Starting the coals for my UDS

[Johnny_Crunch]

What technique is everyone using to start their coals?

Do I have to have a chimney?

Can I just fill it up and hit the middle with the weed burner until they get going?

 

[sdb25]

I start 10-15 briquets in a chimney and dump 'em evenly on the top of my charcoal basket. If I'm using lump, I flip the chimney upside down and fill the small part of the chimney.

The weed burner is a popular technique as well. You just wanna get 10-15 coals going if you are going for low temp cooking.


Good luck!

 

[Alan in Ga]

I use the minion method fill your basket unlit coals,start a chimney with about 10 briqs,let them burn til white then on the unlit coals and let her burn.

 

[Rich Parker]

I have done it by just using a weed burner but you have to be careful not to start to many briquettes on fire or else your temps will be hard to control.

 

[Norcoredneck]

Light like this,

Till it looks like this...

Save your eyebrows by not having to dump hot coals down a drum.

 

[EatRBBQ]

Contrary to what many do with the Minion/wicking method...
I use two chimneys and pre-gray all my charcoal before loading my UDS basket. It's a habit I picked up from years of briquette use.

I light it all in the chimney, pour into the charcoal basket, let it breath a minute, then drop the basket into my UDS. I immediately cut airflow and exhaust to a minimum (maybe 1" intake and 1.5" exhaust) until my temps drop to cooking range.

Using a turkey fryer to light the chimneys the entire process from bag to cook temp only takes me about 30 to 40 minutes.

As for cook times, I've used this method and gotten consistent 12 hour plus cooks on my UDS smokers.

Normally I wait for my temps to drop to cooking range, around 230, and then add my smoke wood/chips maybe 5 minutes prior to adding meats.

Again, just something I picked up from years of using briquettes. I just prefer to burn it all gray and get rid of most of any additives.

Since expanding my experiences with UDS smokers I've pretty much switched from briquettes to lump, but I still use the same method. I have tried to use the Minion/wicking method in my UDS and I'm not pleased with the steady flows of white smoke from the raw charcoals.

IMHO the UDS is a sealed enough system that once you tame the temps down your choice of fuel will only burn so fast with so much air flow. I have not encountered the bad, yellow choking fire smoke others have said I might encounter using the process.

I helped a buddy of mine build his own UDS and he doesn't like chimneys for charcoal starting. He uses an electric element charcoal starter - places it in his UDS charcoal basket, pours his lump on top, lets the electric do it's work for 10 to 15 minutes, allows the entire basket to breath til gray, and then loads and controls the temps down to cooking levels.

Just MHO. Give it a try.

I never have charcoal tasting food.

Here's a thread I posted a while back:

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=78949

 

[dgassaway]

I used to use the minion method and light just a few briquettes with the weed burner but I have been born again and left my sinful ways, hallelujah!

After reading EatRBBQ's thread and charcoal comparison I have been converted to the "light 'em all and choke 'em down method".

I was always told that you must catch the temps on the way up because it is hard to ever get them back down if you let the fire get out of control...just not true my brother.

For long cooks I light two large chimneys of coal and let them ash over completely, pour them in my basket with a few chunks of wood and drop it into the smoker. I put the lid on, set the intake valves where I normally run them and leave it alone for 30-45 minutes.

By the time I'm ready to put the meat on the drum my temps are down around 225° and I've got a nice gentle blue wisp of smoke coming out the top, none of that heavy white/yellow chit that makes for bad tasting que.

I have to say it is a much cleaner burning fire, and better tasting food.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=78949

 

[McGurk]

How long are your smokes when having more initially lit charcoal? Is there more used faster, or can you still get long smokes without adding more as you go?

 

[EatRBBQ]

How long are your smokes when having more initially lit charcoal? Is there more used faster, or can you still get long smokes without adding more as you go?

Not to be too repetative...

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=78949


During the above tests I got some excellent, lengthy cook times.
In the months since in my many UDS cooks I get excellent lenghts of cook time. Depending on what I'm cooking I'll close all exhaust and intakes after the cook and I'm often getting a full chimney worth of chunks of charcoal I reuse for the next time.

 

[dgassaway]

How long are your smokes when having more initially lit charcoal? Is there more used faster, or can you still get long smokes without adding more as you go?

No difference that I can tell. I used 2 chimneys last weekend and cooked for a little over 16 hours and had plenty left in the bottom of the basket. I could have gone 20+ hours with no trouble.