20 Best Value Offset Smoker (2022 Updated)

I purchased this online through Amazon. Ordered it on Sunday, received it on Wednesday. I was excited to get it put together and start using it. I put it together by myself. Two people would be easier.

The Oklahoma Joe’s emblem was broken off the lid when i opened the box, not a big deal. just used high temp silicone to hold it on. The major problems with this smoker are; The main compartment lid and the firebox lid are not even close to fitting correctly, the firebox is held together by 4 bolts, 2 on the left side and two on the right side.

after assembly there was a 1/4″ gap in the front and rear of the firebox. The Longhorn smoker leaks smoke like a sieve. I purchased gasket sealers for the main compartment and firebox. both lids still have major leaks.

added two after market clamps to the main compartment, still leaks. i have ordered extra clamps for both firebox and the main compartment. hopefully this will correct that. The firebox half, I sealed with a half tube of high temp sealer.

On the burn in, it is recommended for a temp of 250-300 degrees. Well, the paint on the firebox was bubbling up and burning off. I have had this for just over a week. the firebox now droops down on the right side.

the heat seems to weaken the metal on the right side of the main compartment where the firebox is attached. I bought an automotive jack stand to hold it up. Also you will need to seal the exhaust pipe and cap for leaks.

You would think for the amount of money these cost, the tolerances would be much better. how hard should it be to match a lid to the smoker and have it fit? The temperature across the cooking surface was not as even as Oklahoma Joe’s claims.

So I purchased an after market solid steel baffIe. This helped with two things, one, it helped keep the temperature even and 2, I had to remove the inside mount for the factory baffle plate and drill holes in the new baffle and use the top 2 bolts for the firebox, but what it did was help the firebox from drooping by reenforcing the main compartment.

I very tired of sending thing back so I just decided to make this work. But by the time you spend Time and the money you need to to make this smoker preform correctly, you would be better off just buying a higher quality one to begin with.

I could have had a 1/4″ thick steel smoker that was all welded and ready to go for the same amount I have spent on this Oklahoma Joe’s reverse longhorn smoker, this is half the thickness. Bottom line, this smoker is not ready to go out of the box.

you need to spend time and money to make it work correctly.

I have had this grill for a few years now and it works fine, I don’t have most of the issues other people are complaining about. However I have one issue that bothers me greatly, the poor application of the paint inside the smoker, particularly the lid.

When I heated it up really high, the paint inside the lid began to run, not good. It has run every where. I have tried brushing it off and grinding it off. I am slowly making progress. I know powder coating is more expensive but I also know it is more durable than paint and less susceptible to run at high temperature >400 F.

Other than this one manufacturing process flaw, the smoker is great. I don’t expect the paint to stand up to the temperatures in the fire box, so I have no complaints there. Just increase your quality control and paint application process and I think you would get less complaints about your paint.

I’m a professional chef and I’ve made some delicious food with the highland. I taught myself how to smoke using it. But it has issues. A lot of them. The materials are low quality and the parts are poorly fitting.

I’m assuming they’re using some of the cheapest steel they can get their hands on. Not durable. The bottom grate has broken off from the legs and I need to prop the whole thing on blocks now. It leaks terribly and temperature control is very difficult.

I need to check the fire every 15 minutes to make sure it hasn’t gone out or isn’t blazing hot. I find smoking meat to be more of a chore than anything with this smoker even though the results are usually great if you put the work in.

I shouldn’t have to also be a welder for my smoker to work properly though. Overall it’s not a bad entry point for someone to learn on especially because you have to really learn temperature control to get good results.

I just received this smoker to replace one I bought many years ago and finally had to dispose due to age and rust. A couple of initial impressions: 1) this is made of VERY thin metal, probably about 1/2 the thickness of the metal on my old one – but at $190 these days you get what you pay for; 2) the assembly instructions are pretty bad; the instructions say 15 minutes, but it will take longer, especially if you are not used to figuring things out on your own; 3) you’ll never need all six racks – they are so close together, you could only put some small links of sausage or chicken wings between racks if you try to use all 6 at once; this thing will leak smoke and heat like a sieve – go to the review on www.

burningbrisket. com and click on the links for heat resistant gasket and caulk – you’ll need to seal this to ever get it hot enough to smoke meat. I plan to do an initial seasoning burn tomorrow, followed by first use to smoke some meat, and then will post a more detailed review.

I’m hoping that the positive reviews on several sites reviewing smokers will turn out to be true.

This smoker is a great value for the price, with a few caveats. This smoker is made with no fancy parts. It is simple and appears to be designed for modifications and upgrades. There is no heat deflector from the fire box to the smoke box and no gasket material between doors and body but can be easily added.

The thermometer is cheap and not accurate but can be easily changed. These things aren’t negatives if you plan to make this into a decent smoker, and if you do it can be a really good smoker. The ratio of firebox and smoke chamber sizes make it easy to keep temperature if you use a water pan.

It comes with pleanty of stainless grates making smoking a bunch of meat convenient. One negative thing is that the paint on the back of the fire box started peeling after the second use but it doesn’t bother me much.

Takes some getting used to. If the weather is too cold or windy – doesn’t really work that well. However, on calm days it smokes meat (especially brisket or a side of salmon) beautifully. You WILL need to seal the cracks to keep heat and smoke from escaping.

My advice is to purchase a digital thermometer for these types of smokers as the temperature gauge they come with is completely unreliable. We purchased an Ink Bird digital thermometer to use with this and now the whole setup works like a charm.

So far, for the price, it seems to be a good smoker. When you buy this go in with the understanding that you will need to seal up many sections to keep the smoke from escaping. I was able to do this with some sealant made specifically for smokers and grills.

It only took about 20 minutes to complete. Compared to spending a couple hundred more dollars for a better sealed smoker, I think it was a good trade off. Also, be aware that you should hand tighten the screws the hold the lid onto the smoker.

I used a drill and ended up ripping out the studs that are used as hinges. Had to replace those myself. Good size cooking area. Metal is decently thick.

It’s pretty decent for what you pay for. I brought it because I never had a charcoal bbq before and didn’t want to invest to much just incase I didn’t like it. Its pretty light and doesn’t feel super solid.

but for what you pay for it is really good. I have used it several times now and quite like it. Easy to put together, easy to clean. If you don’t have a tonne of money to afford a middle of the line bbq, or just want to try out bbq/smoking without putting a ton of money in this is really good.

If you think this isn’t a good quality bbq for what you paid for you expect way too much.

If you want to see if smoking meat is a thing you would like to try, without spending a lot of money, this is it. You have to take your time putting it together, there are lots of parts. Make sure you cure the paint, dont cook on it the first time you light it! fire box heat tape and sealer should be used during assembly because there are many places smoke escapes.

Smoker fire box doors are too small to remove spent coal tray. Cover is not made to fit over the chimney, it will cut through eventually. Thermometer is not accurate, so dont trust it. Its not bad for the money.

I give it 3 1/2 stars.

Was looking for a horizontal smoker but none were available, so I saw this one on Amazon. I was familiar with Dyna-glo, I have a kerosene heater that works well, so thought I would give it a try. UPS took longer to deliver the smoker, and Amazon couldn’t help with that issue but it finally arrived 3 days late.

The box had been taped back together heavily & was damaged in a few places. I almost refuse at first but took pictures & call Amazon. At first glance, the smoker is well made with thick steel & good paint.

But I noticed right away that the door latches were bent & the rivets were broken on them. The next was the Dyna-glo badge was loose, one of the bolts was broken off, causing it to be very loose. Amazon offered a discount to keep the smoker, which I did to save them from return shipping.

I then unpacked the entire smoker to prepare assembly. The paint was scuffed/scratched in places, but nothing severe. Only the water bowl was seriously missing baked on enamel paint. Not sure if that will be an issue.

This is a very well made smoker, and anyone looking for a smoker should consider this one.

I chose this smoker for cubic inches and wanting to try something different whe I wanted to upsize my 23 year old Brinkmann S&P. After reading all the reviews on this smoker and lining up with what I had to spend,not bad for the price.

Dyna Glow should include door gaskets,silicone to the kit. I would strongly suggest that everyone buy these parts to turn this into a 1st class economical smoker. Most of the complaints that I read were about leaks.

I ordered all my sealing material when I ordered my smoker. One suggestion that I have for Dyna Glow is that they weld offset coupling bracket one side or the other to minimize leaks. Too hot to minimize leaks in that area.

Great for low and slow in the summertime but I think it’s going to take too much fuel in the cooler temperatures. Will not hold 225~250 without using wood or a helluva lot of charcoal. Thermometer is junk~40 degrees off.

Replaced immediately and added a 2nd. Top lock failed immediately,never worked. Use a cotter pin to keep closed. Have a 2nd cotter pin ready just in case. Also,never did receive charcoal grate Q, received 3 cooking grates R.

Got this first of August,packed well,simple instructions,okay for experienced smokers. Made some sheet metal mods,will get back with pictures. POrk butt and brisket this weekend!.

Easy installation, 30 minutes. Be sure to spray it with pam spray or oil it up and then get a good fire started. That’s the most important it breaks it in and also helps prevent paint from peeling. I smoked 2 racks of ribs came out really good.

It maintained 225 degrees for 4 hrs more or less you just have to help by maintaining the fire box. The firebox sits really low but the cooking racks can be adjusted. Over all nice smoker for the price.

Great Smoker!! Love the construction, easy set up. Heavy frame, but easy to move around. Initially had issues with keeping my temperature, but that was on my end!! Ribs and chicken are EVERYTHING from this smoker.

This grill/smoker looks like most of the more expensive ones, but the metal is a lot thinner. Once received and put together, it seemed to do what its intended to do. However, some insulation should be applied to the doors/lid openings and the chimney/dampener as smoke seeps from some of everywhere, which indicates the numerous air leaks.

Once the leaks are sealed, it seems to hold temperature better. Other than that, this grill works pretty good. While doing the initial burn, it was insane trying to maintain the recommended temperature, but I got through it.

Comes packages with a pretty intimating amount of pieces. I put together most of the grill but got to the smoker part and realized the side door screw holes don’t align properly. Another review described it perfectly.

There’s 3 holes on the door hinge but only 2 hole on the smoker to attach. (Head scratcher) The instructions actual shows a diagram pic showing a door with 3 hole but directing to use 2. So they purposely shipped it like that.

Why does the hinge have 3 holes !? That wouldn’t be too big of a deal but because the holes arent lined in the right position the door doesn’t attached correctly. It’s almost like that door is for a different model but they try cutting cost by shipping it with this model.

So now I wasting hours of my life assembling, unassembling, and repackaging this crappy grill. To any one considering this grill. I don’t think it’s worth the risk of getting a dud. Even if it was fully assembled it’s not that good of a grill.

Thanks for wasting my Saturday.

It looks good and starting to cook on it. So will see how cooking goes. This was the most difficult piece to put together than anything we have put together. First, it was atleast a 2 person operation that took a few days to get together with many parts/screws.

The directions were not clear and many times we had to try steps in different ways to make it sturdy. Some of holes did not line up. we were thinking of sending it back but stuck to it, took breaks, etc.

Honestly, i would not recommend this experience to anyone. The materials themselves are not real sturdy, either. We will see how well it cooks.

I’ve now used this smoker twice since I purchased it and I’m very happy with the results. The smoker box is fairly large, I was able to comfortably fit 3 large racks of ribs and 3 pounds of chicken wings at once and there was still plenty of room between the meat for proper smoking.

The charcoal box is easy to use and large enough to to smoke for a few hours without needing a refill. I used mostly lump (wood) charcoal and added non-charcoal wood chunks on top create the smoke flavor and it worked great.

My only knock is that built as-is out of the box there is some smoke/heat loss between the charcoal box and the smoke box as well as out the smoke box doors. I was able to improve this significantly by using food grade thermo-silicone to seal the connection the boxes as well as a installing firebox gasket around the door.

Now there is no smoke loss at all and it is easier to maintain a consistent temperature in the smoker.

This item was very easy to put together. Followed easy instructions. Also followed the instructions for “seasoning” the smoker. Did see there were a couple areas that will need liquid gasket and i think the doors should have a gasket as well.

Easy to buy and do this yourself. Even with the small added expense this smoker is a great deal.

I like this cooker very much. I seasoned it one day and the next day I used the smoker box. The food came out pretty good considering it was my first time using the smoker box. I used charcoal with wood.

The next time I used the main grill cooking with the lid closed. It also came out pretty good, but next time I’ve got to remember to spread the coals out more evenly. It leaks smoke but I’m not going to do all the sealing that other people are doing, because it cooks fine just the way it is.

I’m very happy with it so far and know I’ll get better at using it. One other thing, when I cooked in the main grill the charcoal lasted for about three hours and that was with the vents closed and the stack closed.

Meat always tastes better with a little smoke.

Nicely made offset smoker. Assembly was easy and the instructions were very clear and had good photos as well. I would have used a little larger hardware in some areas had I designed it. The smoker “fits” tightly to hold heat and is easily controlled.

The only thing I would change, is the firebox is on the side that you lift to roll the unit and there is no good place to grab. Firebox should have been over the wheel end of the cart.

I absolutely LOVE this grill. It’s large, easy to move and was SUPER easy to put together. I did it myself while watching a movie with my 12 year old lol. The only downside is that the grease from the food leaked out of base and dripped on the storage tray below on one side.

The pan to catch that hangs in the grill so there is space on the sides for grease to slip out. Not major unless you have stuff sitting under there while you are grilling.

I had to wait several weeks after purchase before I could unbox and assemble. During the wait, I looked a lot of You Tube “how-tos”. I’m glad I did. As I began the unbox, the first part out of the box was damaged.

One corner of the bottom tray was mangled and bent, probably due to a forklift or some such. The last part out of the box, the lid, had a couple of dents, also probably from rough handling during shipping or storing.

The box itself was pretty much crumpled and there was a hole torn in the same spot where the bottom tray was damaged. Regardless, I did my best to straighten the bent corner with pliers but could not budge the dent in the lid, even with a rubber mallet, which says something for the gauge of the steel! After assembly which took longer than I thought, but I was careful and torqued all the bolts really good, I was ready for the first burn-in.

I did not use any RTV to seal seams nor did I used any gasket seal; I wanted to first see what would happen. I had read all the negative stories about blistering paint and smoke leaks, so I was cautious.

There was indeed some sort of oil on the insides, and the instructions said that if this was the first burn-in it would not be necessary to cure the metal. Regardless, I did cure it and then re-sprayed with Canola and cured it again.

Took several hours, but I was satisfied with the results. I was also careful to keep the temperature under 500 degrees, closer to 400 throughout: no blisters. I put charcoal in both the firebox and the main drum and that worked well.

The next day I cooked with a combination of direct heat and indirect heat and added wood chunks to the firebox. I cooked several chickens, some with sauce and some without; some spatchcocked and some not, sausages, London Broil, and some salmon.

They all turned out beautifully. I may do some mods in the future with more thermometers and gaskets, but for now I’m just going to enjoy the cooking.

After having two 55 gallon drum smokers, and my gas grill get smashed by a massive pine tree that fell, I’ve been without a BBQ for a while. Did some research, and Idecided on the Bronco, since it’s a familiar platform.

I literally just picked this up today, and brought it home. It was purchased online through a third party/box store, and delivered to a local store. It took two weeks for it to get in, and when I went to pick it up, the bottom of the box was damaged.

Poor shipping on the box store’s part, no fault of OklahomaJoe’s that I can tell. Since it was just the cardboard, and a small bit of the interior Styrofoam that was busted up, and the damage didn’t seem to extend to the product itself, I took it home.

Upon assembly, a couple of the holes which mate the bottom half of the barrel to the top are too close to the body of the drum to allow use of the provided washers. The interior attachment points/threads were not welded in straight, and made assembly of the two halves difficult, but we got it done.

The next issue came when attempting to put the wheels on, as the axle just so happened to be in the bottom of the box, attached to that damaged piece of Styrofoam. it fell out at some point after the box was damaged.

After a call to the store it was purchased from, they’re working with me on a replacement, and here we wait. Overall, not having the ability to use it yet, I’m going to call it, just okay. The guage of the steel used in the body is quite sturdy, and much heavier that a 55 gallon drum.

The stainless, and ceramic coated parts seem well built, and the packaging was great. Once we can get the replacement axle, complete the assembly, and give it a few runs, my opinion might change.

Had this now for a few years, is it perfect?? No. But with a little practice and time spent, it is awesome! I bought some silicone to help seal it up. But never used it. It is a stick burner. So it requires some baby sitting.

But to me, that’s part of the bbq experience. Hanging around the pit with a beverage or 6. Have it loaded up now with 3 huge butts. There are better pits out there. But for the money this thing rocks.

275 – 300 once you find the spot for the the top and the door is no problem all day long. I start it up on charcoal and then switch to all hardwood. Just cut it down to fit. Clean it out after every cook as and keep it covered, will last for years.

Total newbie to smoking, and using trial and error until friends more experienced can come help. There’s a Youtube video where a guy puts this very model together, so that was helpful. It took me a little over an hour but was pretty straightforward.

I’m a young, physically fit man, so I could see others finding a second hand useful. I had been finding it very difficult to get the thing up to temp (especially as we head into late fall here in Michigan), and getting it to 400 for the seasoning process seemed like it’d never happen.

But I discovered that if you open the hatch on the vertical chamber itself for a bit, it really helps with airflow and the temp skyrockets. Also I’ve used a separately bought digital grill thermometer and it consistently reads 20 degrees or so hotter than the stock, fixed one.

The smoke definitely spills out of everywhere so I might need to look into some sort of gasket or treatment if I don’t want to keep seeing 10 degree drops every 20 minutes, and keep adding more wood/charcoal.

But overall I’m really happy with my purchase.

I’ve had mine for almost a year and have used it a lot. No complaints at all. Yeah, some surface rust, but stays outside year round. That has no impact on its utility. I adjust temp largely with top vent, not the firebox vent.

I start with lump charcoal and add mesquite to maintain temp. If you can’t be bothered to look after the fire, buy a pellet smoker. Me, I have 80 acres of mesquite, am retired, and enjoy adult beverages while I baby my meat.

As it were.