Hey guys,first post here. I joined this site becuase of this thread. I have been thinking about building a UDS for quite some time....Well, I built one and promise to get some pics up as soon as I get her going right. I have a problem that I "think" is my charcoal basket. I didnt make a basket out of expanded metal but instead used a big piece of stainless pipe I had at work. I blew a bunch of holes in it with a plasma cutter and sat it on top of my charcoal grate. Everything is in spec as far the basics (charcoal basket 3" off bottom, lid is sealed TIGHT, I have two 1" air intakes with ball valves on both). My problem is the temperature is fluctuating badly. I believe that there is not enough circulation for the charcoal. I have problems with it going waay down in temp if I close the ball valve down anywhere past 3/4 open. The only other thing I can think of is the lid. Its a lid off a charbroil brand kettle I got at walmart. The standard style "slider" vent on the top has the equivalent to about 1.25" exhaust. It has the trianlge shaped die cut pieces that are 1/2" wide at the top and taper down. Im wonering if I should put a few more holes in the lid. It seems I have seen others with this lid though and no additional holes. I am going to try my charcoal box I made for my chargriller out when I get home and see if that fixes the problem. Its 12x12x6" . I will report back. sorry for the long first post.
matt