Masterbuilt Gravity Series 800 Digital Charcoal Grill vs Pit Boss 42-Inch Digital Vertical Smoker with Wi-Fi

The Gravity Series 800 solves the fundamental problem with charcoal: temperature control. A GravityFed vertical hopper holds enough charcoal for up to 10 hours, gravity keeps feeding the fire as fuel burns down, and a DigitalFan regulates airflow to hold the temperature you set. You set a number and the grill maintains it, the way a pellet grill does, but burning real charcoal. It is also three appliances in one: charcoal grilling on traditional grates, a full flat-top griddle insert for searing and sauteing breakfast, burgers and fajitas, and low-and-slow smoking. Control is from the digital board on the grill or from a phone through the Masterbuilt app, so temperature can be monitored during a long cook without standing over it.

This is Pit Boss's largest digital vertical cabinet smoker, offering 1,320 square inches of cooking space across four porcelain-coated adjustable racks. Vertical cabinet smokers use their footprint differently from horizontal grills: stacking racks means far more capacity per square foot of patio, which is what makes a 42-inch cabinet practical for whole racks of ribs or several briskets at once. It runs electric with a digital controller across a 100F to 300F range, the low-and-slow band that smoking actually needs, and heavy-duty steel construction with a sealed door keeps that heat in. Wi-Fi lets temperatures be set and monitored from a phone, so a twelve-hour cook does not tie you to the patio. Loading wood chips and plugging it in is the whole setup, with no fire to manage.

• Real charcoal flavour with digital temperature control
• Griddle insert included, not sold separately
• 10-hour hopper covers a full brisket cook
• App monitoring during long smokes

• Very large capacity for its floor footprint
• Electric operation removes fire management entirely
• Wi-Fi monitoring suits twelve-hour cooks
• Adjustable racks handle tall cuts and hanging

• More complex than a simple charcoal kettle, with a fan and electronics to fail
• Requires mains power for the fan and controller
• Ash and hopper cleanout is more involved than a pellet grill

• 300F ceiling means it cannot sear or grill
• Electric smokers produce a milder smoke profile than charcoal or offset
• Requires an outdoor power outlet