My 16 gallon UDS

[kevreh]

Well its been a fun week! After 1st posting on this forum last week, fast forward to today and I've completed my 1st smoke session (?) over the weekend. Thanks to everyone's help here!

Smoked meat has been a mystery to me ever since I paid attention to it (at a good restaurant, after trying smoked salmon on the North Shore of Lake Superior, smelling the 200+ year old smoke houses at Mt Vernon and Monticello). Always thought it was a matter of buying a good, expensive smoke box.

Back to the present, after some back and forth, and luck, I went with a 16 gallon size smoker using an oil can from jiffy lube. Yea, its a little small but seems fine for a family (with 2 kids who don't eat much yet). In the future, if more space is needed, maybe I'll step it up or go with a different style. If nothing else please skip to the end to read my "Areas to Improve". Thanks!

The oil drum, kindly cleaned by the folks at jiffy lube;
http://www.rehbeins.com/photodrop/DSC_0157.jpg

Next step, after a burnout, and grinding with low grit paper and angle grinder, inside and out;


Painted, new top, 2- 1/2" inlet valves, 1/8" copper pipe adapter as temp probe holder. I need to attach a metal bracket to hold the temperature gauge, its magnetic and will melt;


Hickory I used from Lowes, good size chunks;


Lump charcoal from Home Depot (seemed to be low quality, a few big pieces and a lot of small stuff, no consistency...I chopped the big pieces up);


My stack of cedar kindling for the bottom of the basket. The cedar burns fast, just enough to get the charcoal going;


My basket. It was $30 to have a local metal shop cut it and weld it together for me. Not bad in this area. Read in another thread the idea of just setting it on the side burner on a gas grill. Brilliant and easy! With the kindling things were going in 30 seconds or less;


Skirt or flank steak for fajitas, with italian sausage I had in the freezer;


Done, I threw the sausage an steak on the grill for a few minutes to crisp things up a bit;


And the complete spread;



I was in heaven. These were the best fajita's and sausage I've ever had. No question. The smokieness was nice, and the meat was tender. Good thing with a low/slow cook is you can buy lesser quality meat at times since the meat has time to tenderize.

Areas to Improve

- Temps fluctuated between 230 and 270. Need to fine tune how I use the inlet and top vents.
- After 3 hours of cooking (not much time since the flanks steaks were pretty thin, maybe 1") the lump charcoal was maybe only 25% used up. Towards the end the temp was down to about 220. Once done, I left the lid off and the charcoal took off. So not sure what I'm doing wrong (well, has something to do with the vents, maybe 2- 1/2" inlets aren't enough?)
- Next time I want to try small lump charcoal or regular charcoal so I can space the charcoal and wood chunks better. Is there a way to prevent all the wood from burning up right away?
- I have a PID that would be cool to setup with a thermocouple and small fan. In theory it would blow air into the bottom depending on target temp. Not sure how "controllable" charcoal is. Once the fan comes on and the charcoal takes off, how can you slow it down?

[Shaymus]

Mix your chunks throughout the coal and and make like a bowl. Put a small amount ofit coals In the middle, that way it will take longer to burn all of your fuel. You want your top vents all the way open and adjust the air with the bottom valve. As for the temp spiking up when you removed the lid, they all do that. Hopefully others will add as I am not an expert.
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"Life is like a jalepeno, What you do today may burn your ass tomorrow"

[MacEggs]

Looks fantastic, Kevin! Nice work on the Mini!

Keep the top vent (exhaust) open during length of smoke.

When you are "done", put lid back on, close all vents including the exhaust.
This will help prevent the charcoal from taking off, and the cooker will slowly cool down.

Bury some wood below the top layer, so it will burn later.

I can't help you with the PID, as I've never used one.

All in all, you will learn your cooker the more you use it.
Have fun!

As Shaymus said, they all do that. Just gotta work fast when the lid is off.
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"If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy."
Pickled Eggs

The cookers (so far).
Some Weber kettles of various age, color and size
UDS & Mini UDS
Abby Normal ECB
Napoleon Propane Grill

[Mahoney86]

Very nice looking job you did there.

The air getting into the coals is what is causing your temps to shoot up. As said to[ vent fully open, adjust your heat with the bottom vents.

Great looking meal, enjoy the fun!

[GF]

kevreh, looks good.

As already said, leave the top exhaust open.

Close your intakes down 5-10 mins before you open it and leave them closed 10-15 mins after you close it, unless you're really fast. Helps with temp spikes.

Cowboy lump is tough, I use it as it's all I can find close in the winter, try and break up the pieces to similar size.

You can put a few lumps in a chimmney and start on your gasser very quickly.

Can't help with the PID or fans, play with the cooker a few more times, you may not need any of it.

[kevreh]

Thanks all for the feedback. Yeah, I was thinking the same about maybe not needing the PID. Since the UDS's tend to be stable will probably not need the PID once I fine tune my technique.

About the cowboy lump coal, I'll do more reading here but in the meantime, do you guys tend to use the lump charcoal or the briquets?

[Shaymus]

I use both. I tend to stay away from cowboy because i have found insulation and pieces of plywood in it. That can't be good for you. If i cook a brisket over night i use briquettes so i can get some sleep.
_________________
"Life is like a jalepeno, What you do today may burn your ass tomorrow"

[kevreh]

Yeah I found a piece of lumber in mine, not a big deal unless it was PT (pressure treated)

[SoEzzy]

Please read PMPNLT650pxOTLS!
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Here's a change Robert.

I still work here!

[KAKid]

Good looking chow right there!

I use GF's technique when I need to access the meat during a cook. It really helps with the temp spikes.

I've used Stubb's briquets with decent results, but availability is an issue. Our local Wally store brings in 3 pallets of Royal Oak (Red) Lump each Spring. I scarf up 20 or so bags and Scotty D (a local vender) snags a couple pallets. For $7 per 10lb bag it does a dang fine job. On the UDS, I can get a brisket cook and a rib cook out of 1 bag. I avoid Cowboy like the plague! YRMV.
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I was taught to respect my elders. It's just getting harder to find them.


Chargriller Outlaw w/SFB and Mods
Pair of UDS's
10 gal CI Chili/Jambalaya pot