I had time to finish the OK Joe mods now she needs paint.

[k.a.m.]

My son-in-law has had an Oklahoma Joe for some time and it did not perform well on temps( either to high or to low)
so when I needed it this weekend I said lets tweak it a bit before Monday. It had been setting at his brothers
house for some time going down hill so the first thing was remove rust, and assess damages. I still have some
more to do this weekend. I am very happy with the way it cooked the pig on Monday, she held a constant 225° to 250° all day.
Here is what I started with.


After about an hour with the air chisel and super weed burner.


I ended up with about 5lbs of rust.


This is the crater of a hole into the cooker chamber, I closed it in and added a diverter.




This was the charcoal grate and door that did not seal.


New charcoal grate.

Added an angle iron brace to the door to stiffen it up.


Door closed and no more gaps, I surrounded the inside of the fire box opening with 1/8'' x 1'' flat bar.


I cut out the original stack and added a 4'' stack.


I moved the door stop ahead so you do not brand yourself when you open the door.

_________________
Always remember slow and steady wins the race.

Reverse Flow
Hybrid Cooker

[Teleking]

[k.a.m.]

Teleking, we thought about it and I left it up to my son-in-law. I told him we can always move it down if need be. But to be honest, I used the pit calculator and once I made the firebox to cooking chamber hole smaller to the specs needed She had fantastic draw and held temps beautifully. I do plan on in the future to add tuning plates I am looking for plate now. I will add the angle iron now so I can have that done before I ship it to the blasters.
_________________
Always remember slow and steady wins the race.

Reverse Flow
Hybrid Cooker

[Teleking]

[Cranky Buzzard]

Great work thus far K.A.M., the OK Joe's are good pits with great metal, but they do need a little "assistance" from what I have seen.

I'm looking forward to the next cook on the beast!

Now, as I have asked before, are you looking to adopt any others in the future? I need a good fab partner!

Charlie
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Cranky Buzzard BBQ FB Group

[k.a.m.]

Thanks Charlie, I would be more than happy to help in any way you need my Friend Re-hab or new construction I am game
_________________
Always remember slow and steady wins the race.

Reverse Flow
Hybrid Cooker

[ceedubya]

Very cool! I have an old OK Joes that needs a little attention too.
_________________
The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over - Hunter S. Thompson

[stillsmokin]

Great job K.A.M. I cant wait to see what she looks like all painted up.
_________________
When in doubt give it more COWBELL!!!!

[k.a.m.]

Thanks ceedubya, they are good cookers. I enjoyed cooking on it.

Thanks stillsmokin.
_________________
Always remember slow and steady wins the race.

Reverse Flow
Hybrid Cooker

[purplewg]

Good job KAM. Looks like you have it figured out and it is well on it's way to be rescued.
_________________
The Wild Pig build.
My UDS Build.

Don't squat with your spurs on.........

[charleso]

Great workmanship on the rehab so far k.a.m. Your neighbors must either love you lots or hate your guts to no end. First thing, you starve them with all that good smelling(I know it is, no way it looks that good without smelling up the entire neighborhood.) food. Then you fire up that airchiesel and start cleaning rust scale out of a grill. They just gotta love that. Keep up the good work on the Okie Joe. I know you will post pics when it is finished.
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Propane is for frying, not Que!
I AM NOT A LIAR!!!

[seattlepitboss]

I like the idea of closing firebox door gaps with 1/8x1" flat bar. I might do this to my NBBD.

seattlepitboss

[Tom C]

Great work once again k.a.m.! Interesting to hear that closing down the opening between the box and the cooker worked so well. Cant wait to see it all done and cooking.
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Homemade offset smoker 24"x48"
Charbroil CB900 grill

[RLane22]

Nice work k.a.m. my buddy just stopped by and ask if i knew a way to fill some of the gaping hole he had between the firebox and cooking chamber on his okie joe. I showed him these pics and he is exited now. he is going to try and follow your fine model improvements.
_________________
Randy

Slow Down and take the time to enjoy the good things in life.

1st build

new build

[HillbillySmoker]

Nice work KAM, im sure he will be happy with it.
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Patio Smoker Grill "Sold"
My Smoker Grill build "Sold"

[HogFan4]

Looks good k.a.m.
I am headed to OK in a few weeks and will see my Dad. He too has an OKJ. What should the opening size be from the FB - chamber? What about the stack size and length?

[Chuck]

k.a.m. the redo is looking good my friend.
When I get done with this house, I feel like
a road trip. I will bring the pit down and do a getter done
on this build

Thanks for all you do on the Smoke Ring

Say hey to the Boss

Stilwell Chuck

[k.a.m.]

Thanks purplewg, I don't know about the rescue, if it stays around here I am going to work it out a bunch. I kinda like cooking on it.

Thanks charleso, Hey its feast or famine around here I do let my neighbors sleep till around 7:30 ish in the A.M. then its on like Donkey Kong. I have spare ear plugs if they get annoyed.

seattlepitboss, that has always been a problem on a lot of theses cookers with light metal doors. When I started on this one the gaps around the sides were 1/8'' and the bottom was swole out about a 1/4''. to me that was unacceptable.

Thanks Tom C, I was amazed at the hole size on this cooker. The chamber is 19.5'' x 40'' and the fire box was 19.5'' x 20''. The original hole measured in at roughly 60 Cu. in. and the pit calculator called for 47.76 Cu. in. It was also above the cooking grates which I did not care for. So I closed the hole in with a piece of 1/4'' x 2'' flat bar which brought me in just shy of my 47. 76 Cu. in. And by adding the deflector I was able to get below the grates for future tuning plates.

Thanks RLane22, I have a few more things I am going to do to it. But as far as performance goes my son-in-law was impressed with the results. This was the first time I had ever really payed attention to the way it cooked.

Thanks HillbillySmoker, I think he has a keeper now.

Thanks HogFan4, the opening should be 47.76 Cu. in. I came in short because I wanted to add the deflector to get below the grates, I also added a 4'' stack it is 23'' long the pit calculator called for a 23.77'' but that is as long as I had on hand.

Thanks Chuck, now that would be a blast to be able to work side by side with you I don't have near the shop space that you have we would definitely be limited on tools I have seen your lay out it is awesome
_________________
Always remember slow and steady wins the race.

Reverse Flow
Hybrid Cooker

[erniesshop]

Great Job , Kevin!!!!!
Now ya got me to thinking , that I Need to redo my Steak Grill...............

[k.a.m.]

Thanks erniesshop, I have found that as long as I can cook and weld my cookers will never be complete, men like us love to tinker My only salvation is when I finish with someones it leaves my shop.
_________________
Always remember slow and steady wins the race.

Reverse Flow
Hybrid Cooker