Smoker Problems

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fftravism

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I made a new 55gal UDS smoker. It has a 3" smoke pipe and two 3/4" intakes. I get some coals going in a chimney starter and put them on top of some more charcoal in the basket and then put more charcoal on top. I open the intakes 100% and let it get going for about 5 minutes and then put the cover on. After an hour the temp never gets over 150F. If I crack the cover it will fly up to 325 F and I cover it again and it goes back down to 150F over time. Do I need more intakes or what?

Thanks
Travis

smoker.jpg
 
Have you tried to not put unlit charcoal on top of the lit? Start with unlit in the bin, light a half full chimney and dump it on the unlit after 15-20 min. Then leave the lid off for another 5 before you cover it. Sounds to me like you are smothering the fire.
 
^^^agree plus I think you need intake on the bottom also, at least mine does
 
Stlsportster said:
Have you tried to not put unlit charcoal on top of the lit? Start with unlit in the bin, light a half full chimney and dump it on the unlit after 15-20 min. Then leave the lid off for another 5 before you cover it. Sounds to me like you are smothering the fire.
Click to expand...

Agree ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
fftravism said:
I made a new 55gal UDS smoker. It has a 3" smoke pipe and two 3/4" intakes. I get some coals going in a chimney starter and put them on top of some more charcoal in the basket and then put more charcoal on top. I open the intakes 100% and let it get going for about 5 minutes and then put the cover on. After an hour the temp never gets over 150F. If I crack the cover it will fly up to 325 F and I cover it again and it goes back down to 150F over time. Do I need more intakes or what?

Thanks
Travis

smoker.jpg
Click to expand...
I see two 90 degree bends in the risers from the intakes. They restrict the air flow getting to the fire. I have also never seen the lid clamp used on a UDS, maybe the seal has some effect.
 
I was wondering about the 90 degree bends. The plans I used had them and I seen others use them. I am thinking about putting the valves right at the bottom with no 90's or 2ft tubes. I will try the recommendations out this weekend.
Thanks
 
I put two "lazy man" intakes on mine. In my opinion, I don't like them. I also had one at ground level with no valve. My cooker runs perfect with the piped intakes off and the one at ground level completely open. If I were to build another one, I wouldn't add the up pipes. I just don't think they draw very well.
 
Doubt the 90's are the problem, nor the lid clamp. Lots of uds's have both.

If you are truly cracking the lid and the temp roars up, you're probably pulling plenty of air, but not getting enough exhaust. Assuming here that "cracked" is just enough to let more smoke out, not letting a ton of air in.

3" should be plenty of exhaust, but your stack might not be long enough to draft correctly. You might try faking it with a tube of foil that you can slide up and down until you get a length that works.

2 (3/4") vents wide open on mine will run about 275F.

I agree with simplifying the fire and not burying the burning coals, but it burns fine with the lid off, so this isn't your immediate problem.
 
fftravism said:
I get some coals going in a chimney starter and put them on top of some more charcoal in the basket and then put more charcoal on top Like mentioned, do not do this, you are choking the lit coals, and creating alot of white smoke. I open the intakes 100% and let it get going for about 5 minutes and then put the cover on. Let the drum go 15 to 30 mins with the lid off since your intake is not sufficient. After an hour the temp never gets over 150F. If I crack the cover it will fly up to 325 F and I cover it again and it goes back down to 150F over time. Do I need more intakes or what? Either more intake, or get rid of the elbows and long intake stack, and you still might need more intake.
Click to expand...
Using elbows and tall stand pipes reduces/restricts the air flow. To prove this to yourself, remove the stand pipe and just upper elbow. and valve. You will see a difference in the temps you can reach. Also the drum will respond faster to intake adjustments.
 
My take? Simple is often best- take it back to K.I.S.S.- no bells/no whistles. The drum might look a bit "plain Jane" but I (almost) guarantee you will be pleased with the performance. The stack is not hurting anything, the locking band is not hurting anything - but neither are needed. You have plenty of exhaust- I'd lose the elbows and riser tube- move it all to the bottom- straight out. Not required but useful might be another intake that you can cap (no valve unless you just want to). Having 3 at the bottom (no risers or elbows) makes it a bit easier for the drum to come up to temp. I have 3 intakes on mine- but end up running 1 full open, a hair open on the 2nd and #3 capped off when I'm cruising at 300 degrees.

Your startup - as mentioned- might be contributing to your issues. Most everyone fires a basket a bit differently- but adding raw coal on top of the burning that's on top of the bottom layer? Never seen it- and probably for good reason.

Good luck - please let us know how it all works out.
 
What dads said, lose the 90's and let'er roll!
 
I agree that the upstack is the issue. I also put one on my UDS. It has basically the same issue. But if i put a small fan at the top of the stack i have no issues with temp. Without the fan, the temp will crash. I believe there is an air-lock created with the upstack. The pipe standing up alongside the drum gets warm, warm air RISES, going opposite the direction you want it to go, so it is actually snuffing out your fire. I just built my son a UDS. I built it exactly the same way as mine except without an upstack. He has no trouble reaching 350 degrees with nothing but 2 3/4" holes at the bottom regulated with magnets.
 
One more vote for lack more intake. I've always had great success with 4 one inch holes drilled in the bottom with sheet magnets to adjust air flow.

Having too much intake is never a bad thing. You can always close them down a bit. Having too little intake, restricts your options to do things like high heat chicken, etc.

Since I prefer to cook in the 300-325 F range, I'm always happy with larger intakes.
 
"Having too much intake is never a bad thing. You can always close them down a bit."

I've got 3 3/4" intakes and 1 1" ball valve, all at the bottom and sometimes I still think I need more. I vote for more intakes.
 
Oh most definitely need more intake air. Two 3/4 isn't enough yet having bends in them.

Add more bottom air but you can still use ball valve for fine temp tuning.
 
Well I finally got to smoking today. Wife had a baby so put a delay in things. I removed both stacks and put the ball valves on the bottom. Added a third 1" hole that is open all the time. I started a fire in the chimney and let it get going and dumped on top of fire basket and let it get going without dumping any more charcoal on top. Let it go for 15 minutes and it started up good. Was running 275 wide open closed them back and got it to 225 running good. So seems to fixed most the issues.
Thanks guys
Travis
 
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