Calling all Smoke Hollow owners!

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I have the 38" model.  I had some problems when I first got it.  First off, yes the thermometer on the door is off.  I use a Maverick ET-7 to monitor the meat temp and the chamber temp.  After enough smokes, you'll find it easier to use the door thermometer as a reference.  Mine if off by about 25 degrees.  When I first got mine, I could not get the temp below 350!!  They sent me a new valve assembly and since then, the temp is in the right range.  I usually have mine set between low and medium.  I live in Minnesota so it gets warm in the summer.  Last time I tried to smoke salmon in June or so, I could only get the temp down to about 180 on the lowest setting.  In the winter I have no problem with a couple pork butts keeping the temp at 225 - 250.  Overall, I've been pretty happy with it and would love to share any insight I have with other members!  This site has been great for me, but there wasn't much info on these out there when I got mine.

My only complaint about this smoker is it is sometimes difficult to maintain a nice light blue smoke.  Usually it takes a bit to get going, and then it hits a period where it's really blasting out smoke, and then settles in for a while.  After that, I try to add wood in less amounts to avoid those big bursts of thick smoke.  I should point out that it is recommended that the box be fully loaded but I have found it best not to load it all the way.  Thick, white smoke is what I got when I tried it.  Sometimes I will just use the A-MAZE-N smoker for flavor and just use the porpane for for temp control.

With regards to how long a tank will last, I too have smoked pork butts for over 20 hours with plenty of juice left.  If I had to guess - and it depends on how hot you're running it - but on the med/low range which keeps me in that 250ish range, I'd like to say that 50 hours would not be unreasonable, if not on the conservative side.

Hope that helps!  I did an aged prime rib with cherry and pecan for Christmas in old Smoke Hollow, and it turned out fantastic!    
 
I am going to take a sledge to my new almost new 44" model.  I would not give this thing away that's how bad it is, can't hold a temp, can't adjust the venturi's down to get the flame where it needs to be.  If you turn it up to get your temp the chips catch afire anywhere above low on the dials.

It's a POS, and I was a sucker for buying it.  Will post pictures of the smoker and it's fatal flaws in it's own thread tomorrow.

The icing on the cake is that Smoke Hollow is non responsive whatsoever with this thing.

$300 wasted, I could have done so many things with that money.
 
I'm brand new to smoking and got a Smoke Hollow #6 for Christmas. Just got it outside to season it this morning. Sprayed it down inside with canola oil after covering the burner. Loaded up the chips box with a mixture of some hickory chips that I soaked for about 15 minutes in water and then topped the chips with hickory chunks.

It's 37 degrees outside right now. Turned it on at Medium and temp got up to over 350 according to the door thermometer. Haven't got my digital yet, but figured the door thermometer would be ok for seasoning.  I had previously tested the door thermometer in boiling water and it registered about a needle width over 210. Is it possible my door thermometer is accurate? After reading so much about how far off they are I have to wonder if once in a while you get one that's reading right. I won't trust it though and the digital will be my reference once I get meat in the box.

Anyways... after letting it run at 350-375 for about a half hour, I dialed the burner down to low. There's about a 9mph breeze out there so I put some plywood pieces from the shop around the bottom as a bit of a windbreak. Just went out and looked and it's holding at about 210 on low (again, according to the door thermometer) and I have light smoke coming out. A little leakage around the door but not bad at all.

I gotta say I was a bit worried about getting this dialed in  since, as I said, I'm brand new to this. Is it possible I just got lucky?

I don't have a cover for it, so once I run it for a few hours I'm going to have to let it cool and carry it back into the screen porch so it doesn't get rained/snowed on. I can see where I might want to build a little shed for the smoker if I want to be able to run it in any weather, but I really like having it on the patio right outside the kitchen window. :)

So I'll add more later, but right now it's just seasoning away on the patio and I hope to be doing a turkey next weekend. Kind of like a "trial by fire" to do a whole turkey as my first big smoke, but.... gotta jump in somewhere. :)
 
Back again. Leaving it on low resulted in the temp going below 200 to about 185-190. I made small adjustments to the burner valve and it seems to be holding around 225 now. "Adjustments to the burner valve" = turning the knob. Just to be clear. :)

As a newbie I'm still working out things like where the final placement of the smoker will be. Right under the window might not be the best idea once the weather breaks and we start opening windows. In terms of heat, I can place my hand on the outside of the smoker and it's toasty warm but not hot enough to make me want to pull my hand off.

Once in a while it seems to make a lot of smoke, and then calms down again. Normal? Seems to be making a lot of smoke right now about an hour and a half into seasoning. Hope nobody minds the play-by-play. This is kind of exciting for a new guy. :)
 
ACK! Dripped cooking oil onto the concrete patio. Da momma ain't real happy about that. I put sand on it and I'll scrub it with detergent when this is done. Live and learn. Its permanent home probably won't be on the patio anyways. (oops). Still holding below 250. Mostly around 230-240. Varies a bit. Maybe the breeze? I'll be sure to make some kind of accommodation for screening it from wind. Especially the lower portion where the burner is. Judging by the external temp of the box itself, I don't think that's going to be difficult.

2 and a half hours into seasoning.
 
Bought mine last year  Meets all expectations.  Did a brisket and pork butt last week.  8 hours smoking and 4 hours on the gas side
 
Don't have the fancy "Pro Series" but have the 44" and posted earlier what customer service told me but I'm kinda  sorry I bought this one and didn't buy a different brand but what can you do? Actually, I've gone back to my old ECB and had better results but I haven't given up. Read the posts from Woodscomp and you will get the drift. I had the same problems but have worked around them some. If you wish, contact me at [email protected] and I will tell you what I have done to work around the problems I have had with the unit. I don't post here because of some prick called Koslo who talked a bunch of crap to me and didn't know what he was talking about so I just lurk in the background cos I refuse to step down to his level and get into an argument on line. I like this forum and I will not let some know nothing moron keep me from something I like. Of course , I would meet him anywhere,anytime to any settle dispute if he has the balls, but he probably doesn't cos he has never posted again. You or anybody else have my contact email so feel free to contact me if you wish and I will tell you what customer service told me. Good Luck.
 
Woodscomp, are you still having trouble with the 44"? Haven't seen many posts from you about it. Didn't know, just thought I'd ask. Aland
 
I have the 4 part unit (Model # 47180T) and i can do everything i want for outdoor cooking.  It needs a rotisserie add on.  Called and was told that nothing is available at this time.  Has anyone come up with a solution????
 
Just bought a Smoke Hollow Pro Series 44" LP at Sam's club last weekend. So far I used it 3 times this week with great results. Mine will stay at 225 with one burner, 2 burners on low it likes to sit around 295 to 320. I am pretty happy with it, my first smoker though. Everything has turned out great so far.
 
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i love my smoke hollow its a 44 proseries dual burner i can have it between 150ish and 300 plus i have used it 10 times so far i do want to make some new chip boxes for it but other than that its great
 
I'm with kwiq4u.  Love my 44" dual burner No. 8 model.  I just took it for its first smoke (pork butt) today and it came out amazing.  I've read all the issues that some of the members have had with some of the smoke hollows, but mine was darn near perfect.  Came in a well packaged box, quick delivery (i ordered from OLP directly), tested the thermometer with my new Maverick ET-732 and my old trusty digital thermometer and it was right on the money with the digitals.  I was really testing how the heat could be varied and i was able to hold almost any temp between 150 and 250 (didn't try it any higher) really well.  It was an 80 degree day here in Georgia so I think I should be good to go.  looking forward to getting many uses out of this one but I really enjoyed using it today.

Happy smoking!
 
You know my story ended well.  But not without lots if persistent calling to Chad at Smoke Hollow.  He sent me a new unit back in the spring or late winter for us here in East TN.  

The issue I had with mine was the burners and the venturi inlets and gas tubes were all non standard.  The venturi's are spot welded in place and they can not be adjusted.  I was not about to spend another dime on my unit to put in a needle valve to solve an issue that I should not have had from the start.  However I still believe that using a regular "gas stove" burner in a smoker is bad practice, but that is what Smoke Hollow decided to do.  

I could not hold temps above 180-200, unless I cranked the fuel, then the chip pans would catch fire and basically ruin the product I was trying to smoke.  

The new smoker with both tubes being exactly the same is very consistent.  I think I have had one chip pan catch on fire.  I can set the gas and hold a temp a hell of a lot easier than I could with the first one I bought.

Things that I have done is replaced the standard square chip pans with 8" lodge cast iron skillets, they fit perfectly over the flame and work incredibly well.  Thank God for a Lodge outlet here, think I spent 8 dollars for both of them.  I also found a couple of old wool blankets (army type) that I have cut to fit over the smoker, both sides.  I will be test running them this winter.

My best advice for anyone using one of these smokers would be to find a way to insulate it if you plan to smoke when the temps drop below 60 degrees outside cause the super thin sheet metal they used to make these do not do a good job of holding heat when the temp drops below 60.  In fact I use remote thermometers when I am smoking meats and if a cloud passes over the temp on the box has dropped by as much as ten degrees. And that is the truth!

Also when you have gone through your first tray of chips and if you are adding more to a hot pan I always soak the second batch of chips, I found that adding wood chips to a pan that's been sitting under the flame thrower tend to catch fire very fast, but if you soak them or have a cold pan to add back to it you should be okay.

So anyways back to Chad at Smoke Hollow, I can say beyond the shadow of a doubt he hasn't a clue about the product he is selling.   he told me he did a test run, 12 racks of ribs etc.... Blah blah blah, I read the same thing from others here that had the same story when they called for help.  So obviously I must be doing something wrong.  Well that's were I got a little short with him, as a chef of 26 years I kind of know how cooking things work.  So I gave him the analogy, if you own a 2012 F-150 and I own a 2012 F-150 and I sold you your truck and you bring it to me telling me it gets sucky fuel mileage and the transmission is slipping, how bout I tell you that my F-150 runs fine so you must be doing something wrong and send you on your way.

I had a new smoker within 2 weeks.  And yes they may look the same, but I can attest that they innards are not, the assembly was different between the two halves and the fuel regulator and and hose assembly were different.
 
Did OLP change the design on the side smoker???  Mine is loaded from the top lid or from a swinging door'  The last picture that I have show a pullout drawer with a flat solid top.  Will send them the same question as I found using the smoker i had to make some modifications to keep the wood above the base.
 
Called OLP.  What i saw what a special model for another company.  As far as a grate for the smoker unit to keep the charcoal above the ashes.  They have a grate and will sent me one at no cost.  Nice company to deal with for any problem
 
I bought 3 at Atwoods in western OK 2 years ago @ $2.99 each. $12.92 seems too high on Amazon.  Some use an 8" cast iron skillet in their gas smokers. Jeff Phillips uses a cut down coffee can. I use the 2 that came with my #8 44" and sometimes use a foil pouch. Aland.
 
Fed X delivered new insert for smoker that will hold charcoal today.  Well built unit same as wood rack but with smaller holes.  Looking forward to trying it out next week.  Thanks for the quick service at no cost to me.  Still the greatest BBQ that I have ever had and believe me as I went through a new one about every other year.  Just like a new model of cars, something added to make it a must have BBQ
 
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