How long can your UDS burn on one basket?

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scottjess

Knows what a fatty is.
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So I smoked a 10lb pork shoulder in my UDS starting at 9:45pm on friday night @230 until I woke up at 8am and decided to crank up the heat to get to eat the thing at lunch time; from 8am till 12pm she was cooking @ around 280-90 until done.

Man was she the best tasting pork Ive ever pulled.

After I pulled the pork from the UDS I closed all my vents and walked away; around 10PM (24 hours after starting the cook) I noticed my temps were still 230 in the UDS; I accidently left the exhust a tiny bit open.

This morning I looked to see just how much charcoal I had in the basket thinking majority would be all gone but nope; still got half a basket after shaking it out.

So my question to you is this: how long can your UDS hold temps if you let it go without stopping.

Cheers.
 
I have never had mine burn until empty, but I have gone about 30 hours of continuous cooking without adding anything to it. It depends on how big one's basket is too.
 
I did a all night cook on a couple of briskets on memorial day weekend. started the uds up at 9:30pm Friday and when I went to bed Saturday night at 9:00 it was still at 210. I cooked them at 240-260 all night, and just left it going to burn the rest of the basket out. just had a few pieces of lump left.
 
A buddy of mine built his UDS with spare stuff around the house and 18 dollars. The day he seasoned it he filled the basket with one bag of Kingsford Blue. After 4 hours he turned down the heat to 230 and did some ribs. After the Ribs were done he put a shoulder on it. About midnight with the shoulder done, he went to bed and in the morning it was still at 230, so he made some fatties. He came to work the next day bragging that the UDS went over 22 hours before it started dropping off, that story, and lunch for the crew.
Me? I've never gone more than 16 hours and I had coals left over.
 
im guessing mine full, which is 11 inches deep x whatever the weber charcoal grate is, i would guess around 30 at 300-350. Depends on what fuel youre using also.
 
I forgot to snuff mine last month after cooking some ribs and noticed it 36 hours later, still humming along at 255. Mostly just ash left, but it was still hot.
 
My basket is 12x12x6 inches, it holds what seems like a lot of charcoal to me. I have never cooked it empty before, I generally always fill it up completely before I start cooking. I have done briskets and pork butts low and slow for 12-14 hours and still had over half of a basket left at least. That is about the longest cook I can imagine so I guess my answer would be...

Long enough!
 
I used a charcoal grate for a Weber 22.5 kettle with sides that are 12" tall. I can easily go 24+ hours at 275* using lump. I've never actually let it go all the way out, but I'd be confident that it would go at least 30 hours.

I just built another UDS and used a grate from a Weber 18" kettle. I haven't used it yet, but like it better already because it will be easier to pull out and put into the drum. I'm guessing it'll go at least 20 hours once I start using it.
 
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