Oklahoma Joe Highland 2 year review
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- Опубликовано: 24 дек 2020
- Hello everyone, today I will be giving you my review of the oklahoma Joe Highland smoker, I have owned this smoker for 2 years and have done plenty of mods to make it a really great smoker for the money. Please stay tuned and check out all the mods I have performed!
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Fire box gasket:
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Cooking chamber gasket:
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Tuning plate:
bbqsmokermods.com/oklahoma-jo...
Charcoal basket:
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Latches
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Temp Gauge:
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Music
besound -allthat
staycation - corbyn kites
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besound-hipjazz
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Oklahoma Joe’s is a sleeper type of smoker, budget smoker with competition type of cooks... best two add on accessories are the baffle plates and the charcoal basket!!!!!
I couldn't agree with you more! Thanks for the comment and take care!
G'day from Down Under! Great review, very informative for those looking at buying one of the Oklahoma Joe's. Thanks Buddy
Hey man! I am very happy that you liked the video. And I am a big fan of your holden commodore ssv. I own a 2016 Chevy SS with a 6spd manual :)
1 Step Closer in Buying this Brand. Thank You for Your Insights. 👌
You are welcome. I am happy that this info has helped you and I hope it helps others in the future. It took a lot of trails to get it dialed in and there was very little videos on the OK Joe when I got this 2yrs ago. Happy holidays and happy new year!
Going on my second season with mine. I bombed mine with the silicon as i assembled as i also sort of "caulked" the seams after boltes together. 1 thing i figured out. It comes comes with grates for the fire box so you can sear something in there. If you put them in sideways, they form a V shape. I find this holds lump coal tighter like a smaller basket, but is also set you up for a perfect coal bed to put a stick onto. I hope that makes sense. You definitely dont get that long run capacity to have it like set and forget but the tighter fire keeps the temps smooth and lights up your logs instantly and evenly. You'll get some good BTUs from the wood without too much dirty smoke.
Hey Steve, I am sorry I never replied, thank you for your comment and it does make sense. I guess I dont have any reason to make a V with the grates since I have a basket but if I knew that, it would have definitely saved some money.
I too "caulked" the seams with the high temp silicon when I assembled it. The cooking chamber silicon is still hanging in. I hope you have a good summer!
Thanks Tremendously!!! Extremely Informative!!! 👍🏽🔥
Thank you very much for the comment and take care!
Great review! I feel like i would be making these same mods had i not seen your video. Good work!
Thanks for watching and commenting. It means a lot, take care!
Great smoker! Definitely miss my joe. Such a great middle range setup that never disappoints with a few mods.
Thank you very much for the comment. I totally agree with you, its such a great little smoker for medium sized parties (20 people). I feel like a lot of people struggle with this smoker because they don't have the time to tinker with it but like you said, with a few mods it is absolutely great!
You did a great job!! Very informative, for sure. The only thing missin was some bbq sauce covered smiles!!!
Hey Wento, thank you very much for the kind words. Take care!
Christmas really keeps on giving. A video on Christmas day! Nice mods. You should do a video of your entire smoking process.
That'll be next but not for a while, the smoking season has stopped until spring time. But I wanted to get this video out in case people have questions on my smoker, I can direct them to this video. Merry Christmas!
@@joesdiy4260 Where's the video its smoking season?!?!
Great video Joe! Appreciate your thoughts. I just built one, gaskets and RTV. We shall see if it holds up. I've already reached out to friends who can weld :)
Hey everyone, sorry about some of the out of frame shots, my camera was acting funny and you can see in the video that I would be in frame and then all of a sudden it auto cropped. Thanks for watching and take care!
some great info for those beginning their smoking journey.
Thank you very much for the nice comment!
Hi Joseph. I had one delivered to me today and I will put it together and season it tomorrow for most of the day. I am going to make the same mods as you and never thought about the fan. Fortunately I call my wife the "fan lady" because during the summer she has fans everywhere to keep away flies and mosquitos. She agreed to lend me one.
Hahahha thats excellent! I am so happy to hear that you purchased a smoker and I am sure you will make excellent food for you and your loved ones. Take care!
Subbed! Excellent video!
Thanks for the sub!
Looks like you did all the fiddle documentation for the rest of us. thanks.
Thanks man! I really wanted to capture all the mods I think someone would do to make this smoker a real performer. The only down side is cold weather cooking. You need to cover the smoker with a welding blanket to hold the heat longer and get a higher temp.
Joseph, add a 18 in extion to the smoke stack. That way you'll get a better draw and better air flow through the smoker!
Thank Terri for that insightful tip, I really do appreciate it. My next experiment with this smoker would be to modify the exhaust tube length.
Very informative. I just bought my Highland and am currently awaiting some of the materials for these very mods you mentioned. One question: What paint did you use to match the existing color when you repainted over the welds?
I am really happy you found this video helpful! My whole goal with these videos is to help people.
I just used automotive exhaust spray paint, its supposed to be good for 1100deg F. I still put a coat on every season but only in a couple spots. The paint is probably flaking due to my lack of prepping the metal correctly.
HAPPY COOKING!
Thank you
You are very welcome! Thank YOU for watching and commenting. Take care!
did you think of adding an 18 in. extention to the stack?it helps with the draft/ air flow.
I was thinking about this but I was interested in doing a flow simulation/analysis and comparing my theoretical results with another RUclipsrs real world test results.
without any mods, how'd you rate this? Did you noticed any smoke leaking before you did the mods? Or paint peeling or bubbles popping out?
Hello! Sorry for responding so late. I honestly never cooked with this smoker right out of the box with no mods. I immediately applied high temp caulk to all the seams I welded. But after 3 or 4 cooks the caulk degraded and that's when I decided to weld it up. As far as paint goes, the paint around the fire box is peel and chip away but the cook chamber is fine. I hope this helps you, thanks for watching and commenting, it really means a lot!
Have you ever put fuel under the tuning plate? Cooking chamber?
I have not, I dont think you can get enough fuel under the tuning plate because you will eventually block off the hole for the smoke and heat to pass through
Have you had any issues with the paint peeling on the smoker box?
Hi, thanks for your question. I personally never had any issues but I always stored my smoker in the garage and had it covered when it was outside. When I was prepping the fire box to be welded, I did notice that the paint was actually pretty durable.
Had that same issue after 3 or _ cooks
So you fill the charcoal box with briquettes and then put a chimney of lit briquettes on top? So kind of like a minion / snake method?
Hello! Thanks for watching and commenting. That is exactly what I do, I also place wood chunks in the basket too. But I wait until all the blue smoke is gone, then I place the meat in the smoker. The blue smoke is the chemicals burning off the charcoal. Have a great day!
@@joesdiy4260 kinda like waiting for the dirty smoke change to clean smoke?
@asianangler that is 1000000% what I do! And when the charcoal basket is getting a little low, I will light another chimney of briquettes and wait for the blue smoke to stop, then place more wood chunks down and top the basket off! Happy smoking!
Get the water Pan that has the 45ﾟ angle from lava lock
I plan on making the water pan you are referring to
Where can I find the heat shield
Thanks for watching the video and commenting. I hope the tuning plate (linked below) helps you out!
bbqsmokermods.com/oklahoma-joe-highland-horizontal-baffle-plate-heat-deflector-tuning-by-lavalockr.html
Common sense tells you that the included temperature gauge and the extra one you purchased registers the temperature at the top of the grill not the great level. You need to monitor the temperature at great length.
So at one point I had 4 or 5 temp probes spread all over the grates and what I found was my thermometers on the lids were reading what I saw at the grate. Based on that, I knew I could just trust my lid thermometers. I hope that helps, thanks for the comment and have a great day!
what size fan are you using
@CharlesGardiner-ft8fs thanks for watching and commenting, I really appreciate it! I have a ryobi 18v 7.5in fan that I use, just stick it on low with a 4ah battery and you can leave it running all day.
@@joesdiy4260 Thanks, ill need more info as i go. i.m picking up a used highlander this wednesday
@@CharlesGardiner-ft8fs that's awesome! I hope you have a great time learning and cooking on it.
Tuning plate? Nice info by the way.
Hey, thanks for the comment. The tuning plate is to give a more even spread of heat, so you don't have hot zone
Joseph, I really want to get me one but my JACK POT QUESTION IS, CAN I GET 2 BRISKETS ON THERE. LET ME KNOW PLEASE.
You can 100% fit 2 briskets on it. I did 2 briskets and a pork butt.
@@joesdiy4260 cool👍👍,what pound was the briskets, and how did you position them. I was heading towards getting the old country pecos from academy until I saw your video, thanks alot my brother, my decision is easy now. 💯💯
@@ignoranceisnotatrend4669 they were full packer briskets, I believe one was a 15lb and another was a 18lb and an 8lb butt. I honestly cannot remember how I had them positioned.
@@joesdiy4260 thanks
It's too bad the quality control sucks at the factory. I've never seen such gaps at the firebox + cook chamber. I used the OJ gasket stuff everywhere.Some places double! But thats what you get from China!
I think the smoker does well out of the box for the price but these mods will make it close to those $1000 - $1200 smokers.
@@joesdiy4260 Hi Joe thanks for your response.I forgot to say you did a good job on video. I've had my OJ since june this yr. I did call Charbroil + told them about the poor workmanship. They offered to send a new chamber+ firebox. I didn't respond quick enough + they cancelled my case. What nerve! So i just kept what i got.
I didn't feel like taking it all apart again + putting it back together.
@@peteprizzi8508 wow thats unbelievable customer service honestly. But I am happy that you have a smoker and I am sure that whatever you are cooking is tasting great. Take care :)
Might as well build your own grill the way you want it instead of giving them $400-$500 and then having to do all of these mods. If I'm spending that kind of money on a grill it better perform right out of the box.
This was the first smoker I bought, thankfully it was only $280 when I bought it, I am about $500 all in and sadly, you cannot touch the performance and size of this smoker for $500. From what I have seen, you need to spend in the ballpark of $1000 to $1300 to get something good. In terms of building a smoker from scratch, if you aren't spending money, you are spending time and in this economy where everything is high, buying raw material is out of the question for me. I understand that I can salvage steel and custom build something and I could build a better smoker while I have this one and then there would be no down time. Lastly, I personally have always enjoyed buying something cheapish, learning what the manufacturer did right/wrong and then righting the wrong. Its pretty much the school of hard knocks but it really educates me on what I should be looking for in my next purchase.
Have a great day and a happy holiday!
I got one a year ago and did a bunch of mods. By the time I paid for the mods I could have gone out and purchased a better smoker. Also, the paint finish on it totally sucks. If rust bothers you then you will be repainting that thing often. If I had it to do all over again, I doubt I would purchase it.
I think I would still purchase it again, because I have about 550 or 600 (that includes the cost of the smoker) into it with all the mods. But the learning experience is priceless. This is a big enough company that if they offered a nicer model (thicker steal, didn't leak as much, and bigger fire box) i would happily buy it. The paint thing doesn't bother me too much, its only the fire box paint that flakes, spray it once a season and you are good.
Thanks for the comment and take care!
A Joseph this Kevin Lewis thought I would let you know that I went with the old country pecos, I felt it was just built a little better than Oklahoma joes highland,
@@ignoranceisnotatrend4669 thats awesome man! In my opinion, doesn't matter what you get, as long as you are out there smoking food and enjoying it! Take care!
Old Coubtry Brazos is wayyyy better quality than this thing
These reviews are hillarious. All these people modifying it and putting gaskets in it. None of that is necessary. I have used 1 in a professional compacity for 6 years the leaks won't hurt anything and the mods are not needed whatsoever. I spend my time selling meat not adding all the dumb shit. Seriously
Hi Alan and Michelle Richardson, thanks for watching and I appreciate your comment. The main reason I had done these mods is to maintain consistent temps and longer "set it and forget it" times. I can absolutely say that these mods helped. I understand your situation is different and you may be around your smoker majority of the time because you state that you use it in a professional setting, whereas I am just a guy who cooks on the weekend.
Lastly, if you have leaks, that means less heat being used to cook which means higher fuel consumption and that is more money out of your pocket. Would you leave the door wide open while the AC or heater is running? Again, thank you for the comment and take care!
Imagine how much money someone who runs this professionally could save on fuel costs with these dumb shit mods.
Lol 30 smoke in 2 years 🤣 I got 30 smokes in 2 months
Thats awesome man! How's your experience been with the smoker?
Non sense!
Hey, thanks for watching my video. Can you please elaborate what is nonsense? Did I not clarify something?
30 cooks in 2 years why even bother reviewing. You should be reviewing microwaves and stoves my man!
Hey man, I appreciate the comment. Obviously everyone's lives, schedules and seasons are different, I am just happy to get our there and cook when I can and I am happy to share what I have learned with everyone else. Take care!
Thanks for the thumbs up to whomever at least you know where I'm coming from. Come back when u have 200+ cooks a year
@@NoGoodVeryBadAmericanwheres your reviews then??? 200+ guy 😂😂😂
Have you considered he may have lots of different grills? I have 8, My Highland would only get 30 cooks in 24 months easy.