Newbie...Happy to find this site.

[Jah62370]

Hello,
My name is Jeff and I am a newbie to the smoking world. I hope to learn a lot from this and other sites out there.i recently built a UDS.

I think I just attached a photo but I'm not sure. Anyway thanks for being here and I have already picked up a lot of useful info.
Oh, by the way, plz comment or make suggestions on my build. Input is greatly appreciated.
Thanks again.

[Gizmo]

Welcome Jeff! Glad you joined up!

Nice looking UDS - High-rise and all!

I'm betting you can get 3 PB in that at a time. ...

[Smokeone]

Glad to have you with us.
I like the tall boy. I bet you can cook lots of meat on that! Are the lower bolts for a diffuser plate or are they a cooking rack?

[Gizmo]

There goes S1 ... getting all technical on us ...

[Jah62370]

Rick,
I have only seasoned and tried 2 chicken breast boneless. Had some issues with temp control but think I figured it out. Charcoal I used I think was junk and also raised my baskets another inch or so. Charcoal created a lot of ash and I think it ended up choking the fire out? Trying a rack full of chicken legs today. Also hope to possibly do thanksgiving turkey. We shall see. Also I don't mind technical. It helps.
Smokeone,
at the moment I have my top rack and another just over the basket. I came across a chafing pan (stainless) that I planned on using to catch grease, "defuse" Heat possibly and maybe use for liquid if I notice things drying out. I also plan on adding another rack just above my pan rack. Do u think my risers are to tall to draw air in?

Thanks for the welcome and responses.

[Frank_Cox]

Welcome Jeff! Nice drum!
The risers shouldn't be too big of as problem. do you have trouble getting to temp like 225? I stopped putting risers on. I like the looks better myself.
I have had trouble with the ashing up thing using some brands of lump. I started mixing the lump with blue bag kingsford briquets. mad a big difference.

[Jah62370]

I have considered shortening the risers, but it may be a little early yet. Takes time and patience. Patience I'm learning since I dont have very much of it and time shouldnt be a problem. I'll have to give that mixture a go.
Thanks

[MrsSmokerBuilder]

Welcome aboard, mate!

[The Czar]

.....and I have two risers on my UDS like that....and I can hit 350.....so might be as simple as the coal your using....I will have to agree with OB1....the blue bag rules.... ....I can't believe I agree with him....

[Jah62370]

I was thinking of using kingsford but thought it seemed like maybe in the smoking world that may be looked down upon, but apparently not.will definitely try it out.
Once again thanks for the welcomes...

[Frank_Cox]

Well, It aint as good as making your own Lump, But it works well. Lighter fluid is from the devil.....
Make your own Charcoal Kiln
Make your own Lump with your new Kiln

[Jah62370]

Lighter fluid I know is a no no.

[Smokeone]

I will agree with Frank. Riser is ok. MAybe try different charcoal. I use RO lump most of the time. No ash problem here.

[Gizmo]

I just had great flavor off a bag of Kingsford hickory briquettes yesterday on a brisket. Might be something else to try.

Keep in mind that I don't own a UDS ... but I have studied them and they very closely resemble my charcoal designs from about 3 years ago. Here's a couple things I learned, hope these help....

The stuff kingsford leaves behind in the bottom of the firebox isn't as much ash as it is clay and a little borax to help in the press-forming process .... also know as "the filler the briquette companies all use". I've found that a 2 inch deep ash pan with a 1 inch drop zone above it to the bottom of your charcoal basket will handle about a 10 to 12 hour burn no problem. If your draft is coming in the sidewall outside the ash pan then you'll never have a choke problem with normal ash fall.

If you really want to get fancy, design something like a small handle and cable hooked to your basket that leads out of the main cabinet and would allow you to "rattle" the basket every couple hours causing the ash to drop away sooner from the coals - but be prepared to go through fuel a little faster and probably "tweek" your draft a little more often.

Besides - I always save my ash all year for Halloween.
And that's all I have to say about that ...

[Rodcrafter]

One thing about it, if you don't give up you will get the experience you need to make it work for you.