The Pit Boss Pro Series II 1150 is a large format pellet smoker that you can find exclusively in Lowe's stores here in the United States.
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Pit Boss Pro Series 1150 Product Information
Feature | Measurement |
|---|---|
Cooking Area | 1150 sq. in. |
Primary Cooking Surface | 697 sq. in. |
Secondary Cooking Surface | 394 sq. in. |
Assembled Dimensions | W62" x H52" x L32" |
Temperature Range | 180° - 500° |
Hopper Capacity | 32 lbs. |
Direct Grilling Capable | Yes, moveable sear plate |
Assembly:
The Pro 1150 took us about an hour to assemble out of the box. There were two of us putting it together, and that came in really handy when it came time to attach the legs to the smoker body. The angles are hard to determine when you put the screws into the legs from the body, and having someone else there to help align things makes the assembly much easier.
Seasoning:
All pellet grills that we’ve seen here at the Lab require an initial burn off to get rid of the manufacturing oils. Pit Boss instructs that we set the grill to 350 for 30-40 minutes before we put anything edible on to the grill.
Storage:
We’ve stored the 1150 Pro outside over the last 2 months to see how it would hold up to Midwest winters. It doesn’t ship with a cover inside the box, but there’s one available as an added accessory that we recommend picking up to keep this unit looking shiny and new. We haven’t had any problems with the controller holding moisture under the screen or any surface rust to date. Pit Boss says that their grills are heavier, and it’s true. This is thicker metal than you’ll find on the competition and it holds up well in the elements.
Controller
Flame broil mechanism
Warranty:
The 1150 Pro comes with a 5 year warranty from the manufacturer Dansons, and we’ve had quite a few of their grills over the past few years. When a warranty claim has come up for us, we’ve been able to get an actual person over the phone who spoke our language and was versed in the grill we were referencing. Other than having certain parts out of stock for a few weeks from time to time, we’ve been pretty pleased with our warranty service on Pit Boss grills.
Grilling and Smoking
The Pit Bos Pro 1150 is primarily built for smoking, but is also capable of grilling, thanks to the flame broiler. We've done a variety of different cooks on this grill, everything from grilled zucchini spears to a smoked brisket flat.
Hasselback potatoes
Pork Chili Verde
Smoked BBQ chicken thighs
Smoked brisket flat
What We Loved About the Pit Boss Pro 1150
32lb pellet hopper
This pellet hopper has a huge capacity and will last the duration of even your longest brisket cook, no problem.
Sear capability
The Pit Boss Pro 1150 includes a flame broiler that allows you to easily switch from indirect cooking to direct flame with the simple pull of handle. I love the fact that this can be done on the fly with meat already on the hot grill. Plenty of other pellet grills we've reviewed may have the ability to slide open for a direct sear, but require physically going inside past the grill grates to do so.
Flame broiler adjusting bar handle
Flame broiler slider is open
Solid handle
We are constantly moving grills around here at the Lab and honestly some of these grills have kind of puny handles that don't give you a whole lot to grab onto. This handle is substantial and makes moving a grill of this size and weight a simple task.
Smoke IT app
One of the things people love about pellet grills is that you can really set it and forget it without having to babysit it all day. When a pellet grill is accompanied by a quality app, this is all the more true. With the Pit Boss Smoke IT app I can see if the auger, fan, and igniter is on, I can monitor (and adjust) the temperature of the grill as well as view the temp of up to 4 meat probes. And I can do all that from inside the house or even at work. Connecting the grill to the app was simple and straight forward and only took a couple of minutes to complete.
2 Probes
2 probes come standard with this grill but there are enough ports to accommodate up to 4 ports at one time. I also love that Pit Boss has included probe storage into the pellet hopper.
10 degree increment control
This grill allows for 10 degree increment control up to 300°. After seeing a fair share of grills that only work in 50° increments, this is a welcome improvement in my book.
Removable Ash catcher
Pit Boss has given us a clever way to clean out ash in the Pro series 1150. I love that I don't have to get out the Shop Vac to vacuum out the interior of my pellet grill.
Abundant shelf space
The Pit Boss Pro Series 1150 is not wanting for shelf space. With the hopper lid, front shelf, and side shelf, there is plenty of room to set down food, tools, or whatever you need. The front shelf folds down quite easily, and the side shelf has 3 sturdy hooks for hanging tools.
Side shelf with tool hooks
Foldable front shelf
Power cord wrap
Locking casters
Hopper clean out
Probe port
Opportunities for Improvement
Controller Update
Our experience with the Pit Boss Pro Series 1150 was really a tale of two grills. We received a unit from the first shipment of these grills and it turns out that these controllers ended up being recalled. New shipments of this grill are coming with an updated controller, but for those of us with the original shipment, we had to remove the old controller and mail it back to Pit Boss in order to receive the update. The swap was pretty simple and Pit Boss was very helpful throughout the process. The performance of the grill with the new controller has been like night and day from the old controller.
Hopper Capacity Notifications
I realize that this is "first world problems" at it's finest. However, with a 32 pound hopper, I actually found myself taking for granted that there were enough pellets remaining in the hopper a few times and actually ran out mid-cook causing the temperature to drop. I would love it if the Smoke IT app was able to monitor the level of pellets in the hopper and potentially notify me when it's getting low. Like I said, obviously not a deal breaker, but a feature I found myself wishing for a couple of times.
Sear plate arm
It doesn't happen all the time, but a few times the adjusting bar for the flame broiler has come loose.
Other Grills in the Pit Boss Pro Series
The Pit Boss Pro Series line of grills are exclusively available at Lowe's.
Pro Series I
Pro Series II
Pro Series Elite
Conclusion:
So, what did we think overall about the Pit Boss Pro 1150 pellet grill? The 1150 has a ton of room to smoke your favorite barbecue dishes. It’s lovely knowing that you’re going to have enough space to cook for the largest parties you’ll throw in your backyard on a single cooker. With the direct flame access for searing, it’s the combo grill that you want when you put a pellet smoker in your back yard.
18 replies on “Pit Boss Pro Series 1150”
I just purchased ths smoker Saturday from Lowe’s and I enjoyed your video. I am replacing my smaller PitBoss with a larger unit. Love smoking meats on it. Making the wife filet on it for Mother’s Day.
I was gifted a 1150 on Fathers Day, I am wondering if it has the old controller or new one. How do I know?
Thanks
If it has 10-degree increments below 300° then you have the new controller. I would imagine that any 1150 purchased that recently would surely have the new controller. I hope you enjoy it!
We are going to buy this model today. I am soooooo excited! Lowes will put it together AND deliver it for FREE!
Doing research on the SmokeIT app…I see that I have to set my phone to Wifi and then select the address (location). We need to do this at my house because of the Wifi access (router). However, we will be moving it to our camping location after we do the first burn and set the app. No wifi access at the campsite, but I do have 5G internet on my phone. Will the app still work once we move it to a different location?
Also – I have read a few times that if the smoker is in a humid location, to empty the hopper after smoking so the pellets don’t absorb moister. Is this true?
Thanks so much!!
Just bought the PB1150PS2, IT WILL NOT SEE A 5G connection. However my router has an auto feature allowing it to work. Haven’t cooked anything since I put it together at 10pm last night and breaking it in, burning off manufacturers oil and chemicals. But today I’m cóoking on it. I love the fact I can clean the firebox from bottom añd dónt have to disassemble the grates etc. I’m also looking forward to sear feature. It is built very well, weighs a ton. But the castérs allow easy movement. Í have had a Treader Jr fór years and just wore it out. I love pellet grílls.
Kirk your phone might be able to set up a 2.5 connection. Good luck, happy grilling
Just use bluetooth
Can anyone confirm that the new distribution of the Pit Boss Pro Series 1150 has the updated controller already installed? And how can I tell before purchasing?
Do you or anyone here know a good replacement for the grill grates or a better way to clean the grates? I hate this diamond design and prefer the parallel grate style better.
WHAT TOOL DO YOU USE TO HULL OUT ONIONS WITH??????
Sorry, I’m not sure what you’re referring to?
Most of us use a knife
In your YouTube video in this grill you said you would eventually publish that chili verde recipe. I am anciently waiting. 🤤
Thanks for letting me know Jon! If I knew someone was waiting I would have put that one out sooner. I’ll get it in the content calendar for you! All the best
I thought the update allowed 5 degree changes below 300 degrees.
In our experience, we were able to make 10-degree adjustments below 300°.
my new pit boss 1150ps2 controller temp. readout does not show a 225 degree setting like the one in your video does, i called pit boss and was told there is no updated controller that has a 225 degree setting. can someone give me some help and let me know for sure or give me a part number of that controller that does show a 225 degree setting in your video. thanks
Hi Roger, it’s been over a year since I shot that video so i’m not sure what Pit Boss has done with their controllers in the past year. They may have changed their upgraded controllers or changed the firmware since I shot that, I’m not sure. What I do know is that the unit that shipped to me didn’t have the ability, and once I got the new controller with the upgraded software, it did. You could call Pit Boss customer service back and maybe get a different representative and see if they know anything different. It had that ability at one time, unless they changed things, which I’m not privy to. All the best as you work to resolve this!
Hey Dave , I have this exact same smoker and it has the updated controller. I see PB has come out with a 1600 Elite and it increments at 5 degrees and has VST , do you know if the 1150 is a brushless motor ? It would be nice to swap out the 1150 controller for the new 1600 elite. Your thoughts.
Thanks