Since I've had my drum I've noticed it has a tendency to like to run hot. It has the common three 3/4 intakes and has a Weber lid. I think most drums from what I've read like to run around 240ish with 1 cap on and the valve 1/2 to 1/3 open. Mine wants to run at 240ish with just the valve about 1/2 to 1/3 open.

On a longish smoke where I didn't need to fiddle with the lid much, it held pretty steady. Over the course of a smoke the temp would creep up to the 260s as the meat came closer to finish temp. Not the end of the world, I learned but if I wanted to do something along the way like mop or spritz, even if I closed the intakes before removing the lid and left them closed for a bit after I put the lid back on, the temp seemed to creep up higher and I really had no luck bringing it back down. At the end of a smoke, if I just closed the intakes, the drum would hold steady temp until the fuel ran out. If I closed the exhaust though, the temp woud drop like a rock.

I double check my intakes to make sure there were no leaks around the fittings and there didn't seem to be any. I attributed it partly to the light, airy composition of the Kingsford Comp and the fact that it doesn't pack well but the same thing happend, eventually, last weekend while I was using Cowboy lump.

After wracking my brains trying to think of a way to tame it a little bit, I surmised that if I were able to interrupt the vertical updraft out of the charcoal basket a bit, that might help keep the temp from creeping up.

So today, I loaded up the charcoal basket like normal . . .

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg21/DrowzyDave/UDSGovernor/DSC03521.jpg

lit my 8 briquettes, dumped them in and put a 13.5" x 10" piece of 1/8" plate on top of the basket.

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg21/DrowzyDave/UDSGovernor/DSC03522.jpg

It's actually one of the tuning plates out of the SnP.

Loaded the basket in the drum and started monitoring temps.

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg21/DrowzyDave/UDSGovernor/DSC03523.jpg

It took quite a bit longer to warm up which is really no big deal and I expected that. Temp difference from center to edge is a lot closer than normal but that never really bothered me anyway. It has been going since 8 am and is holding right around 210° with both caps on and the valve 1/2 open. I even lifted the lid a couple of times to simulate "spritzing" without touching the valves and the temp seems to be dropping back down on its own. Even lifted the lid and dumped a tablespoon of Rich's rub on top of the charcoal basket. :lol:

http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5060

So far, it seems to be working pretty well. I imagine that plate should be plenty hot enough to sizzle any fat that drips on it so I'll still get that UDS signature flavor. I'm going to start bumping up the airflow a bit and see where it will be when it settles around 240ish. The drum is empty so I figure that's a worse case scenario. If I can keep the temp down empty, it should be no problem with a big hunik of meat absorbing the heat and disturbing the airflow even more.

Dave

A deflector plate in a drum? HERESY! LOL!

I been asking why not for a while.

A deflector plate in a drum? HERESY! LOL!

I been asking why not for a while.

Well, :lol: you've got a point. And I'll be the first to say it will make the drum less efficient. But in essence that's what I need to do in my case. Damn thing was WAY TOO efficient.:lol:

Dave

You could do it like Rich does his WSM. He has a foil wrapped grill where the water pan goes to deflect the heat to the sides. (At least thats what I envisioned from his description). So you could do the same thing by adding another grate a few inches above the basket, and covering it with foil.

Of course I don't have a UDS or a WSM, so your welcome to ignore any comments I make.:noidea::lol:

Edit-Rich beat me to the punch.

Interesting. Wonder if you could leave the plate off while warming up, and put it in place later and still have the same results. Just thinking outloud I guess.

You could do it like Rich does his WSM. He has a foil wrapped grill where the water pan goes to deflect the heat to the sides. (At least thats what I envisioned from his description).

Dang...yer GOOD Keith. A test..how does Bubba prep his ribs? :lol:

Eric, (earachemyeye) was testing a deflector plate at the Iowa gathering. Maybe he will see this or get ahold of him. Seemed to work well.

I'm glad Rich posted about the foil covered rack in his WSM. Did the same thing to the son's H2O smoker. Much easier to get to temps, less fuel and the food is just as good.

That's the best part of this place. Bounce ideas off one another.

Dang...yer GOOD Keith. A test..how does Bubba prep his ribs? :lol:


He boils them! Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding:lol:

He boils them! Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding:lol:

Winner winner! Chicken dinner! :sausage:

You could do it like Rich does his WSM. He has a foil wrapped grill where the water pan goes to deflect the heat to the sides. (At least thats what I envisioned from his description). So you could do the same thing by adding another grate a few inches above the basket, and covering it with foil.

I thought about that. In fact I have a set of bolts in place about halfway up the drum that I put a grate on set the charcoal basket on while grilling. I didn't really want to block the fat dripping though. I wanted the plate closer to the charcoal because I wanted it to be hot enough to sizzle the fat. :thumb:

Dave

Of course I don't have a UDS or a WSM, so your welcome to ignore any comments I make



Just thinking outloud I guess.

All comments and suggestions are welcome. I find that often times the best ideas come from folks who don't have a preconceived notion of how it "should" work. :lol:

Seems to be working pretty well though. After almost 8 hours I am at 225°. With both caps on and the valve all the way open it will go up to the mid 250s. Close the valve down to about 3/4 open and it goes down to the 230s. Have taken it up and down several times and it seems to be real responsive -- well within 30 minutes or so which is pretty standard UDS behavior. :lol:

The nice thing is it doesn't go crazy when I take the lid off. Been taking the lid off and messing around then putting the lid back on. There is an inital spike then it returns to the temp it was at within 5 or 10 minutes.

Need to take a cap off and see what kind of range I have but so far I am pretty happy with the test. Of course the real test will come when I can toss copious amounts of meat on it again. But the fact that I can maintain the range with no meat and PLENTY of "throttle" so to speak left is a good sign.

Dave

I had some of the same issues with the drum and tried a diffuser plate to cut down some of the smoky taste too. I know, I know. Anyway the plate is a cover to a 30 gallon drum and I've drilled a bunch of randomly sized and spaced holes all through it. Grease still sizzles, some even falls through to the coals to vaporize. Heat still comes direct to the meat, just not as much. The temps are a bit lower with the plate in place and it uses a tad more fuel for a given cook, but so far it's a winner. Mine just sits right on top of the coal basket which is 12" tall.

I'm not positive, but, I seem to remember one of Bubba's tricked out drums had a deflector plate of sorts in it...or maybe I'm way off base...:noidea:

I took the bottom out of an oil drum that I had decided NOT to use for my UDS...added eight 1 1/2" holes around the perimeter...and basically came up with similar results as Dave...a bit more fuel and easier temp control/slower warm up.

I would like to get ahold of another drum base and try a different spin on the deflector...(I cut mine out a little too small...) Thinking that maybe a 1/2" gap around the outside edge, and 2 or even 3 rings of holes. Maybe 1" holes closer to the center...1 1/2" farther out...and 2" around the outside edge...:noidea:

Just some thoughts I've been kicking around until I can find a donor drum...

L8r,
Eric

Do drums not have a water dish like my wsm does? seams to me that all my drippings go into the water pan and not on the coals ,hmm I may be missing out on some added flaver.:cool:

The temps are a bit lower with the plate in place and it uses a tad more fuel for a given cook, but so far it's a winner. Mine just sits right on top of the coal basket which is 12" tall.

Mine is just sitting on top of the coal basket as well. I guess I could have had a round one cut but I had this and figured, what the hell, may as well test the theory.

I'm not positive, but, I seem to remember one of Bubba's tricked out drums had a deflector plate of sorts in it...or maybe I'm way off base...:noidea:

I believe you are 100% correct but I think it was about halfway up the drum. Mine wasn't so much to spread the heat, although it is doing that, it was more to disrupt the vertical updraft that pulls the fresh air in and stokes the fire. Seems to work pretty good at both.

Do drums not have a water dish like my wsm does? seams to me that all my drippings go into the water pan and not on the coals ,hmm I may be missing out on some added flaver.:cool:

Drums do not have a water pan. Something in the middle like that would just make the drum less efficient and shouldn't be used. :cool: Or . . . maybe sometimes it IS a good idea.:thumb:

Going on almost 13 hours now but was not a fully loaded basket. Overall, the results were good. Better temp control when lifting the lid. Still ran most of the time with just the valve but seemed responsive to increases and decreases in air. Again, I'll have to test it with a load of meat but so far the results were very promising. It will be interesting to see if this will allow me to keep temps below 250° while using the rotisserie ring.

So . . . for me anyway and my drum, it seems to work better with a difuser plate. :thumb: Now I'll have to learn how to cook on it all over again.:lol:

Dave

Nice job on tagging guys...and gals? :{)

Went out this morning to clean out the drum. Basket was completely empty so the plate didn't interfere with air flow enough to mess up the complete burn. It went about 13 hours but that was empty. Not a huge difference in fuel consumption if I had to guess but can't say for sure without running it loaded with meat. Was much more controllable and didn't have those periods of "white yucky smoke" when more charcoal would catch as a result of an "air infusion". Much cleaner burn which should lead to tastier smokes.:thumb:

Dave

Well, I'm not gonna stoop to say I told ya so. Errr...wait... heh...oops!

Well, I'm not gonna stoop to say I told ya so. Errr...wait... heh...oops!

That's okay . . . I can take it. :lol:

Perhaps in recognition of my new position on the subject, maybe the first "meat" smoke with my new deflector plate should be . . . crow?? :lol:

Would that count for the wild game contest?? :bounce:

Dave

That's okay . . . I can take it. :lol:

Perhaps in recognition of my new position on the subject, maybe the first "meat" smoke with my new deflector plate should be . . . crow?? :lol:

Would that count for the wild game contest?? :bounce:

In my not insubstantial experience with that bird, it's best cooked slow and eaten FAST :lol:

you get the idea from this thread, or did he git it from you? LOL

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=66268

you get the idea from this thread, or did he git it from you? LOL

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=66268

Could be from me? ;{)

you get the idea from this thread, or did he git it from you? LOL

Actually I got it from Josh aka GeekWithFire. I don't remember the thread or even if he had pics of it. He has mentioned putting a piece of metal on top of his charcoal basket several times though so I thought I'd give it a try.

My reasoning wasn't so much to disperse the heat although it did do that. I was trying to disruput the vertical updraft of air from the charcoal basket thinking that it would help keep my temps from creeping out of control. Which it did. :thumb: More even temps were a plus too I guess. But it did use more fuel.

I've only used it that way once with meat in it. There are times when I could see an advantage in using it. Changes the way the drum runs though but it will work both ways. :thumb:

Dave