UDS - Controlling Temp Spikes
 

So I've been contemplating for months now on how to attempt to control the temp spikes in my drum when I take the lid off to tend to the goods. I use the ribolator quite a bit and usually try to spray them every half hour so closing off the vents 10 minutes before every half hour was not working for me.

Here is what I came up with as a possible fix. I have two sets of U bolts for my racks in the drum and this will rest on the lower of the two. Photos show it on the top bolts just while I was fitting it so it will actually sit lower between the charcoal box and the top grill/ribolator. Once I open the lid, I can grab the outer eye bolt and slide it so the vents close. Once I'm done, slide it back open and put on the lid. The bottom disc has 4 bolts that rest in the eye bolts to keep it in place and a groove for the outer eye bolt to slide in. The top disc has the outer eye bolt attached to it.

Going to run a test this weekend with it and see how it goes.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...z/template.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i163/BriGutz/disc.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i163/BriGutz/open.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...utz/closed.jpg

Have you tried not spraying?

What he said, just leave it closed and let the magic happen. No spritzing required for good bbq.

While your idea and fabrication is AWESOME I have to agree with the above. I also used to spray, baste and spritz. Then I found this place and after many cooks realized that it wasn't really helping me at all. The meat will create it's own flavor and moisture. That spraying/spritzing is only slowing the cook down by opening the pit. Seriously.

I agree. My UDS is a very moist environment without spraying.
Opening and spraying is an invitation for mad swings in the temperature.

If you really feel compelled to spray, spray it when you put the meat in, and either spray it again or apply sauce 30 minutes before you remove the 'Q'.

If your UDS is anything like mine, you won't have a problem with the meat drying out.

Well damn it all to hell!! :-D

Feel like I wasted hours and dozens of dremel cutting discs :rolleyes:

Only had my drum for a little while and guess it sounds like I'm removing my lid too much.

I'm still going to give it a run and see how it goes. Worst case it may help act as a diffuser.

Still though - mad, mad props for the design and execution - really creative. :thumb:

But yeah, I've found that spritzing and mopping don't seem to do much.

Might wanna season that somehow - cleaning it may not be very fun.

I spray one time, just before I close the foil on the initial wrap. I also believe using a deflector (in my case a foil wrapped pizza stone) helps balance tps overall. My drum is rock solid for 15 + hours with a stone.

I love the idea :thumb: I have thought about this myself in the past but never got the project started. I agree with the above about keeping the lid closed but this isn't always possible. For instance, at times I may be cooking different types/cuts of meat that need tending at different times.

My main question and the reason I never started this project is how will you reach the eye bolt if you have a loaded rack above it? At least on my drum there is very little room around the edges. Perhaps a long, narrow tool?

Second, on a smaller level, as drippings fall and dry/cook on the metal, how can you keep it clean enough to close? For instance, grease starts dripping and collects towards the middle. As it cooks off and becomes hard, you will have obstructions to the vent closing I would think.

Still, as gtr said, mad props on your effort and definitely try it out.

What I did is on one of my weber grates is I cut out the handle on one side which will give plenty of room for the eye bolt to stick up through the grate to reach. No tool needed...just a good glove :-D

Second question is the big unknown...yes, it will be a pain to clean. It is stainless and it is seasoned. I have a washer in between the two discs but I'm thinking as drippings build up that it may cause an issue and need to cleaned quite frequently. Already considering getting a shark steamer to clean the Ribolator trays which would work on this as well.

Thanks for the props guys :thumb:

Looks nice.

Another way (don't we all have another way :)) is to make sure you've got enough thermal mass to slow temp changes. A few fire bricks in the bottom can help here.

I like it. I agree with those above not to spritz, but that doesn't make this a useless idea. I've frequently though that smokers need a slot(s) in the side that a plate could just be inserted to seal the lower chamber when the top is off. Let us know how this works for you.

I dont spritz eighter, but sometimes when I have a turkey in I will baste it. I do get temp spikes but they settle very quickly,are your not comming down quickly?

Well I don't care who you are - that's cooler than hell! Great fabrication! I love the ingenuity you put into that sucker!

To help with temp swings I've also had moderate luck mixing lava rock in with the charcoal in my basket. Give it a shot sometime.

That was my original thought but how to get full coverage without comprimising the sturdiness of the drum was an issue...and how to seal up the slot when not in use.

Will do!

Not really...sometimes I'll have some flames build up and temp will spike up 50 or so degrees and takes a bit to come back down. Wanted it a little more consistent.

Thanks!! :thumb:

Outstanding concept and craftsmanship!!!!!
Please do let us know how it performs and
take lots of pix.....

Here is a little video I took after making all the test fit adjustments. Shows access to the eye bolt by removing the handle on one side of the grill.

Upright Drum Smoker Vent System - YouTube

I'll most likely be using it in action on Saturday and will jot down temps while using it.

Very cool

Excellent! :clap2:

I wish my brain worked that way. Actually I'd settle for it working at all. :tsk:

Nice! I don't spritz, but I do get temp spikes when I have to flip a bunch of ABTs or otherwise futz with whatever is in the UDS and leave the lid off too long. This looks easier than closing off the bottom vents (on mine, anyway), or removing the racks and putting the lid back on while you flip/rearrange/taste the food.

Interested to see how it works after a few cooks. Will the grease foul the slide, and make it hard to open and close?

How big is the charcoal basket you are using, and how much charcoal do you usually use for a typical Rib-O-Lator cook on your drum?

Nice fabrication job on the damper, but what it seems you are doing when you are using it in the open position is cooking indirect. If thats the case you might be better off using a waterpan or heat deflector (gasp!) if you are having that big of a problem with temp spikes.

I don't see the ROL rotisserie ring setup you are using, so I can't gauge how you are using it.

I would suggest you use less charcoal and a smaller basket.

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...r/IMG_3090.jpg

just my 2cents

That was the only concern from day 1. We shall see. I'm hoping the grease should theoretically drip on the top disc or drip through the holes onto the fire. So when it slides, there isn't friction from the grease between the top and bottom disc. Wishful thinking :roll:

Charcoal basket is big...It's generally always at least half to 3/4 full prior to any cook.

Shouldn't be indirect considering my basket takes up most of the bottom of the drum. Yes it will cut down on some of the direct heat but I'm guessing it will act as a diffuser while open and have a dual purpose.

ROL setup is the weber extension ring on top of the drum. Still can access the handle to open/close.

You may want to try coating it with some Pam before installing in the drum. May eliminate the drippings sticking to it and making it hard to open and close. Interesting concept, like to hear how it comes out.

Just wanted to give an update for you guys. I didn't get to use the vent in a long cook this weekend like I wanted to. I did however use it while cooking some moinks and armadillo eggs for the Superbowl. I can say that it definitely seemed to help control the temp. I will use the iGrill this weekend on a longer cook and graph out the #'s. As for the concern of build up not allowing it to slide, most all of the build up after the first cook is on the top disc which is not interfering with the sliding motion. One thing to note is my top disc has smaller cutouts which means more surface area (so each cut-out is covered when closed) than the bottom disc to hopefully catch all that stuff. I'll keep ya posted.

I was looking at your idea here and it's possibilities as a diffuser as well. I have three rack levels in my drum. The bottom rack is just where i place my pizza pan as a diffuser and sometimes set a drip pan on it as well. I think it would make an excellent diffuser system because you could choke down the coals much quicker with a device like that lower in the drum. The only problem I see with it would be getting it gunked up with drippings where it would not turn. It would also be more difficult to open and close underneath a cooking rack in the drum.

I'm liking this idea though... Think about it some more :)

To each his own on spritzing/basting. If you wanna do it, then do it. I say you built that thing, use it. You may be very pleasantly surprised.

I don't know how I missed this. I have never really had a problem with controlling temps while cooking. I have had serious issues with fire control while trying to remove finished product.

Once a year I. Cook 16-20 butts for a Church function. I have thus far done it over two days using one UDS and one WSM. Trying to manage 6-8 butts on two grates is almost impossible without flare ups. I have a video floating around that shows just how little time it takes for a drum to become dangerous.

I have visualized this exact concept. Exact. This will solve my issue. Thank you for the engineering.
I need one by April. How much to ship t to Arkansas?

Yeah..that's been the main concern and only time will tell. As for it being that low in the drum, I was able to cut out one handle on the grill which gives room for the lever but the longer the lever gets, the more it sways due to its weight. There are options there I guess on using a smaller but longer bolt for the lever.

Yep...I'm going to put it to use!

:grin: Don't really see how these can be mass produced considering everyone's drum is a little different based on how they built it. I'm already going to be swapping out my top U Bolts and hopefully using some sort of hinge that I can make go straight up so I can easily slide the vent in straight down. Currently I have to angle it and bend a little to get it to fit since it's almost the same diameter as the drum itself.

If the temps prove themselves this weekend I can definitely post a little more info on my design if you are interested in building one.

Awesome
 

Nice mod my man. As soon as I saw it I knew that it would work! I did something similar when I made my own daisy wheel exhaust for my wal-mart kettle lid that really was the bottom of the grill out of 2 sheets of aluminum. If the concept works up there it should down below. I'm going to be in the lab this weekend trying to make it work. Thanks!

It's definitely a geometry project....had me using those skills I learned back in high school that I swore I'd never use. I used 15 degree cuts just because that divided nicely into 360 to give me 12 equal sized gaps. The top disc I ended up cutting the gaps out a little smaller so I'd have sufficient coverage when closed up. You can see in the pic that the top disc is a bit smaller in diameter than the bottom disc. That really isn't needed because I changed the support system to be an aluminum X that goes across the bottom disc which is attached to the eye bolt and supports it instead of the 4 bolts. The 4 bolts caused the areas not supported to sag a bit because I didn't use a real stiff steel.

So if I were to do it again:

Make the center of the disc a tad bit bigger for strength
Same sized disc on top and bottom
Use thicker gauged steel or aluminum (but remember it needs to be somewhat flexible in case it's a real tight fit getting it in based on whatever you use for the grill supports)