Reverse flow UDS?

M

Matt_A

Guest
Has any one ever experimented with building a reverse flow UDS? :cool:
 
I'm sure if your drum were horizontal and you added an offset firebox it would work, but then it wouldn't exactly be a "UDS"...even if it was ugly. :becky:
 
Actually I was thinking about something like this. The cooking cylinder is suspended inside the outer drum, the smoke/heat travel up the space between the cylinders and then down the inside cylinder. The bottom of the inside cylinder also radiates heat from the fire basket.

reverse-flow-uds-concept.png
 
Down arrows? Heat rises... Even if the draw has a fan or something, I'm not certain how well this would work.....
 
I think you would have a really hard time getting hot air to flow down into the inside chamber naturally, I would imagine your fire would go out. You will notice that a true reverse flow smoke the heat never really has to go down, just follows a zigzag pattern up for the most part.

I am sure it would work with a forced air system though...
 
Seems kind of counter to the design of a UDS. To me the UDS acts like a microwave. The direct heat makes everything cook much faster.
 
I've seen commercial reverse-flow vertical cabinet smokers that work quite well without any fan support. As long as you have a draught up the exhaust the heat will go with the air movement.
 
I think it might work. One thing to consider is how much will the heat source actually heat the bottom of the cylinder which could potentially keep the air towards the top stagnant. Give it a shot. If you were closer I would love to help.
 
They make reverse flow cabinet smokers that are square. I believe that Pit Maker Vaults (I think) are designed to operate that way. Same design…just round. The smoke follows the arrows and the heat radiates up from the fire box.
 
I'm sure the design would work. If the physics were flawed, Backwoods wouldn't sell nearly as many smokers as they do right?
 
Interesting idea matt. However i think the main problem you have here is that in order to fill the cooking chamber with smoke it will also fill the tube your smoke is coming from to. When it pushes smoke down far enough to get out of the exhaust at the bottom the smoke from the inlet tube would be down far enough to choke out the fire. Plus this would be too much smoke probably imo. Another idea of similar nature that might work, is to build a uds as usual but cut an exhaust valve just below your bottom cooking grate. This would fill the top end with lots of smoke and allow it to escape without getting low enough to choke out the fire. But once again the excess heavy smoke might be to much on the food.?

Not to say it wouldnt work just need lots of forethought in engineering. With what i said above your oulet not forcing too much smoke back up your inlet, choking out your fire, and getting a good even heat into the inner barrel.
Which commercial cabinet smoker are you refering to, would love to see a diagram of their workings?
 
woodbutcher1 said:
Mat,not meaning to get you ticked off,this wheel works,don't try to re-invent it.
Click to expand...

Won't get me ticked off at all... :-D I know the UDS wheel works, but I'm always looking for interesting projects that are "different". Just my perversity :crazy: showing, I guess.
 
colonel00 said:
I think it might work. One thing to consider is how much will the heat source actually heat the bottom of the cylinder which could potentially keep the air towards the top stagnant. Give it a shot. If you were closer I would love to help.
Click to expand...

I was thinking about this while I was working on a my "real" work. I could see whee the convective radiation could cause a rising column of heat that would interfere with the smoke moving freely to the exhaust. Perhaps a offset heat shield to keep the direct heat away from the bottom of the inner cylinder might be called for.

The physics of this work because as the fire creates the updraft in the space between the cylinders, the air pressure will increase at the top of the barrel. The pressure will automatically seek relief, which is accomplished by going down the inside barrel and out the unheated exhaust stack. Thermal transfer is always from hot to cold.
 
I say the only true way of knowing if your idea will work is to build it and try it out. Just be sure to take a lot of pictures so we can keep up with your plan. Good luck.
 
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