Educate me on stick burner smokers

[daspyknows]

I have a Horizon and love it. They are based in Oklahoma. Lots of great options and while it is more work, the food coming off is top notch.

 

[JckDanls 07]

Another thing to consider is the wood to run these smokers... Is a good hardwood (oak, hickory, pecan, etc.) available in your area ? You will need a good source for wood ...

 

[Workaholic]

I'm going to be the oddball here. I went cheaper. As in $300 or so for the unit, cheaper. Could use it with charcoal or splits. I usually ran a combination of the two, giving me about 2 1/2-3 hours at temp before I had to start feeding it every 45-60 minutes. I enjoyed it, and the only reason I went WSM, was family time. I wanted to be able to spend time with my family during my smokes instead of being interrupted every hour to spend 5-15 minutes feeding the smoker.

With the $300 unit, such as the: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Char-Grill...n-Black-Charcoal-Horizontal-Smoker/1002666848

and a few mods such as high temp sealant fireplace gasket, and tuning plates, I was keeping the temp within 20* from one end to the other. The tuning plates were the biggest factor in that. The sealant and gasket were just to make sure to keep better control of the draft. If I were considering to dip my toe into an offset again, (which I may do in the future) the Oklahoma Joe's Longhorn or Highland reverse flow smoker from either Lowes or Home Depot (home depot has better pricing) would be my primary candidates. With reverse flow, you shouldn't need tuning plates, as the smoke doubling back helps considerably to even out temps across the grate, as well as help with hold over, for when you have to open the door.

As far as woods, if you don't have a supplier, I noticed yesterday that one of my local Ace Hardwares has splits in bags, I *think* for about 20 a bag. Might be worth looking for. I believe they were from B&B.

 

[MileHighSmokerGirl]

Any opinions on the Oklahoma Joe’s Highland for a starter stick burner?

My dad says they are junk. However he has never used one. He says that because my brother had an Oklahoma Joe’s smoker and said it seemed cheap and then he sold it. Not sure how my Dad can have an opinion based on hearsay but ok.

Anyhow this is for sale nearby for $300.

 

[sawhorseray]

They are made of thin steel, have trouble maintaining temp, and have huge temp fluctuations. Like everything in life, you get what you pay for. Father knows best! RAY

 

[Smokin Okie]

Any opinions on the Oklahoma Joe’s Highland for a starter stick burner?

My dad says they are junk. However he has never used one. He says that because my brother had an Oklahoma Joe’s smoker and said it seemed cheap and then he sold it. Not sure how my Dad can have an opinion based on hearsay but ok.

Anyhow this is for sale nearby for $300.

It would be a good smoker to learn on without spending a lot of money. In fact, you could probably sell in a couple years for what you pay for it. And if you bargained the price lower, might sell it at a profit.

All the while you can learn about burning sticks. Find out if that's something you like or not, and learn for free. If you enjoy tending the fire then step up to a more expensive better built smoker.

IDK if its just a pic distortion, but it appears to me that the firebox is sort've slanting off to the right ? I wonder how that can happen.

Try to find what year that smoker was made. I would not pay more than 1/2 the cost of a new Okie Joe, and if its older, I would pay even less.

Editing, I just looked up the MSRP of a Highland, and its $450. I would not pay more than $200 for it

Offset Smoker | Highland

Enjoy a classic smoking experience with the Oklahoma Joe's® Highland Offset Smoker. High-temperature, heavy-gauge steel construction offers durability, learn more.

www.oklahomajoes.com

 

[Smokin Okie]

In that price range of offset smokers, the Old Country Pecos is the best of the lot. New they're $500 at Academy. Not sure you could find a used one in Denver. Used Pecos go pretty fast here in OKC.

 

[jcam222]

KC area is my old stomping grounds. I’ve eaten at Summit Hickory Pit many times and had their beans. Good stuff.

The baked beans and slaw at Smokehouse BBQ in Independence are absolutely amazeballs. I could drink their cole slaw by the gallon. Lol.

I went to high school in that area, Fort Osage. I run a Lang , have had 2 now and LOVE them. When shopping for on highly recommend combing the smoker for sale Facebook groups and Craig’s list. You will save a fortune and get a higher end unit. The better they are built / thicker metal the easier they are to manage fire in.

 

[h8that4u]

OR you could get this one.... https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/lang-36-patio-1000.318656/

 

[jcam222]

OR you could get this one.... https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/lang-36-patio-1000.318656/

Heck yes. That would be a great one.

 

[MileHighSmokerGirl]

Is Smoke Hollow a good brand? This one on fb market place for $200

 

[MileHighSmokerGirl]

OR you could get this one.... https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/lang-36-patio-1000.318656/

Way out of my price range.

 

[Smokin Okie]

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Is Smoke Hollow a good brand? This one on fb market place for $200

I don't know anything about Smoke Hollow, must be a brand for the Denver area.

Just right off, I see a problem with the cook chamber door not fitting flush on the upper right side.

Resale of the Okie Joe would be a lot easier.

 

[gmc2003]

I don't know anything about Smoke Hollow, must be a brand for the Denver area.

Just right off, I see a problem with the cook chamber door not fitting flush on the upper right side.

Resale of the Okie Joe would be a lot easier.

That's nothing that a little red RTX wouldn't fix. It'd be a cheap fix.

Chris

 

[Smokin Okie]

That's nothing that a little red RTX wouldn't fix. It'd be a cheap fix.

Chris

It appears the door is " sprung " , which happens when they cut the door out of the pipe. It releases tension in the door. It looks like the top of the door " sprung " out.

The door on my Old Country Brazos was sprung. The lower left corner sprung out. Made about a 1/2" gap. I tried RTV sealant but the gap was too wide. So I had to put clamps on the lower corner on both sides and along with the RTV it fixed the issue.

If the gap is not too wide RTV will fix it. But if its a wide gap, I don't think clamps would work at the top of the door.

 

[JckDanls 07]

Myself... I don't think the chamber door is that big of a deal... The biggest thing is the fire box door... That's the one to make sure it seals good so you have more control of the air intake...

 

[Marknmd]

Any opinions on the Oklahoma Joe’s Highland for a starter stick burner?

My dad says they are junk. However he has never used one. He says that because my brother had an Oklahoma Joe’s smoker and said it seemed cheap and then he sold it. Not sure how my Dad can have an opinion based on hearsay but ok.

Anyhow this is for sale nearby for $300.

I have an OK Joe Highland. Didn't plan on it but it was sitting on the sidewalk in front of Lowe's on deep discount. If you check amazon, it has fairly good reviews - 4.6 stars. When I bought mine, it was retailing for only $349 but mine was $100 off because it had a badly bent wheel axle, plus I have a 10% veterans discount at Lowe's so I paid only $225 plus tax. I replaced the wheel axle, which is to say I had to replace that whole leg, for $20. I added mods one by one including a welder's blanket, baffle plates, water pan, extended chimney, cooker door sealers, fire bricks, ash bucket, firebox basket, second gauge. I bought cooker door clamps but never installed them because my cooker door doesn't leak! In fact, there are no leaks anywhere. And the temp is the same from right to left with consistent thin blue smoke out of the chimney. When all was said and done, I paid about $500 altogether and it cooks very nicely. I'm very happy with it.

I think now the retail price is $449.

If you decide to get one, try to pick it up yourself if you can because a lot of them get damaged during shipping. They're 178 lbs if I remember correctly.

Oh - also bought a manual log splitter from Harbor Freight. I think I paid around $120 for it on sale.

An offset is fun to cook on, but it does require a lot of attention.

Good luck.

 

[Smokin Okie]

I've owned an Old Country Brazos and now have a Franklin offset. I like the performance of the Franklin but I think good barbecue can be had from just about any offset if a person is willing to work at it.

 

[3montes]

I have been cooking on this particular pit for nearly 14 years now.



I've had several others I have bought and sold while I had this one but this is the one that is not going anywhere. This one was built by a independent fabricator in Texas so it is a one off. First thing I would tell you is do not be intimidated by people who tell you these are so much more work than anything else. If you want minimal input and as little involvement with your smoker as possible then yes go another route. There is a bigger learning curve to running a stick burner and each one is different but once you that learning curve is completed it's not much different than anything else. Throwing a split of wood on every forty five minutes or so is not considered a lot of work in my book. If you want to be able to go to bed and trust the electronics to do the work for you this is not for you. Frankly I don't know how people can go to bed with a brisket on the cooker I'd never sleep a wink!

There are a number of things that are a must for me in a stick burner. A horizontal conventional flow, tuning plates, and cabinet doors. A two door firebox. A door on top for feeding the fire and the door on front for cleaning ashes out. So much easier loading in splits and managing a fire from a standing position looking down at the fire.
A fire box that is vented on three sides to catch that slightest breeze no matter which direction it comes from. I don't consider having to leave the door open a proper way to vent. If that slight breeze isn't coming from the direction of the door opening it's not accomplishing anything.

And of course much depends on your budget. Most fabricators will build you anything you want. But in today's global economy where everything is sourced out of country and prices and material availability are huge factors fabricators don't have much control over. I paid $5 grand for the one in the pics nearly 14 years ago. You wouldn't touch that for that price these days. You would probably struggle to find a high quality patio pit for that now. Price is probably the biggest hurdle to stick burning these days.
But don't let that stop you. Buy what you can afford and join the stick burning fraternity and upgrade as you go along. It's a dying art and we need more people to pick up the stick!

 

[JckDanls 07]

3montes ... I agree with you 100%... I don't understand why people say they are so much work... As you say ... Walk out/by and throw a split on every 30-60 minutes is no work at all ... The vents never have to be adjusted.... It always runs the same temp whenever you throw a new split on ...

This is my Stick Burner that I built myself...