My offset smoker fell apart mid-cook last Saturday

I was about 4 hours into a brisket cook on my old Oklahoma Joe when the firebox door hinge snapped right off. The whole door fell into the grass and I lost a ton of heat before I noticed. Has anyone else had a major part fail on them during a cook and how did you patch it up quick?

3 comments

3 Comments

robin59114d agoTop Commenter

I used to think you could run an offset smoker forever if you took decent care of it, but reading about your firebox door hinge snapping off changed my mind. That exact part on my own smoker has been getting wobbly lately and I always figured it would hold for a few more years. Now I'm thinking I should order a spare hinge and some heavy duty clamps before my next big cook.

jade_jenkins14d ago

You ever have a buddy whose rig just totally gave out mid cook? My friend Dave had his offset going for a brisket once and the whole handle just came off in his hand. He had to use a pair of vice grips to open the firebox for the rest of the night. Thing looked like a monster with those things hanging off it, but it actually worked fine. Always keep a backup plan in your tool box, man. Clamps and a spare hinge are cheap insurance compared to ruining a whole cook.

victor7798d agoProlific Poster

Man, that's the thing about gear (or anything really). It'll fail when you least expect it, usually at the worst possible time. It's like life has a built-in sense of humor about mechanical stuff. I've noticed that same pattern with everything from my old lawnmower to my truck's alternator. You think "eh, it's been fine for years" and then bam, you're holding a broken handle in your hand. That's why I'm a big believer in having a spare part or two on hand for anything you depend on.