Getting really frustrated....

[gunner69]

Ive got a Smoke Hollow.. and now that I have a idea of what the smoker temp actually is I am totally at a loss... on the lowest possible setting I can't get a temp below 250. I actually ended up propping the door open with a screwdriver trying to keep the temp in range so I could finish dinner up tonight.. Qview coming on that once everything is done.

Anybody have any ideas?

 

[chefrob]

are you sure the temp is correct..........250 min is odd in the winter.

 

[gunner69]

Yep our ambient temp yesterday was in the 40's and I had 3 calibrated RTD's in different parts of the chamber along with the Polder that I posted about earlier..

After talking to a couple other owners of the same smoker they are both throttling the tank valves to control their temp which leads me to believe that Smoke Hollow way oversizes their regs to avoid lawsuits from burners getting blown out and the smoker going ka-boom.

 

[TulsaJeff]

I have heard of putting ice water in the water pan to help this problem.. I am assuming that smoker has a water pan??

Might be worth a try.

 

[bryon]

Gunner, I have a smoke hollow and if the outside temp is 40 or above it seems like I have to almost shut the valve on the propane cylinder. Hope this helps

 

[richoso1]

Check the calibration on your cabinet rherm. Use the boiling water or ice water test. Best of luck my friend.

 

[sqwib]

Have you looked into doing a needle valve mod.

 

[justpassingthru]

Could you go to a smaller orifice, or solder up the one you have and drill it out smaller.

Gene

 

[psychobrew]

First make sure the temp gauge is accurate. If it is accurate, then call Smoke Hollow. They should send you the parts you need free of charge.

 

[gunner69]

Temp gauges were accurate and you nailed it on the head they oversized the reg for "safety" reasons. Chad over at OLPI and I had a nice chat and there's a brand new regulator on the way as we speak.

 

[psychobrew]

I don't understand why they don't just put a smaller burner in the unit. That way they can keep the PSI up high enough where they don't have to worry about the wind blowing the flame out. On the other hand, I haven't heard any complaints of this happening even with the new regulator so it might not be an issue anyway. Perhaps they just erred too much on the side of caution.

Can you tell me if your unit came with a cover? I recieved a Walmart GOSM for Christmas and there's a small amount of damage on it. Probably not enough to make me return it, however, both the water pan and the smoker box are puny. I'm afraid I'd have to keep refilling the unit every 45 minutes or so, and since when you include a bigger water pan, a bigger smoker box, and a cover, I think it's worth the extra cost. That, and the Smoke Hollow is heavier and should be a little more efficient. I think I'll just check the unit out before making a decision though.

 

[beer-b-q]

If all else fails you could move to Kansas City, It is 25º here now and it is supposed to get cold by the first of the week. Wind Chill supposed to be somewhere around -20º by Tuesday, that should help bring the temp down...

Seriously now, you might be able to more closely regulate it with a needle valve installed...

 

[sqwib]

54 Degrees here in Philly, doing 3 picnics tomorrow hope it stays above 40.