drallan81
Knows what a fatty is.
Howdy all,
Just some tips and tricks that I have learned on my fairly new UDS w/ risers and 3/4" ball valves. In the fall I came across a CL deal that was too good to be true, a brand new drum, holes drilled, and complete parts for $100. All that needed to be done was assembly, paint and ring to fit a weber lid. The parts and holes were set up for a 3/4" pipe and risers that came up just above the 2nd band but still below top of the drum. I was a little reluctant on the height of the risers, but as the holes for the u-bolts were drilled so high, I went ahead and put it together as designed.
I got her all together, a few fresh coats of high temp flat black BBQ paint and did a test run w/ just KBB and about a 1/2 filled basket. Initially everything looked good, but after a couple of hours I had a hard time keeping temps up. I'm used to working w/ my 18" WSM w/ IQ120 which holds rock solid for 12 hours and was a little disappointed. I hooked up my IQ120 and tried again the following weekend, with better but not great results. Deciding not to give up, the following weekend I tried her out w/ a Pork Butt and once again found that it really struggled to keep temps after a few hours. Even w/ all 4 valves wide open.
Fast Forward several unsatisfactory cooks and a lot of frustration and I think I have finally got her solved. I was about to reduce the height of the risers, but have seen many people w/ lots of success using this set up and figured that it must be something else. So after a lot of practice charcoal, thanks to a stock pile of KBB on a BOGO deal for $10 and some modifications I might have some tips for others who are struggling w/ their UDS.
I was determined to get it to work w/ KBB. I had some success w/ Stubbs and Lump, but often had a hard time justifying that I was spending as much on charcoal as I was on meat for small cooks. With the modifications listed below I have now had 2 successful cooks w/ KBB in a row w/o having to touch anything once it got going.
1) I raised up the charcoal basket another inch or 2. The basket that came w/ my UDS had welded on legs that were only about 1" or so. I think the KBB was building up so much that it was snuffing the airflow.
2) I added a deflector plate. Initially I was running w/o a diflector plate so that I could get the flavor of the fat dripping on the coals. But I think on really fatty meats there was just too much drippage and it was also snuffing the fire. This was evidenced by the large pool of grease in the bottom of UDS after cooks. A few bolts and a 16" pizza pan later and now the fire is protected from the drips.
After making those 2 modifications I have been able to successfully run my UDS for about 10 hours (haven't really tried longer) on about 1/2 bag of KBB w/o needing to really mess with it. Now that I have it down w/ the cheap stuff, I'm going to give it a run w/ some Stubbs or Lump. But I figured I'd pass this info along to those who are struggling w/ their UDS. Because I was getting really frustrated. Next step is to see how she does at higher temps for turkesy/chicken.
Thanks,
Just some tips and tricks that I have learned on my fairly new UDS w/ risers and 3/4" ball valves. In the fall I came across a CL deal that was too good to be true, a brand new drum, holes drilled, and complete parts for $100. All that needed to be done was assembly, paint and ring to fit a weber lid. The parts and holes were set up for a 3/4" pipe and risers that came up just above the 2nd band but still below top of the drum. I was a little reluctant on the height of the risers, but as the holes for the u-bolts were drilled so high, I went ahead and put it together as designed.
I got her all together, a few fresh coats of high temp flat black BBQ paint and did a test run w/ just KBB and about a 1/2 filled basket. Initially everything looked good, but after a couple of hours I had a hard time keeping temps up. I'm used to working w/ my 18" WSM w/ IQ120 which holds rock solid for 12 hours and was a little disappointed. I hooked up my IQ120 and tried again the following weekend, with better but not great results. Deciding not to give up, the following weekend I tried her out w/ a Pork Butt and once again found that it really struggled to keep temps after a few hours. Even w/ all 4 valves wide open.
Fast Forward several unsatisfactory cooks and a lot of frustration and I think I have finally got her solved. I was about to reduce the height of the risers, but have seen many people w/ lots of success using this set up and figured that it must be something else. So after a lot of practice charcoal, thanks to a stock pile of KBB on a BOGO deal for $10 and some modifications I might have some tips for others who are struggling w/ their UDS.
I was determined to get it to work w/ KBB. I had some success w/ Stubbs and Lump, but often had a hard time justifying that I was spending as much on charcoal as I was on meat for small cooks. With the modifications listed below I have now had 2 successful cooks w/ KBB in a row w/o having to touch anything once it got going.
1) I raised up the charcoal basket another inch or 2. The basket that came w/ my UDS had welded on legs that were only about 1" or so. I think the KBB was building up so much that it was snuffing the airflow.
2) I added a deflector plate. Initially I was running w/o a diflector plate so that I could get the flavor of the fat dripping on the coals. But I think on really fatty meats there was just too much drippage and it was also snuffing the fire. This was evidenced by the large pool of grease in the bottom of UDS after cooks. A few bolts and a 16" pizza pan later and now the fire is protected from the drips.
After making those 2 modifications I have been able to successfully run my UDS for about 10 hours (haven't really tried longer) on about 1/2 bag of KBB w/o needing to really mess with it. Now that I have it down w/ the cheap stuff, I'm going to give it a run w/ some Stubbs or Lump. But I figured I'd pass this info along to those who are struggling w/ their UDS. Because I was getting really frustrated. Next step is to see how she does at higher temps for turkesy/chicken.
Thanks,
