UDS Build Question

[freshmeat]

I have a weber lid which fits very well. The barrel is 34" tall. I am planning to construct the bottom of charcoal basket 3" off the bottom; place lowest rack 24" above the floor of basket. If I drop 1" from the top of barrel to place top rack, that gives me 6" between racks. This 6" does not seem like much room between racks. Am I just over analyzing this?

Am I good to go with this plan?

 

[BandCollector]

My dimensions are the same as yours and I have had no problems. Remember.......we are not building a watch, just a smoker......it's not an exact science......Have Fun!

 

[solaryellow]

You should be fine. I have roughly about the same betwen racks on my UDS. Truth be told, I only use the top rack when doing a turkey or prime rib when I need to place a drip pan below for gravy/au jus.

 

[travcoman45]

Build it, it'll work!

 

[smokin' dick]

Hey Solaryellow. Just noticed you are in WS, NC. My sister lives there too. Nice place to be. Next time I'm there for a visit I'll give you a shout.
Richard

Don't worry, it's been about 5 years since I've been down there!

 

[solaryellow]

Please do. First bourbon is on me.

 

[meateater]

If it feels good bust out the tools.

 

[ddave]

Should be fine.

Sounds about the same as mine. I have done pork butts on the bottom rack with ribs on top. Six inches is actually quite a bit of room depending on what you want to put on the bottom if using two racks. Plenty of room for pork butts and even briskets.

Only one word of caution though -- if you're using both racks at once, don't load them too full. Leave some gaps for air to travel through otherwise you'll mess up your draft and have problems with temps. Other than that, cooking with double racks -- aside from the shuffling to get to the bottom rack -- works really well.

Dave