# Yet another OK Joe Highland



## stealthchef (May 8, 2017)

Howdy folks. Sorry I haven't participated in a while. Had a lot of real life going on, both really great, and really awful. Have to keep moving though. Glad to be getting back to one of my favorite forums though.

I just picked up an Oklahoma Joe Highland smoker yesterday, and hopes are to break it in Saturday night for a Mother's Day meal.













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All I've done so far is put it together. I have the gasket/seal/latch kit being shipped in. An old buddy who has this same unit advised me to do all that work before I do any burn-in or seasoning. My plan is to do all of that first, and then do other modifications later as time and money allow. None of it looks like it's very difficult to do (famous last words), so I'm hoping to have this thing to full potential by mid-summer. 

Needless to say, I've gotten most of my information about doing these mods here, so thank you to everyone that's posted their experiences. I'm pretty excited to finally have my hands on a much larger smoker. You can see my old chimney smoker in the background of the first pic. I've wore it out over the last decade or so. I'm being asked to do more BBQ so the need for something bigger has gotten obvious (darn!).

My only question for you all is this: So far all I've done is assemble it. The next step is gaskets, sealing, and latches. Then burn-in, and seasoning. More mods later. With where I am at the moment, does anyone have any pitfalls to warn me about so I can avoid them.

Thanks to everyone in advance. Glad to be back to reading and posting. Hope everyone has an entire summer of awesome BBQ!


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## quinngarcia (May 8, 2017)

Temp management has been something I've had to deal with. I smoked with and without the charcoal basket. Both situations I had a hard time staying consistent with temp. Like 250 for brisket. I'm guessing I wasn't using enough wood.  Looks like I was being too conservative. Guys on YouTube were using mini logs. I was using either not enough wood or lump or both. 

 Also I bought a convection plate to even out temp across cooking chamber. But if you use a water pan that may help even out a bit if you don't want to purchase or make your own. 

Don't believe stock themometers either. Use digital probe on grill level if possible. The stock one measures temp at top of dome and not what temp is cooking the food. But you may already know all of this and I'm just preaching to the choir. But that's my two bits. All the best.


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## stealthchef (May 9, 2017)

Thanks for the advice, man. I'm not a fan of the bi-metal thermometers either. I have a pair of digitals I use, although I think I'm due to upgrade to something better. I'm thinking of trying a fairly large water pan until I can get a plate in there. I see a lot of people say that it's hard to get a consistent temp with an offset smoker. My chimney smoker leaks all over the place so I'm sort of used to that. I'll probably be hovering around this one constantly for the first few cooks. I'm staying with charcoal for now, but I'm hoping to try straight wood later. Have o find a quality supply first.


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## SmokinAl (May 9, 2017)

It's all about fire management.

It will take a few runs until you get the hang of when & how much wood to add.

If your using just charcoal it will be a little easier to maintain steady temps.

Al


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## stealthchef (May 9, 2017)

That's encouraging. Thanks for the insight. My planning is coming more into focus as far as order of operations. Deep reading on here has helped a lot with that. 

My big quandries of the moment are 1. what to do with the side door on the smoke box (huge gaps) and 2. How to engineer some digital probes down those two thermometer ports. 

That's what keeps it fun and interesting.


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## stealthchef (May 9, 2017)

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Well that couldn't have worked out any better.


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## stealthchef (May 11, 2017)

Update on all the mods. All I have left to do for right now is install the press latches for the CC door, and make a charcoal box. That should be happening tonight.













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Everything related to the exhaust was really easy. Happy with how that turned out.













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Sealing up the smokebox was a lot more difficult. Mostly because I had to do it alone. The only other adult in the house is pregnant, so I was on my own. The solution was the creative use of some little kids chairs and a couple bags of wood chips, along with rolling the CC to meet up with the FB that was sitting on the chairs so I didn't smear sealant everywhere. Making it look neat involved running a guitar pick and a paper towel down the seams. All in all, I'm happy with how that turned out.













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My modification kit came with these nomex and fiberglass rope gaskets. They were really easy, and came with good instructions. I can't tell if the lower left corner of my CC door is a tad warped or what, but even after trimming/tucking the gasket there it doesn't close flush.













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I've decided to call it "Engine No. 9". It should fit in nicely with these two and a little Weber Smokey Joe that's not in the picture.


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## ironcleveland (May 11, 2017)

​Looking good.  Fire/temp control is a real art that is learned over time with these.  They make some great BBQ when you get it, though.  The one thing I notice is that you have the warming shelf on top of the fire box installed backwards.  Flip that piece around and you will have a flat surface on top of the fire box.  Later on you might decide to put some tuning plates in it, or you might like it the way it is.


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## skunkwerx (May 12, 2017)

Nice job!  Looks great!

Without a baffle and no tuning plates, or convection plates, you can expect a hot spot on the firebox side, what most of us just call uneven temperature across the grate area.

It's not a killer as long as you manage it, and rotate the food's position, especially on longer sessions.  The water pan idea should help a bit. 

In my old offset CharGriller I used a medium loaf pan full of water a few inches in front of the opening from the firebox. 

The water and spices would boil out eventually, and I would top it off again, but it did seem to help keep the hot spot to a smaller area. 

And it was a very easy and inexpensive thing to do.

A Medium Loaf Pan is about   4.5" x 8.5" x 2.5 or 3"  tall.

Good luck, looks like you have situation well under control!


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## stealthchef (May 12, 2017)

Ironcleveland: You're right. I did have that on backwards. Late nights and pre-occupation with other details will do that to you. At least I didn't put the firebox on backwards. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  I might get or make some tuning plates in the near future. I just don't see me spending $90 on the one for sale online.

SkunkWerX: I definitely plan to have a water pan in there. I think the one I have is roughly about the dimensions you described. It's those little foil pans you get at the grocery store. My leaky old chimney smoker taught me how invaluable a good water pan is.

Thanks to you both for the advice. I get it wrong often enough to value all the input.


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## skunkwerx (May 12, 2017)

Sounds like you have it under control!  Good Luck!  Let us know how it goes.


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