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Ugly Drum Smoker

vafish said:
If you get the WSM there really isn't much reason to build a uds. It pretty much does the same thing.

I like the classic one touch, I really don't think the more expensive one touch gold really adds much.

I almost got a trip to Shannon this weekend, could have brought you a lid. But a couple of my coworkers are going instead.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. Wasnt planning on buying the wsm jist wondering if thered be a benefit to having the pid from one on the uds versus a more standard kettle lid.


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Here is my new uds just made three weeks ago. First ribs cook pretty impressed with it so far. Thank God for this huge THREAD!!
 

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Ok, just a quick result of my UDS last Monday. I did a very nice 14.5 hour session to get a great pulled pork.

Off the barbecue after 14.5 hours:
8528808394_41d6676bf2_c.jpg

Pulled pre-sauce:
8527694925_9798270640_c.jpg

Ready to eat!
8528809668_a7accc77f7_c.jpg


As you can see in the graph, I still need to work on temp control, but hey, I think I have done nicely for a first timer. ;-)
15n6mqb.jpg
 
Went through one and a half bags of charcoal in 6 hours

OK well I smoked my first butt. BUT I had to finish it off in my oven for the last 4 hours. Not cool. :mad2:

I filled up my basket with one and a half bags of Kingsford competition and about 10 chunks of Hickory. Did the minion method with the bottom of the chimney starter and got it goin. I did use a water pan. Temp took about an hour to get to 250. Set the 8 lb butt in and had to tend to the drum every 90 minutes due to temp flux. Ended up drilling while cooking to keep the temp up above 200. I now have 8 3/4" holes wide open. Started at 12:45am and by 7am the temps tanked. I looked at the charcoal basket and it was all burned up. Top was on most of the time unless I needed more heat then I removed to get something burning better then put it back on. :shocked: long night

Pretty sure I am going to buy a smoker, too much time and money in this thing that I can't get to work.

I may try a different charcoal basket but man I am running out ideas here. I shouldn't need two or three bags of charcoal for a 12 hour burn should I. :wacko:
 
AZBBQ said:
OK well I smoked my first butt. BUT I had to finish it off in my oven for the last 4 hours. Not cool. :mad2:

I filled up my basket with one and a half bags of Kingsford competition and about 10 chunks of Hickory. Did the minion method with the bottom of the chimney starter and got it goin. I did use a water pan. Temp took about an hour to get to 250. Set the 8 lb butt in and had to tend to the drum every 90 minutes due to temp flux. Ended up drilling while cooking to keep the temp up above 200. I now have 8 3/4" holes wide open. Started at 12:45am and by 7am the temps tanked. I looked at the charcoal basket and it was all burned up. Top was on most of the time unless I needed more heat then I removed to get something burning better then put it back on. :shocked: long night

Pretty sure I am going to buy a smoker, too much time and money in this thing that I can't get to work.

I may try a different charcoal basket but man I am running out ideas here. I shouldn't need two or three bags of charcoal for a 12 hour burn should I. :wacko:
Click to expand...

Try without a water pan. Heating the water takes a LOT of fuel. What type of lid do you have? Are the vents open on the lid? Is the basket elevated off the bottom of the barrel?
 
AZBBQ - something definitely out of sorts here. An hour to get to 250 doesn't sound right. I only have three 3/4" nipples & I will be at 200 & closing one nipple in less than 10 minutes. I can run 250-275 with a ball valve half open on just one nipple.

I would say your basket needs to be raised a little more, but that would just to keep the ash buildup from choking the fire late in a cook.

If your fire spiked with the lid open then quickly dropped after closing, I'm thinking you are not getting enough air drawing thru. Do you have a 2" bung hole open in the lid? Anything smaller probably will not draw enough.
 
Lid

Yep has the 2" bung hole wide open. Also, I added boiling water so to heat up the water pan shouldn't have been an issue. Yeah the charcoal basket is only about 1" set above the bottom right now. But I wouldn't think that would be an issue for at least a few hours in?
 
You could try setting the basket s bit higher but doubt it would help much ...

That's pretty odd. Usually my uds does as well as my wsm if not better..

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What Ima gonna do next

OK well the first time was a disaster, about 3 hours and it died. So I added a ton more fuel and added more vent holes. Lasted the 6 hours on a ton of fuel. I am guessing the water pan used a lot and the charcoal basket was too low.
So, I think that if I want to use the water pan she is going to use a LOT of fuel. so I will attempt wo water in the pan. Also, add another thermometer on the food grate to get a good accurate temp reading. I have a feeling with no water I will be plugging up a lot of holes to keep the temps where I want them. 225-250 for me personally.

I don't know I have this water pan thing that I want to use so maybe h20 for the first three hours where the meat soaks up the most smoke then control the temps and let the h20 run out. Any other suggestions?

Thank you in advance.
 
It's an adventure

pal251 said:
You could try setting the basket s bit higher but doubt it would help much ...

That's pretty odd. Usually my uds does as well as my wsm if not better..

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...

Yeah I don't know, maybe the charcoal basket is too narrow and high instead of low and wide? Might change the airflow. I am afraid the air from my intakes is getting sucked in and right out with the heat and not feeding the fire all that much. Maybe some plumbing to direct the intake air more towards the firebox since it's not as close to the intakes like a lower wider basket would.

A lot to try I guess
 
AZBBQ said:
Yep has the 2" bung hole wide open. Also, I added boiling water so to heat up the water pan shouldn't have been an issue. Yeah the charcoal basket is only about 1" set above the bottom right now. But I wouldn't think that would be an issue for at least a few hours in?
Click to expand...

The water pan is an issue. Remove it. Is the bottom of your basket expanded metal? If it is, set it 1 1/2" above the ash pan which should also be 1" off the floor of the drum
Make a chimney full of charcoal to add to the basket. You should be up to temp in 10 to 15 minutes.
I may stir up some strife with one.
Would everyone please stop using Kingsford. That stuff burns carcinogens. It it's made out of furniture scraps. That's why the directions on the bags say to let the coals turn gray before cooking.

Sent from my GS3 via Tapatalk 2
 
Charcoal

I usually only use wood or lump but the competition said no fillers but I don't know that's the first time I have used charcoal in years.
 
IIRC it takes 1 calorie to raise 1 gram of water 1 centigrade, then it takes 70 calories to convert it to gas. Trying to get a pit much over 225 with a pot of water in it will take a ton of heat boiling the water. Same problem happens when you get damp charcoal. That said, if you are trying to go really low and slow - the water is a huge temp buffer when you are under it's boiling point.
 
Most of the facts regarding the specific heat of water are correct but I think the thing being missed is that you are not doing that work over an open fire so there is some energy savings that would apply here - the heat remains in the smoker until exiting your exhaust. I would say that it becomes harder to cook at higher temperatures say over 300 with a water pan. I would try cooking without the water pan and see what the difference is for you. If you still have poor temps and charcoal consumption I would rethink your charcoal basket. Model your basket after the weber - use the charcoal grate off of a 22.5" kettle and use expanded metal to make the basket 6" tall. The charcoal ring on my wsm is maybe 4" tall and can burn for over 20 hours at 235. I have the same basic set up in my uds and never had an issue with burn times or poor charcoal consumption. The other item that may contribute to poor burn times is wind and rain. If you find that situation, try to make some kind of wind block and wind related issues will be resolved.
 
AZBBQ said:
OK well I smoked my first butt. BUT I had to finish it off in my oven for the last 4 hours. Not cool. :mad2:

I filled up my basket with one and a half bags of Kingsford competition and about 10 chunks of Hickory. Did the minion method with the bottom of the chimney starter and got it goin. I did use a water pan. Temp took about an hour to get to 250. Set the 8 lb butt in and had to tend to the drum every 90 minutes due to temp flux. Ended up drilling while cooking to keep the temp up above 200. I now have 8 3/4" holes wide open. Started at 12:45am and by 7am the temps tanked. I looked at the charcoal basket and it was all burned up. Top was on most of the time unless I needed more heat then I removed to get something burning better then put it back on. :shocked: long night

Pretty sure I am going to buy a smoker, too much time and money in this thing that I can't get to work.

I may try a different charcoal basket but man I am running out ideas here. I shouldn't need two or three bags of charcoal for a 12 hour burn should I. :wacko:
Click to expand...
You know what the problem is?? I'm gonna tell ya. Your trying to fix what aint broke. Here's the Scoop News Worthy; "THE UDS is a BDS Clone" the original BDS don't use no Farking Water pan! Get rid of the water pan get rid of your problems. A UDS is a direct heat cooker putting a Water pan in the mix is as productive trying to wash your feet while wearing Hip waders.
 
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