Looking for a decent bbq grill.

[lovethemeats]

Ok. So my one grill is just too small for doing any offset smoking/cooking. Looking for a good grill without breaking the bank. With all of the posts I have read thru the years. What grills stand out. Looking at Oklahoma Joe style units. Would love to hear what the members think. Don't mind having to do mods to improve on a unit. The one style I want to stay away from would be the egg. I just don't care for that style. Thanks to all who reply to this post

 

[noboundaries]

We Weber guys love our grills.  They can smoke, grill, offset, bake, make pizza, and there's a ton of accessories.  I wore out an 18.5" that is probably close to 40 years old.  It may still have some life in it as a homemade WSM so I haven't discarded it.

I'm not into the fancy stuff Weber is doing to their grills these days.  A 22.5" Weber Kettle with an ash catcher can be used for just about anything.  I have one with a table attached, but none of the fire starter additions.  I learned to smoke on my Kettle.  A 22.5" can be used for everything.  As a smoker it is good for smokes no longer than 6-8 hours.  You can go longer, but it requires baby sitting.  Shorter, high temp smokes are a no brainer and require no attention at all.  The 22.5" can be had new for $149.  On Craigslist you can find barely used new ones for next to nothing if you keep watching. 

Personally, I'd buy the 26.75" Weber Kettle if I was in the market today.  Twice as pricey as the 22.5", but good for up to 12 hours of slow smoking from what I've read.

The real kicker for Webers, they last for decades with little to no attention.   

The Oklahoma Joe is very popular.  Lots of users.  With proper attention they can last quite a while.   

 

[lovethemeats]

Thanks for the reply. The problem I got is that the stores around me don't carry a brand like the Oklahoma Joe's. Instead the ones that I see at the stores seem to be cheaply made with things to wear out down the road. Right now I own a Weber. I actually got three of them. The other two are smaller and I use for camping. Yeah I to like the Weber. I think the one i use now 21in not a kettle style. From the center to each side it only measures 19 inches actually for the available cooking space.

 

[cksteele]

i have a OKJOE  any lowes  or home depot  should have  them   if you live in westland Michigan   they have a cabelas  in dundee they sell offset smokers  in there its like 40 min from you 

 

[lovethemeats]

What about the grates. Do they stand up good to the use? Is the steel thick enough. Yes I have both stores by me. Hard to go check them out as work is taking my time up for now. Started looking more into them. Curious about the reverse flow model.
I should add that what i ment by breaking the bank on $$. Stay under the 750 mark. Maybe 800.
I bought the nicer of the 2 fireboard meat therm. I think a decent bigger grill is in order now. Still keeping my weber to. Hard to give up a good grill.

 

[cksteele]

What about the grates. Do they stand up good to the use? Is the steel thick enough. Yes I have both stores by me. Hard to go check them out as work is taking my time up for now. Started looking more into them. Curious about the reverse flow model.
I should add that what i ment by breaking the bank on $$. Stay under the 750 mark. Maybe 800.
I bought the nicer of the 2 fireboard meat therm. I think a decent bigger grill is in order now. Still keeping my weber to. Hard to give up a good grill.

 the grates on the oakjoe are ceramic coated  so they wont rust i smoke stuff in them every weekend no issues. steel is thinner but you get what ya pay for you want 1/4 inch you're looking at 1000 bucks. ive modded out my oakjoe works just fine  never used the reverse flow one so cant say 

 

[lovethemeats]

Ok. So what are the usual mods done. I seen one where they put a plate of steel at the opening inside where the fire box feeds the smoke and heat into the main unit. Have you done this?

 

[hillbillyrkstr]

22.5 Weber kettle

 

[phatbac]

22.5 Weber kettle

I agree. spend $90 on a kettle and $20 on some charcoal baskets and you have 2 zone cooking. there is other accessories such as rotisseries and  lid hinges etc.  get a slow and sear for around $25-30  and you can smoke pork butts and briskets on it. basically you can have the most tricked out grill for less than the price of a middle of the road gasser.

I don't recommend the Weber except for the fact i have owned several Weber products and found great value and success with smoking and grilling with Weber products. I use a lot of the seasonings and rubs and their hardware is outstanding. Bang for the Buck you don't get better.

Happy Smoking,

phatbac (Aaron)

 

[lovethemeats]

Yes its a hard choice. I like the Weber's but the Oklahoma Joe Highland looks good to. The only problem I had with my weber was i had to replace the rack. But it being 5 years old. That was nothing. Plus it was my fault on why it had to be replaced. So the toss up is between the two. Man this is tuff. Home depot doesn't have much and lowes has both units in stock. I'm gonna go up and look this Saturday.

 

[cksteele]

Ok. So what are the usual mods done. I seen one where they put a plate of steel at the opening inside where the fire box feeds the smoke and heat into the main unit. Have you done this?

well i burn 100% wood in mine so  im not sure if you want to burn charcol and the wood for smoke but these are pretty comon mods  for okjoes

firebox.jpg

• cksteele
• May 28, 2017

i put firebricks in the firebox to semi insulate  it and to even the heat 

also there is a baffle plate in it and i put gaskets on the door seams to seal it up  a

and a  extension in the smokestack to increase the draw  and lower the heat to grate lvl 

smoker mod 2.JPG

• cksteele
• Jun 7, 2017

smoker mod1.JPG

• cksteele
• Jun 7, 2017

 pretty simple mods  that can make a $300-400 dollar smoker work like a more expensive one 

 

[lovethemeats]

Cool. Thanks for the pics and info.

 

[lovethemeats]

Well I decide. After looking this Saturday and thinking of what I am trying to achieve with a additional smoker. And what I want it to do. I decided to go with a okjoe highland. The main reason I went with it was the size. I want to be able to smoke whole ribs and more then just 1 or 2 racks. In my MES. That wasn't a issue but then there is the reason why I started looking. One of the top reasons was the smoke ring that is created. On my MES. It just wasn't there. I know this might sound petty. But when I am smoking meat. Even the little things count for me. The appearance of the finished product. I put alot of love into what I am making. I care a great deal. I also want to learn more about smoking with different units. In my MES30. It's like a set and forget it type of thing. I turn out great food but I want more of the action. If you can understand what I mean. With this style. It's alot more involvement in the making of smoked foods. Like people have said. Its a good first unit to develop my skill with this type. I spent alot of time researching info on this unit in this site. Got some of the upgrades coming. Sunday I made my basket for my coals. Interested in learning to use just wood. Its sad that no place around here has firebricks. So I have them on order and will have them by next week. My tuning heat plate was ordered as was the door clamps and seals. Since I have multi meat therms. I went with my Maverick dual probe to use with this unit. The one thing I did laugh at was the placement of the therms that they mount on their units. Don't they listen to the public? Move them things down closer to the grates. But I am glad for digital probes. I thought about pulling the one they supply and put a plug in the hole. For now I sealed up all the leaks that people here say to do. Which was nice knowing before putting it together. I did my burn in today. That went good. My unit had alot of goo in it when I pulled it out of the box. Spent some time cleaning it out. Someone at that place got a little happy with the machining oil when they built this one. I also must say that their Quality department needs to follow the automakers standard of quality. But maybe thats just me being picky about the unit. So. Now I'm on my way to learning a new unit. With the knowledge that this place has. I know I'm on to a good start. Hope to hear back from everyone. I appreciate all of the feedback.
Thanks again everyone.
Rob, MI