Want to move more air... will I be happy with a UDS?

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churrodog

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Everyone is always looking for a cooker that conserves fuel and the Akorn seems to do that quite well, but I would like something that moves air a little better. Would still like to cook at 300* or lower with lump and still have good air flow. Drums are easy to find around here and still debating building a direct fire block pit this spring. Would air flow be a nice improvement for a UDS over the Akorn or should I keep pushing toward an all wood fire?
 
I had an Akorn once and I believe what he means is you basically have to shut the intake and exhaust darn near all the way to maintain a 275-300° temp. I mean just a sliver open on each.
If that's the case, I do believe a UDS would be more of what you are looking for. Or as Smitty mentioned a stick burner as well....
 
You can do both churro. To answer your question yes UDS be made to have plenty of airflow especially if you add adequate exhaust.
 
Bludawg said:
Relatively the same air flow
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input. This is my concern.

SmittyJonz said:
Moving air and conserving fuel don't go together.........
Click to expand...

Sorry if I wasn't clear, but I do want to burn more fuel and move more air. Just isn't possible in the Akorn without running 350+.

SmittyJonz said:
I'd build a UDS and buy a stickburner.
Click to expand...

The plan is for a block pit, just won't want to use it all of the time.

AClarke44 said:
I had an Akorn once and I believe what he means is you basically have to shut the intake and exhaust darn near all the way to maintain a 275-300° temp. I mean just a sliver open on each.
If that's the case, I do believe a UDS would be more of what you are looking for. Or as Smitty mentioned a stick burner as well....
Click to expand...

You got my original intent. I have a propane cabinet that moves a ton of air compared to the kamado but am kind of ready to move on from it.
 
Fwismoker said:
You can do both churro. To answer your question yes UDS be made to have plenty of airflow especially if you add adequate exhaust.
Click to expand...

Any particular member's setup I should take a look at? They are so easy to source I think I would like to try this.
 
SmittyJonz said:
Moving air and conserving fuel don't go together.........
Click to expand...

Exactly right.

Probably the question ought to be: what does "moving air" mean to you, and what is your thinking about the need for more?

Perhaps the other question ought to be - what are you cooking on now, and what challenges or problems are you trying to get beyond?

The UDS is definitely a fuel miser. No doubt about that. And you can cook an amazing array of meats, etc., with a UDS. Everything from a cool smoke to a hot smoke. The UDS is limited on cooking area, but is that a concern? If you are moving from something like a Weber Kettle grill and want something to do real smoking, and handle the air/fuel better than a simple kettle grill, the UDS is a step up.

If you are considering that you want something that moves a lot of air, an offset may be more toward your liking.

I personally like my big offset for much the same reason - it moves and disperses the air nicely and has a much larger area for air movement. I also like that I can let the fire burn more efficiently than the gentle smolder that a UDS typically has. I do have a nice UDS that I built myself, and really have no problems with it with anything I have cooked.

The UDS and the offsets have remarkably different burning and air flow systems, but note also - many, many competitions have been won by both. The real key is how the cook learns and accommodates his or her own equipment.
 
churrodog said:
You got my original intent. I have a propane cabinet that moves a ton of air compared to the kamado but am kind of ready to move on from it.
Click to expand...

Lots of people really like the Akorn but I fought with mine and wanted more air flow as you mentioned. I ended up selling it. It's great for grilling and very high heat searing but I was looking for a slower cooker. I ended up getting a PBC and it more than meets my needs. If you are looking to build, a UDS is your obvious choice and if I were to build one I'd consider the Big Poppa kit. If you don't wanna build, I'd recommend a WSM or a PBC......
 
revkab said:
Exactly right.

Probably the question ought to be: what does "moving air" mean to you, and what is your thinking about the need for more?

I personally like my big offset for much the same reason - it moves and disperses the air nicely and has a much larger area for air movement. I also like that I can let the fire burn more efficiently than the gentle smolder that a UDS typically has. I do have a nice UDS that I built myself, and really have no problems with it with anything I have cooked.

The UDS and the offsets have remarkably different burning and air flow systems, but note also - many, many competitions have been won by both. The real key is how the cook learns and accommodates his or her own equipment.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input.

I have a propane cabinet that "moves air". It ignites chunks of wood and could even burn a whole split in the cast iron pan. However, it only burns clean when running below 250 because of the distance between the CI and the burner.

The akorn burns clean above 300, best at 350+. Kind of trying to eliminate the cabinet and fill the gap up to that 350 number.
 
AClarke44 said:
Lots of people really like the Akorn but I fought with mine and wanted more air flow as you mentioned. I ended up selling it. It's great for grilling and very high heat searing but I was looking for a slower cooker. I ended up getting a PBC and it more than meets my needs. If you are looking to build, a UDS is your obvious choice and if I were to build one I'd consider the Big Poppa kit. If you don't wanna build, I'd recommend a WSM or a PBC......
Click to expand...

I don't mind building, I sold a project car and need an excuse to wrench on something anyway.

Didn't have a grill when I got the akorn anyway, so it has been a great chicken and pork machine for me. Just want something for the big meats.
 
You can cook using more air flow in an Acorn with a pretty simple mod of the intake which allows the exhaust to be ALOT more open than without the mod. Works very well, Smoke Ninja bought mine and hasn't had a problem doing lowNslow or high heat cooks. But you will not burn enough coal/wood to get a heavier smoke flavor since it burns less than 1/3 the fuel compared to a UDS.
Using a UDS, if you have enough intake and exhaust, you can very easily control your temps to where ever you want. From 150* to 750* plus. And if wanted you can burn straight wood with the right size splits, but you will have to tend the fire going that route.
I'm still experimenting with my horizontal UDS. And I really like the ease of use and clean out along with grate areas. To see what difference one taller exhaust would do, I added a 12" section to the rear exhaust. Holy cow! I could not keep my temps below 350*, where with out that added extension, I would run 180*. The extra draw made to drastic of a change, I'm going to cut that 12" extension down to 6" and see what that does next.
If you have any specific questions, I'll be glad to help where possible.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3134109&posted=1#post3134109
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3410813#post3410813
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=181570&highlight=uds+intake
 
ebijack said:
You can cook using more air in an Acorn with a pretty simple mod of the intake which allows the exhaust to be ALOT more open than without the mod. Works very well, Smoke Ninja bought mine and hasn't had a problem doing lowNslow or high heat cooks. But you will not burn enough coal/wood to get a heavier smoke flavor since it burns less than 1/3 the fuel compared to a UDS.
Using a UDS, if you have enough intake and exhaust, you can very easily control your temps to where ever you want. From 150* to 750* plus. And if wanted you can burn straight wood with the right size splits, but you will have to tend the fire going that route.
I'm still experimenting with my horizontal UDS. And I really like the ease of use and clean out along with grate areas. To see what difference one taller exhaust would do, I added a 12" section to the rear exhaust. Holy cow! I could not keep my temps below 350*, where with out that added extension, I would run 180*. The extra draw made to drastic of a change, I'm going to cut that 12" extension down to 6" and see what that does next.
If you have any specific questions, I'll be glad to help where possible.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3134109&posted=1#post3134109
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3410813#post3410813
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=181570&highlight=uds+intake
Click to expand...


Thanks for your input. I have read through most of your threads including following your horizontal UDS setup. It's more than I can do on the fabrication side, but looking forward to seeing what you get out of your experiments. :thumb:

I think I am looking for more smoke flavor than the akorn will provide. Gotten used to the stock vents, just don't really plan to run it under 300 any more. No sense in fighting it.
 
is it possible to move more air by using a smaller hotter fire in a UDS? in my 1/4" vertical UDS style cooker i use a maze in the charcoal basket to allow more air flow but keep the temps down.
 
Heres some pics of ebijacks mods to the akorn.

The Ebi intake



The Ebi basket



The Ebi grate (stainless instead of cast iron)



This stainless steel grate still accepts the additional swing grate that comes with the akorn. It is lighter and easier to manage when removing for access to diffuser. Its also less maintenance.

The diffuser (a wrapped pizza pan) rests on a weber charcoal grate where the smokin stone sits. Coals can also be placed on that grate for high heat or 2 zone grilling.

These mods make for an even more versatile cooker that i enjoy having in the lineup.
 
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