My neighbor is in the market for a quality pellet smoker at a reasonable price point. I am well aware of
RecTeq, Yoder and many others but specifically would like feedback on this Pit Boss model. I know many folks on here have Pit Boss they like. I know this has a PID controller and smoke setting which are very nice at a price point around $600. Reviews seem a bit mixed on the app. Love to hear some first hand use feedback.
I'm chime in now that I own a Pit Boss 850, although I suspect your neighbour likely bought his smoker of choice already.
I love the PitBoss. Build quality is good, features are all pretty nice and the price point is good. I like the porcelain coated grills because they clean up like a dream and the cross hatch pattern makes nice grill marks w/o having to remember to turn meat. The clean-out on the bigger 1100 model isn't on the 850, but cleanup is still pretty simple. I bought a 14" x 20" plastic tote (about 6" tall) that I can just drop the grills into to soak; they simply wipe off well with the help of a scotch brite pad.
I had an initial issue with the PID controller. It still worked fine but wouldn't connect to WiFi. PB sent me a new one and now I love it. The app seems fine to me; it's nothing fancy, but has everything I'd want including alarms and timer. I spend a lot of time cursing our WiFi so expected an issue, but it actually works like a dream for me. I doubt I will use the advanced controller features that allow you to set times and control the grill to keep meat warm after cooking, but I guess these are nice to have.
I am using my grill at least four times a week now. The ability to open the sear plate and do steaks and burgers is a great feature and I may ditch my larger gas grill next year because of it. We will see. But you need to consider your needs; you can only get a couple of steaks or maybe 6 burgers over the fire pot at once, so if you need to sear a dozen at a time, a gas grill is better. Alternatively, you can stagger your burgers and steaks on the PB 850 for larger meals. But for a family of three to four, I think you will be fine. Most smokers don't allow you to sear easily, so this feature moves the PB out ahead a bit for me.
The ease of smoking on this machine is incredible. You almost feel like you want to keep it a secret and just impress people with the results. Lots of experimenting is needed, but it's not a bad journey to be on.
A couple of minor modifications I will make to mine (or would like to see PB make):
- I'd like to see a hook attached above the removeable square rubber door at the back of the hopper. This would allow you to hang a bucket on to empty your pellets as needed. Otherwise you put a five gallon pail underneath and the pellets go everywhere (unless you elevate the bucket).
- I'd like the pellet screen to be removable. This way you don't have to stick an implement through the holes to push the pellets around when trying to swap them out. I realize the safety issue PB was trying to address here, but it's just a PIA. I'll either remove mine or come up with a easy way to detach it to solve the pellet swap issue.
- I'd like to see built in hanger hooks to hold the upper rack when not being used—maybe on the back of the grill.
- I'd like to see the front fold down shelf marginally larger as it won't quite hold large plates or trays confidently. But I give full marks for the fold down design.
So far I give my grill a 9/10 and am happy with it.
