Thanks for watching. What are some of your favorite modifications? Which do you think are a "must"?

@robertfeather610

6 жыл бұрын

George LaBarge great video, thanks George

@6977warrior1

6 жыл бұрын

1) A better temp gauge and 2) an extension like you seem to already have for the chimney to come out sideways a few inches, then straight up. Some have it installed on top of the smoker, but thermodynamics says that way is inefficient. Did yours come straight up or did you add a sideways extension?

@lionheart5601

5 жыл бұрын

Those plates on the bottom to even out the heat from one side to the other thats the biggest problem Ive had with my offset smoker, thanks for the solution. Did you weld those plates or are they just set in place?

@danielellis7219

2 жыл бұрын

I know Im asking randomly but does someone know a tool to log back into an instagram account?? I stupidly lost the login password. I love any help you can give me.

@derekrodney5744

2 жыл бұрын

@Daniel Ellis Instablaster :)

Nice I'm from South Africa and your build have inspired me to build a smoker BBQ 👍🏻👍🏻

Excellent recommendations. I've got my braided seals coming, and just texted a friend who works in a metal shop for the final tip. Great idea.

GREAT JOB... THANKS FOR HELPING THIS MAMA WORK HER SMOKER! I APPRECIATE YOU TAKING THE TIME TO SHOW US HOW TO MODIFY OUR SMOKERS! THANK YOU!

Just wanted to send out a HUGE THANK YOU for this video. I have old Char Broil smoker for 8 years. My wife and I stopped using it 5 years ago because of ALL the leaks from the firebox and smoking chamber. We basically bought a Big Green Egg and been using that instead. But I thought about it and decided it was stupid to not get some use out of old grill. I finally got around 3 weeks ago to work on this project. It took me 2 days of work but I am finally finished. I did all the mods except the temperature gauges. It makes a huge difference. I just finished the charcoal basket today. It cost me $35 total and that includes the angle grinder, blade, and expanding metal. Am going to test some brisket on tomorrow. Can finally also grill on this as well as my Big Green Egg as well.

You do a great job explaining things giving reasons for what you do and I appreciate learning from you keep making videos

Very useful tips, exactly what I was looking for. Thanks.

Great video! I really like the steel plates in the bottom, going to get to work on these modifications ASAP!Thanks bro!

great job. Man your smoker is in good shape for 3 years of use

Newbie to smoker. Thank you for all thear hints

Great video, played automatically after your fire management video and as i was observing the smoke 💨leaks over my smoker.

@georgelabarge4985

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks hopefully gives you a couple of ideas for improving your smoker!

Great video! Lots of information presented in a clear manner.

Great videos...what great, thorough information!

Thank you so much this really helps me with my smoker

You are a genius! Awesome vid.

This is a great video. I am doing all 6 mods.

great job. Will use these tips.

Grate video, got my first offset today.

Awesome video! Thank for the info!!!

Awesome video, thanks.

Nice video, thanks.

I’ve had a DynaGlo horizontal smoker for a few years and have made most if not all of the recommended modifications...they work pretty well. I plan to move the chimney...soon as I figure out where to...and the best way, with the tools available. Open to suggestions.

Great video, thanks. Now I know what to do while I'm saving for my Lone Star.

Great vid, I am picking up a smoker his weekend and I have the rtv ready. Not super handy and want to properly seal as I install. I feel like I only get one shot, have to make the rtv bead perfect? I guess I am going to mostly Tighten the bolts, make sure it’s line up, ease back, spread the bead and then lock it in. Would love to see a video of mods during unboxing/install. Most seem to just do it as band aids

Hey George, thanks for the video. We cant all afford a Yoder or even to break the $500 mark so this is helpful: I wouldnt have thought of a couple of these! And hey, just shrug off the armchair experts here who dont understand that sealing the chamber actually makes for a healthier smoke by drawing air from where it is supposed to come from (and keeps the temp and smoke flowing over the food and out the chimney). Thanks man, keep it up!

My best mod is adding a DIY cold smoker to my grill. added rotisserie kit and the best mode for me is Hight adjustable grates. soon I will post my DIY video.

Very nice presentation

Awesome video, I'm assembling mine tonight. Did you glue your door gaskets with high-temp RTV or just use the adhesive that came on the gaskets? Thank You !!

I lucked out i got a old school brinkmann for my first smoker. Nice and thick

My smoker has a clamshell lid rather than a hatch. Any suggestions on an alternative to the toggle clams in this case?

Thanks for the links man. The old lady and my girls tried to gift a bigger grill for me as a Christmas present but bought a low quality offset smoker instead of a grill not knowing the difference. Although I love the gift and a new hobby, the material, design and craftsmanship of this boxstore model is just subpar and embarrassing. Nothing is sealed, metal is cheap, welding is atrocious and the dimensions are so off I don't see how a company would want to put their name on it. But nonetheless it can be modified with a little work and know how to make it actually perform its intended function. There's just simply no way this thing could do what it claims as is. Right off the bat you went right to the problem areas and provided the exact material and links I needed on the first video I clicked on. Good looking out brother 👍

cool!

great video. can you please also do a vid on how properly care for the grill.

@georgelabarge4985

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks, next time I make a BBQ video, I'll do a segment on how I take care of it.

hi bro. did you put baffle plate across the cooking chamber?

I have the exact brinkmann smoker and have had it about 2.5 years..I did the exact same mods and your right they are essential to make this smoker a cooking monster. The only other thing I did, you may have thought of it was I cut a 4 inch diameter length of dryer hose attached to the inside of the chimney to bring the heat down to the grate level and I regularly get a 10 degree difference from hot end to the chimney....so the mods are crtical, good video...

@georgelabarge4985

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the comment! Great additional mod tip. I thought about it, but, once I tried out the performance of mine after the mods I did and I was happy with the way it performed, so I left it as is. There have been a few times I've been glad I didn't make that mod, like when I cooked four 9lb pork butts at one time. Never would have fit them all in there 😉. Sure you could probably remove that if you wanted to.

what is the size of the wheel hole?is it half inch or 3/4. or do i need a barring plug

Which is better offset smoker dyna glo heavy duty or Oklahoma joe highland

If I primarily smoke meats at 220, do you think the steel plates are a needed mod? Thanks for the video!

@georgelabarge4985

6 жыл бұрын

The plates are not necessary, but they serve 2 purposes that will help your pit cook better. 1) They act as a heat sink and will hold heat in your pit for the temp to recover faster when you open the cooking chamber. 2) They will distribute the heat across the pit and help to even the temperatures from one side to the other. Otherwise the side next to the fire box will be much hotter than the other side, you could have a 50 degree difference in temperature from one side to the other. If you are only using the thermometer in the lid of your cooker, you will never know about this difference in temp and will wonder why food is not cooking evenly.

Hey George! Great video. I just got my smoker and I’m implementing a few of these. Curious how you installed the Toggle Clamps? Did you drill and rivet? What’s the best way to attach? I definitely need those.

@georgelabarge4985

5 жыл бұрын

Hi Nick. I just drilled and attached with a sheet metal screw. Just drill the hole slightly smaller than the thread size and they will self tap into the steel. Good luck.

@NickRizzi411

5 жыл бұрын

@@georgelabarge4985 Ah, that is surprisingly easy ha. I thought it was something complicated to keep the seal. Great! Thanks so much, love your video and sent it to my dad too. Will give it a shot.

Have you ever used fire bricks or normal bricks to keep the temp up in the cold? I want to try it but I have heard warnings.

@georgelabarge4985

6 жыл бұрын

No, never tried putting bricks inside. I have heard of this mod though. It should help. Might want to be careful on the type of brick. I would use bricks made from natural materials. If you have the steel baffle plates like mine, might also have concern of blocking air flow with the bricks. But try it and see what happens. Good luck.

@salvadorhurtado3704

6 жыл бұрын

I used to have bbq lava rock in my smoker It worked good it helped to hold a good temp

Have you tried anything to seal the ash drawer? That's my biggest issue with this particular model. Very convenient but too much oxygen gets to the fire. Thanks for the video.

@georgelabarge4985

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks Trent, good point. Let me tell you, I thought about doing that early on, but for my setup with all the other mods what I found was that I had a hard time getting to temps above 300 deg. When I want to get a higher temp than having my vent completely open, I'll crack the ash drawer a little and it helps get it a little hotter. I think if I would have sealed it up, I might have not been able to get enough oxygen to get to the higher temps for cooking things like chicken.

Wow great mods. I have bought and put together the Royal Gourmet smoker and the smoker lid is so light and has no sealing effect at all. I did lay the high temp gaskets but it still has no seal to it. I thought of buying a 5 lb. weight and attaching the the handle. Please tell me what you think. Thank you for your videos I'll be watching them and learning! Thanks

@georgelabarge4985

3 жыл бұрын

I'm not too familiar with that smoker. The lid is designed differently than mine so toggle clamps won't work. You might have to experiment. There might only be so much you can do to improve that one.

Hi George - a great set of videos that you have here. Regarding this one with the smoker mods, I am very interested in the tuning plates and baffle. I know you shared that they are 6" wide but how many of those did you use including the size and length of the baffle? I have the exact same smoker and going to a metal shop on Monday to get these made and according to my measurements, it looks like the plates would be 13" long - the smoker is around 40 1/2 long so would that mean 14 plates and then one more 9 or 10" long plate (with a bend) for the baffle? Does that sound about right?

@georgelabarge4985

5 жыл бұрын

Hi Randall, I think I bought about 7 pieces of steel for my baffle, and I'm using 6 of them. Here is what I did: 1st pc was cut a little longer and was used to block off the fire box inlet. Using a piece of cardboard 6" wide, I placed it on an angle so the top covered the fire box and the bottom rested on the bottom grate rail at about a 45 degree angle. I cut the cardboard for a template so there were no gaps around the sides. This piece will be longer than the others. Then when I got my steel, I traced this template onto my steel and using a disk grinder, cut the piece. No bending needed. That is all the cutting you should need to do, the rest of the pcs will drop in if they are cut to the length between your bottom grate rail. The next piece was butted up tight to the angled pc to help hold it in place, I never welded anything. You may need to stack a 2nd piece on top of this first one if the angled pc starts sliding down on you. Then I would place the remaining pcs leaving about 1/8 gap, then 1/4" gap, then 1/2" gap going from right to left on my smoker. You don't want to run the pieces the full length of your smoker, leave about 6" or so gap at the end. You can play with the spacing until you get it how you like. Oh, another tip... When you get your steel, I washed it off with soap & water to remove the mill oil, then rubbed it down with vegetable oil to protect it before installing them. (mine don't rust now) Hope this helps.

@menchy954

5 жыл бұрын

@@georgelabarge4985 Thank you, George, especially for the tips on the vegetable oil. I am getting these tomorrow from the metal shop I will surely send a picture of the finished product.

Just purchased my new offset smoker, will tear back apart to do mods. You said you'd put links to the items you used, but I don't see the links. Could you list them please?

@georgelabarge4985

6 жыл бұрын

Hi Lynne, just check the video description underneath the video where it says "show more" and I have the links listed there for the different products.

have you modded your smoke box stack to extend down closer to the rack?

@georgelabarge4985

6 жыл бұрын

Hi Andrew. Thanks for the comment. No, I didn't make any modifications to the smoke stack. I know I've seen some mods where you use a dryer vent tube that does that, but I was getting great results from the mods I did do, so I didn't do that to mine.

Great video the one thing people forget is that a off set smoker is designed for log wood not wood charcoal. Whole wood logs work much better it doesn't burn as fast as wood charcoal. Every thing else is in the money

where did you get tuning plates guess i could make them or what r the dimensions of the plates

@georgelabarge4985

6 жыл бұрын

I bought them from a local steel supplier. They are 6" wide and 1/4" thick. Measured the width of the bottom rack rails inside my pit and had the supplier cut them to this length for me. Using a 6" wide piece of cardboard, made a template for the piece that seals off the firebox, then used that to cut a piece to fit using a disc grinder with cutoff wheel. Wasn't that hard. Hope this helps.

@Dangerous_Dave_

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the tips George. Did you weld in the plates?

I installed baffle plates and removed them after my first time using them. It dried the underside of my brisket out. I noticed the heat was coming from the bottom too much. Now I just use what my OK Joe came with, nothing ! Just keep your cooks closer to the stack for best results.

Did you scuff up the paint with sandpaper before applying the gasket?

@georgelabarge4985

4 жыл бұрын

No, applied firebox gasket using the red RTV as adhesive and for the cooking chamber just applied the gasket right to the cooker. Neither of them has started to peel off after over 2 years. So I think it worked.

@TheIndianscout

4 жыл бұрын

@@georgelabarge4985 Thanks for the reply.Im about to set mine up today.

For got to add the links mentioned in the video for the sealant, gasket material for doors and charcoal basket. Also were did you find the toggle clamps? I just purchased a chargrill offset smoker and plan to us some of the mods you suggest. Thanks for the information.

@georgelabarge4985

6 жыл бұрын

Hi Dan, Yes links are in the video description right above the comments here. Just click the show more and you will see all of them there. These can all be purchased on Amazon, including the toggle clamps. The charcoal basket link takes you to another KZread video that does a good job of showing how to make one. There is also a link to my blog article that explains a lot of the same things the video does. All the Amazon links are my affiliate links, so they don't cost you anything, but help me out a little bit. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.

@jeanniebuchholz9923

6 жыл бұрын

Dan Stophel You can probably find those clamps in a wood working tool store or in the tool aisle at a big box store. Good luck.

Hi George, hope you're enjoying your modified smoker. Quick question about the gasket you recommend (amzn.to/2u5NN2F​), the comments on Amazon are, for the most part, negative, it seems it is a hit or miss in terms of quality. I am about to start the mods you so kindly shared with us, wonder if others have asked you the same question, or if you have any other suggestions. Really appreciate your input.

@georgelabarge4985

3 жыл бұрын

I think most of the complaints are about the adhesive. When I did mine, I used a bead of RTV silicone to help glue it down. I haven't had any issues with mine since. Good luck.

@arimenmo3930

3 жыл бұрын

@@georgelabarge4985 George, I really appreciate your answer, and your generosity sharing with us your modifications, plus all the materials needed. You're a good man, sir. Thanks again. Ari M.

How hard was it replace those wheels

@georgelabarge4985

6 жыл бұрын

The wheels were pretty easy to replace. I found these at Harbor Freight for about $5 each. My axle was a little smaller than the inner bearing of the wheel, but I didn't mess with it and just put it on. I guess I could have bought a spacer bushing to fill the gap. It still works much better than the original wheels.

Has anyone thought of the possibility that the sealant used becomes toxic when heated and could cause health problems.

Good place to pick up some plate steel for cheap is the local metal recycling yards. I have one near me and they always have plate steel, varying sizes and thickness for a fraction of retail prices!!

No neck George.

Don't use that RTV.....a full chimney of charcoal will melt it easily. Get it welded or leave it alone. And a charcoal basket?! This is a stick burner....if you are using charcoal, you bought the wrong unit.

@georgelabarge4985

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the comment. I have to disagree on the RTV. I've had mine on my pit for over 3 years and it's still there doing it's job. I agree, welding would be the best method, but this video was for people trying to fix up their cheap offsets with limited resources. I do burn wood in mine for every cook, but I also get my fire started with a base of charcoal. I think the basket serves another purpose, it keeps the wood and coals centered and off the sides of the firebox, which I believe has extended the life of the paint job. My pit still doesn't have any rust on it.

@digitalayon

6 жыл бұрын

It's all good man.....But how much total in time and money did you spend doing that stuff? I had a modern Oklahoma Joe a few years ago(never again will Ibuy a COS). I paid a welder 50 bucks to weld it all together and remove and re-bend the doors so they fit properly without having to add any gaskets. That was cheaper than a tube of RTV, stove gasket kit, and chamber gasket kit.

After doing all mods, you should just buy Yoder , cost 3 times more but will last lifetime 75 year warranty

None of those modifications are necessary whatsoever