For most cooks cross-shopping these two pellet grills, the Yoder Smokers YS640s is the better buy.
Both land in the same size class with app-based Wi-Fi control and dual meat probes, so it's tempting to decide on square inches and max temperature alone. That's the common mistake: a bigger grate and a hotter top-end number mean little if the cooking chamber can't hold heat when a cold front rolls through overnight. Read the steel before the specs.
Our pick: Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill — its 10-gauge steel cooking chamber and reactive Adaptive Control System hold temperature rock-steady through wind and cold, and its removable access door lets you sear over live fire, giving you a true smoke-bake-sear machine handcrafted in Kansas, USA.
Runner-up: Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill on Competition Cart — same cook chamber and control system on flat-free tires with locking casters and tie-down rings, ideal if you tailgate, compete, or roll your grill often.
If maximum unattended run time from a single hopper fill is your one priority, weigh that larger-hopper design; for everyone else measuring a grill by the food it turns out and the seasons it survives, choose the YS640s, delivered by freight straight to your door through All Things Barbecue.
If you're cross-shopping the Yoder Smokers YS640s and the Recteq Backyard Beast 1200, you're looking at two capable pellet grills in roughly the same size class — but they're built for two very different kinds of owners. By the end of this guide, you'll know which one fits the way you actually cook, how to read the specs that matter most in this category, and where the real daylight between these grills shows up. The decision comes down to one honest question: are you buying a grill for the next five years, or the one you'll still be cooking on when your kids host their own cookouts?
What to look for when comparing
Pellet grills can look nearly identical on a spec sheet and cook like completely different machines in your backyard. Here's what genuinely separates one tier from the next.
Cooking chamber steel. This is the single most important factor for how your grill performs and how long it lasts. Thin-steel chambers lose heat fast, swing wide in cold or windy weather, and warp over years of use. The Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill uses a 10-gauge (1/8-inch) steel cooking chamber — heavy-gauge, heat-holding steel that acts like a thermal battery once it's up to temperature. That mass is why food comes off more consistently, cook after cook, season after season. The Recteq Backyard Beast 1200 is built primarily around stainless steel construction, which resists corrosion but isn't the same story as thick carbon-steel mass when it comes to heat retention and stability in the wind.
True high-heat searing and direct-flame grilling. Don't assume every pellet grill grills. They all do oven-style indirect cooking with wood pellets, but only a select few can also sear over live fire. On the YS640s, a quick-removal access door lets you cook directly over the flame, and fitting a GrillGrate Set for Yoder Smokers YS640 Pellet Grill pushes searing temperatures above 650°F for steakhouse crust. The Backyard Beast 1200 reaches a listed 700°F max, which is genuinely hot, but a top-end number and a true direct-flame grilling window are two different capabilities. The Backyard Beast has the former but not the latter.
The controller — and how smart it really is. Both grills offer app-based Wi-Fi control and dual meat probes, so on the surface they're even. The recteq Backyard Beast 1200 pairs a dual-band Wi-Fi connection with a Wi-Fi enabled PID controller and two temperature probes. The YS640s runs Yoder Smokers' Adaptive Control System, built around a microprocessor that reacts to real-world disruptions — opening the lid, loading cold meat, a weather swing, or even switching pellet types mid-cook — to hold your target in 5°F increments. For long overnight cooks in unpredictable weather, that reactive intelligence is the difference between waking up to a perfect brisket and waking up to a stall.
Capacity that matches your crowd. The YS640s delivers 1,070 square inches across its primary grate and upper shelf, enough to run 3–4 packer briskets or 6–8 pork shoulders at once. The Backyard Beast 1200 offers 1,220 square inches of total grilling area and a 30-pound hopper capacity. A larger hopper means longer unattended run time between refills, so if marathon cooks without a pellet top-off are your priority, that's a real point in its favor.
Our picks
Best overall and the one to buy for life — Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill (premium tier). This is for the cook who wants one grill that smokes low and slow, roasts, bakes, and sears over live fire without compromise — and wants it to still be running strong in a decade. It's a brand best seller for good reason. The 10-gauge steel cooking chamber holds heat through wind and cold, the 20-pound hopper runs roughly 10-plus hours at 225°F, and the whole machine is handcrafted in Kansas, USA from heavy-gauge steel. At 335 pounds, it earns the "built like a tank" reputation owners give it. Because it's a Yoder Smokers grill purchased through All Things Barbecue, it ships by freight straight to your door.
Best for the cook on the move — Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill on Competition Cart (premium tier). Same cook chamber and Adaptive Control System as the flagship, mounted on a mobility-focused cart with flat-free pneumatic tires, locking casters, and built-in tie-down rings. This is the pick for tailgaters, competition cooks, and anyone who rolls their grill across the patio, up a ramp, or into a trailer. It's another brand best seller, available in a range of cart colors with an option to upgrade to stainless steel shelves.
Best for serious storage and the long-haul setup — Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill on Competition Cart with Storage Drawer (premium tier). For the cook who wants pellets, tools, and accessories organized and within arm's reach, this adds a full-width pull-out drawer with over 4,900 cubic inches of capacity rated to hold up to 150 pounds. One of the brand's top sellers, it keeps your cooking area clean and your workflow tight.
Best smaller footprint without giving up the build — Yoder Smokers YS480s Pellet BBQ Grill (premium tier, entry to the S Series). If the YS640s is more grill than your space or your weeknight cooking calls for, this is the right-sized answer — and it doesn't cut corners where it counts. It carries the same 10-gauge steel cooking chamber and Adaptive Control System in a more compact body, with 800 square inches of total cooking space across the primary grate and included two-piece second shelf. Perfect for a family that still wants real searing, baking, and smoking from one grill.
What customers actually reach for alongside their grill — fuel and flavor. No matter which grill wins your driveway, you'll burn need wood pellets. The YS640s and its siblings all run on them, and the BBQr's Delight Wood Pellets, 20lb Bag and the 2 Bags of Oak Pellets are among the most popular items customers buy, cook after cook. They're the quiet workhorses behind every great bark.
What most guides get wrong
Most head-to-head comparisons stop at the spec sheet and declare a winner by whoever posts the biggest cooking area or the highest max temperature. That's a trap. A grill with 150 more square inches and a hotter top-end number can still turn out less consistent food if the chamber can't hold its heat when a cold front rolls through at 2 a.m.
Here's the specific correction: weight and steel thickness are performance specs, not shipping trivia. The YS640s tips the scale at 335 pounds largely because of its 10-gauge steel cooking chamber and 14-gauge steel hopper and cart. That mass is exactly what buffers your food against temperature swings and what keeps the grill cooking true for years longer than lighter-built alternatives. When you see a dramatically lighter grill in the same size class, that's not just easier to move — it's telling you something about how much thermal stability you're giving up. Read the steel before you read the square inches.
The recommendation
If you want the grill you'll pass down — one that sears steaks over live fire, holds rock-steady through an overnight brisket, and shrugs off Kansas-grade wind — buy the Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill. Its heavy-gauge steel build, reactive Adaptive Control System, and true direct-flame grilling make it the more complete, more durable machine, and All Things Barbecue is the exclusive online retailer of Yoder Smokers, handcrafted in Kansas, USA.
If you move your grill often, step up to the Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill on Competition Cart. If storage and a tidy cook station matter, go with the Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill on Competition Cart with Storage Drawer. And if you want that same Kansas-built quality in a tighter footprint, the Yoder Smokers YS480s Pellet BBQ Grill is the one.
The Recteq Backyard Beast 1200 is a reasonable grill with a larger grate and a bigger hopper, and if maximum unattended run time is your single priority, it deserves a look. But for the cook who measures a grill by the food it turns out and the seasons it survives, the Yoder Smokers YS640s is the one we'd put in our own backyard — and it has hundreds of five-star reviews across our site behind that confidence. If you're thinking about building this grill into an outdoor kitchen down the road, our in-house design team offers free, human-led design help; start a conversation anytime through our outdoor kitchen design consultation, and we'll help you plan a space that fits everything from a simple island to a full custom build.
