UDS, charcoal and ash

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mstokens

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Smoked a butt on my UDS yesterday. I used Kingford Original and the ash was horrible. It was pretty windy most of the day. Probably burned 7-8 lbs of charcoal in 11 hours. The UDS hung in around 250 and I was pleased with the butt. My question is, would lump be better and produce less ash? My selection here is pretty slim... mostly Kingford and the store brands. Of course there is a Wallyworld that has pretty much the same :cry:
 
Hardwood lump or hardwood briquettes work better for me. You'll find Royal Oak (lump for sure and I think briqs as well) at Walmart. Some people like Kingsford Competition briqs - I haven't used 'em - but they are hardwood also. You can also look for Rancher, Stubbs, etc. The Naked Whiz Lump Charcoal Database is a great resource.

A lot of great cooks have great results with K Blue, and you can't argue with their results, but I personally do not care for it.
 
I've had the most success in my UDS using Stubbs. A close second is a combo of Stubbs, and lump. I've done 100% lump cooks with great success and very little ash buildup as well. You just have to watch the intakes using all lump, since temps will run 50-75 degrees higher burning all lump.

KF blue for me is a no win situation for long cooks, as the ash buildup is ridiculous, and the temp doesn't want to get any higher than 220 (I prefer cooking @ 275+).
 
If you can find Stubbs briqs (try Lowes)give them a try. I think u'll like em
 
I've been using Stubbs and it produces very little ash. I load the entire bag (15 lbs) in the basket and get around 3 cooking sessions out of that. And no cleaning out the ash between those cooking sessions.
 
I use RO lump so ash nor high temps are an issue. I do have a well sealed Weber lid and a BGE intake though. If I need to rake out the ash, it is easy to do so through the BGE intake.
 
I use around a 50/50 mix of Kingsford Competition briquets and whatever lump I can find cheap on sale which lately has been Krogers hardwood lump.

My charcoal basket is 4" above the bottom of my UDS and I can do two or three long cooks before I have to clean out the ash. I think it may be because of the lump producing less ash but I'm not sure I just know I do not have an ash problem with my UDS.
 
Check with your local Ace Hardware. Most all around here deal in BGE's and Weber's. My ACE carries Wicked Good Lump. It's pricey, but a lot of folks say it's one of the best. I've never used it personally.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I'll give the Royal Oak lump a try since I can get it locally. Next trip to Lowes I'll grab some Stubbs to try. Unfortunately my local Ace doesn't carry any charcoal at all although they say they can order Kingford Competition.

Gonna try raising my charcoal basket up to 4 inches and see what happens.
 
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