No grate in the offset fire box?

[m-fine]

Watching some Franklin videos, I noticed he doesn't have a grate in his firebox. He builds his fire directly on the metal and goes from there. I would expect that to result in bad airflow but his smokers seem to be running just fine.

Planning on trying this but was wondering if anybody has compared how their smoker runs with or without a grate.

None of my wood burning stoves (including our current very modern very efficient one) put the wood on a grate. My camp fires all sit right on the ground.

A fire will draw in air from above and the sides. No need for a grate to get wood to burn. It may help in certain smokers depending on air intake and exit placement, but the flip side is the smaller coals fall through. Try it both ways and in most smokers you will find both work so pick whichever you find easier.

 

[93_confirmed]

Sorry to resurrect an ancient thread but I'm having major fire management issues with my Oklahoma Joe Highland and was going to make a thread asking the same questions as the OP. For the last couple of weeks, I can barely get her to crack 200F and that's with varying combinations of a Lavalock charcoal basket, firebox grate, cleaning ash frequently, running the door wide open, etc. Prior to these issues, I was able to run it pretty consistently in the mid to upper 200s. I haven't changed my fuel source, process or added crazy mods and the weather has been relatively mild for January. I don't see any noticeable leaks either. My buddy, who owns one modding exactly like mine was dumbfounded as we watched it hover around 200F no matter what adjustments were made.

So with that said, I wanted to get some thoughts on what the hell might be going on and for those of you with OKJ-tier smokers, have you had success clearing out the firebox and running it like Franklin but on a smaller scale?

 

[sickhick]

Sorry to resurrect an ancient thread but I'm having major fire management issues with my Oklahoma Joe Highland and was going to make a thread asking the same questions as the OP. For the last couple of weeks, I can barely get her to crack 200F and that's with varying combinations of a Lavalock charcoal basket, firebox grate, cleaning ash frequently, running the door wide open, etc. Prior to these issues, I was able to run it pretty consistently in the mid to upper 200s. I haven't changed my fuel source, process or added crazy mods and the weather has been relatively mild for January. I don't see any noticeable leaks either. My buddy, who owns one modding exactly like mine was dumbfounded as we watched it hover around 200F no matter what adjustments were made.

So with that said, I wanted to get some thoughts on what the hell might be going on and for those of you with OKJ-tier smokers, have you had success clearing out the firebox and running it like Franklin but on a smaller scale?

Are you sure it isn't whatever instrument you're recording temps with?