Slow start on UDS but almost done ( pics )

[lugnutz]

maiden voyage..ever see Titantic??  Pandemonium walked me thru a few things that may be my problem.  I'm havin a heck of a time keepin temps down and the bottom vent is closed.

Maybe that lid doesn't fit so well.  I'll stop in and see about some stove door gasket to get it to seal up better.  Wouldn't have thought that a lid up that high would cause such a problem but who knows.

I'll muddle my way thru this pork loin and hope for the best.  Was gonna cook it on my offset Brinkman but..I f'ed up the thermo on it tryin to remove it to use on the UDS LOL just my luck.

 

[duck killer 1]

as far as an ash pan i found a piece of 24 ga. stainless steel and i just cut it out and bent the edges up a little with a pair of line pliers it works great.

 

[pandemonium]

you ll get it working right and all will be good, plus getting used to it the first time or two is all about figuring how she cooks. next time use half of a charcoal chimney full and you will be in better shape too

 

[pandemonium]

here this might help but its not the only way to do it but somewhere i saw it and went with this way and its been good, you use a coffee can and cut out both sides and do like this thrn you dump the lit coals into it then remove the coffee can with tongs.

 

[lugnutz]

Ok I made it thru the first smoke on the uds. It was a roller coaster ride as far as the temps but I have to say that this pork loin is probably the best I've had in a long time. I pulled it at 160 and let it rest about 5 minutes while the wife finished up some veggies and mashed tators.

 

[pandemonium]

Looks good man, i see the smoke ring!!! hey i just thought about it but did you use coals or lump charcoal? Lump is harder to control, i found that out on my last smoke.

 

[lugnutz]

used bricks  I think I had an air leak in that patch on the bottom, and probably too much lit coals to begin with.  I'll work on it next weekend and see what happens.

 

[duck killer 1]

looks great!

 

[tom37]

 

 maiden voyage..ever see Titantic?? 

 

Now Now...... It couldn't have been that bad, I see sliced meat.  And it looks as if you got a pretty nice smoke ring going on there. Glad it all turned out for ya. And just think the next 5000 times will get easier and easier each time. Before you know it you are gonna be smokin in your sleep.

Duckkiller, I see you have the calculators there in your sig that we all seen to have a hard time keeping track of, maybe Jeff can find a home for them here on the site where its easy to find. A wiki maybe, but since I haven't ventured in to that I can't do it myself. (yet)

 

[placebo]

That looks like a great maiden voyage to me. I'd happily chow down on that loin! It will only get better from here. Congrats!

 

[lugnutz]

got a few things today to help the uds out.  as mentioned earlier I had temp problems. I bought some stove gasket to put around the lid, and the boys and I braved the bugs and skeeters to re-seal the patch at the bottom of the stove. I think the gasket will help out a bunch ( around the lid where it isn't air tight ) and I picked up a ball valve for the intake that I still need to assemble!!  Maiden Voyage Part II coming up tomorrow.  I bought some beef to use as a second test run!! Can't wait, once it is up and running correctly we will put the finishing touches on it and then it will be a true UDS  and I don't mean Ugly Drum Smoker.. Can't wait to show ya all what I mean.

 

[meateater]

here this might help but its not the only way to do it but somewhere i saw it and went with this way and its been good, you use a coffee can and cut out both sides and do like this thrn you dump the lit coals into it then remove the coffee can with tongs.

I like that idea alot, very cool.

 

 

[pandemonium]

Thanks Meateater, someone on here posted this way and i cant remember who did it?

 

[lugnutz]

major fail on gasket install this weekend..trying again LOL  Leave it to me to take a simple idea and make it so complicated!

 

[lugnutz]

new 5/8" stove gasket around the barrel works!! cooked spares today and while the temps still bounce they are much slower and easier to control!  Some practice and tweaking should have it running like it should in no time!! 

 

[roller]

Man it looks real good!!!!!!!!!!!  I cant wait to find me a barrel and get started with a UDS build...

 

[bayouchilehead]

It's lookin' good Lug, keep up the good work.

 

[lugnutz]

Thanks guys! Its been a real test working with a lid that is different from the norm.  The new gasket while not pretty is working great!  Kept temps between 200 and 250 during a 6 hour smoke today. Only once did it jump to 260 and with a few adjustments it fell quickly back under 250. 

 

[duck killer 1]

Thanks guys! Its been a real test working with a lid that is different from the norm.  The new gasket while not pretty is working great!  Kept temps between 200 and 250 during a 6 hour smoke today. Only once did it jump to 260 and with a few adjustments it fell quickly back under 250. 

sounds like it's runnin great!
 

 

[tom37]

A few more smokes and you'll have it dialed right in. Nice work Lug.