Safe metal for smoke stack replacement

[AUSODE]

Hello all! Developing smoker here. Me and my roommates have decided we want to get an Oklahoma Joe's Highland smoker as it's the best we could find within our budget. After doing research, we have decided the first mod we want to do is a bigger stack. The question is what material is safe to use? For context, I work at an electrical distribution warehouse so I have all the EMT/IMC pipe, elbows and the like at my disposal you can imagine. My thoughts were get a 3" or 4" set screw connector and elbow and attach it in place of the original stack. Would that be safe? Is there any other material that you recommend? I'm not trying to give us cancer in the pursuit of good barbecue lol. I was thinking about throwing the elbow and connector in fire pit and burning off residual machine oil but just am not sure if that would be enough. Any and all advice welcome. Thank you in advance! Pics of my most recent smoke for tax.

 

[DougE]

I wouldn't worry much about the metal used after the cooking chamber as it's just exhaust exiting and isn't in contact with the food. I've seen where people took dryer vent pipe to extend or enlarge the stacks on OKJs. I would use a thicker walled non-galvanized steel pipe, but that's me. I don't think there is an issue with galv on the exhaust.

 

[AUSODE]

I wouldn't worry much about the metal used after the cooking chamber as it's just exhaust exiting and isn't in contact with the food. I've seen where people took dryer vent pipe to extend or enlarge the stacks on OKJs. I would use a thicker walled non-galvanized steel pipe, but that's me. I don't think there is an issue with galv on the exhaust.

That's what I was thinking. Just wasn't sure since I'm still learning. Galv scares me since if it gets too hot it releases deadly gas from the zinc coating. I didn't mention it in the original post, but aluminum is also an option for me to get. You think that might be better? Also would be resistant to rust.

 

[dr k]

Hello all! Developing smoker here. Me and my roommates have decided we want to get an Oklahoma Joe's Highland smoker as it's the best we could find within our budget. After doing research, we have decided the first mod we want to do is a bigger stack. The question is what material is safe to use? For context, I work at an electrical distribution warehouse so I have all the EMT/IMC pipe, elbows and the like at my disposal you can imagine. My thoughts were get a 3" or 4" set screw connector and elbow and attach it in place of the original stack. Would that be safe? Is there any other material that you recommend? I'm not trying to give us cancer in the pursuit of good barbecue lol. I was thinking about throwing the elbow and connector in fire pit and burning off residual machine oil but just am not sure if that would be enough. Any and all advice welcome. Thank you in advance! Pics of my most recent smoke for tax.

When you get it I'd use it as is to get an out of the box experience for a little bit and get a consensus between the three of you and compare to the mods you reseached. I don't know if you went to the grill/smoker forum here on SMF that this smoker falls under and put out your model to see who here has one and if they had to mod it and your plans on modding.

 

[chopsaw]

I agree with Kurt . Use it as is . Not sure why you want to change the exhaust . I know some like to lower it inside the cook chamber to let smoke linger for a longer time .
Just know that an extended exhaust outside the smoker will condense at a certain point and drip back into the cook chamber .

 

[AUSODE]

When you get it I'd use it as is to get an out of the box experience for a little bit and get a consensus between the three of you and compare to the mods you reseached. I don't know if you went to the grill/smoker forum here on SMF that this smoker falls under and put out your model to see who here has one and if they had to mod it and your plans on modding.

I like this idea. And I will do more research within the posts here, this is my first post without digging too much into this forum. Thank you fornthe advice!

 

[AUSODE]

I agree with Kurt . Use it as is . Not sure why you want to change the exhaust . I know some like to lower it inside the cook chamber to let smoke linger for a longer time .
Just know that an extended exhaust outside the smoker will condense at a certain point and drip back into the cook chamber .

Not looking to extend, just a larger diameter to provide more airflow and get a cleaner smoke and better flow. Thank you for the advice!

 

[radioguy]

I used the 3 1/8" thin wall pipe from an old basketball hoop set up. Bet you'll be able to find one on trash day. Mine was mild steel.

RG

 

[AUSODE]

I used the 3 1/8" thin wall pipe from an old basketball hoop set up. Bet you'll be able to find one on trash day. Mine was mild steel.

RG

I found a pdf of a brand of thin wall conduit we carry that specifically states its a mild steel with a galvanized coating. So in theory, I'll get my back yard fire pit nice and hot, throw the elbow in there and let the coating burn off. Then it, in theory, will be safe to use as a smoke stack. I appreciate the insight!

 

[Marknmd]

I suggest you ask yourself and your roommates whether you are sure you want better air flow. There was a theory a few years ago that better airflow makes better BBQ, but that idea has been, or is being, debunked (source: Goldee's). The new theory is that the opposite is true: You want a very gentle air flow. The more gentle, the better. You want to have and use the intake adjustment and the damper on the stack to slow everything down. OTOH, if you're concerned about turbulence at the elbow and you just want to smooth it out, have at it. Good luck!

 

[bill1]

...Galv scares me since if it gets too hot it releases deadly gas from the zinc coating...

Not quite sure what that would be. But just white zinc oxide is kinda' discouraged these days. You won't form it from zinc galvanizing until >800 degF, but that's not impossible in your pipe if you have a grease fire or something, and then it could later flake off on your food, or at least in principle. That said, it wouldn't scare me off. (When I was young you slathered ZnO on your nose to look cool at the beach. Also used boric acid creams on cuts and burns...that's a no-no now as well.)

To get the full flow benefit of a longer pipe, you don't want the exhaust to cool down, so a double-wall approach (like a gas hot water heater exhaust) would be ideal. But I'm also with the crowd that questions if you need/want more draft/flow. If you have trouble maintaining a nice burn in your firebox, then it might make sense. But you'll burn fuel faster too, and unless you have a free supply of good logs/splits, the costs can add up.

But I don't buy the "let the smoke linger" philosophy. New smoke is at least as good as old smoke. I also think a case can be made that the flavor molecules we want on our meat bind more "mechanically" than "chemically". So the faster you shoot 'em at the meat, the better they stick. So if you really don't think you're getting enough smoke flavor, more draft should help, all else being equal.