Oklahoma Joe's (Char-Broil)

[Hippy Hay]

I figured I would give a head's up on the (Char-broil) - Oklahoma Joe's Highland & Longhorn. I Own Both. For those that are not aware, These are Not Stick Burners! Now that China has taken over, the steel construction is far to thin as apposed to 1/4 steel When Oklahoma Joe's was Oklahoma Joe's. They are now Charcoal Burners with the use of Wood Chunks for Smoking. Hense the Charcoal Basket that comes with Them. If used they way they are now intended with Charcoal and Wood Chunks, They can maintain 250 for 8hrs Easy. If You want a Stick Burner You need Thicker Steel than what Char- Broil (Oklahoma Joe's) has to offer nowadays. Thin Steel and Excessive Heat leads to Warping, Weakness and Uncontrollable Temperatures. A Helpful Hint from a Passionate Smoker-Griller.

 

[Fueling Around]

I have an even cheaper sheet metal Brinkmann from 5 years ago. Bought it for a charcoal grill, but the offset made me try the smoking. Replaced the charcoal pan in the cook chamber. Made a basket for the offset. I varied stick and/or charcoal in the offset. Stick never warped the sheet metal.

Spring cleanup was going to find my Brinkmann on the curb. That was canceled due to the pandemic. It now goes to the scrapyard.

 

[JWFokker]

I gotta disagree with this one. Metal thickness makes little difference burning charcoal vs wood. To hit the same temp you have to produce the same amount of heat, so whether you're burning wood or charcoal, to reach 250F you must produce the same number of BTUs. Thin walled cookers are more affected by the wind and cold weather than heavier cookers but those OKJ units are fine to burn sticks in.

 

[ososmokeshack]

The grates in my chargrill fire box warped and bent but they didn’t break and the firebox hasn’t warped. I’ve had full on fires going in it before.