Once in a while you get lucky, and luck usually doesn't come in my direction to often. A fella I know who is a member of our gun club calls me today and says; "Are you Interested in a (new) but returned Oklahoma Joes Smoker"? I said, HELL YEAH! My friend works for a big box (Home type) store and I'm sure you can guess, He asked me not to say anything as to where but this smoker/grill was a return/new. The lid, door doesn't align right and the person who was trying to assemble it, stripped many of the dam bolts. He told me they had to remove the name plate because "technically" it had to be destroyed but I got it at the stores purchase price. $150.00. I ran right up there and grabbed it! So, I've done some wrench'n, tweek'n and got'r almost like new. The door hinges are mis-aligned and welded wrong but I really don't give a $#!T. So, I can get some serious smoking done this year.
Stuff like that can't get sent back so they chalk it up as a loss and usually destroy it unless the employees want to buy it. It's a win, win if they do. My friend said they have a dumpster just full of destroyed stuff a week. Thats sad.
Now's the time to look at the big box stores for "clearance" of last years items. My local Lowes and Home Depot have an area of things 50 to 75% off going on now. They have new Inventory coming in, they can't keep the older stuff. I could tell the smoker I just got sat outside for a bit, there is surface rust in the bottom of the cooking area, no big deal for $150.00 and it's not perfect but I'll get my $$$ out of it.
Yeah man , get it going. I seasoned mine last weekend and going to fire it up this weekend for some Pastrami and Chicken for the first run. Keep us posted.
Thats how I bought my Blackstone Griddle ; Half price and I just couldn't walk by without putting it on the cart.
Nice score Dave. I love scratch & dent/returns type if stuff. Can you get a FHC logo for the name plate? Gonna bring it to NH soon? Any good smoker wood up there? EDIT: i see that it ill make the trip North.
It's one of those (favor) things. I've helped him out before on a few occasions and he know's I cook/smoke/grill at our club during our summer BBQ's, so it was just by chance it happened.
Yes, I ordered one. $17.00. Don't really need it, but for dress up... I ordered it. But sadly it doesn't say FHC; It says Oklahoma Joes!
I actually cut the nameplate off my cooker , not that I wasn't happy with the name or the quality but the location to me just looked like an after thought so I surgically removed it. You can see it in the picture on the left side of the shelf.
