Smoke Hollow D4015B 40″ Digital Electric Smoker w/ Bluetooth Review
For a long time, cabinet smokers were pretty utilitarian devices that ran on either propane or small charcoal fire. As they continued to evolve some cabinet smokers features electric elements that sometimes had a knack for being too hot or shattering due to the limited lifespan of such large resistors.
Fortunately, advances in electric elements and digital controls have allowed cabinet smokers to take their next big step forward toward being considered truly worthy of the title “Cooking Appliance.” You see this coming through in the Smoke Hollow D4015B 40-Inch Digital Electric Smoker.
It has an impressive 4.5 cubic foot interior cooking chamber, with dual electric elements and four chrome-plated grids. The digital controls include a proprietary “Smoke Tronix” technology which allows the Smoke Hollow D4015B to perform hot and cold smoking applications. It also has IOS and Google Play apps that allow you to operate the controls via a Bluetooth signal.
There is a water port for adding steam to your smoking sessions without having to open the door and change the internal heat dynamics. The wood chip tray also pulls out and is easy to replenish.
Construction & Ease of Assembly
The material selection for the Smoke Hollow D4015B doesn’t stand apart from the competitors. It uses the same basic thickness of metal and black heat tempered paint. The chrome accents are a nice touch, but you’ll need to maintain them. The tempered glass door is attractive right out of the box, but as you can imagine it will cloud over with time as soot and smoke resin build-up.
There are two foibles to be mindful of with the Smoke Hollow D4015B. The temperature probe is coordinated by digital controls. When soot and residue build-up, it can cause an inaccurate reading, which can certainly confuse the digital controls and the Smoke Tronix technology. Just make sure to give any leads a careful wipe down as part of the cleaning process.
Then the Bluetooth controlled app also needs some more work. This is a somewhat common complaint with a lot of similar digital control apps, and hopefully will be addressed through a future app upgrade.
Assembly is relatively basic. Beyond unboxing it, you should be able to install all the components and attach the hardware in less than half an hour.
Grilling Performance
When properly maintained the Smoke Hollow D4015B does a good job of keeping the food being smoked at a consistent temp. Though the size of the four grates doesn’t always lend itself to a large flat piece of meat.
A full rack of pork ribs might need to be cut in half or into 3-rib portions. A whole chicken should be spatchcocked or butterflied, and a large brisket flat might need some serious trimming.
Though where it lacks in horizontal square inches it makes up for in vertical space. The popular “Beer Can Chicken” will fit nicely with possibly three to four birds at a time. Pork shoulders are no problem, and a modest whole turkey is also in play.
When it comes to things like cured pork bellies hung for bacon, ring or linked sausages, there aren’t any hooks to hang them from the ceiling. Though you can get around this by putting one of the chrome-plated racks on the highest setting and then tying, trussing, or hanging it with hooks from the underside of the grate.
The Smoke Tronix feature is also something that sets the Smoke Hollow D4015B apart from the competition. This feature allows you to truly cold smoke things like fish, seafood, jerky, and even cheese.
Grilling Areas
The internal space of the Smoke Hollow D4015B measures in at a very nice 4.5 cubic feet. All four chrome-plated racks combine measure in at an impressive 1,000 square inches.
Special Features
While there’s an argument to be made about the digital controls and Bluetooth connectivity, these features are becoming increasingly common. Which makes them not all that “Special.” If the app was a well-designed game changer, it might deserve extra credit.
Where the Smoke Hollow D4015B starts to set itself apart is with the Smoke Tronix feature. A lot of other cabinet smokers that talk about “Cold Smoking” tend to hang their hat on a low-temperature range. There isn’t a lot of sophistication.
With the Smoke Hollow D4015B, the Smoke Tronix the digital controls and probes work with the programming for fine temperature control. Since the dual elements are electric it allows the system to dial down to as low as 50 to 125-degrees and hold it there without accidentally overcooking the food being smoked.
Ease to Clean
As time goes on the glass face of the door is going to cloud-up on you. While some industrial degreaser might help slow the process, it’s an inevitability that ranks right up there with death and taxes.
When it comes to the internal components, the large water pan and the grease tray are very easy to empty and wipe clean. The six-cup capacity wood chip tray is easy to pull out for disposing of ash. The chrome-plated grids might need a little extra scraping, but it’s doesn’t take a lot of elbow grease. All told you could probably perform a deep clean in less than half an hour!
Warranty
The Smoke Hollow D4015B comes with only a 1-year parts warranty and 90-days of paint coverage. This is a little on the sparse side, but because cabinet smokers suffer a lot of abuse, most manufacturers are hesitant to offer anything up to three years of warranty coverage.
Conclusion
The Smoke Hollow D4015B represents the next step in the evolution of smoker cabinets. It’s digital controls, the Smoke Tronix cold smoking and thoughtful design are certainly innovative. Just bear in mind that it still needs to be taken care of, and you might want to wait before trying to fall in love with the app.
