Offset Smoker Wood Consumption: Which backyard offset size costs the most to run?

[@Zokfend]

Amazing video. I don't think I've seen another one like this, comparing fuel consumption and temperature consistency of four different smokers side by side. Very informative, thank you!!!

[@emmgeevideo]

Lessons learned from this episode... Sales pitch #1 to wife: "But honey, I'll get much better 'wood mileage per cubic foot' from the bigger offset smoker." Sales pitch #2 to wife: "I know it's a lot of money now, but it will pay for itself after I start that KZbin channel I've been dreaming of."

[@brokenarrow6491]

I got my Oklahoma Joe's smoker for $220 years ago and it has been great. I use charcoal and wood combined. I've done no mods except for wrapping the extra grate with foil and leaning it over firebox opening forcing the heat down below the food grate. And I have a charcoal basket. I can go several hours without tending to the fire. I heat up charcoal in a charcoal starter can and pour in hot coals on occasion to keep smoke clean.

[@RumandCook]

Cool experiment. Interesting to see the difference or lack there of. Many people ask about how much wood you go through so all those questions have been answered and then some. Good stuff! 🍻

[@CoolJay77]

This is a great experiment. It is interesting that there was not a significant advantage in variability of temperature between to 60 gallons to 85 gallons smokers. 110 gallons won in that respect regardless of whether one needs the capacity or not. Great work.

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

Thanks

[@CoolJay77]

@@SmokingDadBBQ BTW, I don't think that the size of the logs is reason for extra fuel consumtion. It has more to do with the firebox not being insualed, the size of the firebox, the size of the smokestack, and any possible leakage

[@ComparisonCooking]

Really good video, lots of questions answered!

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

Thanks Kevin

[@2005Pilot]

What a Great Test!!! Thanks a ton!! I Love my Wrangler Offset! My WSM hasn’t seen a spark since getting the Wrangler 2yrs ago. 🤣

[@geraldsahd3413]

Good perspective on offset. Love the offset on an all day familty or neighborhood party. Love the Gravity when I want to get things done or work but still enjoy BBQ.

[@JeffryK13]

I have a workhorse 1975 and a TMG fridge 48. The TMG is a wood eating monster. Makes amazing food, but uses a LARGE fire to maintain it. The workhorse is so efficient Love cooking on both.

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

I’ve not used the fridge before. How do you like the taste difference between your two

[@JeffryK13]

@@SmokingDadBBQ I did a head to head comparison using boneless and bone in chicken thighs since chicken is a mild meat and the smoke flavor would really show a difference. Both seasoned with just salt and pepper. Both pits ran between 300 and 325 and chicken was cooked skin side down on bottom racks of both pits. The flavor of the meat was almost identical. Where the workhorse really shined was the skin. The Fridge skin was cooked and wasn’t rubbery, but wasn’t crispy either. The workhorse draws so much heated air, it dried the skin out as it was cooking and crisped it up as if it was fried. I equate the fridge to a regular oven (with great smoke flavor). I equate the workhorse to an air fryer (with great smoke flavor). BTW, a Kamado Joe is what I started learning with. Sold it when we moved, but an amazing and versatile cooker.

[@theftworthrealtor]

That’s great to hear about the workhorse, I ordered mine back in august 2022 and the wait is almost over for delivery in the next 30-45 days…I love smoking chicken but never thought about putting the skin down to get it crispy, gonna deff try that when I break it in…I imagine you could do the same with chicken wings which I usually grill on my Weber…would love to see how those would turn out using this method…

[@1mrgriz]

You can buy a lot of wood for the $7.000 cost difference but you get more consistent temp

[@seasonings2taste115]

I think insulated fireboxes make a difference in colder weather, but anything above freezing it’s diminishing returns. Also Ben Lang of Lang smokers recommends getting the Lang to 300 for 1 hour to preheat. Once you add a ton of cold food, the temp drops significantly. I’m in the market for an offset and James’s reviews are really helping me learn what to look for.

[@GavM]

Cool experiment James. I have an OJoe and did your mods. Not gonna lie. Was pretty gutted that you removed them for this experiment!! 😢 great watch all the same. I just bought a Kamado cooker and have been binge watching all your vids. Learnt tonnes from you. Thanks for all your hard work. Massively appreciate it.

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

Thanks. I didn’t want to remove them either but given many won’t have that wanted ti understand the stock firebox etc

[@j-clevesque7007]

Now that you did it without the mods, how about you do it alone with them and post results. I too am wondering as they would be more similar in function.

[@rc8rsracer1]

I think most importantly aside from this awesome test is to buy wood by the facecord. $75-$100 has lasted me about 3 years doing a cook once or twice per week on average. Marketplace is a great source to find wood

[@hazardousmatt4829]

I have the OJ Highlander and would love to upgrade to an 85 gallon. However, I'm a retired vet living in Germany and don't have the access to those type of offset smokers unfortunately.

[@errolneal9789]

I mean we already know the outcome here but I guess it still makes for good content lol. I honestly would have been interested in a different battle, because we already know the stock Oklahoma will lose, so this really just turns into a huge advertisement for getting a bigger/better smoker? I have an Oklahoma Joe and the first thing that I did after setting it up was secure a source of seasoning hard wood that was affordable. I just restocked this past weekend; 1/4 cord for 40$ US. I had to drive an hour to get it, but it's worth the drive because this dramatically lowers the cost of operation. I bought the smoker used and the fella I bought it from expressed how it was cheaper and more efficient to run his kettle because he was burning charcoal for fuel, not wood. There are also other cheapish mods that you can do like larger firebox and if you have a metal fabrication shop near you, even replace the smoke stack with a collector and lower it to grate level. It will cost you a couple hundred bucks but it's worth the investment if you can't in good conscience spend 4/5k on a cooker just yet.

[@Keith80027]

You did the test and answered most of my questions about the offset smoker. It comes down to the surface area of the wood and the surface area of the cooking surface with the mass of the offset making for the stable temps. Because of space in my back yard, I thinking a pizza oven might be my next move. I trying to figure out if I can use a large pizza oven like an offset to obtain the flavor of an offset.

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

I am going to try pizza in my offset soon. The oven is harder to keep low and slow

[@Fishin0676]

You probably didn't run a formal test, but curious what your gut feel is on consumption of the Huron vs Echo? Eg., cost of fuel per square inch of usable cooking space to achieve same outcomes? Guessing maybe 20% less for the Echo?

[@scottcarter9975]

Great video. I have a new bravos. Done 3 cooks now and watched gobs of fire mgment videos including yours, thank you. Question: watching the food level probes that I put on the left and the right are driving me crazy. I was thinking, "just watch the built-in therm in the center of the hood and fugget about it!" What do you think about that? Thx, Scott

[@ComparisonCooking]

The Joe just doesn’t have the right firebox/flow to use splits. You need to use those small splits like you said, and cut down by a miter saw. So it becomes, what’s the point with all the extra work to get it to the right size.

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

Agree 100%

[@paulthomas3782]

Great comparison James thanks for sharing Cheers

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

Thanks for watching!

[@henrykrinkle5353]

Great stuff, James! Not tuned in for a bit due to the winter blues and lack of BBQing opportunities, but spring is in the air and it's time to get going. Good to see you expanding your demonstrations with all of your new BBQ toys :)

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

Thanks Henry. Gotta try stuff like this before I sell them right?

[@rm_powerhouse6262]

The video that I've been waiting for a long time! Great work! Thanks! What's the cooking grate dimensions of the 85g? Looking for something similar here in Straya 😂

[@DRimple118]

Thanks James for doing this laborious task for all of us. I have a Oklahoma Joe offset smoker with all the mods you suggested. I even have it modified as a reverse smoker. I love the taste an offset can bring to the table as far as smoke goes, but man does it love wood. I go through 2 bags with a brisket. I can never really get my wood chips to combust in the ash drawer of my Kamado. What am I doing wrong? I followed your hot and fast method to a tee. Am I putting too much charcoal in the basket?

[@PatrickStrodel]

You must have been a busy fire tender keeping up with all of those smokers 😂

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

This was very hands on lol

[@doublecheeseburger1712]

The Oklahoma joe is out of place there....would be neat to see the Pecos sold by Academy Sports in its place....

[@Blackhawkae69]

Love your videos Smoking Dad! Just bought a Oklahoma Joe offset and started modified it thanks to your vids. Good picture quality on yours vids as well. Quick question though, why do you blur your backgrounds? Just noticed this on my computer screen and now I find it distracting! Doesn't make your vids less interesting though. Much love from another Canuck

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

I can turn off the mode in the camera

[@glennevitt5250]

Thank you for this information 😎

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

My pleasure

[@TheAmineMachine]

Great video. Super informative. I wonder if because the Huron uses more wood if it means that food will come out tasting more smoky (i mean that in a good way)? Have you had the chance to compare?

[@emadventures6975]

Would that be klin wood? Or seasoned

[@charlesf4428]

With all due respect, why do you continue to build your fire on the very bottom of your OKJ firebox? Place on of the grills in there and build your fire on it. It brings you fire up closer to the cooking area and allows you to scoop out the ashes during the cook for increased air flow.. Also, that dryer vent in the cooking area is ridiculous and decrements your cooking area. Installing a baffle not only keeps the temp within 20 degrees end to end, it better directs the heat to the stack. I have made these changes on mine and getting better results than your OKJ. Good Cooking Dad!!

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

Having the fire higher/drafting into the cook chamber isn’t ideal, that’s why the firebox on all offsets is as low as possible while still overlapping the cook chamber. Hot un-tempered gasses would be like cooking a brisket with my grill blazer gun and dry/crisp things up. The grates are predominantly for ash which you get more of when using charcoal. I’ve done it side by side and I have plenty of other grills that burn charcoal for heat and use wood for flavour and it’s not the same result as going just wood. This is the last video on the stock firebox floor, my semi insulated firebox is back in from here out as it helps its perform just like my larger offsets, non of which use charcoal grates and non of which try to get the fire up higher There is an infinite amount of options, I am not saying my way is right but my goal is to get food to be as similar as possible to larger offsets and this approach does better than all the others I’ve tried when comparing the results side by side

[@fevzay9315]

Hi James. Great video. Do you think the Huron has any advantages over something like a Fat Stack 120g? Im mulling these two over right now.

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

I haven’t used it or seen it in person so take my $0.02 with a grain of salt. I saw in mad scientists review of the 90 smoke leaks being positioned as a good thing and leaking air flow from the water pipe and tuned out as this air flow pattern is not ideal imo. We want like a wind tunnel uniform smoke moving over the protein… not a cross draft pulling some smoke out to the side where it’s leaking. This creates pockets of different airflow and imo is a really terrible spin to put on a product for any of these pits kind of money doesn’t happen Otherwise there are a lot of similarities and I am sure owners of either would be very happy. I might be too dismissive of used steel vs fresh steel… I mean franklins pits aren’t fresh steel either but I did like that SN pits weren’t holding chemicals or gasses in a previous life and the door wasn’t cut out of the barrel which is why there are flanges and sometimes smoke leaks vs a fresh rolled door that’s larger than the opening. Again to my knowledge not a single Texas top 50 1000 gallon was fresh steel so it’s not like it’s uncommon, but with given the choice my unconscious bias leans heavy to rather not be the Guinea pig

[@fevzay9315]

@@SmokingDadBBQ Thanks so much for your thoughtful reply, James. Happy smoking.

[@tomseeley4736]

How much extension did you put on you Oklahoma Joe

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

It was a pre made one like this - bbqsmokermods.com/lavalockr-smoke-stack-lowering-kit-for-oklahoma-joe-s-highland.html Actually think that’s the exact one I go. Drops to just above grate level

[@curtlong2060]

Thanks for the video! Where do you get your wood from? I'm in the Newmarket area and have been looking for a reliable wood sourse. Thanks!

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

I am looking for another. This is furtado farms which is good for consistency for tests like this but very expensive

[@curtlong2060]

@@SmokingDadBBQ Thanks for the reply. An update when you find another would be appreciated. I'll do the same if I find something in the area :)

[@TylerNally]

Surface Area (SA) to Volume (V) ratio has everything to do with how much heat is put off (from something that's burning) as well as how fast heat is absorbed by something being cooked. The volume has everything to do with duration of heating over a period of time. A higher ratio allows heat soaked saturation to occur quicker. Example:. You are to roast two things... 1-hummingbird. 2-elephant. Which heats quicker to being medium well? Obviously, the hummingbird. If both were wood, which burns faster? Obviously, the hummingbird. Which burns longer? Obviously, the larger volumed elephant burns far longer with more fuel to be consumed. Assuming you had equal volumes of wood (not weight) the higher ratio (SA:V) wooded sets The difference between hardwood and softwood 8s the softwood is generally more porous. It might not look like softwood is solid. The fibers of softwood aren't as tightly packed next to each other as hardwood is. You can think of softwood like a dense piece of unburnt charcoal with passageways of emptiness between the wood grain. Therefore, softwood will likely burn both hotter and be consumed faster than same size hardwood.

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

Great breakdown. Thanks

[@dannyvernon1098]

But softwoods aren't used for smoking, so I'm not sure I'm getting the point of mentioning them.

[@TylerNally]

@@dannyvernon1098 an example of high surface area wood. Even in a bonfire, softwood burns very quickly and runs hot for the same volume of wood. Essentially, because of this, this is why it's not 7sed for BBQing when you have to control duration & temperature.

[@kellyklotz1744]

I have the Oklahoma Joe and I use full splits without a problem and I don't think I use that much wood I add a split every 30-45 minutes

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

are you supplementing charcoal and or propping your draft door open? The OKJ does much better for me in warmer weather, here when it was freezing cold it used way more wood

[@kellyklotz1744]

@@SmokingDadBBQ no just start with charcoal and build with wood. I max my splits to fit the firebox

[@kellyklotz1744]

@Smoking Dad BBQ I do live in Florida and the oak is from my yard

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

@@kellyklotz1744 I think the ambient temp makes the coal bed able to survive better than it does in freezing temps

[@leidetai5082]

I am just wondering James, did your neighbor have any view on your experiment ?😊

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

Hahah we have new neighbours and they’re great. Just as into the hobby as us

[@d2kinu874]

When and where will you be selling the smokers?

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

The OKJ and Gen 1 are sold. Only the Gen 2 Carlisle is not sold

[@2005Pilot]

@@SmokingDadBBQ sounds like the Gen 2 won?

[@d2kinu874]

@@SmokingDadBBQ Is there a place that you are selling them? I'm interested if it's still available.

[@igotJesus88]

Is your wood kiln dried?

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

No this is seasoned but not kiln dried

[@Oilcruzer]

C2 had the most consistent heat line, no?

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

I might have grabbed the wrong clip but the Huron was the flattest followed shortly by the Carlisle. The Gen 1 was more spiked and the OKJ even more so

[@Oilcruzer]

@@SmokingDadBBQ Gotcha. Based on the OK Joe owner input, maybe do one more head to head against Huron using their methods? I’m not certain but it looks like the Oakies go with short, fat blocks of wood.

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

@@Oilcruzer i did their preferred style in this video - kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZCYdK1peaukmJY And found it did much worse for flavour than running just wood. Made the result similar to my Akorn Kamado

[@briandaffern5108]

It all really comes down to the thickness of the steal, thicker the steal, the more efficient the pit. When it comes down to it, off sets are expensive to run and should be looked at as a hobby, not just another bbq, and wood is an expensive fuel. It's like buying a Ferrari, you can't be worrying that you have to use premium gas.

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

Hahah wish I thought of that analogy

[@Pwr3pull]

Save your self time. Look at firewood btu charts by wood type. More btu for oak. Less btu for cherry. . If you heat your house with wood you will understan d.

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

This is all oak on all 4 so we can see how much each pit needs to maintain the same temp as to your point different wood in each wouldn’t be a fair comparison

[@maximus1200jb]

I used to have Ojoe, and I did a few mods like seals around the doors, heat deflectors, sealed the firebox with hi temp silicon, and it worked pretty well. But just like you said, you still can't go away from it for too long and have to split everything small. That being said, the workmanship in the welds of those other smokers on their website are disgusting, I've seen first time welders weld better than that and then to charge and insane price of over $6k after taxes is robbery. I would be embarrassed to post pictures of something like if I welded that.

[@staffbull]

You don’t put the part that reads the temp into the center of the onion. The onion is only a prob holder and the thermometer should be reading the air temp so you push through the onion so that the tip of probe is exposed to the air.

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

Not in the Meater. The ambient air sensor is in the flat end of the probe. The pointy part is an internal sensor and has to go past the line on the probe

[@staffbull]

@@SmokingDadBBQ nice nice feature then. I’m going to have to get one. I made this comment because I learned it the hardway.

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

@@staffbull here is my review after having it for a year or two - kzbin.info/www/bejne/hHWaeH-ghq-rp8k

[@jaskeda]

I don’t surprise that you save wood on big expensive smokers $4000 compare with $400 Oklahoma joe. And Oklahoma joes smoker supposed to use coal to contribute heat source for cooker, not wood. It so difficult to maintain constant heat without coal

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

True. I have lots of charcoal grills that require coal for heat and wood for flavour but imo an offset should do both so this is how I can maintain a wood only fire

[@denmyos]

Your fire manegement on the Oklahoma joe is wrong. You don't need to cut the splits so small . You can easily have a foot long split run. At a 10 hour cook I would usually use 10-15 splits. And have the smoker run at around 225 - 250 Yes the thin splits will make the smoker fluxuat more, but the more you practice the easier it gets.

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

A few things to add. These are seasoned splits not kiln dried. Kiln dried ones I’ve used burn easier but lack some flavour especially if I do a side by side to my larger pits using seasoned wood. Second mention is I am not adding charcoal, I have lots of charcoal grills that run charcoal for heat and wood for flavour but this product is again side by side not the same as a cook with a clean wood fire as heat and flavour.

[@CoolJay77]

Are you stating burning 12" fat logs in the OKJ, you are able to maintain temperature in the cook chamber that only fluctuates by 25 °F?

[@denmyos]

@@CoolJay77 Yes more or less. I make i coal bed with brikets and put one or two logs on. Let the temp settle (can take a hour). But the brisket on, and every time I can see the temp drop I put in about 3 none light brikets. And when the log is all most gone I ad one or two logs more. My logs are about a foot long and one or two fist wide. I'm guessing it's the coal bed and the added coal that makes the difference.

[@noeltaylor3594]

​@@denmyos With briquettes, yeah. You can vet away with it that size, but not a good quality lump.

[@MG956_]

I'm ouwwtt

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

?

[@spqrvidi]

Getting out of hand now James, really glad I am not your neighbour

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

Ya it’s a little nuts. Two are now sold so it will thin out soon, but while things are crazy I wanted to do tests like this that i won’t be able to do once I’ve sold 3/4

[@BehindTheFoodTV]

My heart hurts. Watching all of that beautiful smoke and no meat. Go apologize to your family!

[@markm5722]

Get a couple cord of maple

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

I do love maple

[@srthiago01]

I have an Oklahoma Joe for more than a year, and basically never had to use such small wood you are using. The only thing I do is to split in half, so same length. And I use one of those every 30 to 45 mins. And I'm not using those bricks. So I think you need more time using and learning the smoker before come to conclusion, otherwise it's just bad info.

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

Are you using dehydrated wood or seasoned? Are you adding charcoal or burning just wood? Are you propping open the firebox cowboy door for additional air? I’ve ran so many tests on this and compared the food to my larger offsets and have tried to get the result as close as possible. Kiln dried wood and charcoal works but doesn’t taste the same so I avoided that.

[@srthiago01]

@@SmokingDadBBQ Thank you for the video and reply. I cannot talk about comparing the taste because I never had one of those big smokers. But because this is a small smoker, it is very easy to over smoke. So this is what I do, a good coal bed from charcoal and add a "half split" every 30 to 45 minutes, and from time to time, I also add a hand full of charcoal, just to keep it going nicely (again to prevent over smoke). I usually don't have more than "half split" burning at a time. From my setup, I have a diffuser plate (again because it is a small smoker), and firebox all default. For long cook outs only thing I do for firebox is to remove ashes from below charcoal grates to keep the air going. Think this way, most of the smoke and heat on bigger smokers will not get even close to the meat, small smokers are just the opposite. At least this has been my experience.

[@srthiago01]

@@SmokingDadBBQ Sorry, forgot to answer your questions..., I use B&B wood and firebox door usually closed with vent all open, but it depends on how good is the fire or in case of a new split door will be all open for some minutes.

[@CoolJay77]

@@srthiago01 Basically you are using charcoal for heat and some wood for flavor. That is how the smoker was designed. IMO, burning mostly wood will produce siginicantly better smoke flavor. The setup that James had previously burning small logs is more tedious, but it may be worth the pain.

[@MrJunglebear1]

If I had that many stick burners in my yard ,the old lady would beat me with them

[@SmokingDadBBQ]

I’ve come close lol. I made a promise to have them (3/4) gone by may. Two are sold just pending pickup while I finish my last few comparisons where it’s handy having different kinds side by side

[@MrJunglebear1]

@@SmokingDadBBQ well in every pit master's life a little rain must fall , but have you gotten the price of brisket sermon yet , it can be interesting to find out how many other things can be bought for the price of one brisket , even at Walmart

[@MrJunglebear1]

@@SmokingDadBBQ I enjoy your smoking endeavors , but i was wondering , if you have ever tried to smoke parts of the cow that most Americans go ewwww Americans are afraid of using all the animal the world revels in , how about smoking a beef tong , or pigs feet, ox tails , parts of the animal you have to ask for in the butcher shop , bull balls , can they be smoked