Oklahoma Joe Highland mod + questions

[jjdomingo]

Hey all!

I am looking to purchase and mod (thanks to this awesome forum) my first offset smoker. I decided that the Oklahoma Joe Highland seems to fit what I want and is a solid choice based on what I read on this forum. I plan to do the general mods (heat plate, gaskets, lower stack, coal box, etc) but had a more general question about the offset fuel source and heat management. It appears a big population of offset users have wood as their source. of heat and indicate that large splits of wood are what are needed to keep temp in offsets. I generally use lump / general charcoal and have access to chunks of wood but where I am located in the US is not easy to get actual splits or logs of fruit wood. Does anyone use offsets without using these larger wood splits as a heat source? I do not want to have major temp issues due to the fact I am not able to use large splits of wood to get the temp cranking.

any advice or guidance on this question? Thanks in advance! 

 

[cksteele]

i have an Oklahoma Joe i use smaller splits of wood  easily  i burn 100% wood in it  you dont need  huge logs in it. you would for a 250 gallon+ smoker or something  bigger but  this is what i use i use white oak (hickory works good too)  logs that are quartered  and then i cut them in half  then split the logs further down  to  the little splits.  i use the small pieces just fine to get around 275 degrees i use a small bed of  lit charcoal  just to get the wood going then burn  the little  splits of wood easily hope this helps 

wood for smoker.jpg

• cksteele
• Aug 16, 2016

 

[wichita chief]

I have a Longhorn which is similar. I use splits and chunks and both work well. I too cut my splits down into a easy to manage size and fit for my basket. Half splits like ck above does. I like the chunks since I can cram a couple in when the others are burning down. Using longer & bigger pieces makes that harder at least to me. Given the Okie Joe's fireboxes aren't huge. Either heat well. I use charcoal to get it started and later on once the meat is tented but cook with wood. Where are you located?