Lid Off - Temp Control Gone!

[noogsmoke]

So, I threw two massive spare racks on the UDS today and temp was hanging out a little high @ 275* for about two hours so I decided to foil and put back on.  I lifted off the lid to pull the racks off and as soon as I had them foiled and ready to go back on <5 min the coals had caught fire and the temp had shot up to 400* I couldn't get the temp back down so I threw some water in there.

Pretty sure the coals are dead, but the temp is at least contained and keeping @ 200*

Any ways to avoid temp spikes when the lid is lifted off in situations like this?

 

[hambone1950]

I don't know much about UDS smoking ....how do you control the temp? My WSM has vents and I know the UDS has a pipe with a ball valve? Can you not shut the air right down and kind of choke the fire? Assuming you didn't leave the lid off very long....I know with my WSM I have to uncover , snag the rack and slap the cover back on to keep the temp spike to a minimum..
And I know once the fire gets roaring it's hard to tame it.

 

[ferd66]

Not sure how long the lid was off....but yeah...hard to control spikes on them.  I stage things on a table next to the UDS if I need to load or unload something, like while foiling.  Rarely is the lid off mine for more than 30-45 seconds while a smoke is on.