Smoke Hollow 38202G Propane Gas Smoker by Masterbuilt, 2-Door, 38"

I used this smoker last summer and through the fall and winter. It was great in warm weather and makes smoking food very easy. Propane provides very controllable temperature with minimal effort and low fuel use in the warmer months. As it got colder I really had to crank up the heat, ultimately needing to build a makeshift enclosure to block the wind and cold air in order for it to get up to temp during the winter. Overall this is a good unit, easy to assemble, and plenty of internal volume. The simplicity of using propane is such a relief after having coal and wood-fired smokers in the past. The price is right as well, making this a great deal. Update (2023): I've been using this smoker for 6 years and have countless cooks in that time. It has been stored indoors but sits out through rain and snow when in use. The only rust I have experienced is on the box that holds the wood chunks directly over the fire, and even that is minor. The unit has held up very well over the years and still hasn't given me a reason to replace it. I have been looking at pellet smokers but the smoke produced by the wood chunks in this unit is significantly better in my experience. It's also much cheaper for me to get chunks, especially apple which is around my area.

well built, easy to put together, all the holes lined up with the bolts, heats up to temperature in about three minutes & holds temperature thru smoking. very little smoke leak from door but no big deal the smoke has to go somewhere. large water bowl lasts 5 hrs. or more. large wood chunk tray only put a hand full in at a time but big enough to fill up if you want. added my own casters i had in basement for easy movement & good to go. only negative is the temp. gauge is off by 25 degrees, no big deal set smoker at 250 degrees & inside temp. is 225 checked with a oven thermometer.good smoker at good price $168 would recommend. del. fr: amazon in about 4 days

Best bang for the buck. After searching & reading 100’s of reviews on all the smokers & pros & cons, I finally pulled the trigger on this one. Came in a big descriptive box -_- but ! Well worth the anxiety lol. Took about an hour to put together with simple hand tools. I’m 6’1 & it stands about or just below my breast line. Yes, smoke spills out of the doors but this thing can smoke like an old frieght train so it’s not really a problem to ME. The smoke box is big enough to hold wood chunks & give ample amount of smoke. The racks themselves are sturdy & good quality. I was a bit skeptical about the bars that held them in though, weak welds but they haven’t given out yet so that’s that. They also slide in & out like oven racks & can be spaced to your desired levels, which is a plus. Thermometer on the door is fairly accurate. The dual door is good when adding wood, the top portion usually come back up to temp pretty quickly after having the door open for a while. Cools off pretty quickly once you kill the flames making for a quick clean up. Smoked salmon, chicken, turkey, ribs & leg of lamb have all come out juicy & Smokey !! If you’re thinking of this one, do it !

This is an amazing smoker. I want to address a couple negative reviews that almost turned me off of it. First off, temperature control; There were numerous reviews saying that the temperature was hard to control, and they couldn't get it below about 250F. I am able to control the temp from about 210F-450F with no problems. Sure there are small fluctuations here and there, but mostly thats from adding wood chunks and the added temperature spike from them off gassing once they start burning. You just have to be aware that this will happen. Second, there were several complaints about the packaging and therefore, the smoker arriving damaged. It appeared to me that Amazon listened to these complaints, and fixed their shipping. This is a big box, and it is difficult to ship. The product packaging that the smoker comes in will not be adequate to ship, but Amazon now puts another custom fit box around the product packaging, and puts styrofoam padding in between the two boxes. My smoker arrived with no damage at all. Now, as for the smoker itself, this is an excellent smoker. I smoked a full rack of baby back ribs, and chicken, and a 6 lb pork but and didn't even take up half of the space inside the smoker. If you added rib racks, you could fit 10-15 racks per shelf. The smoker is plenty wide too, and left about 4 inches on each end of the baby backs I put in it. This is a great smoker, was easy to use and maintain, and produced great smokey flavor. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

I was extremely skeptical of a propane smoker, but now I wouldn’t trade this for anything. I’ve used it only 3 times so far for a tri-tip, salmon, and venison summer sausages. All have turned out fantastic. So here’s my pros and cons. Pros: Easy to light. Literally starts every time you push the igniter. Easy to use. Put in water and chips, dial in the temperature and cook. Versatile. I’ve hung sausages (25 pounds worth) and have used the grates which can be moved around to virtually any height. Easy cleanup. The coating is good still, and the chips dump right out. Simple controls. Rear exhaust allows putting in a digital thermometer cord to monitor temps. Nice look. Convenient latches. Sturdy with sturdy handles to allow moving. Cons: Temperature control is finicky. The only required setting is between “low” and “medium” on the gas knob. That being said, it warms up quickly, so dialing in the temperature doesn’t take too long. Assembly wasn’t hard, just somewhat tedious. My lower door is somewhat crooked. The welded-on hinges are a little off. That leads to some smoke leaking past the door. But that can be remedied by using gaskets. The chip and water pan racks function, but I feel there could be a small design improvement that helps to keep them centered. Overall, this smoker is awesome. Seasoning was easy and after that it’s quick, convenient, and quality food with great flavor. One last note, I smoked 25 lbs of sausage overnight in this. It held its temperature throughout the night like a champ. I highly recommend this smoker!

I paid 289 for this (currently 233) - I'd be happier at the lower price rather than where I am at. Where to start...hrm...it has a very difficult time maintaining 225 degrees - which is exactly the temp my 3 attempts have needed to be smoked at. I have used it at ~80-90 degrees in both 'no wind' and 'some wind' situations - and had the same problem in both instances. At it's lowest setting it seems to be stable at 210-215 but nudging past that low 'click' point usually is stable at 250-260...and I realize this is inexperience speaking...because I probably shouldn't care about the temp that much...but I am inexperienced...and worse I have a digital temperature device...so every 10th of a degree is registered as "OMG something is OFF" in my OCD brain! :) In all three instances it produced okay results...maybe I was expecting more or I don't know what I'm talking about. Assembly resulted in two spare/extra screws (which I suspect is a package intended for multiple models and weren't intended for this model). After assembling (1.5 hours - casual and easy in my dining room) I didn't feel as if I missed a step and wondered what the extra screws were for. Assembly instructions were some of the best I've seen - with pictures being helpful and informative and supportive text being equally descriptive and beneficial - some of the best I've seen. I ended up with two 'hose hanging' wires...not sure if that was a factory mistake or I got something extra...but hey, more is better. What I don't like: Door latches are a pain to use and frequently fall inside the latch rather than outside. I have to constantly make a contorted effort to ensure it's latched properly. The wire racks should have some way to keep from falling out of the holes...you have to be far too gentle with them in my opinion. The brackets on the sides should latch in securely rather than only depending on gravity to hold them in - you continually bump them around and wonder when they're going to fall out - though they haven't yet for me...but I feel as if I have to be overly delicate with them. Controls...I wish they were higher...this is only because I've felt as if I've had to fiddle with the flow rate too often. Others may set it and forget it and not worry about the first time bend over to access. As I have thus far been a 'fiddler' I would prefer higher controls...but I get it...heat rises...flammable gasses and liquids should be below the heat source. The smoke leaks out the door...and some suggest adding a gasket...but my theory is: There are two big holes in the back where smoke is already escaping, what's another scant few areas in the front...it's all about the temp balance (which I found to be too low). I found the racks to be ample size except when my digital probe was connected...but I suspect that's more a learning curve on how to set things up - and/or getting used to things. I did have the unit shut off with half a tank of fuel remaining...it lit right back up...but it was coating my food with a nice coating of propane 'smoking' flavor - thankfully I have a digital and was able to remedy quickly...I'd have worried about someone who opened a full volume cabinet of propane gas ready for exploding...with my adjacent grill nearby it's quite possible that an ignition source could be nearby. Some claim the double door helps with heat retention...I didn't find this to be true...I'd open the door and the convection would pull massive amounts of 85 degree air into the chamber to replace the 200+ volume...though I suspect it'd be much worse with a single door. Wish items: Something at the bottom for locking (I have had things go missing from my back yard - including a full sized bbq) I do chain/cable it through the handle...but wish something were lower that I didn't have to remove every time I needed to use the smoker. I also wish the top had an air gap to a usable work surface...even a 1" air gap would produce a surface that would get hot but probably not damage/burn anything placed upon it. I wish the sliding racks had some sort of stop to prevent pulling out too far. I wish there was a good spot to attach temp probes without getting in the way of food. I wish there was a bottom vent to prevent bugs from getting inside (crickets and cockroaches eating off your smoker isn't a pleasant thing). I wish there was some sort of hanger higher for my digital thermometer. Nitpicky - and ignorance based - but I wish there was a way to purge the smoke before I open the door and get a face full of it. :P I know there is a way to purge the smoke...it's call 'the door' - just don't have your face in front of it when it happens! Heh! I realize this is user error! This has no real bearing on my evaluation - just anecdotal. On a good note the analog temp gauge at the front is consistent with my digital probes - so ++ for that.

Really happy with this purchase. Its my first smoker and I'm sure i made the right choice. Assembly took all of thirty minutes using the pics on the box as the only guide (it includes instructions but somehow i did not find them until literally tightening the last screw). Bought a roll of oven door tape to seal the smoke box and it regulates temperature flawlessly. The size is what sold me on this smoker. There was a larger size from Smoke Hollow but i couldn't imagine needing it unless you want smoke commercially. However, this model still holds good sized pork rib racks without cutting them in half, which cant be said about A LOT of smokers in this price range. Just for a reference, next weekend i intend on smoking four racks of ribs, a full sized (~12lb) turkey and 10 lbs of assorted cuts and I'm positive i'll have room to spare. The enameled paint job looks like it will hold up several seasons. The gas burner and wood chip box make some thick smoke with messing with charcoal. Add a two probe wireless thermometer (ThermPro) and like me, you can write amazon reviews while keeping an eye on the grill and meat temps simultaneously.

I'll update this review as I continue to use the smoker. Pros: * 20,000 BTU burner! It matters. * Heats up very quickly. 450 degrees F. in 5 minutes with an outside temperature of 62 degrees F. I was looking for this information prior to buying it and couldn't find it, so hopefully this is helpful to someone. Why is this important, when smoking is generally done under 250 degrees? Living in a climate where the outdoor temperature is < 30 degrees for months out of the year, I needed something with power, that will get up to temp and stay there. An electric smoker that has a maximum temperature of 250 or 275 is going to take forever to get to 225 on a cold, windy day. * Packaging - this was packaged well and there were no problems; dents, scratches, etc. * Easy assembly - took one person about an hour. Instructions are maybe 4/5. * Large wood pan, big enough for chunks (not just chips / pellets). Cons: * No door gaskets. A gasket should be purchased for the top door. * Inaccurate door thermometer. This was initially under "Pros" as accurate. During the first use it was accurate and comparable to temperatures reported from 3 remote probes. It is since quite off ( +/- 30 deg) Background - I've owned Primo Oval (Charcoal / wood), Cajun Injector (Electric), Char Broil (Electric), Masterbuilt (Electric), Bradley (Electric). This is my first gas smoker. I've been smoking meat for about 20 years. Assembly was fairly easy and took about an hour. Tips: * Make sure to unwrap the regulator hose before attaching the burner, otherwise you'll be taking the burner back off later to do it. * The doors go on and off easily. Put them on when attaching the hardware (Handles, latches). Pop them off when needed. Observations: * Don't freak out about putting the door gasket on. It takes about 5 minutes. The gasket DOES cut with a scissors. It doesn't have to be perfect, but unless you're really careless, it's going to be close to perfect - I mean you're cutting 4 pieces of gasket and making a rectangle. I researched which is better; gasket on door or smoker box and couldn't find much. I put it on the door and it seems to be fine. There should be less chance of it coming in contact with food / juices etc. being on the door. * After installing the gasket on the top door, it became apparent that the main smoke leakage is now coming from the top of the bottom door, which makes sense. It's my understanding that people have issues with the burner flame going out if the bottom door has a gasket. I may install a piece of gasket on just the top portion of the bottom door, which should still allow ample air flow.