Help!

[Joshua Husemann]

New member here, looking forward to being part of the community. Starting off with a quick question. I've been smoking for a little whike now on a cheap little char broil thin metal offset deal. Gotten some pretty good results but I'm struggling with maintaining a fire. It goes one of two ways, either I get a good fire going and the temp is way too hot or I have to struggle to keep a fire going to keep the temp were it needs to be. Is this because of the cheap thin construction of the unit? I'm ready to upgrade and I'm thinking a smoker with thicker walls would allow me to burn a good fire without temps soaring over 300. Any suggestions?

 

[pineywoods]

What are you using for fuel wood or charcoal?

 

[Joshua Husemann]

I usually start with a chimney of hardwood charcoal, then wood. Mostly pecan. I will occasionally add another half chimney if the coal bed starts getting too small.

 

[pineywoods]

How big of splits are you using? How long is the firebox? What does the fire sit on?

 

[Joshua Husemann]

Firebox is 15" dia. By 18" long. Splits are normally around 4-6" long by 2"diameter. Cooking chamber is 20" diameter by 30" long. Fire sits on an expanded metal shelf with 3-4" clearance beneath. I struggle to find a consistent adjustment to dampeners the exhaust is usually 3/4 open and the intake stays almost fully open or the fire dies

 

[pineywoods]

Top vent should be wide open or close to it. Control the fire with the dampeners. Once you get a bed of coals hopefully you can keep a decent fire by adding splits as needed to keep the fire consistent and that takes a bit of playing with to find out just what that smoker likes. If I was cutting splits for that smoker I would try to make them about 15-16" long and about 1" diameter. Most stick burners require smaller splits then you would think added more often then you would think. I add a split or two every 30-40 minutes
As for the thicker smoker being easier to control yes and no it still requires figuring out size of splits and how often to add them but the thicker metal holds heat better. A reverse flow smoker is different and is much easier to maintain pretty even temps.

 

[Joshua Husemann]

Greatly appreciate your responses. I think it's time to upgrade. I'm not looking to spend $1000 but maybe something like an Oklahoma joes might be a step up. A reverse flow is what I'm thinking about, maybe I can find a used one locally

 

[pineywoods]

If you can find a decent reverse flow used at a decent price you'd like it they are great and much easier to maintain temps

 

[Joshua Husemann]

I'm thinking I could convert one of the longhorns to reverse by adding a plate below the cooking grate and relocating the exhaust stack

 

[pineywoods]

Possibly but it's still gonna be thin metal. Most reverse flow smokers I know of are 1/4" and have a 1/4" RF plate

 

[Joshua Husemann]

Yeah but like I said, definitely an upgrade from the sheet metal thing I've been working with.

 

[banderson7474]

I have a ok joe that cost 500 and it holds temp a lot better than the cheaper off sets.

 

[Joshua Husemann]

Well thanks for all the replies. I'm going to keep an eye open for a used one around here. I see them pretty often in the $150 range for the ok joes.