worth1 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 10, 2020 6:08 am The offset smoker is the Oklahoma Joes Highland smoker at about the same price as the barrel smoker.

How do you like that one, overall, Worth? I've been eyeing one of those for a year or two now. Seems to get mixed reviews (but mostly good) online. Did it need any modifications? I've read that they're prone to air leaks

MikeUSMC wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2020 6:06 am

worth1 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 10, 2020 6:08 am The offset smoker is the Oklahoma Joes Highland smoker at about the same price as the barrel smoker.

How do you like that one, overall, Worth? I've been eyeing one of those for a year or two now. Seems to get mixed reviews (but mostly good) online. Did it need any modifications? I've read that they're prone to air leaks

It is what it is for the price.
All I did was put plate metal on the intake side to cut the inflow volume in half and lower it.
As for air leaks I find all the goings on and complaints about them to be a little over the top.
After enough cooks the smoke soot will seal them up anyway.
My lid doesn't leak smoke out like it used to and it didn't bother me anyway.
The fire grates are to flimsy.
The Kingsford you can get at Home Depot seems to be a step up with thicker walls and a nice square fire box.
All in all I find these cheaper offset smokers to be more or less a replica of the real thing but I knew that when I bought it.
If I wanted a really nice one I would build it myself since I have a home machine, wood working and welding shop.
Nor would I copy someone else to build it.
There is an industrial metal supply place in Austin that sells all things BBQ.

Recently picked up the OKJ highland. No mods yet and the temps can get uneven from one side to the other. Sometimes it can be a challenge to not lose the fire completely, and it does burn through splits fairly quick. It also doesn't help that I'm usually working around the house/property while smoking.

Having said that, I've made some good Q already - and it is definitely easier to work with then the Dynaglo vertical offset I was using previously.

For smaller stuff, I'm still using a basic Chargriller barrel grill and just put the coals on one side and the food on the other. Works great for venison roasts, chicken breasts, etc. We've had it about 10 years and the bottom is slowly rusting away though. Will probably get a weber kettle to replace it when the time comes.

My father-in-law has the PBC, and likes it - he picked it up after coming in 1st all around in a KCBS backyard comp with his OKJ (which he has modded quite a bit).

Many of these smaller offset smokers need a bigger ash box to collect and get rid of ashes.
With that said they should be at least a box on the bottom not round.
Preferably all of it a box.
The whole round thing came from using round pipe to make these things because it is easily found like oil field casing and flow lines
If I were to build a new fire box the ash box below the fire grates would be almost as big as the upper fire box with an easy way to get rid of the ashes.
The whole door would be bigger and everything set lower so the fire grates would be lower.
The Oklahoma Joe's and others it is ridiculous how small the ash collection area is.
I have to use a duck billed shovel to get the ashes out while cooking for long times on it and it barely fits.

Spent my whole life growing up taking care of a huge wood/coal burning furnace and wood stoves.
The furnace was in the basement and had duct work going to all rooms.
It was massive and had a chain control for the damper so you didn't have to go into the basement to adjust it.
Then each room had registers.
Early central heating.

Just scrounged two more of the 6 inch pipes from another jobsite.
A little longer may have to cut them down some.
Next time I will fire off all three at the same time and see how it effects the temperature.
I may experiment with alternating fire starts in each one.

Here they are.

When I built Frank, I researched a lot of the mods being done to offset smokers and after that research, decided to build a reverse flow pit.
most offset smoker temps can be evened out using tuning plates.
Drafting properly also helps maintaining temperature.
Fire management is one of the hardest things a new "stickburner" user will have to learn.
One thing a lot of folks don't consider is thermal mass, the more thermal mass you have the less temperature swings and quicker heat recovery you have.

With all that thermal mass, having a way to quickly heat the pit without going through a bunch of wood helps, so I installed a propane burner underneath the reverse flow plate.







I also installed a Propane burner as a log lighter and to switch over to propane if needed


I would also get a hot spot and had to design a baffle.

The Green represents the top of the firebox that is inside the cooking chamber, the Blue represents the reverse flow plate and the Red represents the baffle plates installed to reduce the heat from hammering the top of the firebox, causing excessive radiant heat.
When I designed this pit I should have had a flat side on the cooking chamber so there would be no ((green area)

Just like the old saying goes with hot rod engines the same goes for BBQ smokers.
There's no replacement for displacement.

Be it wall thickness or size.

I have a 22 inch Blackstone Griddle that I love, but I'm waiting for this one to hit the Walmart shelves.

https://www.blackstoneproducts.com/shop ... dle-combo/

I'm running another experiment and will post results soon.

The results of the test and what I did.
Pay no mind to the amount of smoke, no way would I long cook with that amount.
You can move the pipe back and forth to adjust the end to end temperature.
No flames coming in direct contact with cooking area.
Just used two wads of aluminum foil to block cracks on sides of pipe.
No permanent alterations.
Everything removable.
The temperature stayed even all the way up the scale and even smoke distribution.
Pictures went sideways on a couple and I ain't flipping them.
The fire box side is now cooler than the stack side.
By moving the middle pipe about 1/2 inch to the right did this.
What else could you ask for?

Just tossed on a whole chicken and a small bone in pork butt.
The only rub is brown sugar.
Probably ruing both of them.
Seriously, "Too much smoke and I had rather use charcoal bricks at this point.
I thought about modifying the fire box but decided on it being a waste of time and effort.
Will build whole new fire box and use the existing one as a mini grille on legs.
I also think the smoke stack it too small of a diameter big time.

Gotta nice bed of coals going.
Disaster so far.
I bet my neighbors think I have lost my mind smoking how many weekend's so far?
Like I said before I cant stand doing this in the summer it is too hot.

The chicken was ready and I wasn't honestly looking forward to tasting it.
But I did in the name of science.
To my surprise it came out really good and I started eating the whole bird like a pack of hungry wolves.
I mean I just ripped off parts like a starving wild man and eating it like a hungry barbarian.
A person could do a lot worse than a plain brown sugar rub with nothing else but maybe black pepper.
In my opinion the salt isn't necessary.
Got the fire under some sort of control and will let the pork butt drive itself.
In the meantime I'm going to take a shower to get this wretched smoke smell off of me, read a book and take a cat nap.
I have been up since 4:00 this morning messing with this contraption.
And yes I did have breakfast.

I have known this guy since garden web and the old country.
I knew he put up a link to a calculator for building offset smokers and so on and I found it in no time.
Here it is.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q ... vQY54suh69

Has anyone had any experience with them?
They make a cheaper thin walled one and a more expensive thick walled one which someone said 1/4 inch or it could be 3/16 thick.
About the same size as mine and the smoke stack looks to be 6 inches in diameter.
They have one at Academy here in town and plan on going down and taking measurements.
Aaron Franklin uses one, looks the be the thinner model
I can honestly say the Smokey Joe's in its configuration (as is factory) isn't drafting right and I plan on fixing it.
The smoke stack will be lowered on the side of the cooking chamber and enlarged to 6 inches first off.
Next will be an improved cubical firebox.

Here's the best $25 I ever spent on my offset, it draws good and I still have the original one on there and use it if I throw on a log and it smokes too much to get started.
https://www.chargriller.com/collections ... embly-8100

I installed it at grate level to keep more smoke inside and it made a big different in regulating temp too because you know smoke is hot/heat.
This is how I have the plates set up, they have cracks along the way to the exhaust that spreads out the heat and holds heat since it's 1/4". You can tell by the rust how much heat it gets by the firebox exit, I usually out an aluminum water pan on that first flat plate and it steams nice.

Yep that is exactly what I'm going to do.
Just weld up the old opening and cut out a new lower one.
Here are our buddies at the Salt Lick and Franklin's in Austin.
They have the same opinion of the Salt Lick as I do.

I knew the result of saltlick before I watched. You need to watch that guys picanha video, he breaks it down and lets you know what is true pichana.