overboosting a COS (Cheap Offset Smoker)

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mbt

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Hi all, guys
I'm just thinking, so up to now is not a project (up to now...:tongue:)
Let's imagine that I want an offset smoker
I know very well that cheaper offset smokers are made with thin iron walls, no gaskets or air sealings, bad gas flow...
as a result, keeping the desired temperature becames a pain and smoking becames a nightmare
on the other hand, a well manufactured offset smoker has an higher price for a lot of good reasons.
So... let's imagine to get a cheaper stick burner.
let's suppose to add a good insulation (I'm thinking about some rockwool blankets or similar) and silicone gaskets for the doors.
Let's add a couple of gauges, maybe adding some water pans below the cooking grid.
By the way I could modify the fire chamber, with a dedicated opening for BBQ guru or something similar...

what do you think? Could it make sense or it's just a waste of money, brain and time?
 
I did a number of mods to my Oklahoma Joe Highlander, inducing welding the firebox joints, a full length tuning plate and the damn thing still still doesn't hold stable temps.

The upside is it did introduce me to offset cooking, and for me, offset smoked food produces a far better flavor than any charcoal smoker I've owned. If I had it to do all over again I just would have made the investment in a solid well built offset, but, hindsight is 20/20.
 
thank you! That's exactly the kind of opinion I'm looking for
 
Dont fret the temps and I can get more stable temps from maple than oak... focus on wood type and thin blue smoke... I find:

Oak: HOT SMOKEY meat
maple: better temp swings and low med smoke
Cherry: Smoke and low temps...

pay attention to the wood your using
 
mbt said:
thank you! That's exactly the kind of opinion I'm looking for
Click to expand...


What are some of the offsets you've been looking at? That might be helpful info for us to help steer you in the right direction.
 
There are a number of inexpensive offsets that function just fine. The Bandera and the Dyna Glo Heavy Duty Signature Series Vertical Offset, or the Old Country offsets don't require mods to make good bbq. Nomex gaskets and selective use of RTV on certain spots is a good idea, but not necessary unless it was damaged or manufactured incorrectly (happens sometimes).
 
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After several mods and some practice of use I have no problem keeping my OK Joe Highland humming at desired temp. that I choose. It comes down to fire management in the end anyway. I have three stainless tuning plates that I have positioned with varying gaps between them until I arrived at the desired effect and a perforated "lid" above them and below the grates to redirect heat and smoke for a reverse effect. Finally, I installed a duct elbow so the exhaust is at grate level. For as much (or little) smoking that I do I can't imagine spending thousands for any smoker. I'm sure my results are equal to those gotten by others with similar smoking experience and much more expensive setups.
 
I also started offset smoking with an Oklahoma Joe Highland plus the standard mods. I wanted a cheap way to test the waters of offset smoking and see if I enjoyed the process enough to invest in something better. Being in Canada, good quality offsets are a lot harder to come by and are a lot more expensive.

The OKJ was fun, but a pain. It is all down to fire management for sure, but a number of problems I encountered on the OKJ (such as losing my coal bed) completely disappeared when moving to the Horizon I bought (implying that my fire management skills were not the issue)

My advice - Horizons start at $900 for a comparable size to an OKJ. Do the math on the cost of the OKJ, tuning plates, etc and see how far off that price point you are. It might not be that much more.
 
thedude9999 said:
My advice - Horizons start at $900 for a comparable size to an OKJ. Do the math on the cost of the OKJ, tuning plates, etc and see how far off that price point you are. It might not be that much more.
Click to expand...
absolutely right
just two considerations:
first, the fact that my wife would be disappointed if I spend 900 bucks for a smoker. But she probably will agree if I spend 150 now and 100 later plus for some steel plates, other 200 later for some insulating blankett, other 100 for the grate....:wink:
second.. the satisfaction to say "it was a nightmare, now it works!" ... is priceless !:tongue:
 
mbt said:
absolutely right
just two considerations:
first, the fact that my wife would be disappointed if I spend 900 bucks for a smoker. But she probably will agree if I spend 150 now and 100 later plus for some steel plates, other 200 later for some insulating blankett, other 100 for the grate....:wink:
second.. the satisfaction to say "it was a nightmare, now it works!" ... is priceless !:tongue:
Click to expand...
I'll admit that I went into buying a smoker somewhat blind and ignorant. I had used my own concoction of a smoker (my former avatar) for some 10 years with moderate success. I bought the Joe on account of having moved and not being able to accommodate the home made. No, it's not the best unit but I did make it work to my satisfaction. The cost increase was incremental and I made mistakes along the way but I learned a lot on the road of modifications. A lot of it from being on this great site. Looking back I could have done my mods for maybe $100-150 to get to where I am.
 
mbt said:
absolutely right
just two considerations:
first, the fact that my wife would be disappointed if I spend 900 bucks for a smoker. But she probably will agree if I spend 150 now and 100 later plus for some steel plates, other 200 later for some insulating blankett, other 100 for the grate....:wink:
second.. the satisfaction to say "it was a nightmare, now it works!" ... is priceless !:tongue:
Click to expand...

Understandable. But consider you will have a virtually unusable smoker until you buy all those other things. Then you will have a smoker that turns out good barbecue but frustrates you to no end.

As someone that went down that path - my advice is don’t. Get something decent, or don’t bother with a stick burner. Get a WSM or something like that (which is where I was before my offset) and make great BBQ on that.

I see you are in Italy. I’d imagine a good stick burner is going to be a whole lot unless you have someone local that can build one.
 
thedude9999 said:
Understandable. But consider you will have a virtually unusable smoker until you buy all those other things. Then you will have a smoker that turns out good barbecue but frustrates you to no end.

As someone that went down that path - my advice is don’t. Get something decent, or don’t bother with a stick burner. Get a WSM or something like that (which is where I was before my offset) and make great BBQ on that.

I see you are in Italy. I’d imagine a good stick burner is going to be a whole lot unless you have someone local that can build one.
Click to expand...

I actually have a Weber kettle and a WSM. Plus a Smokey Joe and a gas grill
The offset smoker would be a "plus" or an hobby, something to do during the evenings instead of staying in front of TV.

I don't think there are Smokers manufacturers here. Or better... probably yes, but I don't know their skill and cost. So or I take a cheap offset smoker and I spend time and money in some modifications... or I buy a good one (we can find Yoder, Oklahoma Joe and some other brands)
 
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