Educate me on stick burner smokers

[tbern]

@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...

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very nice!!

 

[Smokin Okie]

Well, you fellas are saying there's no " work " involved, ( and I used the term " work " loosely, like in comparison to a pellet smoker ) there's a lot more involved with a stick burner. And look at what you're cooking on compared to Cheap Offset Smoker ( COS ) .

Unless a person turns a COS into a charcoal/chunk smoker they're gonna demand a lot of attention. If ya gonna burn splits on an Okie Joe Highland, there's not gonna be any 45 minutes between splits. To minimize temp swings, its gonna be necessary to use small splits that will have to be added every 15 to 20 minutes along with constant monitoring of the temp and smoke.

 

[Marknmd]

Well, you fellas are saying there's no " work " involved, ( and I used the term " work " loosely, like in comparison to a pellet smoker ) there's a lot more involved with a stick burner. And look at what you're cooking on compared to Cheap Offset Smoker ( COS ) .

Unless a person turns a COS into a charcoal/chunk smoker they're gonna demand a lot of attention. If ya gonna burn splits on an Okie Joe Highland, there's not gonna be any 45 minutes between splits. To minimize temp swings, its gonna be necessary to use small splits that will have to be added every 15 to 20 minutes along with constant monitoring of the temp and smoke.

Exactly right. 15-20 minutes for the Highland. Constant monitoring.

The larger the offset smoker, the easier the cook. This is according to Jeremy Yoder over at MSB.

OTOH, my drum, and even my SnS kettle requires much less attention. The Highland requires more attention, but it's FUN! At least it is to me. And you get the advantage of superior smoke flavor. :-D

 

[chp]

I’m up in northern Colorado. You have certainly gotten good advice from the folks here. A few things I would add. The front range gets a fair amount of wind. The lighter offset smokers will have larger temperature swings in the wind. I would suggest starting used to see how you like it. The dry Colorado climate doesn’t have some of the rusting issues. Many used options look terrible, but the rust is just surface rust and the smoker can be restored. Look for heavy and welded smokers. If rusted, look close to see if the rust is deep or just surface (most common in the firebox). Also keep in mind, Colorado is not the home for many of the standard smoking woods. Fruit wood is my go to around here. You should also learn about the idea of a ‘backbone’ (think heat without flavor) woods to support your smoker. The typical oak, hickory, mesquite, are all trucked in but more $$$. Best of luck. Here is mine I found used locally:

 

[h8that4u]

I also have one similar to that for sale, Price can be discussed if not to far out of your range. https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...sall-16-offset-smoker-for-sale-750-00.318657/