Using lump in my uds having hard time with temps

[pandemonium]

its a little more tricky than charcoals but im getting it figured out, plus the wind isnt helping, calm then windy.

 

[flbobecu]

Can you give us a little more info? I'm probably not one to help, but I'm sure others can. 

How much lump are you lighting? Have you tried using the "minion" method? 

 

[rbranstner]

Man I love using lump in my UDS. What brand are you using? Are you having trouble getting it up to temp or keeping it at temp once it is going?

 

[pandemonium]

its too hot or too cold, had it going good for a few hours and now its shooting to 300 damn i will stick with charcoal unless i taste a good difference? better not ruin my ribs im cooken for other people so its one of those deals where you want everything to be just right.

 

[flbobecu]

How are your dampers set? 
 

its too hot or too cold, had it going good for a few hours and now its shooting to 300 damn i will stick with charcoal unless i taste a good difference? better not ruin my ribs im cooken for other people so its one of those deals where you want everything to be just right.

 

[rbranstner]

Are you opening your lid a lot? I know as soon as I open my lid my temps spike up. If I know I have to open the lid for a while (to add more meat, spritz, add BBQ sauce, etc.) I usually try to drop my temps a bit before I open it so when I do open it they temps can go back up to where I want them. But I have the same thing happen when I have used charcoal so I don't think that is your issue. Could be the brand of lump you are using.

Does anything change physcially on the smoker (opening it, adjusting intakes, etc.?) before the temps start to go up or down? Or does it just seem to spike or drop on its own when things seem to be going along just fine?

 

[ddave]

Lump does not tend to burn as steady as briquettes in a UDS due to the variation in the size of the chunks.  With briquettes, they are all the same size so you get a nice uniform burn.  You can try and break up the bigger pieces of lump but it's pretty tough to get a load that is nearly as uniform as briquettes.

Don't know if you are doing this or not but try and resist messing with the intakes unless the temp gets way out of whack.  Otherwise you end up chasing temps all day long.  I find my UDS wants to wander a little but the occasional spike will usually settle down on it's own.  If my drum is running anywhere between 230° and 265°, I leave it alone and let it do it's thing.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

Dave

 

[pandemonium]

thanks for the tips guys, it just takes more getting used to than charcoal and yes i was adjusting intakes back and forth, maybe should have been more patient and it would have come back to temp on its own, but the ribs came out good so all is well.