Oklahoma Joe Combo 3 in 1 - Temp Control

[Yowhodee]

Complete newbie to smoking and need some help with temp control on my Oklahoma Joe combo smoker. This unit comes with a full size offset firebox but the smoke chamber is only half the size of the grill. With the small smoke chamber the meat is much closer to the firebox and seems to be getting a lot of direct heat. Was wonder what other people do with this unit to control heat. The other problem is using wood in this unit. As soon as the wood ignites, my temps go sky high, 400+. I do use a dual digital unit. I was considering soaking the wood chunks prior but read on other posts that is a bad thing to do. I have tried cutting off the air supply using the adjuster on the firebox but that does not help so now I'm considering not using wood at all. Just looking to see how others with this unit do it!!

Thanks in advance for any advice.
Keith

 

[daveomak]

Seal up the air leaks.....

 

[sawhorseray]

After you seal the leaks try using smaller splits. When adding wood over your bed of coals leave the firebox door open until the wood catches, white smoke is bad, then close the door partially until you reach your desired temp. I usually have the door on my firebox open anywhere from a crack to 2-3 inches. Do not soak your wood! Let heat escape by opening the cook chamber door if the temp is shooting up. You're going to have to experiment with your vents and the firebox door to find what will work for you to attain heat control. Takes a little time, you can do it. RAY

 

[Alphonse]

Exhaust vent completely open; start with good coal bed of charcoal; add small splits; throttle temp with with door opening and amount of wood. Big fire = higher temps. Smaller fire = lower temps. Flame = good smoke but smoldering = bad smoke. Make sure you are using dry/seasoned wood. What you buy in the bag is not usually dry enough (20%). Consider getting a fire basket to hold the coals and that will make your life easier. Many, many folks are doing that with offsets now. Regardless, offsets require a lot of fire tending. BTW, that's the fun of it if you have the time.

 

[Alphonse]

BTW, if you don't have a Kindling Cracker, you might want to consider getting one. They are a game changer on creating small splits. I can make a tub full in a matter of minutes with mine.

You can make splits of any size you want with this handy little tool. I make them splinter size to start the fire in the fire pit for example. Here's a YouTube review of the smaller of the two sizes available. I have the XL like in the photo here.

 

[Yowhodee]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I will look into sealing up some leaks and letting the wood dry out more.

 

[JWFokker]

You won't be able to burn much wood in there. That's a pretty small cook chamber you're working with. You just don't need very many BTUs. Try the Minion/snake method using briquettes and wood chips. You can also get an aftermarket tuning plate to tame some of the radiant heat coming off the firebox.