First smoke on the UDS

[salmonclubber]

i decided to try out the new UDS that i just got done building i fired it up and threw on some ribs chicken and a pork roast i lit it and the temp gauge said 250 the first 3 hours i figured that it was going good so i did not check the meat in the smoker for 3 hours when i did the ribs were rock hard and black i checked the roast temp it was 203 and the chicken was 185 i pulled everything at 3 hours into the smoke
the chicken and roast was good but a little on the dry side but it tasted good the ribs were a total loss dog wont even eat them LOL
i need to learn how to get the temps under control but i think my temp gauge on the smoker is bad its a cheapo from wal mart it read 250 the whole time will check it later on the intakes are 3/4 inch one cap on two off and the ball valve half open temp was way to hot will work on this on the next smoke
i have mixed feelings about the drum so far

[DDave]

Sorry to hear your first UDS cook was frustrating, but don't give up yet.

If your using a dial thermo with a short stem mounted on the side of the drum to measure the temp, the actual temp at the center of the grate will be quite a bit higher. Over at the Brethren, they swear the difference is 40°. But on my drum, when the Tel-tru BQ300 with the 3" stem is reading 200° the center grate temp is closer to 270° according to the Maverick ET-73.

I recently drilled out a bolt so I could use a deep fryer thermo with a 12" stem.

http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/showthread.php?p=49490

But when this themo says 250° the Maverick says 265°. So I guess I need to decide which math I would like to do.

Anyway, which ever way you go, you'll need to determine what the difference is between what the dial thermo reads and the center temp really is and go by that. When I am smoking with the Tel-tru mounted I try to keep it around 180° to 190° on the dial which from what I have seen before should be about 250° at the center.

If your using a short stemmed dial thermo the temp during warmup will read way low too until the entire drum heats up so this can take a little getting used to when you're bringing it up to temp/

If your ribs were destroyed in 3 hours though it sounds like the problem was more than a simple 40° or 50° offset. I'd get a new thermo, boil test it then compare it with the center grate temp from a digi and figure out what the difference is and go from there. Bubba sells the Tel-tru BQ 300 cheaper than Tel-tru does, but you'll also need a backing nut.

Hope this helps.

Dave

[Bbq Bubba]

250 means 300 center grate.

Don't give up, keep practicing.
Pics of the drum may help us solve your issues also.

[salmonclubber]

thanks for the help guys i am not going to give up i will try it again in a day or two this is different then the GOSM its like learning all over again makes it fun again i did not realize the temp was so different from center to edge will try and work out those bugs on my next smoke i think i will like the drum once i figure it out oh and i put the ribs in the center of the drum and the thicker pieces of meat on the side i should have known better just got excited and threw everything on and started smoking will do better next time

[Fishawn]

Good luck Huey..... I'm no help with a MES. I'm probably not smart enough to figure out anything else....