Pit Boss Grills 77550 5.5 Pellet Smoker, 850 sq inch, Copper

I love the Pitboss smoker. We bought the one with five shelves. It’s nice because I can also do casserole dishes. We have it at our campsite ovens in a camper are very small and they’re not reliable. This makes it much easier for baking, casseroles, and different dishes, besides smoking meat.

I'm in smoking heaven! A friend had one of these and loves it, so I took his recommendation. Works great. for a long smoke, you need to take a pole and push the pellets around to concentrate them more towards the middle of the pellet feed. I think the design could benefit from a more cone like angle in the hopper to avoid having to do that. That said, I will live. If you buy this, be SURE to follow the instructions on how to open the box and set it up, otherwise you are going to bend the front panel upon opening and setup. (like I did). I didn't find the instructions soon enough which explain how to open the box and lay it down etc. - well - I don't know how else they could package the instructions so that it is front and center when opening to avoid the problem - maybe print something on the outside of the box (?). Clearly, it has been an issue to require them to make very specific notes about it in the instructions. (just a heads up). You will want to put something underneath the smoker if you are concerned about grease or other dripping moisture staining your patio or cement. It does happen. Not a lot, but there are greasy moisture drips, even though there is a drip pan. It doesn't catch all of the moist drippings. At least that is my experience. There is a really good video on youtube on how to clean the interior glass. Just vinegar and water and it comes right off. The glass otherwise cakes up pretty quick and you can no longer see through it.

This is a very nice piece of equipment. Assembly is easy. I assembled it alone and it took about an hour. It works be faster with help from a friend! The components are packaged well with plenty of padding. Initial start up was easy. I Followed the directions in the manual to a T. The fan and auger started up right away and the heating rod heated up very fast. To burn in the smoker they recommend heating it up to 350* for 35 to 40 minutes. It didn't take long to reach the temp. After that i dropped the temp to the smoke setting to smoke 40lbs of homemade bacon. The final product came out perfect. The smoke is clean and just the right amount. It holds a decent temp but that could be worked on more in future models. I'm personally not looking for temps within 5degrees of what i set out for so If you require exact temps maybe it's not the smoker for you. I would say it's within 10* within its temp. The way it works is really similar pellet grills like traeger and rectec grills being that it convects the air throughout the smoker and auto feeds pellets with an auger. The biggest difference is the space. You have more space for food and the smoker itself takes up less space. Cleanup is simple. I would recommend a shop vac to clean out the burnpot after smoking and cool down. The door comes off easy and cleaning it after every use is a must if you want to see the food you are smoking. Warm soapy water and a non abrasive pad for smoking components works for me. Also works for inside the smoke cabin. I'm happy with my purchase. Happy with the results. Happy with the ease of use. The only thing i worry about is the longevity and reliability in the long run. I would recommend this to anyone Edit* over a year of use ive come across many issues. Tons of auger jams. The electronic display went out fast. Maybe it can't take ther heat? Longevity has been tested and it didn't last long. Would not recommend this smoker.

Title says it all! Keep it clean and it won't catch on fire.

Our Bradley vertical smoker has worked like a champ for years. However, it's been displaying many E1 errors, and the smoke generator randomly shuts down. We purchased the Pit Boss vertical pellet smoker because we prefer a larger smoking chamber, similar to Bradley's. So far, we've made pulled pork, ribs, burnt ends, and bacon. Since it will run as high as 450°F, we've also used it to make pizza and bake bread (!). For smoking meats, if you run it on the lowest temperature setting while the meat's internal temperature is below 120°F, you can achieve a wonderfully smoked result. Then, turn the temperature up to the desired smoking temperature to complete the process. Simple to use, no Bluetooth connectivity or programmable temperature profiles – yay! It features a PID controller to regulate the internal temperature. Working great so far.

After smoking three times after assembly I rate the smoker five stars. First pellet smoker I’ve had so blowing through 15 pounds in a weekend was surprising. However, the smoke flavor produced is superior to my electric smoker a lot. Tried a whole chicken, a rack of ribs and a salmon fillet. Delicious. Now for the bad news. The packaging is not protecting the smoker during delivery. The first one was returned because of a dented and warped door. I have to say Amazon was great arranging a return after Pit Boss said the door was not in stock to replace. The second one had a dented rear panel that prevented all for bolts to be used on the push bar. I bent the back around so I could easily use the pellet door. Also, the pellet removal door hinge will soon break. It was put on crooked and will eventually break due to bending it into place. Clean up was harder than my electric but since I rarely cleaned the old one I expect it’s really not worse. I just want to keep this one pristine or close to it. I used a dish soap spray on each time I used it and it worked great. Light clean up with half vinegar and half water works well. I did order a grill mat to protect my brick paver patio. All in all I’m happy with the smoker and will update this if that changes.

So far so good. Positives: made a pork roast, a couple of chickens, and pork ribs, and they all came out well. It has a very stable and consistent cook temperature, probably because if it's size. Speaking of its size, the hopper holds a massive amount of pellets, more then you need. Since everything is new, clean up is easy, especially with the ceramic coated racks. It's a nice cooker and overall I like it. The Negatives: (and it's nit-picking) You have to put it together. Was surprised when it showed up in a big box, unassembled, but that why it was $400 bucks less then other retailers. Took a few hours, but good instructions. It could have taller legs, although I'm 6'/1" so. Would be nice if it had an ash tray for the burn pot so you didn't have to drag out the shop vac. I also ordered the cover which is sold separately, and it fit perfectly. Overall I do not regret my purchase.

I have never owned a vertical pellet smoker until now but have used a few different brands of horizontal ones. This rig beats them all. In my experience, a vertical smoker cooks more evenly and delivers perfect smoke ring every time. Easy to assemble, easy to clean. DOES NOT HAVE BLUETOOTH. It said on the box Bluetooth, wifi and DL the app. The app works well and is worth downloading.