I read a lot about mods that have to be done to some smokers. I just bought an OKJ RF that I've been fighting to keep a steady temp in. I've been blaming the wood that I've bought from 4 different people. I ordered a box of sticks from Vaughn Wood Products which will be here in a few days, so we'll see. Anyway, how much money does one have to spend on a smoker in which no mods are needed for the thing to work right? I was asking someone who spent $2300 on his RF offset and he still had to do some mods to it. I'm not of the same caliber income-wise as a LOT of people here. The OKJ is my learning tool. All the reviews of COS lead me to believe that the OKJ is in the basement and anything less is a complete waste of time. Once I get this smoking stuff down and get some dollars put away, I want to buy a REAL smoker, one time, last one, no regrets, no mods needed.
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Talk to Mr. Bones aka the OKJ Whisperer -
I don’t have an offset but have reason to believe I’ll be getting an OKJ Highland for my birthday later this month. I’ve been researching a bit and have watched a lot of YouTube videos over the past year. For clean smoke the fire needs to be hot. Problem is small splits burn quickly so you are essentially controlling temps by the size of the fire as opposed to charcoal where you are slow burning a fuse of unlit coals and are using airflow to mostly control the temps via the vents.
One other thing... nailing a consistent temp is over-rated IMO when it comes to low/slow. If you can keep your OKJ in the 220-300 range your Q should turn out well.
I guess what I’m trying to say is don’t worry about maintaining consistent temps with a stick burner. It’s a different type of fire management than charcoal.Comment
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In testing today, I was able to keep it running between 210 and 280 for about 4 1/2 hours. -
Johnny Big Time If you were in the 210-280 range for an extended period of time you are doing just fine. Nice work. -
Jeff, I'm patiently waiting for that wood order to show up so I can see if my issue is with the wood that I used, or if it's me lol.
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If I were to advocate fer essential mods, I'd haveta say a baffle / tunin plate is what ya want.
I git temps demonstrably within 5°, typically, side to side, in my OKJ Highland...
My Horizon 20" Classic is made from much heavier gauge metal, yet still needs a baffle, IMO, to even out th cook chamber temps, across th board...
Reckon, one could make one outta 2" thick steel, an it really wouldn't change th physics, or thermodynamics of how an offset cooker works...
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I am with Bones on this one. I modified my COS by converting it to reverse flow with a plate. About a $75 mod. I used a box fan to control temps. I angled the box fan to get the right temp. More direct for higher temps. More angled for low temps. Play with it! Have fun. Keep a journal. You'll master that thing in no time! -
Mine came with baffles for the reverse flow, but they're cheap pressed sheet metal. I had an idea though. I can swap the exhaust stack position to make it a conventional flow and I see that Horizon makes a custom baffle out of 3/16" steel for the OKJ Longhorn. It's not too expensive at $125 shipped, might be worth a try. However, my temps across the grates vary by 18 degrees now. Not too bad I guess.Last edited by Johnny Big Time; March 31, 2019, 07:52 PM.
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18 degrees isn't too much variance IMO. Cooking is more of an art than a science, especially low/slow. You are keeping it within the sweet spot in terms of temperature range and your end-to-end variance is reasonable enough. It sounds like you are managing your fire will enough to let 'er rip and have some fun.Comment
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The biggest thing that helps me get consistent temps in my offset stickburner is the right size wood. The splits I get from my local wood guy - beautiful local oak - is typically about 18†long and 4-6+†wide. I cut those in half so I end up with 9-10†long pieces. If they’re really wide I’ll split them again too. Then it’s about choosing the right pieces.Comment
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I'm trying to get my head wrapped around the idea that you don't want to do mods. I'm not sure I'd own anything that didn't need mods....
LoL
but, really...Comment
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Johnny Big Time You can add another stack to the opposite end and make standard flow, but leave the RF stack also. Then you have a hybrid and can use one, the other or both stacks. Add a large water tray will help stabilize temps and act as a heat sink. Make sure you have no leaks anywhere and you may want to run hi temp silicone around the main door. Some pics would definitely help.Last edited by Ahumadora; April 2, 2019, 08:30 AM.Comment
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I've added 1/2"x1/4" Lavalock nomex around the main door edge. It leaks smoke a lot less than it did without it. I used hi-temp silicone between the firebox and main chamber...no leaks. I used the Lavalock between the two halves of the firebox...no leaks. I didn't do any more sealing on the firebox because someone had told me that the OKJ needs a lot of airflow to keep the fire right and after using this thing a few times, I have to agree. I leave the side door to the firebox wide open. -
If I try closing that door, the fire smothers out every time. I use a heavy weight bread pan full of water and sit it on the main grate against the inner wall on the firebox side.
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I concur about temp, specially in an OKJ. I bought one and left it at my son's house to use when we are there. It is not a happy cooker with only sticks, it needs charcoal to keep the temp up. I use charcoal plus splits and maintain at least 275 deg. If it drifts up to 325 no harm done. That's considerably hotter than the 225-250 that I shoot for on my own cooker. Not the ideal offset cooker, but I can turn out passable burnt offerings on it that on one complains about. My son is developing some skill on it as well.Originally posted by JeffJ View PostComment
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Welcome to the #Stickburner family! Equipment is important, and maybe mod's are needed for some things. Myself, I've not really modified any smoker I've had. I bought a bunch of stuff that others liked to do to their WSM's, but when I went to install it, it was complicated and I just wanted to smoke meat. That stuff is all still in the box I got it in.
What I focused on are the two, foundational words to progress in the Stickburner world:
Fire Management.
Unlike you, my first real smoker was a $100 COS, and it was just about impossible to run a good fire. Of course, back then, I didn't know how to run a good fire. Maybe I'd be better at running it today, lol.
If you have a big enough firebox to run a real fire, which you do, then if I were you, I would table all the Mod's and just practice running a clean fire.
Here's a couple of tips,
1. Buy a Kindling Cracker and start making your wood pieces smaller. That makes things WAY EASIER and more precise. You control the temp in the stickburner by the size of the fire, not by mod's and baffles and things that choke the air supply.
2. Try pre-heating logs in the cooking chamber away from your fire. Pre-heated wood, even if pretty green, burns great. Especially if the logs are reduced in size via the Kindling Cracker.
Give us some Pic's in this thread of your fire and log setup on your next cook.
3. Cook more, and be ok with a 50 degree swing in your temp while you practice your fire skills.
Super fun!!!
Last edited by PaulstheRibList; April 7, 2019, 04:40 PM.Comment
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