UDS efficiency tested. Amazing!

I know that UDS are extremely efficient when cooking DOTC (direct over the coals). I would cook with a full basket of LUMP charcoal and the volume would hardly change, so I finally decided to test how efficient the uds is.

I wanted to see how much lump charcoal by weight and volume a uds cooking DOTC would use for a typical cook. I used a bone in pork shoulder for the test. I wrapped it after 6 hours and then took it to 202 degrees. I cooked at 250 degrees using the heatermeter to keep temp, and total cook time was 10 hours.

ambient temp started around 97 degrees and it cooled to probably 90 degrees after dark.

I measured the full chimney before cooking and then after cooking I shook off the ash and measured again.I did not use any wood chunks as I wanted to test only the charcoal efficiency

I used the chimney as my charcoal basket and just stuck it in the uds. only mods were to remove the plastic handle, and turn the bottom upside down for more space.


Results. wow!!! I wasnt surprised but it was impressive none the less.

not only are UDS super cheap to build, they are also super cheap to use.:rockon:

cooking at 250 for 10 hours dotc, the uds only used 2.5 lbs of lump charcoal,
or 0.25 lbs of lump per hour of cook time .
therefore a 20lb bag in theory should give 80 hours of cooking time.
and at $16/bag my charcoal cost for a 10 hour cook comes out to only $2.00 per cook :rockon::rockon::rockon:



chimney base installed upside down for more space in chimney



full chimney weight 7lb 9 oz



full chimney lit and in place for cook. notice the plastic handle grip has been removed.



volume after the cook before ash shaken out. looks like used about half volume



ash shaken out, finish weight 5lbs 0.9 oz



heatermeter burn log



Delicous pulled pork

if anyone has similar information for a kamado or other cooker, please share. I know kamados are considered very efficient but I wonder how they would compare to a DOTC UDS

Bob Wiley said:

I tried this with my BGE
12# pork shoulder
I lit one piece of fist sized lump and let it go at 225 degrees
Shoulder was done in 12 hours (195 degrees internal) and the fist sized lump still had a couple hours left in it.

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lol. funny as always bob. thats damn efficient.

now with that efficiency, when you factor in the purchase price the bge would only take a few decades to pay for itself :mrgreen:

zippy12 said:

Home made UDS will snuff out the coal so you can recycle them... PBC my fiend has does not do this do to air leaks...

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true. my uds intakes and exhaust are all 1 1/4 " pipe with caps so I can shut it down virtually air tight when Im done cooking. it really saves on fuel use :thumb:

WilliamKY said:

I love my UDS. My stick burner (which I still cherish) has gathered dust since I built the UDS. Once I get it dialed in it's a beast. Hard to believe a 55gal drum can hold such a steady temp. My fire basket is about 5 inches off the bottom. I'm thinking about building another UDS in stainless.

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Amen!

mine is 7" off the bottom. I like it because i can go dozens of cooks between ash clean outs

Keep your eye out on cl for stainless drums. I found my ss drum for $45. I'll use it when i give this one away or it rusts out

Smoking Piney said:

Very active XL BGE cooker here:

Not to be an a$$, but fuel efficiency was the last thing on my mind when I ponied up the big bucks for this cooker. If I could afford the cooker, I could certainly afford the fuel. It's efficient enough, and lump is cheap enough when I buy it in bulk on sales and stock up.

If fuel efficiency metrics are your thing - more power to you. I just add the lump when I need it and concentrate on the cook. :-D

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no offense taken. I think knowledge is light and this data may not help you but may help someone else. we have a big member base :wink:

WilliamKY said:

I've got a 14" x 2" deep dish pizza pan under my basket. Other than occasionally brushing the cooking grate. clean up is non existent. Dump the ashes and go.

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hmm. good idea!!. :thumb:

SmittyJonz said:

A Red Box Smoker can do that on only .78 lbs of charcoal..............:biggrin1:

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But can it be built in 10 minutes for 15 bucks?

I didn't think so :biggrin1:

SmittyJonz said:

it can be Ordered in 3 minutes..........:mrgreen:

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I would have built, seasoned and cooked three meals on my uds by the time it was delivered. And don't even get me started on wait lists :mrgreen: