UDS - Controlling Temp Spikes

Patrick C. said:

Will the grease foul the slide, and make it hard to open and close?

Click to expand...

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:

swamprb said:

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.

just my 2cents

Click to expand...

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.

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.

JMSetzler said:

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

Click to expand...

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.

BillywannaQ said:

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.

Click to expand...

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

Cliff H. said:

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?

Click to expand...

: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.

sjm845 said:

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!

Click to expand...

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)