Customer Reviews

Outdoor Leisure 34168G Smoke Hollow Propane-Gas Smoker

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I purchased a Smoke Hollow propane gas smoker from the high recommendation of a good friend who has one and uses his extensively. It arrived on time and after some painless basic assembly, I seasoned the unit using the directions included with the smoker. I was excited to christen the smoker with an offering consisting of one whole chicken, and a large pork butt (shoulder). I was NOT disappointed. The unit lights up instantly and trouble free. Temperature is easily maintained at the desired 200-220 degree mark. The entire smoker is well built and the water pan and wood fire box are constructed for many years of faithful service. With four meat racks, a BBQ aficionado can smoke just about anything you could imagine. I have since successfully smoked whole turkeys, hams (to add a smoky flavor), scallops, shrimp, fish, bratwurst, ribs, brisket, chicken, and of course my personal favorite, pork shoulder roast to produce THE BEST pulled pork sandwich. I have not yet tried it but I feel confident I could even cold smoke a slab of bacon, ham hocks or cheese in the unit if the door were to be left ajar a little with a flame low enough to just ignite the wood box, especially if you tried it in the winter when it's nice and cold out so the heat wouldn't build up in the box. This smoker is basically bullet-proof and it turns out savory slow cooked, melt in your mouth BBQ every time. It is also an economical propane user as I can smoke quite a few all day loads without necessitating a propane refill (5gal bottle). I've tried many other units; electric, charcoal, etc. THIS is the easiest, most successful and trouble free unit I've tried. I highly recommend this smoker!

Almost a great smoker except for two problems. Main issue is it burns too hot. If I use the "LOW" setting the temp is around 300. If I use medium, the temp is 450. I haven't had the courage to use the high setting yet. What is especially irritating about this is that if you read other reviews of their products, you find that this is a long running problem with Smoke Hollow products. They know they are too hot and they don't feel any need to make their products work right. Some reviewers say they contacted company and got a different jet--I contacted the company and I've never heard back. Second issue is just general grousing about the cheap junk quality of their nuts and bolts. Nuts are press fit so you can just screw the bolt in and not bother about holding the nut in place--only even a small cross fit and the barrel nut breaks loose and then you have fun. Also the bolts are cheap pot metal and mush fairly easily. The door handle is press fit and it fell off in my hand when I was trying to mount it. The holes for the right side handle were drilled about 3/8" too low on mine--couldn't use one position for the trays because the handle bolts are in the way. 3/8" isn't much but when you are machining metal, you hope to get closer than 3/8". There's A, B, and C labeled nut/bolt plastic bags, which is nice, but they didn't include B in my packaging. The actual design of the box, the layout and size, are excellent. That's what makes it so extremely sad that they didn't take the time to finish the job.

We are going to buy a second one for our sons. I've cooked pork ribs, roasts, steak, fish, chicken and just did asparagus with fresh tomatoes. I've experimented with Apple, Mesquite and Hickory. All turned out good. The only problem I had was cooking a lot of pork ribs at once some of the grease ran out the front and onto the patio. With absolutely no other seasoning this thing makes you into a great outdoor chef.

I decided to wait on writing a review on this purchase till I used the smoker for a few months. So here goes...
For a gas smoker I believe this thing is about as good as it gets. It has a great design so far as a vertical smoker - the smoker box is located directly above the gas burner so it creates constant smoke so long as it is loaded with chips. I've noticed however that to get the wood chips smoking good, one needs to turn the burner up to medium or high for a few minutes initially and then go back down to low. I've done so far several racks of baby backs and spare ribs, chickens and pork shoulder and this thing imparts a thick pink smoke ring, even on the pork butt. In fact, the smoke ring on the ribs goes to the bone - they even taste kind of sweet and "hammy" from so much smoke.
The cabinet, hinges and door handle are constructed well and do not feel flimsy. The racks are strong and of high quality as is the water bowl and burner. The door has a thermometer placed such that it displays an accurate temperature (I have verified the temp is accurate with a separate internally placed oven thermometer). In all my smoking with this unit so far I've not had any drippings get around the water bowl and fall to the bottom of the cabinet or burner area so this is a plus.
The gas burner, valve, hose and regulator also seem to be of high quality and the smoker so far seems to be a miser so far as gas consumption is concerned. However one negative is that this thing seems to run a little hot for my taste unless you load it with lots of meat. For example, it's difficult to maintain stable/constant internal cabinet temps less than 250 degrees. I've had to fiddle with trying to close the propane tank valve and the cabinet damper to maintain my preference of very low and slow cooking temps when for example only one rack of ribs is cooking. I plan to contact the manufacturer and see if they can provide me with a different gas regulator that may support cooking at lower temps...
Overall this smoker is a real winner for a gas smoker and if I had it to do over I would buy it again and would also recommend it to anyone needing a simple to operate, well-built gas smoker unit.

I use this as a secondary smoker for when I don't want to spend all day and/or all night tending my offset firebox. It definitely has the advantage of being able to walk away for hours at a time, once you have these initial issues worked out...

1) It puts out too many BTUs to maintain a steady 225 degrees. After research I found two resolutions...
One involved putting a secondary regulator between the main regulator and the burner. I forget the name of the device, but opted to not do that. My concern would be wind blowing out the smaller flame and propane reaching the burning wood. Boom!
Instead I drilled a hole on the top of the unit and essentially added a chimney. That did the trick. At least it did with 70 degree outdoor temperatures. I'll be curious how it performs on a 90+ degree day.

2) Not enough smoke flavor. I've read it's best to replace the wood box with something larger, like a coffee can. I've not yet tried this, but assuming the larger can will fit, I think it will resolve that problem.

3) Don't trust the built in temp gauge. Get a couple probe thermometers. One for the meat, one for the internal temp of the smoker.

Made the best brisket I've ever done in this unit, and I got some sleep too!
There's still nothing like all wood smoking, but for those days where you want some BBQ and not spend most of the weekend standing near a fire, this is a great unit.

Bought this model (34168G) as I was looking for a smoker and wanted something easy to use. I almost went electric but finally decided on propane due to cost savings. This smoke was fairly easy to put together and works very well; my only issue is that I wish I would have bought the next size up. A whole rack of ribs doesn't fit into this smoker and I have to cut them in half. This model has a grill width of 20 inches and most racks of ribs are a bit bigger.

Very disappointed with the smoker as the cookong temperature is to high. I have the temperature control knob on low and turn my propane tank valve to almost off and still the temperature will rise to between 250 and 300. I have cooked ribs and brisket thus far and the results have been disappointing. The smoker does not produce as much smoke as other smokers that I have seen.

At almost $200, this smoker is actually priced at the higher end of the spectrum compared to the cheaper box smokers sold in the grilling sections of most home improvement stores. Considering this disparity, how does this item compair to propane box smokers at almost half it's price? Pretty good. One thing you will notice immediately, is the quality of the burner. In a propane smoker the burner housing is the most important part of the unit. Anyone can weld together a smoke box - but it is the burner that sets them apart. I can confidently tell you that the burner and valve assembly is the strongest selling point for this smoker! With proper care, this smoker will provide your family with years of service.

By the way, if you are a Chili aficionado try smoking halved roma tomatoes and lean ground angus for a few hours before throwing them into a crock pot or dutch oven - pure bliss.

I've owned this for a couple of years and I am strictly an amateur when it comes to smoking. The unit has held up very well as I keep it covered. I've used this successfully in the winter as well. That points out its downfall, its too hot. For me, it is a real challenge to keep the temp under 250. I've got the burner on low and the gas bottle valve barely cracked open. When the temp is a challenge, it makes the vents on the back not as useful.

Overall, I'm pleased with the product but I wish it (I) could do a better job on temp control.

I was very impressed when I got my smoker. Easy to assemble,about an hour. Three trays,so room for lots of meat to smoke at the same time.I've done ribs,brots,brisket,ham.
No problem with heat. I was able to get low to stay between 200 and 225. I would reccommend this smoker for anyone looking for a quality smoker in a mid range. I've seen better,Ive seen much worse, but for the price its a great value.