New - Oklahoma Joe's Highland Smoker

[skunkwerx]

 I cheated. 

A friend of mine is the sheet metal guru, is in thr business and even does architectural roofing restoration.

So I used leftovers in 18ga. SS sheet to fabricate my convection plate and FB baffle.  It's been raining last two days, I'll snap some pics when I am able.

Drilled approx.100 holes from 3/16" up to 1" with a drill press and good sharp bits.

 

[ozsmoker]

Anyone know if it's possible to hookup​ a rotisserie to this smoker (highland)?

I don't want to have to buy another thing that takes up the very limited space I have (eg a spit roaster)

 

[skunkwerx]

Anyone know if it's possible to hookup​ a rotisserie to this smoker (highland)?

I don't want to have to buy another thing that takes up the very limited space I have (eg a spit roaster)

I don't think the OKJ is manufactured for a "drop in" rotisserie. I don't see aything on their website.

I do see some aftermarket rotisserie kits on line, you'd have to drill holes and set-up for your own installation.  Also, grill spits have shorter rods.  I did see an aftermarket 42" rod by itself. 

With some planning and proper execution it seems like a possibility.

 

[ammaturesmoker]

22 inches takes up too much room?

 

[ozsmoker]

I'm talking a spit roaster, for larger pieces of meat. Not just a chicken or two

 

[broncoblair]

Hey guys. Pellet guy here most of my smoking life... Just bought one of these guys and am going to start modding it.. One thing I am worried about though.. I assembled today and I used 3M RTV someone mentioned earlier in the thread. I had been on another forum that suggested RTV at Home Depot, I had no idea it needed to be food safe. Now I am too worried to cook anything, Im assuming if i call 3M they will tell me it isn't food safe. Has anyone else used this RTV and had any issues? I'm dreading having to disassemble and somehow get this crap off, but Ill do it if it is going to poison me.

 

[skunkwerx]

 
Hey guys. Pellet guy here most of my smoking life... Just bought one of these guys and am going to start modding it.. One thing I am worried about though.. I assembled today and I used 3M RTV someone mentioned earlier in the thread. I had been on another forum that suggested RTV at Home Depot, I had no idea it needed to be food safe. Now I am too worried to cook anything, Im assuming if i call 3M they will tell me it isn't food safe. Has anyone else used this RTV and had any issues? I'm dreading having to disassemble and somehow get this crap off, but Ill do it if it is going to poison me.

"Food Safe" is a strict designation.  It means the product, it's source material, and how it's produced meets tight FDA standards, which include coming into contact with the food, itself.   I don't think anyone here is going to flat-out tell you it's 100% OK,  because everyone usually errs on the side of safety and caution.

In the case of RTVs/Silicones they have to cure, which involves outgassing of the curing agent, most people have smelled this if they have used it, and I wouldn't want it wafting over my food.  But that is curing.  Then most people do a test firing after curing.  If there is anything else noxious left over, probably small traces at most, a hot fire will "probably" see to it that it is cured to it's final stage, and probably be coated with some smoke too.

It probably wouldn't hurt to call 3M, being a large company, they will probably have someone who can answer your question.

My thinking is if you used it to seal up your firebox, cured it, test fired,  and it won't be coming into direct contact with your food,  or even be in the cooking chamber, it might be OK?   But, again, no one is going to just say "go for it" because it does involve food, and none of us would want anyone to have a problem.

Suggestion: call 3M, and tell them it's not coming into contact with Food itself,  and see what they say?

Hint: if you ask a company in the wrong manner; "Is this food safe"  they MUST say "NO" to protect themselves.

It's all in how you approach it.

Good luck, let us know what they say, please.

 

[ricer2231]

Hello all. I just purchased my first OK Joe Highland (used) and can't wait to fire it up. This thread is amazing and has a ton of good info. I am in the process of making a tuning plate and a charcoal box now as the two mods I want to do first. The tuning plate I am making is going to be made of 1/8" plate and bolt in with the FB bolts. Question is, should I just go ahead and remove the other bolts to break it apart and seal the connection or just let it be?

 

[sauced]

I did not bolt my convection plate in, just slid it up against the firebox opening. Works perfectly.

You could unbolt the fire box, but try it with the plate unbolted first, then decide if you want to do the extra work.

 

[bluecrush]

I just picked one up and did the following mods:
Nomex around the SB lid and in-between the SB and FB
Welded flat stock around the FB opening to help regulate air intake
Fabbed up a baffle plate from a diamond plate ramp flap from work
Made a heavy duty FB grate and a charcoal basket
Last but not least, they screwed up my exhaust angle and it looked stupid. Soooo I made my own from left over exhaust pipe from my car (3.5")

 

[bluecrush]

Finished up my basket and hot temp coated the exhaust tonight

 

[hardcookin]

Some nice looking mods! Can't wait see your first smoke.

 

[usmcsmoke]

I have a question that may sound stupid. I just purchased a Highland. I've done all the mods and love it. My question is this. Has anyone used the cooking chamber for grilling large volumes of hamburgers, hotdogs, etc. What are pros and cons.

 

[bluecrush]

I have a question that may sound stupid. I just purchased a Highland. I've done all the mods and love it. My question is this. Has anyone used the cooking chamber for grilling large volumes of hamburgers, hotdogs, etc. What are pros and cons.

I plan on doing some chicken that way soon, I'll let ya know how it goes.

 

[bluecrush]

I'm getting my temps off by about 15-20 degrees from end to end using my baffle plate, but it's hotter by the exhaust instead of the firebox.
Should I enlarge the holes closest to the firebox a tad bigger? Seems like that would allow heat to rise and help balance things out.

 

[sauced]

Yes I did 15 steaks and it went very well!!

 

[hardcookin]

I'm getting my temps off by about 15-20 degrees from end to end using my baffle plate, but it's hotter by the exhaust instead of the firebox.
Should I enlarge the holes closest to the firebox a tad bigger? Seems like that would allow heat to rise and help balance things out.

I think that 15-20 degrees is pretty good. You could drill bigger holes but it might not guarantee temps will be any better. Sometimes changing the level of the smoker will change the temp slightly from end to end. It's just something you have to play with.

 

[ricer2231]

I have these thermometers in route to install in my OKJ Highland lid by the cooking surface and was wondering if you guys would happen to know what size hole I need.

IMG_1529.PNG

• ricer2231
• Jun 9, 2017

 

[ammaturesmoker]

You seem to have some pretty good skills. Why are you wasting time on a POS rice cooker like these? I would bet you can make your own cooker.

 

[xray]

Well I fired up my Highland this weekend for the first time. Overall, I think it went quite well considering I'm new to offsets.

My question is, I used the included FB grill grates as a deflector. I wrapped them in foil and wedged one at an angle at the cook chamber opening and the second was butted against....I had a 20 difference between both ends of the CC, is that good? Or should I start thinking about buying a baffle?

As for other mods, I sealed with RTV and used gaskets on the doors. I also made a charcoal basket and extended the smoke stack to grate level with a 3" elbow....I removed and re-installed the elbow during the seasoning, I didnt notice aby difference in temps across the grates.