bbq1980
Knows what a fatty is.
First, thanks to those who chipped in with advice as I was building my UDS and thanks to those whose ideas I borrowed. I seasoned it on Saturday, did a cook on Sunday and it rocked. My UDS-ified ECB now has a UDS for a big brother.
For the build, I used a 16 gauge drum with 3 racks and the standard 3 intakes. Kicked it up a few notches with a modified aluminum flange mod for the lid, a beer opener, a cheap but functional furniture dolly for mobility, a Tel Tru therm to augment my Maverick, a perforated pizza pan as a diffuser and a removable, adjustable shelf. The hardware is all SS, plus some fiber washers. I had it sandblasted and the paint is all Duplicolor; the primer, followed by blue, followed by a clear coat.
And after all that, watching it cook was amazing. At times, I surprisingly had a wide (as in 20 - 40 degree) temp difference between the perimeter and the center, but I was also able to get it dialed in to the point where I only had a 3 degree difference. It was rolling thin blue pretty much once I got the temp settled in with little to no smoke leaking around the lid for a solid seal.
The first cook consisted of 3 slabs of baby backs with the Oakridge Dominator rub. I let 'em ride naked for about 3.5 hrs at around 250 - 260 and they were awesome. The wood was cherry and pecan. Not much in the way of a smoke ring but that's aesthetic. After that, I tossed on some wings with the HDD and those were also awesome. I had to let the heat mellow a bit for a day before eating more than 1, but that slow burn was awesome.
For fuel, I'm rolling with Ozark Oak. I only had to add 3 pieces of hot lump to slowly bring the temp to where I wanted it. I've got a bag of Rockwood waiting in the wings and might try some Stubbs. For future cooks, I might experiment a different diffuser and I'd like to ditch the HD wood chunks in favor of some mini splits from Fruita Wood as I'd really like to try peach and post oak, among others. Thanks for looking.
For the build, I used a 16 gauge drum with 3 racks and the standard 3 intakes. Kicked it up a few notches with a modified aluminum flange mod for the lid, a beer opener, a cheap but functional furniture dolly for mobility, a Tel Tru therm to augment my Maverick, a perforated pizza pan as a diffuser and a removable, adjustable shelf. The hardware is all SS, plus some fiber washers. I had it sandblasted and the paint is all Duplicolor; the primer, followed by blue, followed by a clear coat.
And after all that, watching it cook was amazing. At times, I surprisingly had a wide (as in 20 - 40 degree) temp difference between the perimeter and the center, but I was also able to get it dialed in to the point where I only had a 3 degree difference. It was rolling thin blue pretty much once I got the temp settled in with little to no smoke leaking around the lid for a solid seal.
The first cook consisted of 3 slabs of baby backs with the Oakridge Dominator rub. I let 'em ride naked for about 3.5 hrs at around 250 - 260 and they were awesome. The wood was cherry and pecan. Not much in the way of a smoke ring but that's aesthetic. After that, I tossed on some wings with the HDD and those were also awesome. I had to let the heat mellow a bit for a day before eating more than 1, but that slow burn was awesome.
For fuel, I'm rolling with Ozark Oak. I only had to add 3 pieces of hot lump to slowly bring the temp to where I wanted it. I've got a bag of Rockwood waiting in the wings and might try some Stubbs. For future cooks, I might experiment a different diffuser and I'd like to ditch the HD wood chunks in favor of some mini splits from Fruita Wood as I'd really like to try peach and post oak, among others. Thanks for looking.
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