Pro Series II 1150 vs 850... Help me decide.

[Jjsaustin]

Hi,

I'm trying to decide between the 1150 and the 850 from Lowes. Aside from the larger size of the 1150 (which is actually a negative for me - I prefer a smaller grill), the ash clean out on the bottom of the 1150, and the 4 temp probe ports on the 1150 vs the 2 on the 850, are there any other major differences?

Assuming you get the updated PID with 10 degree increments, are they both the same PID (beside from the number of temperature probe ports) or does one have more features?

I also noticed that the 1150 has a diffuser (see part #17 in the pic below), but the 850 doesn't. To me that part doesn't really look like a diffuser since it doesn't go over the pot. To me it looks more like something to help minimize the volume of air inside the grill to reduce heating time and make the grill burn more efficiently. Can anyone shed some light on that part?

Anything else I am missing?


Thanks for your help!

 

[Jaybod]

I can't say much in regards to the 1150, but I do love my 850. Has enough grill space, small footprint in general of the grill also. Mine does not have the 10 degree increments but hopefully I will have an update on that next week from the looks of my tracking number.

 

[Mr.coon]

My dad has the 850 and it does a great job out of the box. The 1150 has issues. It isn't even on the Pit Boss website anymore. You have to do what is called the heat deflector mod to it Heat Deflector Mod and change out the controller for one with updated programming for it to run correctly. The 850 seems like the only one in the series that you don't have to mess with.

The attachment was last weekend on the 850.

 

[Elfcane]

Originally I wanted the 1150 and went into Lowes expecting to get one. Long story short, they only had the 850 at that time so I pulled the trigger. I can say now I would stick with the 850.

 

[Mike From R.I.]

If you have parties with many people and want to smoke bigger cuts of meat, I would buy the 1150.

 

[ANT0407]

If you have parties with many people and want to smoke bigger cuts of meat, I would buy the 1150.

To Mike's point,When I got mine I was deciding between the 1150 and 1600. I decided to go with the 1600 to have more, cooking space if needed. I have lots of people over all summer. I'm glad I made that decision. I'm not telling you to get the 1600 but I would recommend the larger of the 2 you are looking at. There might come a time when you wish you had more space if you get the smaller one.

 

[Jjsaustin]

Thanks for the feedback... I would get the bigger 1150 if I had a good spot to put it. As it is, I may not even have that good of a spot for the 850.

The one feature on the 1150 that I wish the 850 had is the ash clean out. However, i saw a video on how to mod the 850 for the clean out, so I can easily do that.