New - Oklahoma Joe's Highland Smoker

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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 peice design on the firebox, they had to to get rid of top and bottom vent holes. 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!!!
Pretty well sums it up, I'd say.
 
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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.
sweet that's my kind of mod

yeah, i kind of regret buying this thing now, as it will cost me a lot in the long run. but you live and learn
 
 
sweet that's my kind of mod

yeah, i kind of regret buying this thing now, as it will cost me a lot in the long run. but you live and learn
I did not get real performance out of it until I had a metal guy weld it all up and re-bend the lids to where they fit. That ran me 50 dollars but it was far better than failed RTV and lavalock gaskets. I mean my first cook half of the paint flaked off on the firebox. But if this is all that is available for you to purchase for the price than you learn to deal with things. My take is how much in cost of meat are you going to ruin by the time it takes you to figure everything out that you need to mod each time. I was tired of modding and just wanted to cook.
 
 
I did not get real performance out of it until I had a metal guy weld it all up and re-bend the lids to where they fit. That ran me 50 dollars but it was far better than failed RTV and lavalock gaskets. I mean my first cook half of the paint flaked off on the firebox. But if this is all that is available for you to purchase for the price than you learn to deal with things. My take is how much in cost of meat are you going to ruin by the time it takes you to figure everything out that you need to mod each time. I was tired of modding and just wanted to cook.
This right here, esp your last line about "I was tired of modding and just wanted to cook" is exactly why im looking at the lang 48 hybrid patio and the black warrior comanche warrior
 
 
This right here, esp your last line about "I was tired of modding and just wanted to cook" is exactly why im looking at the lang 48 hybrid patio and the black warrior comanche warrior
it's like washing and waxing a fastback mustang 6 times a week and never turning over the engine.
 
sweet that's my kind of mod

yeah, i kind of regret buying this thing now, as it will cost me a lot in the long run. but you live and learn
You just need to figure your smoker out and experiment with some things.
I have seen them cook nearly every cut of meat you can imagine. With little problems of any kind. In my opinion its not a bad entry level smoker.
Lets figure it out..
 
You just need to figure your smoker out and experiment with some things.
I have seen them cook nearly every cut of meat you can imagine. With little problems of any kind. In my opinion its not a bad entry level smoker.
Lets figure it out..
so what about a convection plate, what's the verdict on those?
 
This is the blower that I'm using, came from an old furnace.  I see a new one like it costs around $65.  The V/S control below is about $15 on ebay. I had to fabricate the connection from some dryer vent pipe.  That gets really hot around the firebox opening so plan accordingly for that.  If you zoon in on the pic you can see that I just have one screw with a wing nut attaching the blower face piece to firebox door.  I use the variable speed control to get the fan speed where I want it.  You can get the temps up FAST using this system.  Once they're going the fan can usually be turned down very low or even take it off.  

One thing to watch for, when you turn the fan on it blows ashes up into the cook chamber.  I usually put a piece of screen wire in there to block the ashes.  It burns up during the cook but it's cheap and easy and does the job.  Hope this helps you.  Good luck.

 

 
 
looks very fancy thood ^^^

i'm trying to decide between the horizon convection plate (thicker steel) or the bbqsmokermods version (thinner steel)

it seems like the bbqsmokermods version has good reviews and is a better design. i've read some people have issues with the horizon one not being flush up against the cooking chamber on the firebox side, but it is a thicker steel 

decisions, decisions.
 
I got mine from bbqsmokermods. It fit perfectly and I did not bolt the two sections together. The top of the baffle fit flush against the fire box, no need to bolt it on. I also have seen that the Horizon plate takes 6 - 8 weeks to get, the bbqsmokermods sent it right out, had it in 1 week. Works great!!
 
 
looks very fancy thood ^^^

i'm trying to decide between the horizon convection plate (thicker steel) or the bbqsmokermods version (thinner steel)

it seems like the bbqsmokermods version has good reviews and is a better design. i've read some people have issues with the horizon one not being flush up against the cooking chamber on the firebox side, but it is a thicker steel 

decisions, decisions.
I have now had both....the one from smoker mods was ok but I had to make some of the holes on the right side bigger
 
So both work well then?
Well this for me is more of a personal touch in preference. If it sounds biased, let me explain why. When I first got my plates from BBQSmoker mods.com, the right side near the firebox kept getting as much as 45 degrees cooler. And going all of the way down, the temps were still not even. I contacted the company and they acted like since it is new there will be some trial and error. However they wanted my input as to my methods. Mine was one of the first ones made....intro price was only 69 bucks. I found out I needed to not only make some of the small holes larger, but I needed to disconnect the two pieces to add a gap and move the whole thing 1 inch to the left. But all of this convinced me they did not do much in terms of testing on their own. Now as for Horizon.....those guys had made tons of them until they found the correct ones from the way Steve explained to me. He said if I have any issues, call him and they will make it right. The other guys I got the feeling of its new so you should give us a break if something is not right and we are keeping your money.
 
Hi Everyone

Ive been following this thread for a while, and replied to the wrong thread htris morning. Im going to ask some questions here which i brought up in another thread, but i feel as if the questions are better asked here....

I just purchased a second hand (used once?) OKJ Highland smoker. For the price point (i paid 100 cad) I feel as if this was my best buy, I plan on building a horizontal offset smoker in the future, no time for that now.

Before i start using this thing, i plan on taking some of it apart, cleaning it down and doing a few simple modifications. I was hoping i could list a few things, and hopefully someone will chime in if theres a better option , I tried reading through this thread but i see that different people have results with different methods.

1. Sealing cracks, some are using high heat RTV (red stuff) whereas others are using some kind of fiberglass ? (is that correct?) Is one better than the other?

2.  A plate on the bottom? Is this to reflect heat from the bottom to raise the internal temperature towards the cooking surface? Not sure I understand the purpose of this

3. A plate that closes the opening between the firebox and cook chamber? Again, I dont understand the purpose

4. Adding thermometers at the cooking rack level, makes sense, what are good thermometers to get for this?

5. a bit of ductwork to stop smoke from escaping the cook chamber so quickly

6. expanded metal basket for wood and charcoal

7. Sealing the doors, looks like felt gaskets burn out, 1/2" stove rope is too big,  does anyone have success with anything that doesnt burn out?

8. Adding latches to keep the doors clamped shut (can someone let me know what these latches are called?)

Am i missing anything else? thanks in advance everyone, looking forward to setting this thing up :)
 
 
Hi Everyone

Ive been following this thread for a while, and replied to the wrong thread htris morning. Im going to ask some questions here which i brought up in another thread, but i feel as if the questions are better asked here....

I just purchased a second hand (used once?) OKJ Highland smoker. For the price point (i paid 100 cad) I feel as if this was my best buy, I plan on building a horizontal offset smoker in the future, no time for that now.

Before i start using this thing, i plan on taking some of it apart, cleaning it down and doing a few simple modifications. I was hoping i could list a few things, and hopefully someone will chime in if theres a better option , I tried reading through this thread but i see that different people have results with different methods.

1. Sealing cracks, some are using high heat RTV (red stuff) whereas others are using some kind of fiberglass ? (is that correct?) Is one better than the other?

2.  A plate on the bottom? Is this to reflect heat from the bottom to raise the internal temperature towards the cooking surface? Not sure I understand the purpose of this

3. A plate that closes the opening between the firebox and cook chamber? Again, I dont understand the purpose

4. Adding thermometers at the cooking rack level, makes sense, what are good thermometers to get for this?

5. a bit of ductwork to stop smoke from escaping the cook chamber so quickly

6. expanded metal basket for wood and charcoal

7. Sealing the doors, looks like felt gaskets burn out, 1/2" stove rope is too big,  does anyone have success with anything that doesnt burn out?

8. Adding latches to keep the doors clamped shut (can someone let me know what these latches are called?)

Am i missing anything else? thanks in advance everyone, looking forward to setting this thing up :)
Lets break this down....

1:

the RTV and "fibergrass" people use are different products. If you have to choose between one and not have the unit welded all together buy a welder, I would choose the fiberglass looking option. That is a stove rope kit found at many hardware stores. Seals pretty good but looks like hell.

2:

The plate you are seeing are tuning plates or sometimes called convection plates. Some are metal slats and some are large ones with holes. This is to even out the heat. The firebox is on the side so these plates make the left side as even as the side with the firebox.

3:

These are called baffle plates. It just direct the smoke to be lowered coming out. Some have these already built into their tuning plates.

4:

Good thermometers are easy to come by. Look up Lava lock

5:

The ductwork thing is to lower where the heat will exhaust and help fix an issue called "cold spotting". If you have a tuning plate, this is not needed. Personally it's not really needed at all in my opinion.

6:

Charcoal baskets are a great way to optimize your fuels. Keeps the burn in one area. Recommend you spend you money on this and a convection plate.

7:

Many are using the felt stuff by Lava Lock. It's a gasket. 

8:

latches don't really have a name since they are used in may industries and are what they are....latches. you can find many of these things at bbqsmokermods.com
 
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