need help my uds dosnt work right

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mikey345

Newbie
Original poster
Jul 19, 2015
5
10
Hey guyse
My uds isn't hot enough  and stops working after about two hours
I built my smoking using 55-gallon barrel
drilled 3 3/4 inch holes  attached to  a ball valv about one inch from the bottom of the barrel
And another 4 holes of 3/4 inch on the lid
For a coal basket i used in 16-inch BBQ grill
Does anyone have an idea how to fix my smoking?

 

 
Take the risers off your intake vents, re install your ball valves in the holes at the bottom and give it another try.

I'd also remove the elbows off the lid.
 
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I agree with everyone else. The 3/4" risers are too small and having the risers makes it harder for the smoker the pull a draft through the pipes. I would change to 3 1" intakes with no risers. The exhaust is probably fine. 
 
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I've got one inch risers on mine with a one inch close intake with a cap no ball valves. It run temps from 250-275. How far off the bottom of the drum is your charcoal basket?
 
Get rid of the risers....was told that as a general rule the exhausts need to be twice the intake
 
basket stand on 2 inche screws (intake holes are et about one inch)
Is there anyone else who knows abut the  exhausts need to be twice the intake rule?
Is there a difference between the exhaust in the form of 1 chimney or as in my case?
 
 
When I was messing around with mine I had 8 .750" exhausts. If I left 4 of them covered it would not get over 275* or so. I will look for the email I got from someone on another site I go to. He is a boiler engineer of some sorts. If I remember right the way a UDS works is closely related to something called the chimney effect, the amount of exhaust you have actually creates a draft on the intakes. I do remember that with all 4 .750" intakes open and all 8 .750" exhausts open it would hit 500*. With only 4 exhaust open and all the intakes it would not get over 275*.
 
I did a single 3" hole in the lid that runs open all the time.  For the intake I have 2 one inch nipples with caps and 1 one inch with a riser pipe and a 1/4 turn valve.  I can run mine from about 200 degrees on the low end and I have successfully (on accident) ran it up to almost 480 when I burned it off.  With one nipple off and the valve opened it will hold right at 325 or so for chicken.  My brother runs a 3/4" setup like you  but only has a single riser with valve and two capped nipples with a 3" lid exhaust.  With all three intakes open he can get in the 325-350 range. 

Shelton
 
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