Hello all, I'm new here first time poster. I'm not new to the BBQ scene but going to be new to the pellet grills!. I have a question, Im looking at 2 possible pellet smokers both of them the Pit Boss's what's the major difference between the 2? is there an advantage to having the horizontal to the vertical smoker? I live in Ontario Canada so it gets cold here in the winter and I understand the copperhead is double walled witch in my opinion would help keep heat in on colder days? I've read up on people who own the traeger timberline and its double walled and i hear it cooks great in the winter. any help and or opinions would be helpful!

I have both horizontal (RT 680) and vertical (Copperhead 5) smokers and the while there is tons of room inside the Copperhead I would not be able to grill on it like I can on the horizontal unit. I like them both but they sort of serve different purposes for me. Sausage and jerky tend to end up on the Vertical unit while butts and ribs and general grill activity end up on the horizontal.

If that helps at all.

A little yes thank you. I guess my major beef is with winter and if I could use it or not in cold conditions. So would you say that the vertical pit boss is not as good as the horizontal for doing butts ect?

Read the Pit Boss Copperhead section.  You need to really be concerned about keeping the pellets dry as moisture gets into the pellet release hatch and then turns to sawdust and jams up the auger rendering the grill useless until you clean it out.  Other than that, it is a great smoker.

i'll do that! thanks!

Read the Pit Boss Copperhead section.  You need to really be concerned about keeping the pellets dry as moisture gets into the pellet release hatch and then turns to sawdust and jams up the auger rendering the grill useless until you clean it out.  Other than that, it is a great smoker.

Where can I find the "Pit Boss Copperhead" section?

You may want to look at this thread:  https://pelletfan.com/index.php?topic=2320.0

Read the Pit Boss Copperhead section.  You need to really be concerned about keeping the pellets dry as moisture gets into the pellet release hatch and then turns to sawdust and jams up the auger rendering the grill useless until you clean it out.  Other than that, it is a great smoker.

Where can I find the "Pit Boss Copperhead" section?

Read the threads in the section where you posted your original post.  There are several threads related to the Copperhead products.  Read them all.  There is one negative about the product and a lot of positives.  If you can live with the negative, it can be a great pit.

Thanks everyone! much appreciated

I have not had the Copperhead over the winter yet but I suspect it will hold temp a bit better than the 680 because it is, if not insulated at least double wall construction. I have cooked butts in the Copperhead with no issues at all, its just that I naturally head to the 680 for butts for some reason. It just feels more "natural", I guess. I have had no issues with anything I have cooked on the Copperhead and since it sits under a gazebo I have not had the issues with water that was mentioned on another thread. Overall I am very happy with the Copperhead and I suspect that if I had bought it before the 680 I would only have 1 smoker. 

I have not had the Copperhead over the winter yet but I suspect it will hold temp a bit better than the 680 because it is, if not insulated at least double wall construction. I have cooked butts in the Copperhead with no issues at all, its just that I naturally head to the 680 for butts for some reason. It just feels more "natural", I guess. I have had no issues with anything I have cooked on the Copperhead and since it sits under a gazebo I have not had the issues with water that was mentioned on another thread. Overall I am very happy with the Copperhead and I suspect that if I had bought it before the 680 I would only have 1 smoker.

I also keep my Kamados under my covered porch so water will be a non issue as well. If you look into the Traeger Timberline series although can not be compared to the copperhead its also double walled construction and i've spoken to people who own them and was told winter was a non issue besides the fact that it used more pellets and on really cold days the display would take some time to come on. once the unit warmed up the display was fine.

I have both horizontal (RT 680) and vertical (Copperhead 5) smokers and the while there is tons of room inside the Copperhead I would not be able to grill on it like I can on the horizontal unit. I like them both but they sort of serve different purposes for me. Sausage and jerky tend to end up on the Vertical unit while butts and ribs and general grill activity end up on the horizontal.

If that helps at all.

LOL...I have the same two, and use them for about the same purposes. 

 bel4_20: No answer to your question.... Just curious as to where you live in Ontario?  I reside south of London and have been around pellet cooking for a while.