S. Marching Band cookout, with the upper rack in place, I cooked three whole pork shoulders on the MAK 1 star each weighing around 18 - 19 lbs totaling about about 55 lbs.

AND... I could have gotten a fourth one on but didn't need it. Three was more than enough to feed about 120 kids & staff. I just wish I'd gotten pictures of it!





Here are a few pics of the 1 Star with the upper rack installed so you can get an idea:

24 lbs bacon smoking.


3 racks of beef ribs and some country-style ribs.


Two 16" pizza at one time:



Again, not trying to "push" the MAK, just answering your questions about how much food it will hold.
Click to expand...

Wow TH, you're my hero.
 
D

dnpina

New member
I only own the YODER YS640. Ive made excellent prime rib, the best steaks I have ever eaten, and superb pizzas. For me, it smokes and holds low temperatures with ease. The prime rib I did for several hours at 180 without problems before taking the heat up to finish it. I can't compare pellet consumption with others. I will tell you the Yoder is built like a tank. It is relatively easy to clean. I find myself vacuuming it and cleaning up grease, refoiling the heat shield, about every 5 cooks which isn't too cumbersome. If you go Yoder, definitely go for the larger 640, buy the extra grill rack, and the grill grate upgrade. I find myself wanting to have parties and cook for groups of people. Everyone on here will have an opinion. Id say, buy what you can afford. Do your best with it and enjoy it. Good luck.
 
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