uds sensor placment

Take readings with the remote sensors stuck THROUGH a potato. Most drums will be 5 to 10 degrees warmer in the center of the rack vs near the outside of the rack. Just their nature. Then you can measure that against a side mounted thermometer as may be about 25 - 30 difference there.

IMO, your not going to "even" out the heat in a drum. Many have tried and most have failed.
Set your probe in the center and compare that to the side reading and then you'll always know about what the center temp is.

I've done well with ribs on the drum, good luck!

mfdfyrecaptain said:

has anyone made the charcoal basket 22.5 and then lit just the top layer to get a more even heat? if so how did it work out and what are any things you learned that may be of help.

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If you lite the whole top layer, you'll have about 500* at your cooking grate.

mfdfyrecaptain said:

so if you need 235 for a cook do you look for the center temp to be 235 of the side temp to be 235?

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That is up to you. For me, I want the know what the center temp is. The outside will always be a little cooler but it is consistant. Like Bubba said, you don't want too much lit coals on top or you will have a hot fire that is hard to get back down on a UDS.

mfdfyrecaptain said:

so if you need 235 for a cook do you look for the center temp to be 235 of the side temp to be 235?

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Center, then place meat accordingly.

I don't think lighting the charcoal on one end or the other is going to affect the performance much. If you build a charcoal basket as big as the barrel then you are going to seriously affect the airflow.

You may want to consider the exhaust placement rather than the fire itself.

I use a Weber lid. I like the rounded lid. Some folks like 8 small holes drilled in the top. Some like The 2" pipe sticking out of the bung.

I always set my exhaust opposite my air intakes. ( so to speak ). Just makes sense to me.

As far as tracking temps go........Pick one. I have been measuring temps on my uds from the dome on the last several cooks. I also know that the grate is about 10 deg hotter. I am going to swith on the next cook and measrue temps just below the grate because I feel that the grate temp is what is more important. When I do that, I am not even going to measure temps at the dome.

A wise man said take your expert advice from one expert at a time.

I am all eyeballs.:grin:

My UDS uses as Turkey fryer thermometer just below the bottom grate.

The UDs is 23" across and the therm is 12" long so it reaches the middle, it normally sits all the way in but I can check the temp all the way out to the edge if I wanted to.

I also have 6 air intakes at 60 degree sets around the drum, so that I start it with the weed burner and all the intakes open, I fire up the outside all the way around, then the middle, then lid with my Weber kettle lid vents open.

I like to run the drum up to 275 - 300, then close down 4 intakes just before I put the meat on, I don't leave the nearest to the wind or opposite the wind open, I like to have perpendicular to the wind open if I can, I also keep aware of where the wind is through the cook and close and open vents to maintain the cook.

If I want to cook at 250 I close down to one vent, two vents is around 275, three vents 300, four vents 325, five vents 375, six vents 400, I don't know why there is the jump between four and five vents being open, there must be something in the directionality of the air intakes and the numbers.

I can get down below 250 by closing part of the last intake with a fridge magnet, the fridge magnet makes the temperature controllable between 190 and 400, under that it stutters and can choke out, and with all the vents open, I've had it up to 475, but it's not stable and fluctuates 425 - 475 up and down according to the wind.

I turn the lid so that the exhaust vents are as far from the air intake as possible, if I have two vents open the exhaust will be pointed 120 degrees offset from the tow open vents.

Once the burn has been going for a hour or more, I take the lid off and test the temperature around the drum with my hand, and if there is a hot spot on one side I'll change which intakes are open and which are closed, to even out the drum, this generally only needs to be done once an hour or so, and it can be done throughout long cooks to maintain the most even heat available.

Most of my cooks on the UDS have been around 275 - 300, as that appears to be where this drums groove is and instead of fighting it I work with it, I think I'm in love with my UDS and the food it puts out. :wink:

I use the turkey fryer thermo just below the lower grate too. It ends up being very close to the center of the drum.

It reports about 40-50F hotter than the dial thermno in the dome lid which is located right next to the exhaust spinner.

Jerry
www.uglydrumsmoker.blogspot.com
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