Can $50 in smoker mods make my cheap offset as good as a premium smoker for WAY less $$$?

I put the best smoker mods available for under $50 bucks on my cheap offset smoker (Oklahoma Joes Highland) to find out with a few simple mods we can unlock performance normally reserved for premium backyard offsets costing thousands more.

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Chapters
00:00 - Price vs quality debate
01:19 - Why small / cheap offsets are more difficult
04:15 - Best mods for cheap offset smokers (my plan)
04:53 - How to insulate a cheap offset smoker firebox
09:03 - Fix uneven cook chamber temps in a cheap offset smoker
10:37 - Fix stale smoke / lack of draw in a cheap offset smoker
13:08 - Rib re-cook with mods installed
16:06 - Did the COS mods work as expected?

#SMOKINGDADBBQ #offsetsmoker #oklahomajoes

[wesleydrew]

The best part of waking up before the kids on a Sunday morning is a relaxing cup of coffee and watching the best BBQ channel on YouTube.

[markennes]

I too have the gasket around the cook chamber door, a significant extended chimney (like yours but four of them, 18" each, $8-$10 each on sale, Advanced Auto) with top left open (no exhaust damper), and fire bricks in the fire box, all of which helps. You have to start with charcoal to start your fire. Then add wood after the charcoal is well lit. This will give you the low temps. Trying to burn straight wood in this smoker will cause temps to be too high. Big smokers = wood. Small smokers = charcoal, then wood. Baffle plates installed below the grate will even out temps on the Highland from right to left although it will also reduce smoke on the right side. A baffle below the grate will also force heat and smoke down low and coax it to gradually rise up through the food rather than immediately up and over the food, eliminating the need of a right angle adapter at grate level on the left side. A firebox basket helps immensely with fire management to control temps - it really makes a big difference, much more than one would think. Fire bricks at the bottom of the cook chamber provide thermal density and help to minimize wide temp swings, but they must be carefully placed so as not to interfere with the draft - especially if you have baffle plates. A custom steel water pan made to fit the Highland will also help provide thermal density as well as to keep temps even right to left as it absorbs firebox heat without allowing heat to get around it. A welding blanket over the top, back side, and door of the cook chamber will minimize escaping heat radiating through the upper cook chamber walls. A second thermometer installed in the available port on the right side will help provide consistent evidence that your cook chamber is evenly heated from right to left. I've also installed a rubber temperature probe port on the left side which can handle four probes - two for grate level temp readings and two for meat. In all, I've spent $250 in mods on my Highland and I'm very happy with it. Your splits look a little thick for this smoker, I think the Highland prefers thinner splits to eliminate the white smoke, one or two at a time, length doesn't matter as long as it fits in the firebox. They must be laid one at a time on top of the lit coal bed. Thanks for posting!

[flugames]

Love on how you thoroughly described insulated vs non insulated fireboxes thank you James!

[RaleighSmoke]

Well covered. Great explanations as well. Videos like these are very helpful for many who can’t afford a high priced cookers. 🍻

[christophermarx]

Thanks James, really appreciate your approach, just enough science to add validity and good common sense communication to get the points across. Having multiple grill types myself, this gave a good perspective on where an offset cooker would fit in my arsenal.

[CK-dtnx]

Thanks for the video and time in testing! Will definitely give this a try!

[Sheps]

This was really impressive, thanks for the concrete information and changes you've done for such a good value!

[michaelwinge]

Thanks for the video, it was most helpful. I did the bricks in the fire box and the exhaust extension on my Highland Reverse Flow and had the smoothest cook yet. Very easy to maintain temperature.

[xFinityGamingx]

Great video! Ive had a highland for 2 years with several mods. Baffle plate, extended stack, firebrick, and a welding blanket draped over the cook chamber.

[ArchieStandingBear]

Great video, I will definitely try the fire bricks for insulating the firebox. I had about a 60 degree F. difference from one end of my smoker to the other, and about 25 degree F difference between the upper chamber and the cooking grates before doing any modifications, and it was a chore keeping the fire from smoldering. I added an extension to my exhaust pipe, and put a thick metal water pan on the grates closest to the firebox. Ever since then, I have pretty much uniform cooking temps of about 2 degrees difference, without having to put in an a 90 degree elbow. That was the biggest game changer for me with an OK Joe Highlander. The water pan acts like a baffle, and the the extended exhaust improves draw. I am keen to try your fire brick idea to see if that extends my fuel efficiency, and saves me time fiddling with the fire every 15 to 30 mins.

[davelindey]

Great video James. Your mods were right on point to my thoughts regarding a fix to your failed rib cook. As a retired metallurgist with heat treating experience the firebrick mod makes the most sense. It sucks to lose 6" of working space inside the cooker with the 90 elbow. Apart from fabricating and relocating the chimney exit I wonder if a floor vent fitting vs the elbow might recoup a couple of inches in the lost space.The use.of the heavy gauge muffler pipe as a chimney extender with the damper mod was right on point. In basic terms when heat treating our primary variables are time, temperature and atmosphere for optimum results for a given material. BBQ'ing food for all intents and purposes requires control of the same variables. Your mods obviously brought the performance of a budget tool closer to that of a premium tool. Inspiration to those wanting to get into the offset smoker game on a budget. Well done.

[karolybamli]

Wow! It helps me a lot! I was not even aware of what i have been strugling with! Thank you Sir!

[adrianbaxmeyer]

Absolutely awesome mods!! I admit that I spent $50 on the stack extension as I don’t have the tools to saw an exhaust pipe… but that being said all mods were under $100 and after my first brisket I am amazed at how much easier fire management was!!! Hope you don’t mind a shout out to another channel, but I found the best way to hold my brisket overnight from Outnumbered BBQ after that easy cook! For the longest time I was holding in the oven (min temp 170 F… but actually registered at 187 F on my thermometer) overnight, but after watching Outnumbered BBQ’s video I bought a portable turkey roaster ($50 used on Amazon) that can warm as low as 120 F but I could hold at exactly 150 F for as long as I needed. Thanks again for the time you put into figuring out all these mods so I can pretend to be great smoker 😁

[hardtruth]

I have a Chargriller grand champ. After sealed and seasoning she runs beautifully. I use the big chamber ash pan upside down as a tuning plate. I added a 24” section of chimney pipe and now there’s only 10-15 degree delta left to right. Very pleased with this $550 rig.

[kennethschauer]

I've never had the problems your talking about, lovemy Oklahoma Joe's

[paulthomas]

Well done James using your wealth of knowledge to improve the quality of cook Cheers.

[acdcs]

I currently have the Reverse flow highland and I decided to try these mods out (along with the other video with the updated video mod) because I was getting annoyed with how often I was having to baby it (way more than I should have I felt) I wanted to give my experience thus far (Will edit when I test more):

Before I begin, I wanted to say thank you for testing this smoker out and giving everyone your feedback. I noticed a minimal amount of information when it comes to these smokers and I'm glad I stumbled upon this channel.

I only tested this with a full chimney (briquettes), because I wanted to see how the temps differed between zones and how long the fire (heat) would last. I setup three zones, far left, middle and next to the firebox. I also had a water pan in there to mimic a cook.

Far left reached a max temp of 218, middle 209, right 239. I was losing heat roughly 10 +/- 3 degrees every ten minutes. After three hours, I lost an average of 70 degrees on from each zone, which I honestly don't think is that devasting considering it was all from one chimney. Obviously the temperatures would stabilize here and there but sometimes they would increase slightly giving the lower degree change after three hours.

I have to say though, the firebricks addition is top notch. I went to check on the burn and although the ash had disrupted the burn of a couple of coals, those things were HOT (Over 500 degrees while the cooking chamber was 150). I would like to see how you managed the ash build up with the firebricks though.

Next I will be trying a grate on top of the firebricks to see if it changes how they stabilize the temps without the heat source directly on them.

[joshgillming]

These are the types of tips, tricks and hacks that I need! Thanks so much!!!

[mukz]

Hey chap, I'm not sure what that pipe at @9:59 is made of but I want to make sure everyone knows not to use Galvanized Steel. Either use straight Steel or Stainless. Zinc is a heavy metal and will ruin your body

[isaacbarronrios]

Great video as always, I've been trying different tips and tricks with OKJ as well, mainly to compete without needing to drag my Kamado Joe there. Lot of good information, thank you