Crazy talk here......but you would think the manufactures would want to send these out ready to go without having to do a bunch of mods. I guess you gave to spend $1,500.00 and up to get a turn key smoker.

you can use it the way it comes

I did for quite a while. it worked fine

just wanted to make it better

all I did to mine was add tuning plates, not all that other stuff

On my Chargriller outlaw, the stack extension works wonderfully and my pit still drafts well.
So, I'd say try it and see if it works for you.

Nice clean work!

I guess my point was that they should seal these better for what they are pricing these at. $300-500 dollars isn't chump change for most of us.

A few short months ago I would not have found myself so envious of this shiny new offset, but here we are. Looks like it will be a blast to cook on.

nice work. my old offset had the exhaust in the same spot and it worked great as is. i like all the nomex as a leaky cooker drives me nuts. what kind of wood will you be using?

Nice new cooker and some well thought out mods. I don't believe the vent ducting was needed, but, cook away

Not at all the case, I have known many folks who cooked on these out of the box, it is just nicer with the mods. By using the sealing tape, he will get more efficient burns, use less wood, and have a nicer experience. Some of the best ribs I ever had came off one of these, that they guy bought, built, and cooked on that day.

I have yet to do anything to mine. I added a roasting pan to catch ashes when cooking direct, but nothing else. After awhile the grease/whatever helps to seal it. I leave the door wide open and sometimes the top on the firebox if it is burning too hot.

the sealing in not as big an issue as people make it out to me

its not a fridge, its a smoker. Air leaks here and there make very little difference in the big picture in a stick burner

Great job with the mods and thanks for posting detailed pics!

I'll be watching to see how you do with the OKJ Highlander.

Just got one myself. Haven't had time to work with it yet.

Great job!! Now comes the learning. Most important thing is maintaining a clean fire.
Also using dry wood makes a difference.

I just got one these a couple of weeks ago. Only thing I did was use high temp rtv between firebox halves and smoke chamber along with the exhaust stack. I put two aftermarket temp gauges grate level. When I went to season it with just a baffle plate, small fire. I noticed I couldn't get the exhaust side up to temp, 100* difference. My baffle slipped down and was to hot to put back up so I left it there. Within a minute the temps evened out a lot better, 25* difference. The firebox side was sitting at a nice 275*. I really can't explain why the difference with the baffle. I would think it would even out more.

the $500 old country at academy has most of the mods and thicker metal.