Oklahoma Joe Bronco - Considering Buying

[Uncle Bob]

Yeah, the Pro fuel basket will be a shy 4" taller, so would knock the hanging length down to 17ish " which would likely interfere with full spare racks, but they can be cut in half. A chicken would depend on your hanging device and the size of the chicken. But both those cook in relatively short time windows so the added capacity of the Pro basket really wouldn't help any.

On the temp concern I actually have data on that. I put dolly wheels on mine to get roller bearings since I'm old and feeble . The wheels are plastic, and I got a comment from one online group member expressing concern about them melting from the "intense heat". Well, I hadn't had any problems so I decided to document reality for the online doubters. I ran a 400 degree (at the grate) fire and then took temp measurements with my IR gun. The brackets that hold the axle, which are bolted to the bottom of the barrel, registered 200 degrees, below the melting temp of the plastic material of the wheels. You'll need to check what the melting temp of Trex is, but I suspect it's not vulnerable. There's a bit over 4" of clearance under the barrel, so the deck surface temp is likely going to be below that 200 temp by a fair bit.

[MtView]

The Pro has double the capacity in the fuel bin so should give near double the time......and there's a bonus in that. The diameter of the ash bin, air flow ring is the same on both Bronco models, so you can buy the fuel bin from the Pro and it's a drop in for the standard model.........costs around $40.

If I were to add the fuel bin from the Pro to the original Bronco model, would that create higher internal temps? I imagine it might reduce the space a few inches for hanging meat, but really that shouldn't affect ribs and chicken. I would likely spatch a turkey and put it on the grate so really it might just affect full packer briskets.

I watched a video from a gentleman who used to make an increased capacity fuel bin called the Beast Basket for the Bronco in the pre-Bronco Pro days. His charcoal burned for 30 hours and he didn't seem to have any space issues hanging meat.

Edit: I just thought of one more important question. It seems like the coal basket is fairly elevated off the ground when considering the ash basket and wheels. I'm thinking of using this on a trex deck. Do you think that would work?

[MtView]

Uncle Bob Great information. Thanks!

[Uncle Bob]

Nice to see you're giving the Bronco, in either form, a fair consideration. My comment you referenced was largely about some speculation on these boards a year or two back from folks who had never used one, but still felt it necessary to speculate some negatives. In practice it does everything comparable small barrel/bullet style cookers do and many better due to better sealing around the lid, and better temp control over a wide range because of the two dampers. It has wheels already standard, and needs them because it is heavy, so yields lifting portability to the other choices. Ash control is built in, and the fuel bin is a good size. There are a couple folks on YouTube who have gotten well beyond the 10-12 hours of steady cook time that OKJ claims, one somewhere near 20. I haven't tried to replicate that, but can say the 10-12 is pretty realistic for the smaller version. The Pro has double the capacity in the fuel bin so should give near double the time......and there's a bonus in that. The diameter of the ash bin, air flow ring is the same on both Bronco models, so you can buy the fuel bin from the Pro and it's a drop in for the standard model.........costs around $40. Both models come with one cooking grate, but have brackets for two grate positions, so you can buy an extra grate to double the cooking area. The Pro has the bonus of being in the 22" range so Weber kettle accessories are a fit, as well as much of the components offered in the UDS world. The Pro does cost twice as much as the standard, but when compared to other manufactured barrels of comparable size with similar features, say Hunsaker or Gateway, it's $300ish less.

I haven't experienced any significant wind issues, but then my patio is protected on three sides, so that might be the mitigating factor. Likely, if there were an issue, it would be draw caused by the wind blowing across the exhaust stack on the lid. What I've seen some folks do online who did experience that added draw from the wind is they would put a fire starter chimney over it as a side wind block that still allowed air flow upward. Clever and easy.

As for hanging brisket or rib rack, IIRC it's about 21" from the hanger rod to the top of the fuel bin on the standard and about an inch more on the Pro. Large racks or briskets might need some trimming if hung, or choking up with the hanging hooks as there is a couple inches of head room above the hanging arms.

Any other questions just ask away, there are several users on here with plenty of experience and likely alternate view points.

[MtView]

I'm considering buying an OJB. I saw a youtube video where the OJB (pro) was maintaining temperature in the winter in 30 mph winds so I imagine the regular OJB would work the same way. I get some decent winds in the winter in New England and it seems like it will be usable without a windbreak.

My first question is does what I think I saw on the video with the wind match up with your experience of using an OJB in some wind? Even a 10mph wind in the summer can mess with the temp on my weber kettle.

I'm kind of on the fence on whether to buy the OJB or the OJB pro. If I do a full packer brisket it looks like I can hang it in the OJB. I could probably do at least 3 spatched chickens at once (hanging).

My main concern is how hard it might be to refuel during a cook if I do have that brisket or 3 birds hanging?

Uncle Bob I know you have a lot of experience with the OJB and mentioned that some concerns folks have with the OJB aren't real world issues once you use the cooker.