Opinions on Smoke hollow 44, with 2 pullout trays instead of door

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hvfc6040

Newbie
Original poster
Dec 22, 2015
7
11
the swamps, LA
Ive been itching to buy a new smoker, nothing super serious. I've been eye balling the smoke hollow 44 at sams, but cant find any reviews on the one they carry, which has 2 pullout wood trays instead of a door that opens. 

Has anyone seen or used this newer model? Ive been searching google for about a week now, and cant find any reviews on this one, just the other style with the large door.

I am assuming its pretty much the same as the style with the door, but all opinions are welcome. I have linked the model I am talking about.

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/44-lp-gas-smoker-smoke-hollow/prod19140034.ip?navAction=push
 
I bought this model a couple of weeks ago! I really like it so far. The only issue I have is getting enough smoke. I fill both chip trays up and they last a little over an hour. I haven't tried soaking the chips yet to see if that makes them last any longer. Only got to use it 3 times so far, and I am a newbie to the smoking world, but the ribs and butts I have smoked are amazing! I use both burners on the lowest setting and the temp stays right at 250. I haven't added any sealant to the doors yet, so far it doesn't appear to loose that much heat. Hope this helps! Hopefully there are some more people out there that can chime in!
 
Just finished putting mine together. I'm going to season it tomorrow after work, and do the first smoke on Thursday. I'll try and remember to report back. My concern is the smoke time, so I'm thinking of doing the mailbox smoke mod with an amazn tube, or come up with some other method (I'd prefer to continue to use my wood chunks, since I got them from an old Apple tree I chopped down). Then again, my family likes the smoke on the lighter side, so if I get 2 hours by using both sides (one at a time), I'll probably just keep with the chunks and fill each side twice, then let it sit in the heat for the rest of the cook. I'm really hoping that this unit is better than my charcoal smoker that I've been using for 3+ years now.
 
 
Do you just stick the AMNTS on a rack in the smoker, or did you do the mailbox/smokebox mod for under the smoker?
I put one of my racks right on the bottom of the smoke chamber (above the water pan) and then put my smoke tube on one side or the other to keep it from getting nailed by drippings.  Sometimes I run with 2 tubes, one on each side.
 
Just looked at this one in Sam's Club and compared it to my current Smoke Hollow. They changed the bottom area dramatically. The slide out chip trays are nice, but way too shallow to use for chunks. The big chromed knobs are nice. Inside the burners are the same as the previous models. I can see that the new one will not lend itself as well to internal modifications like my older one. I installed different pans for wood. Mine are cast iron and sit on steel rails that I installed.

 
 
Just looked at this one in Sam's Club and compared it to my current Smoke Hollow. They changed the bottom area dramatically. The slide out chip trays are nice, but way too shallow to use for chunks. The big chromed knobs are nice. Inside the burners are the same as the previous models. I can see that the new one will not lend itself as well to internal modifications like my older one. I installed different pans for wood. Mine are cast iron and sit on steel rails that I installed.

Nice.  Do you mind sharing where you picked up the pans ?  Also, do you have any drawings / plans showing the measurements you used ?  Or did you just kind of wing it ?
 
I did not make any dimensional drawings on this. I used a level to find the spot for the rear support in relationship to the front. The rails that hold the pans were set by putting on the sides of the pans then measuring. The pans are repurposed from my Charbroil grill. They were marketed years ago as an insert for the Charbroil Red Infrared grill. Remove a grate and drop in to cook beans etc. I cut off the cast in handles and they fit perfectly!!

To reproduce this modification you could use a couple cast iron loaf pans. Lodge has a 10.25 x 5 loaf pan that I was considering for this project.  They are about $15.00 apiece. Or a couple square cast iron skillets. Although the skillets might be too wide. I was really scratching my head for the pans. Measured a bunch of different things and remembered those in the grill drawer.

JB
 
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Reporting back. Turns out I really like this smoker. The small trays are useless for chunk wood, but they work great for chips and pellets. That being said, I did the mailbox mod for cold smoking, and an easier way to add smoke. I'm debating on closing the trays off, or just filling them with sand. For now I still have a couple bags of chips, so I'll keep them open until those are gone.
 
Reporting back. Turns out I really like this smoker. The small trays are useless for chunk wood, but they work great for chips and pellets. That being said, I did the mailbox mod for cold smoking, and an easier way to add smoke. I'm debating on closing the trays off, or just filling them with sand. For now I still have a couple bags of chips, so I'll keep them open until those are gone.
Think I would use up the chips, then consider filling the pans for a heat sink. Or simply remove them. I bet the mailbox modification really works well on this smoker. Plenty of chamber size and good airflow.
 
 
Think I would use up the chips, then consider filling the pans for a heat sink. Or simply remove them. I bet the mailbox modification really works well on this smoker. Plenty of chamber size and good airflow.
I think I'll use the chips as well. I'm going to find out how well the mailbox mod works on Saturday when I smoke some cheese, but after putting it together it already seems to be a lot simpler. This smoker has a 3" hole in the bottom for the drip tray, and that really makes adapting the mailbox mod a simple task, it really only needed a 90 duct elbow and a short extension. I ended up using a dryer hose instead of an extension so I could create more space for the smoke to travel through before hitting the chamber so it would cool it more, and removing some of the creosote when cold smoking. I'll have to snap a few pictures of it when I get home and add it to the list of smokers using the mailbox mod.
 
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