DrumPit Basics.....Or.....How I use my UDS..
 

This isn't meant as a strict "This is what you gotta do, or else!!" guide, but merely a collection of my observations and thoughts about the way my DrumPit drives. With that being said, let me point out that every DrumPit handles a little different and I present this as a point of reference only. I've noticed that there have been many inquiries into the how and why of lighting fire and maintaining temp in the Ugly Drum Smoker and I want to share some of the finer points of what I have learned over the years.

1. The Charcoal Basket. The Heart Of The DrumPit…

http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/w...al_Basket4.jpg

My Charcoal Basket is the diameter of a Weber Replacement Coal Grate and measures 12 inches tall. The grate is suspended about 3 inches above the bottom of the basket and will hold about 12-14 pounds of Charcoal. This is enough Charcoal to cook for 14+ hours easily, low and slow. The thing about an UDS is that you never waste any Charcoal. When the food is done simply close all of the air intakes and the exhaust then over a short period of time the Charcoal will extinguish itself from lack of oxygen. Next time you get ready to cook just take the basket out, carefully, and shake the ash loose from the remaining Charcoal into a metal ash can. This ensures that, in the unlikely event that there is a live coal, you won’t burn the yard up, or your house down. Safety First Farkers!!!

Now, I like to fill my basket with a layer of unlit charcoal about a third of the way up from the basket bottom and then place three fist sized or smaller chunks of dry smoking wood into the Charcoal, at the ten, two and six positions, (visualize a clock face). Add another third full and repeat placement of the wood, this time at the eight, twelve and four positons. Then add another third of Charcoal.
From the now filled Charcoal Basket, take out 13 pieces of Charcoal from the center of the pile, and place into a Charcoal Chimney, (You Do Have A Chimney, Right?) Drizzle some Olive Oil onto a sheet of loosely crumpled newspaper and place under the bottom of the Charcoal Chimney. Now I light my Charcoal Chimney on the coal grate of my Weber Grill, but in the past have used a metal bowl with good results.
http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/w...m/Starter5.jpg

Ignite the newspaper around the perimeter of the bottom of the Charcoal Chimney with one of those extended Grill Lighters. In fifteen to twenty minutes the Charcoal will be ashed over and ready to be returned to the void that was left in the center of the Charcoal Basket.
http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/w...oalsReady6.jpg

Wearing Heavy Work Gloves,(Remember, Safety First!!) place the now lit Charcoal Basket into the center of the bottom of the Drum Smoker.

2. Air Intake and Exhaust. The Breath of The DrumPit…

I outfitted my UDS with three 1” i.d. black pipe nipples, one of these has a 90* elbow with a 30” length vertical pipe on the side ending in another 90* elbow.
http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/w..._Saturday4.jpg

I’ve read that some have had issues with using the vertical riser pipe with a ball valve to regulate the Air Intake, and of that I have no practical experience but I expect the trouble may be caused by either the inside diameter of the riser pipe used, the height of the pipe in relation to the exhaust height or the fact that the diameter of the opening in the ball valve is restricting Air Intake into the Drum too much to be practical. I use Magnets on my DrumPit to regulate Air Intake, in the beginning Sheet Magnets and later switching to nice Ceramic Ones. They Work Great!!
http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/w...ke_Choked9.jpg

For my exhaust I use the 2” bung opening, threaded with an 8” tall black pipe nipple and ending in a 90* nipple. The only thought I gave to this approach? ”Man!! That Looks Cool!!!” I lucked up in that respect, this seemed to be just the right combination to work well for me.
http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/w...Blue_Wait7.jpg


Okay, the Charcoal Basket is in the DrumPit, time to catch the cooking temp and make with the Sweet Blue. Lid is secured on top. Exhaust is wide open. Air Intakes are wide open. Time to sit back and wait. Enjoy an Adult Refreshment or two. No need to be concerned with Smoke production or lack there of at this point.
We just want to catch our target cooking temperature as the heat increases. This part of the journey, on average, can be from twenty to thirty minutes. As the heat approaches the target temp, within ten degrees or so, I start dampening down the Air Intakes. First the two pipe nipples are completely closed at the bottom of the DrumPit, then on to the vertical pipe. Normally, the vertical pipe is dampened to a little less than half open to maintain a cooking temp of 250* for hours.

A thought about those pesky, runaway temperatures. The first thing I would inspect for are Air Leaks. If you lit the amount of Charcoal described above, and caught Temp on the way up, and are seeing a steady increase in temperature, then, my Friend, you may have an ill fitting Lid.
A Lid Clamp can help to secure the Lid tightly to the Drum top.
http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/w.../Clamped12.jpg

If one is unavailable consider using some Aluminum Foil as a makeshift gasket, that’s what I use on my Stubby DrumPit with the Weber Lid, and it works like a charm.
http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/w...rumGrill_1.jpg


3. Sweet Blue. The Soul of Barbecue and The DrumPit…

The temperature is stable. All is right with the world. Now what about that Sweet Blue Smoke you’ve heard so much about? Well, it’s been my experience that if you have layered your Charcoal Basket the way I described above, then the heat from the lit Charcoal has been working it’s Magic on the wood chunks buried beneath, slowly causing the wood to heat up and start to burn. Not a raging inferno, but a slow wicking of delightful, sweet flavored smoke. Something you can put your face up to and take a quick smell from.
http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/w...e_Appears8.jpg

Sheer Pleasurable Aroma…The Stuff That Great Barbecue Is Made From.
Now, It’s Time To Cook Something Good!!!!

Hope Y’all find my musings helpful….

Great post N8!! You da man (da N8man anyway)!!

Think I've missed the stubby drumpit...I likes!!

Thank you for posting this advice. I really appreciate it.

Thanks to all the feedback that I received I was able to pinpoint the exact reasons for my runaway temperatures. I was using far too many coals and I had a tremendous air leak from around the lid. I have since cut back on the number of hot coals that I start with to just 22. This seems to be about perfect to get my drum to 225. I have also installed a gasket around the lid to seal it.

Also for my air intake I am now running two 1 inch ball valves. I discovered that one just wasn't enough airflow to bring my UDS up to the desired temperature.

Great post. It will save a lot of people a few cases of beer and half a notebook of scribbles scouring the UDS thread. :wacko:

Also what are the pros/cons of the stubby. I still have 2/3 of a drum, the other 1/3 of which I used for the top of my UDS.

It's posts like this - say it with me everybody - that make this a great place! :clap2:

I breakout the Stubby DrumPit when I am cooking food that requires less time to be done or when I want a higher temperature to cook with.
http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/w...um/Stubby4.jpg

I use a squatty Charcoal Basket for the Stubby...
http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/w...al_Basket2.jpg

I also light more Charcoal for it. Usually half a Chimney Load.
When the coals are ready I spread them evenly across the top of the unlit and place a disc harrow blade upon the top of the basket.
http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/w...sc_Harrow3.jpg

At the higher cooking temp, the Stubby Drumpit is a Chicken Cooking Machine..
http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/w...Hot_Wangs2.jpg

Crispy, Tasty Skin!!!
http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/w...exy_Chix_5.jpg


The Drawback overall is less cooking time per load of Charcoal. I get about 5 hours max from a load of Charcoal,
which is more than enough time to cook up several batches of Chicken.
http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/w...ss_o_Chix5.jpg

http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/w...lbum/Legs6.jpg

http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/w...um/Thighs7.jpg

Dang it N8! Don't you realise with this thread how much fun you've taken out of all us brethren trying to learn all this stuff by freakin' accident :becky:?

Now we just say to the wife "Nope, don't worry Dear... I won't be needing that extra case of Shiner Bock while trying to figure this thing out! I'm just gonna use N8's method!"...

You'll pay for this buddy!:boxing:

Cheers!

Bill

Great tutorial, thanks for posting! :thumb:

Excellent post! I've added you to the Roadmap. Very Roadmap worthy. This was one of those things that confused me and trips up most new users. Thanks. :thumb:

Thanks for the tutorial N8man! I am one of those guys that is having issues with startup. I guess what I don't understand is why my temps go from ambient to 300* as soon as I stick the basket in? I don't have to wait at all! I am using 12" turkey fryer so it is reading temps in the middle of the drum 1" below grate level. Maybe they are just super sensitive. Actually thinking about it some more, it takes time to get the entire drum up to temp (just like with my gasser duh). So I need to wait longer before adjusting anything. DOH!

Thanks again! I think I may have just realized what the heck I was doing wrong!

Great job. That foil mod works great on mine, I can hold temps great without but when it comes to killing the fire It just won`t do it without the foil mod it just hovers a little over 100 degrees for a day or 2

Bravo! Just when I needed a post like this. I should be burning my new UDS in a couple of weeks. Then it's smokin time.

A little late to respond but thank N8man for the response on the stubby. That was much more than I was looking for. :eusa_clap It's look like I'm making a trip to the hardware store today!

Thanks. A little disheartening to me. I build my basket almost the exact same way you do, but I use lump charcoal and just dump it on top of the unlit rather than in a cavity like yours. 6 chunks of wood just like you place them. But I get at minimum an hour of white smoke. And any time I raise the temp I get more white smoke. Somebody suggested using a lot less wood (1 or 2 chunks), and somebody else suggested loading the chunks into he chimney at the start. But you seem to use 6 chunks just fine. I guess I'll try making the cavity for it next time.

Great tutorial! I wish this was around when I first started using my drum.