I will take a baseball bat to my UDS and just buy a lang

[cromag]

First 3 smokes were fine where temps held great but this morning I was about to walk out with the baseball bat. Nothing has changed  with the way I smoked the first few times except the temp on the last 5 smokes. The 5 smokes it may have raised and dropped about 16 degrees but this morning I wanted to bite its face off if it had one. I baby sat it 3 hours last night and it was humming right along at 225 right where I wanted it and how it did the first times using it. The last 2 smokes went way longer than all the previous ones so I decided to do an "all nighter" to make sure it's done and rested before 4pm since this smoke is for a family reunion. Well at 6:30am just a mere 7 hours and the 13 pound butts were at 182 and the brisket is sitting at 202 all because THE DRUM THOUGHT HEY LETS RAISE TO 300 DEGREES!!!!!!! I've had it!!!! I had a offset before I made satan out there and I guess I need to go back to using one.   Now I have them foiled and sitting in the oven at 200 with some juice in it hoping they stay moist so I can serve them at 4 or maybe 3 if I get lucky and everyone shows up early.

Has anyone held meat in the oven for 9 hours?

 

[southernsausage]

Hey Man...I feel your pain. I've cooked on pretty-decent grills and smokers for the past 25 years. I prefer using charcoal and/or wood I guess mainly because that's what my dad always used and that's what I learned to cook on. About a month ago, just for kicks, I went and bought a little vertical smoker at a large retail chain store. I thought, "this will be fun" to tinker around with! Well, before the first boston butt had been smoking for an hour that I may have well as just thrown $75 out the window! I have yet to fire it up again and will give it away if somebody wants to come to my house and get it. I too wanted to take a Louisville Slugger to this thing I wasted my money on! I've got a new cooker "in the works". Can't wait til it gets here either!

 

[cromag]

I wanted a project when I built my UDS and when I used it the first few times I was getting pretty good bbq so I just quit using my offset and eventually sold it. I just think it's time to step up and buy a well built offset or reverse flow... My wife wants me to just go to Buddys BBQ and just buy it for now on and lose the stress

 Buddys is a bbq fast food chain restaurant around here.

 

[cromag]

I've got a new cooker "in the works". Can't wait til it gets here either!

What did you get?

 

[alblancher]

Sure sounds strange to me.  Any chance it was particularly windy last night?  Anything change as far as the amount of ash in the bottom of the smoker or are the dampers blocked?  i would have thought it would become more stable with use

Sorry for your frustration

Oh yea, if you are going to take a baseball bat to the drum make sure you do it about 05:30 Sunday morning so all your neighbors know you are up and around!

 

[lookwow]

Personally i would blame you not the smoker. Odds are there was air getting in somewhere. And with the cost of remote temp probes being so cheap why wouldn't you buy one for your smoker temp. Then you can have a nice alarm incase something like that happens. Not to mention that you where sleeping all night which you wont be doing with an offset.

 

[cromag]

Sealed every place I could find where a possible air leak could be with engine silicone and bought a bbqguru and testing it out this morning hope this works

 

[jrod62]

Wow !!! I'll take the UDS.

I was about to suggest a bbqguru but I see you got one . let me know how it works for you. I been thinking about getting one for my UDS.

 

[cromag]

So far it seems to run great and I think it was money well spent. It's been holding right at 235 for the last 2 1/2 hours

 

[cromag]

I was about to suggest a bbqguru but I see you got one . let me know how it works for you. I been thinking about getting one for my UDS.

If you get one go to the section called "build a control package here" on the left hand side and on that page select the head unit you want that says "build your package" in the title. Then when you go picking your parts in the drop down menus select "none" on the "choose adaptor" section only if you have a standard 3/4 ball valve on your UDS. The one in the package is more expensive and has a second part for larger valves. After you complete the rest of the drop downs look on the left of the screen again and you'll see "adaptors (individual)" and on that page you'll find the standard 3/4 ball valve adaptor which is $10 cheaper. Hope this helps

 

[jrod62]

I was about to suggest a bbqguru but I see you got one . let me know how it works for you. I been thinking about getting one for my UDS.

If you get one go to the section called "build a control package here" on the left hand side and on that page select the head unit you want that says "build your package" in the title. Then when you go picking your parts in the drop down menus select "none" on the "choose adaptor" section only if you have a standard 3/4 ball valve on your UDS. The one in the package is more expensive and has a second part for larger valves. After you complete the rest of the drop downs look on the left of the screen again and you'll see "adaptors (individual)" and on that page you'll find the standard 3/4 ball valve adaptor which is $10 cheaper. Hope this helps

Thanks , checking it out now.

 

[cromag]

I made sure the guru was calibrated correctly and it was before I started and what I found surprising is the thermometers I bought and installed below each grate level are actually 60 degrees cooler than the middle according to the guru and the terms. I checked those thermos before I installed them and they were correct. No wonder my meat was cooking hotter than I thought it should have been and that really explains why my meat finishes quicker than what most of the people on these forums say theirs finishes at. I was going by my thermos so actually when I was at 225 my actual temp was around 285. I had no idea  

 

[jrod62]

I made sure the guru was calibrated correctly and it was before I started and what I found surprising is the thermometers I bought and installed below each grate level are actually 60 degrees cooler than the middle according to the guru and the terms. I checked those thermos before I installed them and they were correct. No wonder my meat was cooking hotter than I thought it should have been and that really explains why my meat finishes quicker than what most of the people on these forums say theirs finishes at. I was going by my thermos so actually when I was at 225 my actual temp was around 285. I had no idea  

on my UDS I use my Maverick ET-732 at  grate level with a probe on each side. At times it was 50 degrees differents . So on my last smoke I use a Waterpan . The temp stayed within 5 degrees

from one side to the other side.

so did the guru hold the temp the whole smoke for you?

 Thinking about going with the  Guru CyberQ Wifi model but not sure I want to spend the extra $100 just for the Wifi.

 

[cromag]

so did the guru hold the temp the whole smoke for you?

 Thinking about going with the  Guru CyberQ Wifi model but not sure I want to spend the extra $100 just for the Wifi.

It sure did.. amazing item to have 

 

[dpeart]

My BBQ Guru rocks on my UDS.  Glad it is working for you.

dave

 

[lhommedieu]

As per my last post, I've been thinking about building a UDS along these lines of your picture, above.  I plan to drill three holes on the bottom:  Two would be open at the beginning of the cook to bring the temperature up, and one hole on the bottom with a pipe extended up the side with a 3/4" ball adapter.

I also have a Digi-Q with blowers, etc.

1.  Does the "standard" attachment for the Digi-Q blower allows you to connect to a 3/4" ball adapter?

2.  For the intake holes on the bottom of the drum, are you/can you use short pieces of 3/4" pipe threaded on one end to accept a nipple or ball adapter?

3.  How do you attach the pipe to the holes on the bottom of the drum - do you just push them in?  Or is there some kind of gasket that holds them in place?

4.  I was thinking about attaching the temperature probes by threading them through the holes on the top of the drum - but your solution looks easier.  What kind of hole/device do you have on the side of the drum for the wires?

Just an update:  looked at the Digi-Q website and it looks like I'll need the 3/4" ball valve adapter.

Best,

Steve