Related: Pellet Grill Temperature Guide: Holding Temp in Wind and Cold
I have a rule about pellet grill covers: buy the one that names your model, not the one that claims to fit most. That single line saves more money than any sale price. I keep a logbook of every cook, hold times, pellet brands, and what the weather did to the smoke, and a surprising number of bad cooks trace back to something outside the cook itself. A wet hopper. An auger full of dust. A cover that sagged and pooled water on the lid seam all winter.
This guide is about matching gear to the cook you actually do: two smokers, two covers, and the specs that matter when you are standing outside at 2 AM instead of sleeping.
The Pit Boss 500 FB2, and why the hopper number matters
The 500 FB2 is the pellet rig in this group. 518 square inches of cooking space, a temperature range of 180°F to 500°F, a flame broiler, an LCD digital controller, and a meat probe in the box. That range is the part I care about most. A grill that can sit at 225°F and also open up to 500°F is two tools in one body, and the flame broiler is what lets you slide a steak over direct heat instead of finishing everything in the smoke.
Temperature stability is the entire game. A pellet grill that swings 30 degrees is a campfire with a hopper, and no amount of app notifications fixes it. What I want to see on a grill like this is a hold time, meaning how long the temp stays put without you touching anything. That is the number that decides whether you sleep during a brisket or babysit it.
The catch is written right on the spec sheet. A 5 lb hopper is small. Hopper capacity is a camping spec, and on a long cook you will be filling it more than once. That is not a dealbreaker, it is a scheduling fact. If you know it going in, you top off before you wrap, you keep the lid shut, and you stop pretending the machine is self-sufficient for 14 hours.
Two things I would check before the first cook on any Pit Boss: the steel at the firepot, which is where they cheap out, and the welds around it. Thin steel warps and lies. The auger's reputation matters too, because auger jam stories spread fast, and they almost always start with pellets that turned to dust in humidity. Store your pellets sealed and this grill has a much easier life.
Check current Amazon price on the 500 FB2 before you commit, because value is the whole argument for this class of grill.
The QuliMetal cover: read the model list first
This one is made for the Pit Boss Austin XL, the 1000, and the 1100 series. Notice what is not on that list: the 500 FB2. That is not a knock on the cover, it is the reason I read model names before I read anything else. If your Pit Boss is an Austin XL or a 1000 or an 1100, this fits what you own. If you are buying the 500 FB2 in this guide, this is not the cover for it, and I would rather tell you that now than have you fight a lid that never closes right.
Hopper lids that do not seal against rain are a pet peeve of mine, and they are almost never the lid's fault. It is the cover. If the cover fits loose, water pools in the fold, and one January freeze later you have a lid that sits proud and a hopper full of damp pellets. Fit is not cosmetic on a pellet grill. It is the difference between starting a cook and clearing a jam.
Check current Amazon price on the QuliMetal cover and confirm the model series against your own grill before ordering.
The Cuisinart 8-in-1: electric, not pellets
Let me be clear about what this is, because the word smoker is in the name and that causes confusion. The Cuisinart outdoor electric grill is electric and it runs on a wall outlet. It claims eight functions including air fry, grill, and smoke, and it has 154 square inches of cooking surface. That is roughly a quarter of the Pit Boss, and it is a different category of cooking.
For a balcony, a small patio, or an apartment where a pellet hopper is not an option, this is a legitimately useful machine. Weeknight burgers, wings, a piece of fish, and no pellet management at all. It also sidesteps the things that annoy me about pellet grills: no auger, no firepot, no dust, no jam at hour six.
Where it loses is low and slow. 154 square inches will not hold a packer brisket plus a pork shoulder, and an electric element is not going to give you the same smoke profile as burning pellets. Smoke flavor comes from pellet quality and cook method, and you get neither here in the traditional sense. If your goal is a smoke ring and a 12 hour hold, buy the pellet grill. If your goal is dinner on a Tuesday with no cleanup ritual, this does that job well.
Check current Amazon price on the Cuisinart to see whether the convenience math works for your space.
The Utheer cover: the Recteq fit
This cover is cut for the Recteq side of the world: the RT-590, the Deck Boss 590, 800, and 900, and the RT-700. Recteq builds the best temperature stability under $1,200 in my experience, and people who own them tend to keep them a long time, which makes a properly sized cover a cheap insurance policy rather than an accessory.
Same rule applies. The RT-590 and the RT-700 are very different footprints, and the Deck Boss line spans 590 through 900. The listing names all of them, which is a good sign, but you still want to confirm the size that matches your particular model before it ships. A cover that is one size off is worse than no cover, because you will use it anyway and wonder why the lid is warping.
I judge covers on three things: whether the name matches my model, whether it sits tight enough that rain runs off instead of pooling, and whether it comes off easily in cold weather when the material stiffens up. Everything else is marketing.
Check current Amazon price on the Utheer cover and verify the model list against your rig.
The reference table
This is the table I would keep on my phone at the store. Every row is a piece of gear from this guide, and the last column is where you go to see what it costs today.
| Setup | What it is | The spec that matters | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
 Visit on Amazon →Pit Boss 500 FB2 Series |
Pellet grill and smoker with flame broiler and LCD digital controller | 518 sq in, 180°F to 500°F, meat probe, 5 lb hopper | $339.00 |
 Visit on Amazon →QuliMetal grill cover |
Cover built for the Pit Boss Austin XL, 1000, and 1100 series | Model list match, not universal fit | $35.99 |
 Visit on Amazon →Cuisinart outdoor electric grill |
Electric 8-in-1 with air fry, grill, and smoke functions | 154 sq in, runs on a wall outlet | $379.95 |
 Visit on Amazon →Utheer grill cover |
Cover built for the Recteq RT-590, Deck Boss 590/800/900, and RT-700 | Model list match, not universal fit | $33.99 |
The pattern in that table is the whole point. Two rows are cookers at very different sizes and power sources. Two rows are covers that only make sense next to a specific grill. Buying them in the wrong combination is how people end up with a $60 brisket, a damp hopper, and a cover they hate.
How I judge a setup before I trust it with a brisket
My process is boring and it does not change. First question: can I log the temperature? No log, no verdict. A grill without a way to record what it actually did is a grill I cannot evaluate, because the display on the controller tells you what it wants, not what happened in the cook chamber.
Second: where is the firepot and how thick is the steel around it. Thin steel warps and lies. When it warps, the seal around the lid goes, and now you have a grill that runs hot on one end and cool on the other, and you spend the whole cook moving meat around.
Third: what is the auger's reputation. Auger jams at hour six of a brisket are the single most predictable failure in this category, and they are almost always a pellet problem before they are a grill problem.
Fourth, and this is the real test: would I trust it with a $60 brisket at 2 AM? That question cuts through every spec sheet ever printed. A grill that holds temp while you sleep wins. Everything else is garnish.
For covers, the process is shorter. Does the listing name my exact model? Does it sit tight? Does it come off without a fight when it is 20 degrees outside and the material is stiff? Three yeses and I stop thinking about it.
What the numbers actually tell you
Cooking space is the number people buy on, and it is the least useful one on its own. 518 square inches tells you there is room for a full packer plus a rack of ribs if you manage the layout. 154 square inches tells you this is a two person weeknight machine, not a party rig. Neither number tells you anything about how well the thing holds temperature, which is the only spec that decides whether you enjoy owning it.
Temperature range is the spec I do buy on. 180°F to 500°F means the grill can cold smoke, run a normal 225°F to 275°F cook, and then open up for a sear over the flame broiler. That is a genuinely wide band, and it is what separates a smoker from a grill that claims to smoke.
The meat probe is a convenience, not a feature. I still use my own thermometer, because I have watched enough built-in probes drift to stop trusting them on a $60 piece of meat.
And the 5 lb hopper on the Pit Boss is the honest tradeoff of the whole listing. Small hoppers mean more refills, which means more lid openings, which means more heat loss, which means a longer cook. If you are feeding a family on a Saturday, plan the refills. If you are cooking for two, you will barely notice.
A cover is not a spec sheet item, which is exactly why people buy it wrong. It is the cheapest part of the setup and the one that decides whether the rest of the setup is still in good shape next spring.
Should you buy the Pit Boss 500 FB2 Series?
Yes, if you want a pellet grill that reads like a smoker first. 518 square inches, 180°F to 500°F, a flame broiler for direct heat, a digital controller, and a meat probe in the box. That is a real cooking range, and the flame broiler is what makes it a grill and not just a smoke box.
Go in knowing the 5 lb hopper is small. You will refill on long cooks, and that is fine as long as you plan for it instead of being surprised at hour six. Check the firepot steel and the welds when it arrives, because that is where value priced grills cut corners. Store your pellets sealed and dry, and the auger will not give you trouble.
If you want the temperature log to look flat at 2 AM, this is the class of grill where that becomes possible. Check current Amazon price before you decide.
Should you buy the Cuisinart outdoor electric grill?
Yes, if your constraint is space or power, not smoke. It is electric, 154 square inches, and it covers eight functions including air fry and grill. On a balcony or a small patio, that is genuinely useful, and it comes with none of the pellet management chores.
No, if you want to cook brisket. There is not enough surface area, and an electric element will not give you the smoke profile of burning pellets. Buy it for weeknights and small cooks, not for the long overnight hold. Check current Amazon price and be honest with yourself about which cook you actually do more often.
Should you buy the QuliMetal or the Utheer cover?
Buy the one that names your grill. The QuliMetal cover is built for the Pit Boss Austin XL, 1000, and 1100 series. The Utheer cover is built for the Recteq RT-590, Deck Boss 590, 800, and 900, and the RT-700. If your model is on one of those lists, buy that cover and stop reading listings that say universal.
If your grill is a Pit Boss 500 FB2, neither of these is your cover, and that is the most useful thing this guide can tell you. Match the model, then check current Amazon price. Do it before the first rain, not after.