New Braunfels Smoker Value

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Crater21

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I found a used New Braunfels Smoker (I believe it's the Longhorn Deluxe series 20"x40") for $450 (asking.) Owner indicated that it was about 10 years old.

Does that seem reasonable?

I have an Oklahoma Joes 16" D x 30" offset at the moment, I'm fairly confident that it was a pre-charbroil build. I bought it used and like how the flavor (and getting to play with fire) compares to my WSM 18.5", but I feel like the available food space is less due to keeping a water pan near the firebox and lowering the exhaust down towards the grate and the flavor is not as consistent as the WSM (I get an ashy flavor more frequently.) I would like something bigger for more cooking space and also I have heard that larger ones tend to be easier to manage temps on. Is this one enough larger that it would make much difference?

Or, is there something else that I should be looking for?

Thank you.

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If it is one of the later smokers with thin walls on the firebox and the cook chamber I would keep looking.
From what I have read, the older ones were pretty good cookers.
 
billbek said:
If it is one of the later smokers with thin walls on the firebox and the cook chamber I would keep looking.
From what I have read, the older ones were pretty good cookers.
Click to expand...

If I remember right someone on here had said that Charbroil or someone bought the company and started making them with thinner metal. Is that correct?
 
Crater21 said:
I would like something bigger for more cooking space and also I have heard that larger ones tend to be easier to manage temps on. Is this one enough larger that it would make much difference?
Click to expand...


That is the $64 million dollar question for a lot of people. Will a larger smoker improve my barbecue? Or is that just hype ?



I have a 20 X 40 OC Brazos. I want to know if a 48" smoker is gonna make temp management easier.



I can't answer your question. Im still searching for that answer myself.



But on your Oklahoma Joe, I think the thickness of the steel should tell you if its an original Ok Joe. When CharBroil bought them out in 1998, Charbroil cheapened the product. I don't know if that was immediate or over a period of time, however.
 
I can't see you photos for guidance.

Before Charbroil the New Braunfel's OK Joe Longhorns were 3/16" thick and while the firebox was bolted to the cook chamber both were welded units and the cooker was pretty good overall.

When Charbroil first bought them the first thing they did was thin the metal. Then they turned the firebox into a two piece bolt together unit.

The quality has gone down each time.

Mine was about 15yrs old and 3/16" thick. IIRC it cost ~$450 new back then.
 
Addendum to my first post.

Mine was not the Deluxe.

IIRC - The first version of the deluxe added a storage box under the cook chamber.

Then they added a removable ash tray under the firebox.

The ashtrays leaked badly on many of them and made them hard/impossible to control.

I'm not sure where Charbroil came into the mix on the Deluxe version if they ever did. The Deluxe cost ~$100 more than mine.

IMO insist on seeking it cook and control first if it has the ash tray unless you can get it cheap and feel you have a way to fix any problem with the ash tray.

ETA again - A Genuine OK Joe (or now Horizon) is better build quality than any of the New Braunfels or later.
 
I'm a bit confused, in this interview of Joe Davidson by Daniel Vaughn, Joe says he sold to CharBroil in 1998


DV: When you were first building the smokers, were they all offset smokers, or did you build direct-heat models too?


JD: At first, they were all offset. As the demand for some less expensive units came from Sam’s and Lowe’s, we started building Super Joes and Little Joes that were 16 inches in diameter and 24 or 30 inches long, without a firebox. I couldn’t tell you how many of those we built. They were still 1/4-inch steel and handmade, but cheap. You could get a Little Joe, four peg legs on it, 16 inches in diameter, 24 inches long, for $100 at Sam’s.


DV: When did you stop making the smokers in Oklahoma?


JD: In 1998, we sold it to CharBroil [then they had a manufacturing plant in New Braunfels, Texas]. And that’s when I moved to Texas.
Click to expand...


I think Texas Monthly is now a pay site , but here's a link



https://www.texasmonthly.com/bbq/interview-joe-davidson-of-oklahoma-joes-bar-b-cue/
 
Pics

I'm sorry, I thought I had the pics attached but apparently not.

Thank you for all of the input.
 

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Last edited:
Lynn Dollar said:
I'm a bit confused, in this interview of Joe Davidson by Daniel Vaughn, Joe says he sold to CharBroil in 1998

I think Texas Monthly is now a pay site , but here's a link

https://www.texasmonthly.com/bbq/interview-joe-davidson-of-oklahoma-joes-bar-b-cue/
Click to expand...

You may very well be right however the quality degradation is as I described.

They were known as NB OK Joe's when I bought mine and later as CB NB OK Joe's later. Probably a simple name change only with your info known.


OP - That is the second version of the deluxe I described. This owner has added the tongue and steer axle to it. I had forgotten about the double cook chamber doors on the deluxe. Mine is a standard single door.

Double check the thickness. It will be ~3/16" or ~1/8".

I repeat, ask to see it cook and control.
 
Look at the "New Braunfels" logo. In small print it should say made in USA. If not....it's the china version.
 
Crater21 said:
I found a used New Braunfels Smoker (I believe it's the Longhorn Deluxe series 20"x40") for $450 (asking.) Owner indicated that it was about 10 years old.

Does that seem reasonable?

I have an Oklahoma Joes 16" D x 30" offset at the moment, I'm fairly confident that it was a pre-charbroil build. I bought it used and like how the flavor (and getting to play with fire) compares to my WSM 18.5", but I feel like the available food space is less due to keeping a water pan near the firebox and lowering the exhaust down towards the grate and the flavor is not as consistent as the WSM (I get an ashy flavor more frequently.) I would like something bigger for more cooking space and also I have heard that larger ones tend to be easier to manage temps on. Is this one enough larger that it would make much difference?

Or, is there something else that I should be looking for?

Thank you.

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Click to expand...

Regarding your Oklahoma Joe, get a heat diffuser (tuning plate) and move your water pan on top of it and under your cooking grates for more cooking area.
 
104timberwolf said:
Regarding your Oklahoma Joe, get a heat diffuser (tuning plate) and move your water pan on top of it and under your cooking grates for more cooking area.
Click to expand...


The diffuser plate is an aftermarket item available from Horizon smokers. Be sure to tell them it is for a CB NB version if you choose to buy one.

The cookers from the era I'm familiar with did not come with a water pan and they are unnecessary IME.
 
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