OK joe highland reverse flow arrived (mini review and initial thoughts)

[fxsales1959]

hey Y'all,
my OK Joe Highland reverse flow finally arrived. I hope to do a thorough review, as i would have like to read one before buying. Buried in work for now which comprises of many reports
Here's s few lines of initial thoughts. Feel free to ask particular questions instead of waiting for full report.
Initial thoughts:
Charbroil/China relationship apparent (but not a deal breaker.)
Instruction manual says have a helper. Unless your wife is one of those Olympic weightlifters I recommend finding a buddy who isn't offended by swearing.
Initial Mods: Lavalock 1/2" cooking chamber gasket. Definitely need to add chamber door clamps.
I was tickled silly with the seasoning/burn-in process. I used digital probes at grate level (left and right) and two analog (pre-tested and matching) in the lid.
One chimney Kingsford briquettes, and a couple chunks of hickory (more below)

of hickory. all temps within a few degrees(image attached. temp held 4-5 hours without diddling with it. dampers at about 1/4 open.
Would I do it again with current knowledge? HELL yeah. For $450 all in, a real decent department store smoker.
My OCD tendencies will shine with full report.
ask away
carry on. I got work to do.

 

[kilo charlie]

Thank you for posting this for other people to reference!

 

[SmokinEdge]

hey Y'all,
my OK Joe Highland reverse flow finally arrived. I hope to do a thorough review, as i would have like to read one before buying. Buried in work for now which comprises of many reports
Here's s few lines of initial thoughts. Feel free to ask particular questions instead of waiting for full report.
Initial thoughts:
Charbroil/China relationship apparent (but not a deal breaker.)
Instruction manual says have a helper. Unless your wife is one of those Olympic weightlifters I recommend finding a buddy who isn't offended by swearing.
Initial Mods: Lavalock 1/2" cooking chamber gasket. Definitely need to add chamber door clamps.
I was tickled silly with the seasoning/burn-in process. I used digital probes at grate level (left and right) and two analog (pre-tested and matching) in the lid.
One chimney Kingsford briquettes, and a couple chunks of hickory (more below)View attachment 501674 of hickory. all temps within a few degrees(image attached. temp held 4-5 hours without diddling with it. dampers at about 1/4 open.
Would I do it again with current knowledge? HELL yeah. For $450 all in, a real decent department store smoker.
My OCD tendencies will shine with full report.
ask away
carry on. I got work to do.

Can you through up a pic of the door so I can see how the vented the door? (Air inlets)

 

[JckDanls 07]

Lavalock on the hinge side of the door is probably what is keeping the door from closing tight ...

 

[fxsales1959]

Lavalock on the hinge side of the door is probably what is keeping the door from closing tight ...

the firebox door is a weak point. while the door closes tightly, there is a 1/4" gap between the bottom of the door and curvature on bottom of fire box. due to this i didn't even bother tryin to seal the access hatch. the only way i could see to do it would be to stuff a wad of tin fole down there before a session to try and stop air intake. bad picture in dark garage

 

[fxsales1959]

Lavalock on the hinge side of the door is probably what is keeping the door from closing tight ...

for those requesting firbox images.

Lavalock on the hinge side of the door is probably what is keeping the door from closing tight ...

for those requesting firebox images. here is a "down shot" inside he box. you can see why I decided it was futile to seal up the hatch door.

 

[JckDanls 07]

by all means.. I agree