Ok... so I ran experiment 3 tonight (last night?) in prep for my first UDS cook tomorrow (today?). I think I have a fair handle on how to regulate the temp and kep it between 225-250 without making too many adjustments - still learning though, so I need to adjust about once every hour.
I noted that my build is not as tight as I initially thought - I saw some white smoke leaking out from the rim of the lid when after I added 5 lit briqs to a chimney of unlit briqs. Should I look for a high temp gasket of some kind (if so what do I need and how do I put it in place?) Or should I take a mallet/heavy hammer and try to get a better seal on the drum?
I plan to smoke 2 racks of babybacks and a beer can chicken. I estimate this will take 4-5 hours. Should I load everything up at the start or should I put the chicken on after 1 hr so that the ribs get about 5 hours and the chicken takes about 4?
Oh, and as promised, here are pics. I tried to keep it simple but got carried away with the charcoal basket and ash pan. The pics don't show the Traeger thermometer I put in the lid, which by the way did not work out as planned. I thought maybe the lid thermo would be off by some amount and I could just remember what he difference would be. Instead, the thermo lags by 50* when a grate probe reads 150*, then an additonal 10* for every ~100*... so off by 50*, then 60*, then 70*. I can't remember any of the calculus I learned (and forgot) so long ago, so I think I will move the Traeger thermo to grate level later.
Last thing - I noticed that after 3 test burns, there was some discoloration of the grate and the stem of the thermo stem. I lifted the lid and there was a scant amount of dark fluid on the lip of the lid... felt somewhat oily. Is this the dreaded creosote ad will it get on my food??:eusa_clap Or did I just season with veg oil too generously when I did the first test burn?
Pic 1: My first UDS... getting uglier by he minute:-D
Pic 2: View of the intake mod (nothing special, but I'm still proud of it)
Pic 3: inside view... I made the grab bars to leave space for a coffee can to be pulled out easily. Now I realize that I will probably not use a coffee can.
Pic 4: Ash pan. I like that it is not attached to the basket. The middle post is a handle to lift it in and out of the UDS.
Pic 5: Groceries!! I laid out a bunch of sauces since I haven't made up my mind yet which one(s) I will use.
Have a great weekend brothers! May the smoke be with you...:biggrin:
PS: just realized that some pics are sideways... sorry.
