First build almost done, recommendations wanted.

[auggydoggy502]

Any recommendations? My coal box has 2.5" legs a friend recomended me bump those up to 4 inches and another person said my intakes are to long and they are 1". I have a 2" smoke stack that is on its say and hopefully waitinf for me in the mailbox when i get home from work.

 

[auggydoggy502]

So much for suggestion. Just gonna be trial and error. I did figure out that the tall intakes do not work. At least not for me. With 2 1" inlets fully open and strait out of the bottom (no elbows or long pipe) can still only get 250. Gonna have to add an inlet and maybe another outlet. Hopefully this helps someone that is building a similar one.

 

[hardcookin]

I would leave the legs at 2.5 I think you should be ok at that length.
I usually have 3 3/4" inlets
I think you should be able to achieve a higher tempture than 250. I suspect airflow is the problem.
What are you using for fuel? Charcoal/lump?

 

[auggydoggy502]

I lifted the basket today to about 4 inches. 2 inch outlet on top. Still just 255-260 top temp i could get it to. Fresh from the store kingsford charcoal. Any idea if its intake or exhaust?

 

[hardcookin]

Is your intakes 1" with a 1" valve?
Most of the UDS I have seen have had 3 3/4" nipples 2 with caps and 1 with a valve.
The exhaust on my UDS was a 2" and 3/4" bung holes that was already in the barrel lid. I could hit pretty much any temp I wanted to cook at.
Is your Temp gauge correct?

 

[jay6896]

I don't think raising your basket was necessary. Mine sits on the bolt heads that hold the grate to the ash pan. The problems reaching temp are not your inlets, its your outlet. My outlet is over 3", the large bung that was in my barrel lid, and with 2- 3/4" openings I can go well above 300. I also have a 1.125" opening. To cook at 250 with very little fluctuation I close the 3/4" openings and throttle the larger one to ALMOST all the way open. It's very scientific. LOL

 

[bmaddox]

Your exhaust should be enough to get hotter temps than that. Two 1" valves is on the lower side for intake. The temps are mostly controlled by intake so I would recommend adding another 1" intake. You don't need a valve on it just a cap so it is either open or closed. 

 

[auggydoggy502]

Well its official, my temp gauge on the front of the uds is junk. Dumped in charcoal from chimney and put my meat probe on the top rack of the smoke then put the lid on and had only one intake valve open all the way. 30 min later front gauge reading 150 probe reading 378. That crazy how off that thing was. Adjusted the valve and got the temp steady at 241 and smoked some baby backs. Thanks for all the input. New to smoking and im addicted already.

 

[hardcookin]

Glad you got your problems sorted out. Will enjoy seeing some pictures of your smokes.