smoke hollow operation

[guitarcook]

Hey all- new to the site.  There's a lot af great info here.  I bought a smoke hollow #6 (38") a few weeks ago.  Seems most of you that have them like them.  I have not been so lucky.  The first one I bought was missing the front panel with the igniter and control valve.  I returned it and got a second one.  It would not adjust below 350 on the lowest setting with the gas almost off on the tank.  So I was told it must be the regulator and had that replaced.  Same situation.  I spoke to the one person at OLP that deals with the smokers and he sent me a new gas line from regulator to the valve.  It turned out to be the valve and now I can run it below 225. 

I have now tried ribs 3 times and they just haven't been turning out.  It takes over an hour to get the smoke going and the ribs just turn out dry and leathery.  I'm cooking them with a dry rub around 220 and have verified that with an internal surface thermometer.  I have tried anywhere from 2 to 8 hours with similar results.  Before getting this smoker, I would smoke them in my Weber kettle grill for 2 to 3 hours indirect and they turn out fabulous.  WHAT AM I MISSING?!?  I must be doing something wrong.

If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear from you!

 

[pineywoods]

First welcome to SMF glad you decided to join us. I moved your thread to the Roll Call section so you can get a proper welcome. As for the Ribs if they are spare ribs I'd suggest trying the 3-2-1 method and if they are baby backs try the 2-2-1 method once you have done them a couple times you can adjust the numbers a bit to fit your tastes if needed. Here's a link

http://wyntk.us/3-2-1-rib-method

I would also suggest signing up for Jeff's 5 Day Ecourse its free and has some great info here's that link

http://www.smoking-meat.com/smoking-basics-ecourse.html

Have fun and congrats on the new smoker

 

[wngsprnt50]

Welcome!   First....don't get discouraged.  When you get anywhere close to where you wanna be, things are good.  I agree with Pineywoods....search out info here on the 3-2-1 method for ribs.  Very easy to do and great results.  Patience is definitely the name of the game.  Another tip...don't worry about trying to get temps from the meat on ribs.  Its difficult at best to get accurate readings without touching bones and such.  the 3-2-1 method is a good timeline starter for spares to cook completely and safely.  I am sure you will also run across many other tips in your searches.  One more good one would be to not get hung up on seeing smoke.  If you can smell it, its smoking. 

Good luck and hope to see some qview from your adventures soon!

 

[etcher1]

Welcome to the SMF forum, You came to the right place. Good people and good info.

 

[mballi3011]

First off Welcome Guitar to SMF. you'll like it here for there are alot of really good folks here that would just love to help you with just about anything to do with smoking. Now there are alot of proven recipes for some amazing things here too. So if you need sign up for the E-Course it's free and it will give you the basics of smoking and some good methods to use also. So the next big thing for you to do is go out and get you something to smoke and if you happen to have any questions just post it here and we will be happy to answer them for you.

Welcome To Your New Addiction

 

[hosstd]

gutiarcook i have the same smoker that u have, and same problem with the regulator,until i caled,they sent me a lower regulator,work good for low temps,but last week it stop working, thought i was out of fuel,so i put the one that came with it,i just have to set it in between high and off to get my temps,i cook ribs at 220 on it one time and they came out dry,i dont foil,so i started to cook ribs at 250 and have no proplem u might want to crank up the heat a little,just my thoughts

 

[guitarcook]

Thanks for the warm welcome and  the words of  encouragement!  I will hit it hard again this weekend and see how it goes!