Oklahoma joe offset smoker

P

papitman

Is lookin for wood to cook with.
Joined
Jul 19, 2013
Messages
30
Reaction score
2
Points
0
Location
montrose pa
Has anyone cooked on a Oklahoma Joe like this one????? How do you like it? It was the thickest, heaviest steel smoker I've ever seen Lowes have, to me it was worth $500
my smoker.jpg
 
It's a good starter pit, I had one similar. It will make some good food for you and those close to you.
 
I have looked at that smoker and I think the Old Country Wrangler at Academy is a better pit for the same money. The firebox is welded on, not bolted, and there is a deflector over the firebox opening into the cook chamber... plus the smoke stack opening is at grate level and is a larger diameter. If you want to see one in action, check out the "Cooking with Franklin" videos by Aaron Franklin on Youtube.

I would have bought one already, but I've convinced myself I need to save up and get a larger offset
 
Congrats on the new pit, have fun with it. I had a similar pits when I was younger.
 
Nice Smoker I say it's a good buy for the money... Heads and shoulders above my starter pit that's one to hold on too!!!
 
markrvp said:
I have looked at that smoker and I think the Old Country Wrangler at Academy is a better pit for the same money. The firebox is welded on, not bolted, and there is a deflector over the firebox opening into the cook chamber... plus the smoke stack opening is at grate level and is a larger diameter. If you want to see one in action, check out the "Cooking with Franklin" videos by Aaron Franklin on Youtube.

I would have bought one already, but I've convinced myself I need to save up and get a larger offset
Click to expand...

Not that it is a huge deal, but the smoker used in the Aaron Franklin videos is the Old Country Ranch Hand from Academy. It's quite a bit smaller than the Wrangler.
 
tker32 said:
Not that it is a huge deal, but the smoker used in the Aaron Franklin videos is the Old Country Ranch Hand from Academy. It's quite a bit smaller than the Wrangler.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the correction. The smaller one is 1/4" thick and $499. The bigger one is 1/8" steel and $299. If the bigger one were made of 1/4" I probably would have bought it even though I really want something even bigger.
 
Not a bad pit. The one things about pits like those is the inconsistency of the builds. If it is holding air and temp pretty well, you should get plenty of good cooks out of it. Just don't be surprised when those good cooks get you yearning for a more expensive smoker. :grin:
 
^^^^what he said!!!

You'll get going and get the bug.......then it's off to "I need that one now" :laugh:
 
Congrats on the offset! I believe "ButtBurner" has a similar model and has turned out some fantastic looking cooks...:grin:
 
I have one. It was $429 not $500 from Lowes.

I like it just fine.

I dont see an issue with the bolt on firebox. If there is ever a problem with it it can be easily replaced. I have had not a leakage between the 2 chambers either.

I dont have an Academy Sports in my state so I could not compare it to one of those smokers.

But mine works just fine, holds temps well, welds are fine, I have no complaints.

I did do a few mods, the most important was tuning plates. I also extended the chimney to grate level but I have cooked with the extension on and off and dont see any difference either way so I am not sure the value of that.

I use one stick about every 45 mins or so, that seems to be the norm with these types of smokers
 
So is this Oklahoma Joe similar to the old New Braunfeld Black Diamond? Meaning in size and thickness of metal?

I have a NBBD that I kind of cast aside due to not being able to turn out good cooks on it, but that was before I found this sight and learned about fire management and how important it is with an offset.

I have since built a reverse flow offset and have had good luck turning out quality Q.

I am thinking I need to give the NBBD another try...
 
I have the Old Country Pecos, the largest OC that Academy had. I have done several cooks on it, and I'm still learning it. My local Lowes and HDepot didn't have side box smokers so I went with Academy.
I'm very pleased with my Pecos, very minimal leaks at cooking temp, uses about 1 split every 45 min to one hour.
One thing I have found is to let it loose and cook at its temp. I tried "choking" it down to lower the temps, but started getting white smoke, so I opened it up and let the beast eat. It runs consistently at 260-275, and I can push it up to 325-350 with a little help from a small fan.
 
Reviews on the Lowes website range from "excellent" to "not worth the price". Looks like w/ a couple of the usual mods, it's a decent smoker- better than a lot of the stuff at the big box stores but not the quality of original OK Joe's.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_131736-82210-13201747_0__?productId=4329992&Ntt=smoker&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dsmoker&facetInfo=

The only "problem" I see is the degradation of the "Oklahoma Joe" brand name that has occurred via the usual corporate BS over the years. I hate that crap and think it's a shame these smokers use that name.

:rant2:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
Water Smokers?
Replies
4
Views
418
SmoothBoarBBQ
SmoothBoarBBQ
B
First brisket on my Brazos offset was not a success.
2
Replies
23
Views
1K
Bald-Headed John
B
cayenne
Whattya do with a whole sirloin tip roast?
2
Replies
22
Views
2K
Robert
R
J
Electric smoker dying
Replies
16
Views
617
JIMSMOKES
J
J
Premium/high end offset
2 3
Replies
55
Views
4K
cayenne
cayenne
Back
Top