UDS Vent Question

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gtapitmaster

Newbie
Original poster
Jul 23, 2015
1
10
Hello fellow smokers! I have been a long time lurker but I finally had to join so that I can finally get an answer to my question. I currently smoke on a pellet smoker but my father had an extra UDS that he bought years ago and let me have it for no cost! I have seen him use it for hanging chickens and ribs. I noticed when I got the UDS delivered that it had a short stack top vent and four 2.25 inch vent holes on the bottom. All the vents don't have the ability to close as I assume the UDS builder built the smoker to run on full air and heat. My question is is there anyway I can control the temps so that its not running at high heat all the time. I would love to do some pork butts, ribs and turkeys at lower temps but my brother has one as well and he says his runs between 350-400 degrees. I have included photos to show what the vents look like. I would love to have the capability to throttle down temps. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks and I am happy to be part of the community!



 
you would have to take that little guard off those air intakes and install something along the lines of a ball valve to control the air intake 
 
See if you can get some sort of reducer for iron pipe that will reduce the larger hole into a 1" or 1.5" hole then you can add a ball valve to it to control the air flow.

Worst case would be to cover the holes with a piece of steel then drill new smaller holes. 
 
If you didn't want to remove the vent covers you could use high temp duct tape. When I run my UDS below 300, I usually only have one of my 1" valves vents barely cracked. Get to the temp you want and start slapping tape on the vents. Another option would be to seal up what you have and put in (3) 1" valved vents.

Your exhaust is fine. It should always be open when cooking. Temperature is controlled by the vents at the bottom of the drum.

Now with all that said you can cook pork butts and brisket at higher temps and still get excellent results. Low and slow isn't always the way to go!
 
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