Pit Boss Pro Series Buyer Guide: Grills, Smokers & Covers

Picking a Pit Boss Pro Series setup should be straightforward. It rarely is. The Pro Series name covers a range of products , grills, smokers, covers, and accessories , and sorting through which combination actually fits your backyard situation takes more legwork than most buyers expect. If you’re already exploring the Pellet Smokers category, you know the options multiply fast once you start comparing cooking capacity, portability, and what you need to keep that investment protected long-term.

Two are protective covers. One is a tabletop pellet grill. One is a full-size competitor worth benchmarking. One is a replacement probe set that Pit Boss owners will eventually need. Knowing which piece you actually need , and why , matters more than brand loyalty alone.

What to Look For in a Pit Boss Pro Series Setup

Cooking Capacity and Footprint

The first question isn’t which grill to buy , it’s how much cooking surface you actually need versus how much patio space you can give up. A full-size pellet smoker in the 800 or 850 series range gives you enough room to run briskets, racks of ribs, and a couple of pork shoulders simultaneously. That’s useful if you’re cooking for a group. If you’re cooking solo or you need something that travels, that footprint becomes a liability before it becomes an asset.

Tabletop units solve the portability problem but require you to be realistic about volume. You’re not going to feed eight people off a tabletop grill without running multiple cooks, and that changes how you plan your day. Measure your actual cooking patterns before you buy surface area you won’t use.

Temperature Control and Consistency

Pellet smokers live and die on temperature control. The automation is the whole point , set a temp, walk away, come back to something that held within a reasonable range while you did other things. What separates a good pellet system from a frustrating one is how tight that range actually is under load, and how quickly it recovers after you open the lid.

Electric pellet systems handle this through digital controllers, and the quality of that controller matters more than most spec sheets suggest. Look at how the grill manages the transition from startup to target temp, and what the manufacturer says about temperature variance. A grill that swings 25 degrees either side of your setpoint is a different cooking experience than one that holds within 10.

Protection and Longevity

A pellet smoker is a meaningful investment, and outdoor exposure accelerates wear faster than most owners account for before they’ve owned one through a full winter. UV degradation, moisture infiltration, and debris accumulation inside the hopper are all real problems. A well-fitted cover extends the functional life of the unit, and it’s one of the cheaper ways to protect a more expensive purchase.

Fit matters more than material here. A generic cover that doesn’t seat properly around the hopper or chimney will pool water and create more problems than no cover at all. Model-specific covers exist precisely because generic sizing creates those failure points. You can explore the broader pellet smoker accessories and options if you want to understand the full range of protection approaches before committing.

Probe Accuracy and Monitoring

Meat probes are where pellet smoker setups often fall short in practice. The built-in probes that ship with most units are adequate at first, but they wear with use, and probe failure is one of the more common maintenance headaches Pit Boss owners report. Having a reliable replacement on hand , before you need it , is the kind of preparation that makes a difference on a day when you’ve got a brisket going and no backup.

Probe compatibility isn’t universal. Connector sizes vary by brand and sometimes by model within a brand, so buying replacement probes requires confirming your specific unit’s plug type before you order.

Top Picks

PIT BOSS 800 Series Deluxe Grill Cover for 820 and 850 Grills

The PIT BOSS 800 Series Deluxe Grill Cover addresses a problem every outdoor pellet smoker owner will eventually face: what happens to a several-hundred-dollar piece of equipment left exposed through a Midwest winter, or a summer of UV and thunderstorms. The answer is usually “nothing good.”

Model-specific design is the meaningful advantage here. This cover is built for the 820 and 850 footprint, which means it fits the hopper, the chimney stack, and the cart dimensions without forcing you to improvise around gaps. A generic cover on a unit with an offset hopper creates pooling points. This one doesn’t.

The trade-off is obvious , this is a cover, not a grill. If you don’t own a compatible 820 or 850 unit, it has no use for you. And if you do own one, this isn’t optional equipment; it’s maintenance. The Deluxe designation suggests heavier-duty material than the base cover option, which is worth the consideration if your grill lives outside year-round rather than getting rolled into a garage between sessions.

Check current price on Amazon.

PIT BOSS PB150PPG Table Top Wood Pellet Grill

The honest case for a tabletop pellet grill is portability , and the PIT BOSS PB150PPG is the answer if your situation is tailgates, camping trips, apartment balconies, or a setup where a full cart grill simply doesn’t fit. Wood pellet fuel means you’re still getting actual smoke flavor, not the approximation you get from propane. That matters.

The capacity constraint is real and worth stating plainly. This is not a grill for feeding a crowd. It’s a grill for two to four people in a context where portability is the priority. If you’re cooking for a household regularly, a tabletop unit will frustrate you before long, and you’d be better served looking at a full-size option. But for its actual intended use case , a compact, portable pellet cooker that delivers genuine smoke flavor , the PB150PPG earns its spot.

Pellet storage logistics apply here as they do to any pellet system. You need dry storage for your fuel, a supply chain for the pellet flavor profiles you prefer, and some awareness that wet pellets are a problem. None of that is unique to this unit, but it’s worth thinking through before you commit to pellet cooking as a format.

Check current price on Amazon.

Traeger Grills Pro 22 Wood Pellet Grill & Smoker

I own a Traeger Pro 575, so I have more than passing familiarity with what this brand does well and where it creates friction. The Traeger Grills Pro 22 is the smaller sibling in the Pro line , 572 square inches of cooking surface, an 18-pound hopper, and the same 6-in-1 versatility claim (smoke, grill, bake, roast, braise, barbecue) that applies across the pellet category generally.

The electric pellet system is where Traeger’s reputation is built. Temperature management is genuinely reliable in the Pro line, and for buyers comparing it to Pit Boss at a similar tier, the Traeger controller has historically been the more polished experience. That gap has narrowed as Pit Boss has improved its own digital controls, but it’s still a legitimate consideration if set-it-and-forget-it reliability is your primary criterion.

The limitations are the limitations of the category: you need electricity, you need pellet storage, and remote locations without power access are a non-starter. The 18-pound hopper gives you reasonable autonomy for a long cook without reloading. For a standard Saturday brisket or a weeknight spatchcock chicken session, the Pro 22 is a capable unit that benchmarks well against what Pit Boss offers in the same functional range.

Check current price on Amazon.

2-Pack Meat Thermometer Replacement for Pit Boss Pellet Grills and Smokers

Probe failure is not a question of if , it’s when. This 2-pack of replacement meat thermometer probes is the kind of purchase that feels unnecessary right up until you need it on a Sunday morning with 14 pounds of pork shoulder already in the cook.

The 3.5mm plug design is confirmed compatible with Pit Boss pellet grills, and the waterproof construction holds up in the outdoor cooking environment where steam, grease, and condensation are part of every session. Getting two probes in a single purchase matters if you’re monitoring multiple cuts simultaneously , which, at any point when you’re running a full cook, you probably are.

What this isn’t: a standalone thermometer system. It requires a compatible Pit Boss grill with the right receiver port. If you’re on a Traeger or a Weber, this won’t cross over. For Pit Boss owners specifically, keeping a backup set in the grill cabinet is straightforward preventive maintenance.

Check current price on Amazon.

PIT BOSS 5-Series Wood Pellet Vertical Smoker Cover

Vertical smokers have a different footprint than cart-style pellet grills, and the PIT BOSS 5-Series Wood Pellet Vertical Smoker Cover is sized for that form factor specifically. The 5-Series designation places this in the mid-to-premium tier of the Pit Boss vertical lineup, and if you’ve made that investment, a purpose-built cover is part of protecting it.

The vertical design is worth a word here, separate from the cover. Vertical smokers excel at maximizing cooking capacity within a compact horizontal footprint , multiple racks stacked above a single heat source. For suburban setups where patio space is finite but cooking volume matters, vertical can be a more practical format than a long cart grill. The cover extends the life of that investment through seasons when the smoker sits more than it cooks.

The material durability question applies to any cover: black covers fade with UV exposure over time, and “generic black material” is a legitimate concern for a product that lives outdoors year-round. Inspect the cover’s stitching and seam construction before assuming the material is the only longevity variable.

Check current price on Amazon.

Buying Guide

Matching the Product to What You Actually Own

The covers and probe replacements here are only useful if you own the compatible unit. Before anything else, confirm your grill model number, which is usually on a label inside the hopper lid or on the cart frame. A cover that doesn’t fit a specific model is a return, not a solution.

The 820 and 850 are distinct models from the 5-Series vertical. They’re different form factors entirely. Buying the wrong cover is an easy mistake to make when you’re searching by brand rather than model.

Portability vs. Cooking Volume

If portability is a real requirement , not a nice-to-have , the tabletop format is worth taking seriously. The PB150PPG fits in the back of a car, sets up on a folding table, and produces legitimate smoke flavor without requiring a 240-pound cart. If portability isn’t a real requirement, the tabletop capacity will frustrate you within a season.

The Pro 22 and full-size Pit Boss units split the other direction: they stay where you put them, and they reward you with cooking surface and hopper capacity that supports longer, larger cooks. Matching the unit to how you actually cook , not how you imagine you’ll cook , saves money and second purchases.

Brand Ecosystem and Accessories

Staying within the Pit Boss ecosystem has a practical benefit: accessories, covers, and replacement parts are designed around specific model dimensions. If you’re already a Pit Boss owner, that ecosystem compatibility is a real advantage over generic aftermarket alternatives.

Traeger owners face the same dynamic from the other direction , Traeger accessories are Traeger-compatible, and cross-brand compatibility is limited. This is worth considering if you’re building out a full setup rather than just buying a grill. You can research the full range of pellet smoker configurations to understand where brand ecosystems differ before committing.

Temperature Range and Cooking Style

Most pellet smokers top out around 450, 500 degrees, which means they’re excellent at low-and-slow work and competent at moderate grilling temperatures, but they won’t replicate the sear you’d get from a charcoal or gas grill at high heat. The Traeger Pro 22’s 450-degree maximum is typical for the category. If high-heat searing is important to your cooking, a pellet smoker as a standalone unit may leave a gap you’ll want to fill with a separate setup.

For pure smoking , ribs, brisket, pork shoulder, chicken , the pellet format is genuinely hard to beat on convenience. Set temp, walk away, trust the controller.

Cover Investment vs. Replacement Cost

A cover is cheap relative to the cost of replacing a grill that’s weathered two seasons without protection. Rust on the cart, water infiltration in the hopper, UV degradation on the control panel , these are maintenance issues that add up.

The argument against a cover is usually that you’ll roll the grill into the garage. If you actually do that consistently, you probably don’t need a cover. Most people don’t.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Pit Boss Pro Series better than Traeger at the same level?

Both brands produce reliable pellet smokers at the mid-range tier, but they compete on slightly different terms. Pit Boss has historically offered more cooking surface for the same investment, while Traeger has emphasized controller precision and build consistency. The Traeger Pro 22 is a capable unit with proven temperature management, but Pit Boss owners often cite value for cooking area as the deciding factor. Neither is a clear universal winner , the right answer depends on what you’re optimizing for.

Do I need a model-specific cover, or will a universal cover work?

Model-specific covers are worth the premium for units with non-standard footprints , particularly cart-style grills with offset hoppers and vertical smokers with tall, narrow profiles. A universal cover that doesn’t seal properly around those features will pool water and hold moisture against the surface, which creates rust and degradation faster than no cover at all. The PIT BOSS 800 Series Deluxe Grill Cover and the 5-Series vertical cover are designed around specific dimensions for exactly this reason.

How often do meat probes need to be replaced on a Pit Boss grill?

Probe lifespan varies with how often you cook and how well you maintain them , specifically, whether you’re cleaning and drying them after each session. Heavy users running multiple cooks per week may see degraded accuracy within a year. Occasional weekend cooks can extend probe life considerably. The 2-pack replacement probe set is a practical item to keep on hand before you notice a problem rather than after, since probe failure typically announces itself mid-cook.

Can the Pit Boss PB150PPG handle a full brisket or pork shoulder?

Realistically, no , not a full packer brisket. The tabletop form factor limits cooking surface in a way that constrains what fits flat on the grate. Smaller cuts, chicken pieces, ribs cut to fit, and pork tenderloins are practical. If whole-muscle low-and-slow smoking is your primary use case, the PIT BOSS PB150PPG is the wrong tool, and a full-size cart grill will serve you better.

What’s the advantage of a vertical smoker over a cart-style pellet grill?

Vertical smokers stack multiple cooking racks above a single heat source, which lets you run a larger volume of food in a smaller horizontal footprint. If your patio space is limited but you want to smoke multiple racks of ribs or several chicken pieces simultaneously, the vertical format can be more efficient than a wide cart grill. The trade-off is typically temperature range , vertical smokers excel at low-and-slow but may not reach grilling temperatures as effectively as a cart-style unit. The PIT BOSS 5-Series cover fits exactly this form factor.