- Jun 27, 2011
- 97
- 11
I'm getting back into the swing of things after a couple years of life getting in the way of having fun. I've gone from making fairly good money, to unemployed (employer went belly up) to under-employed (but actually enjoying what I do--I think for probably the first time ever...). And our family is at that point where we are becoming the "older" generation.
I'm sure nothing everybody hasn't/won't go through at some point, but the combination really put me in a tailspin.
Anyway, my nice little cold smoker...
now looks like this
:
But I learned something--If you dry Todd's pellets out in your oven, let them cool to room temp before lighting them
. I thought they lit awfully quickly, and more of them lit than usual, but I didn't give it a lot of thought. Until I looked out 1/2 hour later and found a *bit* more than TBS coming out of the exhaust. And the intake. And around the door gasket. I don't know what happened first--the shelf gave way dropping the bacon onto the pellets? The fat started to drip onto the pellets, starting a fire that then warped the shelves so the bacon fell onto the pellets, or if it was just "one of those things". Regardless, my little fridge is done for. I think I had a huge investment tied up in it, too. The fridge was free, I had all the tools, the shelves were made out of a couple of wire baskest we had setting around, so I think my only investment was the gas to pick up the fridge and 4 or 5 $$ in pvc. I had fun, learned a lot, and made a good amount of awfully tasty bacon before things got out of control
So, that brings me to a mailbox mod for my UDS. I have the mailbox (somewhere in the shed
...), and a few questions.
1. I notice many of the mailbox mods here for the MES use 4 inch dryer fittings, but what I see on the couple UDSs are using 2" pipe. Is one better than the other?
2. I also see most of them have the mailbox propped up on something and the smoke entering the cooking chamber between 1/3 and 1/2 way up. Why so high?
3. Does leaving the mailbox permanently attached create any issues with the UDS when the mailbox is not in use?
4. For those of you who have used this mod for awhile, is there anything you would do differently?
Thanks! I think I have all the bits and pieces I need to do this, once I figure out just how to do it.
I'm sure nothing everybody hasn't/won't go through at some point, but the combination really put me in a tailspin.
Anyway, my nice little cold smoker...
now looks like this
But I learned something--If you dry Todd's pellets out in your oven, let them cool to room temp before lighting them
So, that brings me to a mailbox mod for my UDS. I have the mailbox (somewhere in the shed
1. I notice many of the mailbox mods here for the MES use 4 inch dryer fittings, but what I see on the couple UDSs are using 2" pipe. Is one better than the other?
2. I also see most of them have the mailbox propped up on something and the smoke entering the cooking chamber between 1/3 and 1/2 way up. Why so high?
3. Does leaving the mailbox permanently attached create any issues with the UDS when the mailbox is not in use?
4. For those of you who have used this mod for awhile, is there anything you would do differently?
Thanks! I think I have all the bits and pieces I need to do this, once I figure out just how to do it.
