loading uds basket
 

fired up the uds this morning for a planned pork butt,but butcher's delivery guy never showed up.
as it was up and running I bought some ribs instead.
basket is approx 15" diameter and 9" deep,loaded with restaurant quality lumps and some oak lumps for added flavour.starter chimney had about 8-9 lumps which I transferred to the middle of basket once white.after about an hour temps rose and couldn't get them down.3/4" valve was barely cracked and still temp was about 130c(290f)
cooked using 3-2-1 method and couldn't do the last hour as they wee falling apart and coming off the bone.
tasted fantastic and family demolished them in about 5 mins
I used the minion method and am wondering where I went wrong.
my conclusion is the oak lit the ajoining charcoal and I lost control but as i'm a novice this is purely a guess.
closed drum down and temps dropped fairly quickly so I don't think there is an air leak.
can the experts show me where I went wrong as the butt has been rescheduled for the weekend
here's a pic of my fire basket set up
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...psf78e46c8.jpg

I would say you have an air leak around you intakes.

You could close the ball valve completely for a bit the see if the temp goes down. I've closed the exhaust briefly to bring temps down a bit - just monitor it.

I've never used briquettes in my UDS but have read here they provide a more even heat, so if you can get them in Northern Ireland, you might want to try them.

Nice expanded metal! :-D

It wouldn't hurt to put some ht30 around the intakes. Can you also adjust the exhaust holes?

You have an air leak somewhere. Need a closer look at the drum. any air leak will feed the fire. Lid should fit on tight, and weld around the 3/4 " fittings if needed. I can't tell from the picture, is the base of the drum crimped on, or loose?

lump does tend to run hotter than briqs..
did the temp continue to rise thruout the entire cook?
if not then it was just the lump....

Would silicone work instead of welding around intakes?

( I am building a uds )

I use permatex high heat.

I can weld them if it is better.

What's the problem?

Throw the meat on and pull it off when it is done.

Smokers are control freaks. :-P

bottom of drum it the open top lid,clamped in position.
I'll strip it down,silicone the bottom and seal intakes with some liquid metal
many thanks everyone as always
johnny

Try to bury your lumps of wood down below the the first level of unlit coal then place the lit coals evenly around the edge and 1 or 2 in the center insead of all in the centergive me a mor even dispersment of heat... jmho....