I have been watching this from project from day one. Of all the mod videos ,and ideas to improve the efficiency, yours by far made the most sense to me.I have used dutch ovens ,open fires etc pretty well all my life and after deciding on a Highlander it was apparent that the design didn't breathe well. It's OK stock standard but... I now have a brand new highlander which is about to be worked on to your specs. Thanks so much for your design details and patience in answering questions. I will let you know how it goes with our native manuka wood. Cheers from New Zealand.
Yeah I've done these a few times, and they always turned out great. I've even tried wrapping them at the stall and they did get a little bit juicier, but I'm fine smoking them without wrapping.
Ive been thinking about baffle plates for a long time, they definitely even the temps if you need to use the whole grate, but it has 2 drawbacks I can think of. The smoke path doesn't flow directly over the meat anymore without relocating the exhaust to the other side, and the plates get hot themselves. I noticed you don't use a water pan maybe you could put one on top of the baffle to catch the fat dripping down. You have all the upgrades, nice!
Actually, I do have a water pan in there, you just couldn't see it in the video. I don't have an issue with uneven temps, that's why I haven't used any baffle plates. My temperature stays pretty even all the way across the grate and within 5ﾟ of the lid thermostats. I've got so much air flow through the smoke chamber that it helps hold the temps steady.
Shane, great work on the modification! Have you thought about adding fire bricks or pouring refractory mortar mix into the lower firebox to further fuel efficiency?
Luv the mods ... I have the Oklahoma Longhorn ...so did you build that internal fire basket? And if so do you have a video on it? I have 1 as well but not that clean of a build.
Im so new to this and have the OKJ highland with the shoot extension, seal tape, and also a drop vent so the smoke will blanket the middle better. What mods made it so you didnt have to tend to the fire as much? everyone i see has to tend to it every 15 to 30 mins.
I moved the chimney into a smoke collector down at grate level, and increase the diameter of the smokestack to 4 inches. The trick is to get more volume flowing through the smoke chamber which allows you to use bigger splits so you don't have to tend the fire as much. You accomplish 3 things by doing that, bigger splits with temps that are controllable with a cleaner burn.
@@killintime7408 got it. if you dont mind asking how much did this mod end up costing you? Im thinking of doing it myself. Im not looking forward to tending the fire every 30 mins lol.
@@holydude13 If you had to buy everything I'm guessing probably less than a $100. But then you still have to pay somebody to weld it together. I had a lot of the material at my house already and I know how to weld so I did it myself.
@@smitty1696 I personally did Not, but my parents did, they had water to the ceiling in their basement. Had to gut the whole place and replace both furnaces and AC units. And I helped clean a lot of the town up. We are still rebuilding.
Thanks for the idea. I've been grilling for years but I never smoked anything. I'm building a smoker out of an air tank, and in the near future I will be using it. Brisket takes to long for me to must mess it up. So this looks like a good idea to try out as a beginner. That steak looks delicious, does it taste like brisket?
Doesn't taste quite like brisket, cause there's not enough fat to render like a brisket. But they still taste phenomenal depending on the dry rub you put on them.
Good day. I am doing the same mod as yours. Looks like yours runs great. I know you said your stack is 36 inches in height, but is it 36 inches from the top of the collector or 36 inches from the top of the cook chamber. Thanks.
Air flow is key, I smoke just as well with this one as I would with a quarter inch thick one, With the modifications that I have made. the quarter inch thick ones obviously would probably last longer as the thinner steel will eventually Burn through in the burn Box if you do not insulate it.
I tuned in for Oklahoma Joe info. What I got was a baptism in the good life! Nice setup - all around!
It's definitely an addiction..lol.
I have been watching this from project from day one. Of all the mod videos ,and ideas to improve the efficiency, yours by far made the most sense to me.I have used dutch ovens ,open fires etc pretty well all my life and after deciding on a Highlander it was apparent that the design didn't breathe well. It's OK stock standard but... I now have a brand new highlander which is about to be worked on to your specs. Thanks so much for your design details and patience in answering questions. I will let you know how it goes with our native manuka wood. Cheers from New Zealand.
Thanks for the feedback, and glad my ideas could help you!
I did not have high hopes but WOW, they look incredible!
Yeah I've done these a few times, and they always turned out great. I've even tried wrapping them at the stall and they did get a little bit juicier, but I'm fine smoking them without wrapping.
Ive been thinking about baffle plates for a long time, they definitely even the temps if you need to use the whole grate, but it has 2 drawbacks I can think of. The smoke path doesn't flow directly over the meat anymore without relocating the exhaust to the other side, and the plates get hot themselves. I noticed you don't use a water pan maybe you could put one on top of the baffle to catch the fat dripping down. You have all the upgrades, nice!
Actually, I do have a water pan in there, you just couldn't see it in the video. I don't have an issue with uneven temps, that's why I haven't used any baffle plates. My temperature stays pretty even all the way across the grate and within 5ﾟ of the lid thermostats. I've got so much air flow through the smoke chamber that it helps hold the temps steady.
Shane, great work on the modification! Have you thought about adding fire bricks or pouring refractory mortar mix into the lower firebox to further fuel efficiency?
Thank you, yes I've thought about fire bricks in the fire box and will probably do it soon.
Luv the mods ... I have the Oklahoma Longhorn ...so did you build that internal fire basket? And if so do you have a video on it? I have 1 as well but not that clean of a build.
Yes, I did build the fire basket, but I did not video it.
Im so new to this and have the OKJ highland with the shoot extension, seal tape, and also a drop vent so the smoke will blanket the middle better. What mods made it so you didnt have to tend to the fire as much? everyone i see has to tend to it every 15 to 30 mins.
I moved the chimney into a smoke collector down at grate level, and increase the diameter of the smokestack to 4 inches. The trick is to get more volume flowing through the smoke chamber which allows you to use bigger splits so you don't have to tend the fire as much. You accomplish 3 things by doing that, bigger splits with temps that are controllable with a cleaner burn.
@@killintime7408 got it. if you dont mind asking how much did this mod end up costing you? Im thinking of doing it myself. Im not looking forward to tending the fire every 30 mins lol.
@@holydude13 If you had to buy everything I'm guessing probably less than a $100. But then you still have to pay somebody to weld it together. I had a lot of the material at my house already and I know how to weld so I did it myself.
Where in Michigan you at? Im just north of Lansing about 20 miles
East of Mount Pleasant about 20 minutes
@@killintime7408 so did you get flooded out when wixom and Sanford lk dams broke?
@@smitty1696 I personally did Not, but my parents did, they had water to the ceiling in their basement. Had to gut the whole place and replace both furnaces and AC units. And I helped clean a lot of the town up. We are still rebuilding.
Thanks for the idea. I've been grilling for years but I never smoked anything. I'm building a smoker out of an air tank, and in the near future I will be using it. Brisket takes to long for me to must mess it up. So this looks like a good idea to try out as a beginner. That steak looks delicious, does it taste like brisket?
Doesn't taste quite like brisket, cause there's not enough fat to render like a brisket. But they still taste phenomenal depending on the dry rub you put on them.
What gauge steel did you use for the collector/stack mod?
1/8 inch
Good day. I am doing the same mod as yours. Looks like yours runs great. I know you said your stack is 36 inches in height, but is it 36 inches from the top of the collector or 36 inches from the top of the cook chamber. Thanks.
It is 36" Total from the top of the collector, but honestly you could get away with about 32" and it would still draft great.
I know the stack is 36” and the hole for the smoke collector is 11x5, but what is the dimensions of the smoke collector
It sticks out 9" off the smoker and it is 6" wide towards the stack.
@@killintime7408 thank you sir!
@@jordan5236 welcome
What are your thoughts on these smokers on efficiency vs the thicker 1/4" steel offsets?
Air flow is key, I smoke just as well with this one as I would with a quarter inch thick one, With the modifications that I have made. the quarter inch thick ones obviously would probably last longer as the thinner steel will eventually Burn through in the burn Box if you do not insulate it.
How much did it cost to add that stack?
Smoke collector and stack I had about 30 bucks into all the steel.
How far open is the damper on the stack?
3/4 the way open.
Good vid
Perfect afternoons
130-135 is done for steak
Well, these were fantastic at 153°..🤷♂️