New - Oklahoma Joe's Highland Smoker

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i removed the cookie sheet, it did nothing for me.... without it, i was getting a 6-10 degree difference at the grate level end to end

the only reason i would buy a convection plate is for heat retention purposes. i would think that adding such a thick chunk of steel in the CC can only be beneficial.

my issue now is that i burn too much fuel. i am using charcoal and briquettes....i will switch over from using just charcoal and briquettes, to wood splits also.
What you can do is get food safe heat retention bricks. I had those and worked great. I sold them a while back. Also if you are wanting to get a thick steel plate, the convection plate from Horizon is way heavier duty than the one found at bbq mods .com .....3/16 thickness
 
 
That's it?!?! 
Don't let Mamma see that, else she'll go on another of her purging expeditions.  
sausage.gif
 
 
Don't let Mamma see that, else she'll go on another of her purging expeditions.  
sausage.gif
Im in the process of buying a towable smoker 72" cooking chamber with a charcoal grill and rib box on it. My dad informed me last night he has some extra space hes freed up in his basement i could park it in so my wife doesnt see it (of course i think my dad is trying to get some free use out of the unit as well!) 
 
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Need some advice. Gettin ready to put together Oklahoma joe Highlander. Bought the Baffle plate Heat from BBQ Smoker Mods. How about a meat thermometer recommendation two 1/2" Npt Threaded ports are standard on the cooker.

SaltyDAD
 
 
Need some advice. Gettin ready to put together Oklahoma joe Highlander. Bought the Baffle plate Heat from BBQ Smoker Mods. How about a meat thermometer recommendation two 1/2" Npt Threaded ports are standard on the cooker.

SaltyDAD
Any chance you can cancel that baffle plate order? Horizon makes a 3/16 thick version for the highland.
 
I start off with about 1/2 chimney of lit charcoal, then add small splits ow wood. Once up to temperature, I add another split probably every 20-30 minutes. Temperature in CC runs around 225-250.
 
I like to start with a full chimney and a split. Ill let it get hot then dampin back down after it hits 275-300.  Few pieces of lump charcoal and 1-2 splits ever 1-2 hours is all it takes to hold 250-300 temp
 
 
I like to start with a full chimney and a split. Ill let it get hot then dampin back down after it hits 275-300.  Few pieces of lump charcoal and 1-2 splits ever 1-2 hours is all it takes to hold 250-300 temp
This is where it's hard for me to comment as I no longer have this smoker. I used to start with a full chimney of lump coal and open everything up. Once temp was there, I'd back down the air flow. but would soon have to open everything up. The issue I had all of the time was air getting into the unit properly. I stuck a tiny fan on the outside and it had air blowing into it to keep up the temps and a burn instead of a smolder. I probably would not have needed the fan had the fire box contained a full vent. However since the morons in china decided to go two piece, it is no longer possible. As for playing with temps on an original OKJ and Old Country units, It holds heat well due to the thicker metal. I really has been a night and day difference. Air flow is constant and the temps to not give way to much in variation. 
 
Just got a new OKJoe's Highland Smoker.
Thought I should become a member here.

I have been using a brinkman smoke n pit.
Worked OK until I tried to do a brisket in the rain at 45 degrees!  

I first started smoking/grilling on a Weber kettle grill.
Had good success doing chicken, pork,ribs indirect.
I have probably a dozen briskets under my belt with the brinkman and also tried a few on a pellet smoker.
I am back to wanting to smoke on an offset as the pellet smoker is basically a convection oven imo.
So this is what I have smoker/grill wise now.

2 Weber kettle grills
1 smoke chef pellet smoker
1 Oklahoma Joe's highland offset smoker

What baffle are you using for the Highland and how's it all going?
 
I like to start with a full chimney and a split. Ill let it get hot then dampin back down after it hits 275-300.  Few pieces of lump charcoal and 1-2 splits ever 1-2 hours is all it takes to hold 250-300 temp

When you add splits and charcoal, is the charcoal unlit?
 
What baffle are you using for the Highland and how's it all going?


It's been cold and rainy here lately.
Had one nice day and all I got to do was season the smoker for a few hours. I think it needs a bit more seasoning

This weekend is supposed to be nice so I'll report back after then.

I'll also use my maverick to check the temps on both sides of the smoker. At grate level.

Oh I'm using an old aluminum cookie sheet my wife had for the diverter/baffle plate.
It's not my ideal solution but it was handy and free so I'll try it. If it doesn't work I'll Fab something up.
Doug
 
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I saw that Sauced has responded and I do very similar to what he described.  I use a mix of charcoal and wood.  The charcoal seems to last longer and keep the heat more even.  I do use the split wood sticks (about 12" long) rather than chunks.  But for me the key is the blower that I attach to the air intake.  I can just turn up the fan a bit and get the temp to whatever I want it to be.  The trick seems to be getting the temp up to where you want it and then you can back off and it will stay there for a long time.  But sometimes getting that temp up to 235-250 at the grate can be a little tough.  Could be just the design of the Longhorn, lot of open cooking area for that size of fire box.  With this method I can usually go 10-12 hours by just adding some charcoal or wood every 3-4 hours. 

I have the highland, but I'm absolutely sure I need a fan blower. I have a 20x20 basket, and have tried the different orientation of the firebox grate for more air flow, but it was worse... I also have the elbow vent mod, the felt gasket and the rtv sealant

I am using wood splits now, I preheat them on top of the firebox, they light up pretty quickly, but as soon as I close the door, or leave it open a couple inches, the flame goes out and they just smolder. Then the temps slowly drop (too quickly if that makes sense). They smolder even after i let them burning nicely with the door open.

I understand I'm supposed to keep a nice small fire going to get the thin blue smoke, but that wasn't happening. I feel for sure there needs to be more air being pushed/pulled through

Also, I think I should just get a convection plate, especially if people are very happy with theirs
 
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This is where it's hard for me to comment as I no longer have this smoker. I used to start with a full chimney of lump coal and open everything up. Once temp was there, I'd back down the air flow. but would soon have to open everything up. The issue I had all of the time was air getting into the unit properly. I stuck a tiny fan on the outside and it had air blowing into it to keep up the temps and a burn instead of a smolder. I probably would not have needed the fan had the fire box contained a full vent. However since the morons in china decided to go two piece, it is no longer possible. As for playing with temps on an original OKJ and Old Country units, It holds heat well due to the thicker metal. I really has been a night and day difference. Air flow is constant and the temps to not give way to much in variation. 

This is my exact problem. What fan did you use?

So even after adding the fan you still weren't happy with the unit?
 
This is my exact problem. What fan did you use?

So even after adding the fan you still weren't happy with the unit?
You know what? It was a simple 4 inch desk fan that I put on top of a standing up cinder block. Had it about 4 inches away. The problem is you need air to get into that thing. When they decided to go 2 piece design on the firebox, they had to to get rid of top vent hole. Charbroil doesn't know shit about air flow when they did this. All they saw was dollars saved as they could fit more in a small space for shipping. I hope those fuckers croak!!! In all honesty, It was simply too big. The problem is with these guys is you burn through a lot of fuel for say a simple pork butt. Going with a shorter length and small diameter burns half of the fuel.
 
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