You are looking for a new pellet grill, and your choices can be overwhelming. Pit Boss or Traeger? Some people may lean towards one brand over another because they have had better experiences with that particular company in the past; however, both brands offer high-quality equipment which will cook food perfectly every time. So, which one to choose?
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Well, if you’re new here and want to learn more about outdoor cooking then I’m happy that we can help. Now as someone who’s not really into brands but rather tries out different products in order to find what works best for my backyard barbecues (and other various events), these two models caught my attention.
So we could do a comparable price comparison. Some of you watching this video is just like me, looking to find the best pit for your needs and budget! So grab yourself some notepads (and maybe even an extra pen) because it’s time that we compare notes on what exactly makes these Barbecues so great in order to determine which one will work out better.
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Make an honest comparison of these pits and see how they stack up against each other.
I’ve had Pit Boss 1600 model for 9 months, and it’s worked well every day. For the past month, I have been working on a number of cook jobs which all come off Trager’s 780. Both of them have done a fantastic job in cooking. I cooked low and slow on one while grilled nicely on the other side with some spices for added flavor. I love how versatile they are!
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The process of putting the pit together is about equal for both pits.
The Assemble
The Pit Boss 1600 has more to put together than the Traeger. Pit Boss’s 1600 square-inch cooking space is perfect for those who love to cook. You can easily fetch the most delicious flavors with three shelves and tons of options on each level. Then there are three-quarter shelves in the middle with a half-sized one on top. The space between each shelf isn’t very wide, so you won’t have room for the big items. With the grill’s limited cooking space, you’ll need to choose between the sizes of the meat. The grill will work if you want to do a lot of ribs, but not so much for the brisket. If we were going for brisket, won’t be able to get this rack in, unless it’s just a brisket flat.
The Cooking Space
The Trager 780 has a total cooking space of 705 square inches. It features two levels, one at the bottom and then just a third up on top for your food preparation needs.
The difference between the pellet grill’s hoppers is 32 pounds for the 1600 model and 18 lbs on average with Trager’s 780. This may seem like a large difference.
The Steel
The Pit Boss 1600 is made of 14 gauge steel, while the Trager 780 only has 16mm. This means that it’s stronger and will last longer than most competitors in its class.
The Wheels
The 1600 has poly wheels and casters that are great for concrete but if you’re rolling over damp grass or other surfaces with less robust traction, the weight can cause damage. The front wheels of the Traeger are made out of composite plastic-like material while the back ones have more rubber-like qualities to them. They’re very sturdy and won’t rock when you move it across your garage or patio on 780 after putting in two bottom supports, which makes for an even stiffer ride.
The Shelves
The Trager 780 has a rather simple design which makes it easy to use. The only accessory included with this model is the lid for placing meat on top of or sitting next to your cutting board, but if you want more storage space there are many options online! You can order an extra shelf that will fit into place nicely at 10 bucks or more. The1600 model has some unique features that you won’t find on any other models. One of these is the side shelf, which can serve as both an entertainment center and food prep space. The hopper works well to hold all those dishes while keeping them off your floor. And then there’s this really nice side panel where I usually keep my snacks. It has proven difficult to clean, but still, the additional space is here. The bottom shelf in this 1600 Pit Boss is a great place to store your barbecue supplies.
The Lid
These two pits have very solid handles. They’re both equipped with a nice side handle, which makes them easy to wheel around on your own if needed!
The non-insulated lids wall 1600 model is that it does not have a tight seal. This means you might experience some not much smoke escape if your fire becomes too intense. That helps keep this a little bit tighter. The Trager 780 is one of the most durable models we carried, with its standard 16 gauge steel lid.
The Sear Plate
The Trager 780 is a great choice for those who love to grill, but it does not have a sear plate. But I have to admit. that the sear plate on the 1600 is not something that I use all that much. I sear something on my pellet grill either with the grate or cast iron pan. I find that when using those cooking methods, you have more control over how browned it gets than if there was just some wildfire coming out of that fire pot. The sear plate on the 1600 is an extra bonus that doesn’t really change anything.
The Low And Slow Cooking
The low and slow cooking technique is a great way to create delicious food with minimal effort. The Traeger is one of my favorite pieces for this method because it doesn’t have an actual sear plate in here. The lack of fins on this particular model caused me to feel as if there was no residual heat right above the fire pop because it has nothing like what the sear plate offers. The 780 has a small little heating deflector right above it. And I feel that this made the warmth more evenly dispersed throughout the chamber, which helped with the overall shot performance. It’s a matter of personal preference really, but I’d still want that sear plate if it were available.
The Grates
In my opinion, the Trager grate is better than Pit Boss 1600 because it has more space on its bottom shelf. The standard grate offers much greater convenience and flexibility while still being able to cook with ease using only two hands. The Pit Boss 1600 diamond porcelain coated cast iron grates are a pain in the neck. They’re not very durable and I wish they would just get rid of them. Plus, their design is flawed because it’s hard to fit these tight-fitting wire ones on top without shifting all over when you move your product around.
The Wifi Controllers
Both of these pits are equipped with wifi PID controllers. The new WiFi-enabled Pit Boss system makes it easy for you to maintain your pit temperature. With 10-degree increments up until 300 degrees Fahrenheit, there are no worries about cutting off an edge when cooking. It can reach 500 degrees Fahrenheit with the sear plate open and 600 if closed – perfect temps any time of day.
The Traegers 780 controller works in five-degree increments up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. I am really pleased with this controller. It has features that are great for me and my needs, which made it an easy choice.
The auger reverse is a fantastic feature that helps to prevent pellet jams. It’s not very common for this type of problem, but if you live in high humidity areas then I’m sure it hasn’t happened yet. I also like how easily the auger prime feature can be used. All I have to do is press that button on top, and then it’ll fill up with pellets until my pot gets full before stopping- there’s no need for me go back over stuff manually. And then you just hit the ignite button.
Connectivity is not one of the strong points. It’s true that it didn’t connect to wifi (I’m not a wifi cook). I use my signals to keep an eye on what’s going down in the pit and how it tastes. But if you’re looking for a way to monitor your cooking process from afar, this is going to work well.
The Meat Probes Ports
The four meat probe ports on the 1600 make it a great choice for anyone who likes to cook with heavier meats. The whole pit loaded up with protein on the 780 negatives that I have is if there’s only one meat pro port in this smoker. You’re going to end up running more than just a brisket.
The Cleaning
The pit boss’s simplified ash cleanup on The 1600. With a removable fire pot, you can dump out any leftover pellets or ash from your blast cook to avoid messes in future cooks. The lack of a removable fire pot on the Traeger 780 is one more drawback.
Here’s how you can tell if your smoker is getting dirty: On both of these pits, every two or three cooks I do suggest that everyone go ahead and clean out the chamber completely. It’s important to get as much of the ash and extra grease from your smoking session into that greasy bale.
The Trager 780 has an easy-to-use maintenance kit that can be easily opened and cleaned out with just a few moves. The 1600 is a lot more difficult to get inside this pit. The biggest problem you will face is taking off the handle and unclipping the rod above the sear plate, but once these two parts are removed it becomes much easier for us to remove them. A task that would take seconds, in theory, can now be accomplished with minutes of work.
When I first got the Pit Boss grill, it had porcelain-coated cast iron grates which looked really nice but were a pain in terms of cleaning. You can scrape them down and try to get all that residue off, but still, they won’t be clean enough. The bottom grate on the 780 is a little easier to clean than its counterpart, which makes me prefer this model over the 1600.
You can’t go wrong with these two brands. They’re leaders in their field and have some of the best prices around. The Trager 780 is a great grill to have in your arsenal. I picked it up at Home Depot for $999, but you can also find this saw in other locations around town. The pro series 1600 at Lowe’s is an exclusive and it costs $899.
The Pit Boss Pro Series 1600 is the clear winner. I like Trager, but it’s not as affordable or feature-rich when you compare them to what BB has to offer in terms of their smokers at this price range – and we’re talking about features that will make your food taste better!
That is a lot of information, but it should help you make your decision. Remember to read the reviews and find out what other people think before buying so that when the time comes for delivery or setup there will be no surprises. In this article, we compared the best wood pellet grills. We hope that our comparison will help you find your perfect grill!
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