funny fuel taste from uds

[hugestapedius]

So ive done a few cooks on my uds with decent results. One thing ive notiiced is a fuely creoste taste on the food. Ive ben following all the tips n tricks online. What gives? Ussually use minion method with lump aand wood chunks burried around basket. Then dump fully lite half chimney in. Place in drum n let roll for hour or soo till i get tbs. I had my drum sandblasted but never gave it a supper hot burn before seasoning could i have residual in the metal pores. Ive had it up to 450 f.

 

[pc farmer]

What do you have for exhaust?

 

[hugestapedius]

Flat top lid with a 6" river country polar array. Has 12 1/2" holes which i always keep fully open. Should be plenty of exhaust?

 

[pc farmer]

Thats enough, I have 8 1/2 inch holes.

What brand of charcoal have you used?

 

[hugestapedius]

20150423_185725.jpg

• hugestapedius
• May 15, 2015

 

[hugestapedius]

Ive used both lump n brriquettes and even a mix. Ive tried royal oak kingsford and the one from quebec forget its name but its lump sold in home hardware uo here in canada. I think maple leaf brand ?

 

[speedway73]

What do you have for intakes?? Exhaust looks a little small.

I'm thinkin' you have a flow problem. Go big on the intake. You can always choke it down. Don't try to control heat with the exhaust.

 

[hugestapedius]

I only use the air intakes for controlling the temp the exhaust is always wide open. The exhaust has 12-14 1/2" holes so 6-7" of exhaust is plenty. Most guys use the 2" and 1" bungs i have more then that....
Did 3 pork butts last weekend with awesome results. Pays to use highquality charcoal. Ive switched to basques and have ben pleased since e

20150531_125912.jpg

• hugestapedius
• Jun 6, 2015

 

[hugestapedius]

20150529_185851.jpg

• hugestapedius
• Jun 6, 2015

 

[jiimi62]

I see that you seem to have solved your problem, but I would still think you might want to increase your exhaust size. Especially if you want to cook at any higher temps.

12 - 1/2" holes (as I counted in the picture posted above) is smaller than 1 - 2" hole, and several smaller holes don't draft as well as 1 larger hole.

Area of a 1/2 hole = .2 sq in X 12 holes = 2.4 sq in. or 

Area of a 2" hole = 3.14 sq in.

So your vent is about equivalent to a 1 3/4 hole, which doesn't sound like much but is almost 25% smaller area wise.