What a POS Bit Boss smokers are.
What a POS these grills are.Tractior Supply had them on sale last summer, and I got talked into a large one. I bought two bags of pellets then, too. What a mistake i made! I bought it for a Labor Day outing. We ended up not using it for Labor Day, as I had not assembled it. Assembled it a few weeks later, which was straight dorward. I used it several times without a problem. It sits on my back porch next to my Weber grill, which I have had for 14 years without a problem. When I went to use it for a brisket on New Years Eve, the heat “ran away” ruining my expensive brisket. The auger was running all the time. Not being able to find parts on their website, I bought a control board that I found on Ebay. Replacing the board was not bad, but the smoker wouldn’t light. The auger control failure with it running all the time had crushed and packed the auger feed so badly that it would not turn. So it sits uselessly on the porch, as a testament to my stupidity for buying Pit Boss instead of a Traeger. Don’t be stupid like me. Don’t buy a Pit Boss. Buy a Traeger instead.
Jay Adams
Faulty Pitt Boss Smoker
My wife got me a Pitt Boss smoker for Father’s Day last year and at first I loved it. Then 4 months later I started to have issues with it. It will heat up to 250 then it cuts off and trips the breaker. I thought maybe the extension cord was too long so I got a shorter one. Still cut off at 250. So then I put it on its own breaker and plugged directly to outlet. Still cuts off. So I called Pitt boss and they sent me a new igniter. Still cuts off. So then they sent me a new control panel and another igniter. Still cuts off. This time they sent me a new power cord and another igniter. Still cuts off. Each time I’ve called they have done a video call and taken pictures of the smoker to make sure the igniter is in the right place which it is. I’m very irritated at the fact that I’ve been trying to get it fixed for 5 months now and have gotten no where. Right now I have a $600 porch ornament. Obviously there is something else wrong with it. Not sure why they can’t just accept that fact and replace the smoker.
kevin racer
Bought a brand new grill
Bought a brand new grill. Came with paint defects and already rusting. They said they don’t cover it under warranty and then say they will send me the parts to replace it. Turns out they can’t get the parts so now I’m stuck with a brand new grille with paint defects they won’t fix.
jason goodfellow
Serious fire hazard
Serious fire hazard — Pit Boss control panel failures cause runaway fires across multiple modelsI bought a Pit Boss PBV3M vertical pellet smoker after extensive research. I saw many reviews mentioning flare-ups and runaway fires across multiple Pit Boss models, but I assumed that it was user error or lack of cleaning. Since this smoker was brand new and I am experienced with multiple different types of smokers, I believed those explanations were misleading and bought it anyway. That was a mistake.Assembly was easy and the smoker initially performed very well. Burn-off at 350°F was perfect. My first cook (candied salmon) went flawlessly with excellent temperature control. At that point, I believed I had avoided the issues others reported. The failure occurred during my second 1/2 of the first cook.I raised the smoker to 300°F and added chicken (6 drumsticks, 3 thighs). After about 30 minutes everything looked normal, so I stepped inside. Roughly 30 minutes later I returned to find the smoker actively on fire, flames shooting out of the burn pot drawer, flames inside the smoker around and under the burn pot cover, control panel flashing uncontrollably and completely unresponsive and temperature reading 410°F, but the actual heat was clearly far higher. I shut the smoker off and unplugged it to stop the fan. When I removed the burn pot, I found pellets burning several inches back inside the auger, indicating a serious control failure.This resulted in extreme heat damage, door gasket melted, glass turned dark amber and opaque, smoker floor discolored and warped, exterior paint burned off and the control panel screen started to melt. This smoker was five days old, properly used, and clean. This was not grease buildup. This was not user error. This was a runaway fire caused by a control system failure.When I contacted Pit Boss, they immediately blamed the control panel and offered to send a replacement panel and gasket—clearly indicating this is a known, recurring issue. However, they refused to address the warped metal, burned paint, or heat damage, claiming it was “cosmetic.” Metal that warps and discolors from extreme heat is not cosmetic damage—it is structural damage caused by an uncontrolled fire. Pit Boss even suggested I buy some paint and repaint the smoker myself.After this incident, I reviewed more customer feedback and found countless reports across multiple Pit Boss models describing the exact same runaway fire behavior, often followed by Pit Boss telling customers to call support for replacement parts. This strongly suggests a brand-wide design or control system problem, not an isolated model defect. Pellet smokers should never, lose temperature control, continue feeding fuel during a fault, alllw fires to propagate into the auger and require users to physically intervene to stop a fire. That is a serious safety hazard.Fortunately, Fred Meyer allowed a full refund, which I appreciate. If they hadn’t, I would have been left with a fire-damaged smoker that Pit Boss refused to replace.Based on this experience and the volume of similar reports, I would not consider any Pit Boss pellet smoker safe. Their response pattern—minimizing damage, blaming components, and offering DIY fixes for fire-related failures—only reinforces that conclusion. I strongly recommend looking at other brands with better control system, stronger safety accountability and better customer service.
Jon
Customer service is crap on returning
If I could give a zero star review for your return policy I definitely would. You not only don’t give us a refund for the shipping we paid but we pay to ship back to you as well. Making what we bought absolutely worthless. Basically lost money to refund my product that doesn’t fit. Not only that you don’t even make a shelf for all puts you sell which is absolutely stupid. Just go with the more expensive brand grill and don’t cut corners like these guys do!!
Mallorie Maxwell
Pitboss navigator 1000
From the first time of use with this product the igniter pushed back into the housing. This model does not have any way to retrieve it. I have been waiting for a replacement which s the hole auger box from Nov 14 2025 as it is on back order. The company states nothing else can be done as you must wait for the part. ***DO NOT BUY THIS MODEL***
Michael Schroeder
What a waste of money
What a waste of money. Steer clear of Pit Boss smokers. When I need it to work, it doesn't. I'm done with this brand forever. Customer service wasn't much assistance either. It seems to have issues in cold weather. Last year, I ordered the bad part and fixed it. Used it a couple of times over the summer, but here we are again in cold weather and it failed me again. I'm done.
keith montgomery
Customer service I have dealt with was…
Customer service I have dealt with was Flawless. They helped me to replace some defective parts that I broke myself at no costs. Can't ask for more. Thank you. 5 stars from me :)
Stoica Alexandru
These smokers suck
These smokers suck. Pellet hopper is not waterproof. If you have a decent amount of experience you know at some point in time it will rain while you are smoking. I live in South Florida during the warmer months it rains every day. A full Hopper of pellets gets wet from rain getting into the hopper jams up the auger and it's an hour and a half process to pull it out and clear it. It's a smoker you don't want to keep it under your patio roof otherwise you get smoking soot everywhere it's kind of Common Sense and you shouldn't have to build a shelter just for your smoker. I contacted Pit Boss and they had no solution for me. Steer clear buy a better smoker.
st Class Property Maintenance
Pitt Boss smokers are beyond horrible
Pitt Boss smokers are beyond horrible. Do not waste your money on a smoke that can't go low and slow and an app that is a complete waste of time. This product is and this company are jokes. Try to give them feedback directly... you can't.. they don't want to hear from you after they get your money. Move on to your next choice.
James C
Pit Boss's little tank
It is coming up to almost one year since I purchased my Pit Boss 150PPS Table Top Pellet Grill. We traveled from Canada to the USA for 2 1/2 months so I decided to get a table top smoker. Without using names I purchased what some call the top brand on the market. Well what a let down more than twice the price as Pit Boss it got returned to ACE hardware and was was refunded without any problem. After three days of trying to figure out why is kept getting hopper fire I gave up. My Pit boss is rock solid after many hours of cooking and can even cook steaks 10 hour port butt and anything you throw at it. As I am in my 1st year of retirement we will start saving to purchase a Top model full size Pit boss and will do a you tube honest review. Way to go Pit boss.
Rob
Used the Pitt boss series 1600 pro…
Used the Pitt boss series 1600 pro series 4 times and the motor auger failed. Was sent a replacement with no instructions. After checking YouTube, it is a 20+ step process to replace. I am 1 hour in and not close to a successful repair yet. $1600+ wasted. Do not buy!
Edwin Borkey
Caught fire
We smoked ppl butts all night for a cancer benefit today . Turned temp down to 150 as it was cooking faster than we wanted it to. Somewhere between 1:30am and 3:00 am it malfunctioned and changed the temp to 380 causing it to catch fire . Thank God my husband was awake and keeping an eye on it. Needless to say the 6 butts were ruined and did not have time to smoke more before the benefit. Had to spend $1000 at located bbq restaurant to make sure we had the main course. My daughters caught fire last week as well and they weren’t even cooking on it. Not sure what is happening here. If you have one don’t let it cook unsupervised and get a fire blanket .
Stacey Crawford
Pit Boss Competition Series Gen 2 Vertical 5 Pellet Smoker
I absolutely fell in love with this smoker. I had purchased a Masterbuilt Gravity Series 560 and paid a lot of money for it and had so many problems with it and decided to give it to one of my guys. I started researching because I wasn't going to make that mistake again and ran across the Pit Boss Vertical Smoker and I love it and still do. The only thing I don't like is, the paint started burning off the top and 90% of the time I smoke on low heat (220 degrees) I can't hold this against them because they had no way of knowing this would happen. Fix this and you'll get a 5 star from me.
Jerry Jones
What a joke
What a joke. Bought the Laredo from walmart. 2 boards a wiring harness and heating element later it still shows “err” tired of being a pellet smoker technician, buying a trager or camp chef. Oh, they will offer a seasoning packet for your troubles. Hard to use that when the grill doesn't work.
Michael
I have had nothing but problems with my…
I have had nothing but problems with my Pit Boss Austin XL. Parts continuously break down shipping is slow or delayed constantly customer service reps especially Christian are rude and unprofessional. Do not buy this product it is the worst thing I've ever purchased in my life. Pit Boss is a terrible company and the only reason I left one star is because I can't leave negative Stars. I have had this grill for almost 5 years maybe 10 times due to the fact that it does not work right and they will not replace it they just keep sending parts and biting their time until my warranty runs out. Once again do not buy this product
customer
Pit Boss Vertical grill PBV4PS2 are TRASH!!!!!!!!
My Pit Boss Vertical grill, the PBV4PS2, is absolutely Trash!!!!! My wife and I purchased this grill during the summer of 2022, and it served us well for the first two years of use. However, during a family gathering, I had to grill 12 slabs of ribs, but the grill couldn’t maintain the desired cooking temperature. Thankfully, my dad had another grill, but we could only put six slabs on it at a time, which significantly slowed down the cooking process. The primary reason we bought the smoker was to have a grill that could accommodate more food.I contacted the Pit Boss support team (aka The Parts Store), and they diagnosed an issue with the control board. They promptly shipped me a replacement, which was relatively straightforward to install. I thought we were all set, but unfortunately, the problem persisted. The next time I tried using the grill, it kept displaying an error and wouldn’t regain its temperature.The support team instructed me to open the smoker’s door to fix the ignitor, which ultimately led to its failure later. I found myself once again wasting my precious time repairing the smoker instead of cooking. At this point, I feel like I’m dealing with a used car that keeps breaking down (a certified lemon).Replacing the ignitor was more challenging. I followed every step outlined in the Pit Boss video on YouTube, but the rep informed me that the video was outdated. She suggested that I should have hand-tightened the screw for the ignitor instead of screwing it in with a screwdriver.I feel like I’ve become an expert on repairing Pit Boss grills, and I wish they would offer me a job lol. I’m not the only one experiencing issues with this particular grill. After cooking on it when I bought it, I recommended it to my family and friends, who also purchased the smoker. Unfortunately, they’re having the same problems.So, if you’re considering buying this vertical grill, I strongly advise you to do your research. Pit Boss, this grill is great for a couple of years, but after that, it starts to malfunction. I’m sure many people are like my friends, pushing their Vertical PBV4PS2 grills to the curb versus having to be sent parts to repair it themselves.
Lemonte Boyle Bigterrell
HORRIBLE!
I am completely devastated about my pitboss smoker and how we have not been able to use it (except 1 time) when we bought it. I need someone to reach out to me ASAP regarding this issue. I have a timeline below of everything that has occurred. This is absolutely unacceptable. I have taken every single measure that support has done and STILL MY SMOKER DOESN’T WORK. - Purchased “Black Friday” - Was only able to use the smoke 1 time before it stopped working.- Directions informed us ABSOLUTELY DO NOT RETURN PITBOSS TO WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT….REACH OUT TO PITBOSS DIRECTLY WITH ANY ISSUES.- We would have returned it to Walmart if we weren’t instructed to not do that.- Reached out to pitboss to trouble shoot why our smoker wasn’t working. On 5/13/25 they shipped us a new “Control Board – PB Vertical, 110VAC 3MP 4 Series (122) to fix the issue.o Control board was delivered on 5/21/25 NO INSTRUCTIONS INCLUDED.o Had to reach back out to pitboss to have them email me directions on how to install control board.- After we installed “New Control Board” smoker STILL NOT WORKING. - Reached back out to pitboss AGAIN and on 5/29/25 they instructed us to “Check the connection from the (FAN) to the control board”. And they told me to then reach back out if that doesn’t work.- On 6/2/25 reach back out AGAIN to pitboss support and on video chat showed that we are still getting “ErL” code.- On 6/2/25 they shipped a new “Fan – Combustion/Convection – PB Series” fan to us.- On 6/16/25 – New Fan was delivered – AGAIN WITHOUT INSTRUCTIONS!!!!!!!!!!- Reached back out to support to get instructions on how to install new fan.- AGAIN – SMOKER STILL ISN’T WORKING!!!!!!!!!!!- Reached back out AGAIN to support to show the ErL code.- They now shipped us a new “Igniter – PB Series” part on 7/7/25.- Igniter – PB Series was delivered on 7/14/25 – AGAIN WITHOUT INSTRUCTIONS!!!!!!!!!!!- We installed the new part and STILL GETTING THE ErL Code!- We are not technicians that should have to keep installing new parts for a smoker that clearly just doesn’t work. - Since we were instructed to NOT RETURN IT TO WALMART – we are now outside of the standard Walmart return policy of 90 days and our smoker STILL DOESN’T WORK. - Talked to customer service AGAIN who wanted me to do something else to try and fix it. I asked to speak with a supervisor who was "monitoring" the call who then "magically" wasn't able to talk to me and assured a call back from Shelly. I never received a call back. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE
Kelly
They sent me a smaller cover than I ordered
I ordered a size 820 pit boss grill cover, and I received a 800 size. There is a size difference and price difference from what I ordered. I called customer care and the man I spoke to kept insisting that was the cover I ordered and he wouldn't give any explanation for the size difference. They sent me something other than what I paid for and there was no effort to resolve the issue on their end.
Jackie gainey
Poor customer service
Purchased a Pit Boss 1250 smoker today at Menards. When we opened the box the lid was all scratched. In the assembly instructions it says any issues with the smoker contact pit boss which we did. They told us since it was only cosmetic they would not replace anything or assist us in any manner. Since there were quite a few large scratches we were not happy with this response. First time dealing with Pit Boss and so disappointed. Probably should have read reviews before purchase. Thankfully Menards is going to help us swap out the lid. Kudos to Menards.
Bethany Kelly
