I got this Oklahoma Joe's Highland offset a few weeks ago. I made all the normal mods , sealed lids and firebox,raised firebox grate ect. My intention is/was to use just wood for fuel but have been starting it with about half a chimney of lump. I've been doing practice burns trying to learn how to maintain a constant temp before I throw a $40 piece of meat in it.
So far not doing so good on the fire management thing. I just can't seam to get and maintain a good "clean" fire at the 225-250 range.And only been able to maintain a steady temp for about 15 minutes. I let the fire burn down to where the temp gets right, at that point there just isn't enough hot coals left to ignite a new/small piece of wood and I loose the fire. When I have a good fire going the temp spikes to around 350-400. If I close the damper some the fire eventually smolders out. I seam to get the best fire with the fire box door wide open but at high temps.
As mentioned above, my hope was to only use wood as I have a bunch of it(seasoned oak splits) and not have to use a $10 bag of lump per cook. I've watch a bunch of vids and have read a bunch of posts on here but it appears that most use lump or charcoal with this unit and add some wood for smoke. I've put a ton of wood through this thing since I got it and just can't seam to get the hang of it yet.Anybody have success just using wood? What am I missing here?. This can't be that difficult... Any suggestions? Thanks !
So far not doing so good on the fire management thing. I just can't seam to get and maintain a good "clean" fire at the 225-250 range.And only been able to maintain a steady temp for about 15 minutes. I let the fire burn down to where the temp gets right, at that point there just isn't enough hot coals left to ignite a new/small piece of wood and I loose the fire. When I have a good fire going the temp spikes to around 350-400. If I close the damper some the fire eventually smolders out. I seam to get the best fire with the fire box door wide open but at high temps.
As mentioned above, my hope was to only use wood as I have a bunch of it(seasoned oak splits) and not have to use a $10 bag of lump per cook. I've watch a bunch of vids and have read a bunch of posts on here but it appears that most use lump or charcoal with this unit and add some wood for smoke. I've put a ton of wood through this thing since I got it and just can't seam to get the hang of it yet.Anybody have success just using wood? What am I missing here?. This can't be that difficult... Any suggestions? Thanks !