Pit Boss 150 Battery-Powered Portable Pellet Grill Review

Earlier in February 2023, Pit Boss Grills dropped a teaser reel on Instagram and slightly longer YouTube teaser for what appeared to be an upcoming portable pellet grill that was battery-powered. Late in February, Pit Boss launched their Battery-Powered Portable Pellet Grill aimed at making pellet grills truly portable. 

However, portability is not the end-all, be-all. How does this battery-powered grill stack up in terms of its smoking and grilling performance? Let’s dig in.

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Pit Boss Grills Overview

Pit Boss Grills is a subsidiary of Dansons, Inc., a company that owns other notable brands in the grilling and barbecue industry like Louisiana Grills, Country Smokers, and A-Maze-N Smokin’ Products. Pit Boss makes a number of different grills, including pellet grills, gas grills, combination grills, and even outdoor gas griddles. Notable product lines include Pit Boss Pro Series in partnership with Lowes and the Sportsman Series.

Pit Boss Portable Battery Powered Wood Pellet Grill Specifications

Cooking Space – 256 sq in

Dimensions – 26.3″ L x 18.1″ W x 15.8″ H

Weight – 46.7 lbs

Grill Grates – Porcelain-coated stainless steel

Temperature Range – 180°-500°F with up to 1000°F when the firepot is revealed

Hopper Capacity – Seven pounds

WiFi Connectivity – No

Bluetooth Connectivity – No

Meat Probes – One probe and one probe port

Built-in Storage – No

Digital Controller – Yes

Warranty – 5-year warranty, one-year warranty on the battery

Truly Portable Pellet Grill 

This is not the first Pit Boss tabletop pellet grill. However, as noted above, this new portable tabletop pellet grill is truly portable because it can run off a battery. Pit Boss is advertising that the grill can run for up to 15 hours on a single charge. That means plenty of time for smoking low-and-slow for the point or flat of brisket or grilling plenty of burgers before you need to think about recharging. Even on battery power, this grill has a temperature range of 180°-500°F.

However, if you find yourself near an electrical outlet, you can plug this pellet grill in to ensure you won’t run out anytime soon. 

The grill comes in at just under 50 pounds so you won’t feel like you’re lugging a bag of bricks to the campsite, the picnic table, or the parking lot for gameday tailgating. It has two metal side handles so you always have an easy grip as well. If you want to monitor temperatures on the go with probes, Pit Boss included one meat probe with your purchase. The digital control panel has one probe port as well. Unsurprisingly, there is no WiFi connection due to its focus on portability. There is also no Bluetooth connectivity which would be a bonus, but you could always use a wireless meat thermometer like the ThermoPro Twin TempSpikes to monitor temperatures if you want to use your smartphone.

If you’re worried about making a mess on the go, Pit Boss still has an integrated grease management system with a grease tray on the right side of the grill. You’ll be able to capture all the drippings for easy cleanup, a necessity when you’re on the road camping or in the parking lot on gameday. 

256 Square Inches Of Battery-Powered And Wood-Fired Cooking Space

Just like other portable pellet grills in the Pit Boss lineup, this pellet smoker has 256 square inches of cooking space. In fact, when you put the new battery-powered grill next to some of the other portable pellet grills, it looks almost identical other than the battery port. It comes with the main cooking rack and a second, smaller cooking rack to help reach that total. While the cooking surface might not be enough for a full packer brisket, it’s still a large cooking area for a portable grill and will be sufficient for most of your needs on the go. Pit Boss boasts that you can fit 13 burgers on the grill grates which is enough to get any small party started.

This portable grill is fueled by a pellet hopper capable of holding seven lbs of wood pellets at a time. That is slightly smaller than the eight-pound pellet hopper capacity of the Z Grills 200A Cruiser portable pellet grill we reviewed, but that is likely due to the inclusion of the battery. It’s a small sacrifice to make for true portability.

As far as actually using the grill, it’s quite simple. Like the majority of pellet grills, you do need to start this grill with the lid open. All you need to do is turn the control knob to the Smoke setting and wait for some white smoke to start coming out of the cooking chamber. Temperature control is simple with just a twist of the knob to select one of the preset temperatures ranging from Smoke (roughly 200°F) to HIGH (roughly 475°F.) Then for shutting it off, you simply turn the knob to Off and let the grill go through its shutdown cycle before stowing it.

Direct-Flame Cooking Ability

Pit Boss has a number of pellet grills throughout their lineup utilizing their Flame Broiler system. The battery-powered portable pellet grill is no different. A slide-out lever uncovers the firepot to reveal the open flame so you can get a true flame-grilled taste on those burgers or steaks. You could even amp up the tailgate by smoking chicken wings and then finish them over the open flame.

The ability to reveal the firepot boosts the versatility of this pellet grill. Pellet grills in general are not known to provide a quality sear especially when compared to gas or charcoal grills. However, the ability to expose direct flame does give this grill a boost that can make it the centerpiece of any camping trip or tailgate.

Overall Fit And Finish

Pit Boss did not skimp on the materials, focusing on ensuring this pellet grill has a durable construction. The body is made from heavy-duty steel covered by a high-temp powder coating while the cooking grates are porcelain-coated stainless steel. It looks solid and there’s no mistaking that this is battery-powered thanks to the neon green symbol on the right front of the grill. The digital control panel is big and bright with an easy-to-read indicator for battery life. The legs are sturdy so you don’t have to worry about your grill tipping over on the table during use either.

Final Thoughts

Pit Boss has created a lightweight, fully portable pellet grill. I’ve used Z Grills’ portable pellet grill before and enjoyed it. However, I always had to have a place to plug it in to use it. With this new Pit Boss 150, that’s not a necessity. You can use this in your own backyard or in a remote campground easily.

It has a seven-pound pellet hopper which is perfectly fine. You may need to top it off if you’re smoking a pork butt, but for most applications, you’ll be perfectly fine. One nice touch on the overall design was the upgraded lid latches that are thicker than the simple metal ones on earlier Pit Boss portable pellet grills. This ensures that you can keep smoke locked into the cooking chamber while also keeping the lid securely closed during transportation.

The grill also comes with a five-year warranty so you can rest assured any issues that do crop up will be handled.

Pit Boss has continued to find ways to answer some of the harder questions in the pellet grill industry, whether that’s the lack of searing capability or having to be plugged in for use. Stay tuned here for more information as it comes out and hopefully a hands-on review!

If you’re looking for a new pellet grill for home use, check out our different lists of the best pellet grills! We’ve got options for a budget under $500, for if you can spend up to $1,000, or if you’re simply looking for the best of the best. If you want some other portable options, check out our list of the best portable pellet grills.

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