Oklahoma Joe Highland 3" elbow mod necessary?

[BMR56425]

I just put together my new Oklahoma Joe Highland and am doing some mods to it and was curious about the 3" elbow. I've read it can be difficult to install and want to know if this mod is necessary? I have a baffle to help regulate temps from side to side. Any help is appreciated.

 

[Dustin Wells]

I did a lot of research on these modifications before I bought my Highland Reverse Flow and found the general consensus to be that it is unnecessary. What is the claimed purpose/advantage of this modification? That is the one question that I never had answered myself.

 

[xray]

Run your smoker without the elbow first and see how it works. Get a feel for it before you add the elbow. If you’re not happy with it, install the elbow and note any changes or improvements.

In my OKJ Highland, I actually preferred it without the elbow. When I tried using the elbow, I had a hard time getting clean smoke.

As for my mods, I use a charcoal basket, high temp sealant for where the firebox meets the cook chamber. Also gaskets and latches for the doors.

I also have a baffle that I bought off of bbqsmokermods.com. I emailed them when I installed it and they said the elbow wasn’t necessary because of how the baffle was designed for the OKJ.

So definitely give it a test run first. If you’re happy with it, don’t bother installing it.

 

[BMR56425]

These answers are exactly what I was looking for. I will run it tonight during my seasoning and see how it runs.
Thanks!!!