UDS Deflectors - NEED 10 Volunteers

[Squirrel]

UPDATE

Just got an email from SmokeMeister. His plasma cutter has 5 done, the other 5 should be ready next week.

I am on it cat daddy! I drilled some holes today and my nips are showing!

[DDave]

UPDATE

Just got an email from SmokeMeister. His plasma cutter has 5 done, the other 5 should be ready next week.

[Doug S.]

I am on it cat daddy! I drilled some holes today and my nips are showing!

LMAO

[ThunderDome]

I met SmokeMeister today at lunch, and he dropped off the Deflectors.

They look great...thanks SmokeMeister.









I have sent a PM to all those who wanted one. They turned out great

[DDave]

Dave

[Squirrel]

[SmokeMeister]

[DDave]

Woohoo

Whoa . . . how thick are those things??

Can't wait to try them out.

Dave

[SmokeMeister]

Woohoo



Whoa . . . how thick are those things??

Can't wait to try them out.

Dave

12 gauge steel / .081 inches / 2.05 mm

Hope you'll all be satisfied! Now get to smokin!

[Doug S.]

[Kodiaksmoke]

soooo

how did they work? Are they still available?

Thanks

[DDave]

how did they work? Are they still available?

They work fantastic.

I do not know if they are still available.

Dave

[Eaglewing]

I thought his final design didn't have that smallest inner cutout.

I saw his original thread and he said he got the most consistent temp readings without that third cutout... I guess not?


DAVE, 2 part Q. You raised your deflector up a bit not to long ago... How'd that work out for you and what height is that at now?


You also made yourself the larger charcoal basket and then cut down on the height of that too... How'd that work out for you also?


Do you still recommend having BOTH the smaller basket and larger?


Reason is, I wanna put 2 cooking grates in mine but I don't wanna do the weber lid.
First one close to the top for flatter cooking.


(actually I'd love to be able to make them adjustable with shelf standards but I'd have to Muratic acid them first)

[dales133]

Eagle, Dave's got a threa where he gives the measurements down from the top for rack and deflector placement.
Any reason why you do want to use a weber lid? I find it much better as it increases the volume to cook on a shitload.
I've just finished mine and went an inch down from the top for first grate and about 42 from the charcoal grate for lower grate.
My charcoal basket is a 22.5 weber charcoal grate with punched steel sheet tack welded around the perimeter.
I've got another ring tacked together that sits inside witch is the only one I've used so far, both are 9 inches high.
I did a 10 hour cook on Friday and hardly used any fuel
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1346543205.762142.jpg
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1346543251.786091.jpg

That's my set up
Are you building from scratch or modifying
?
I got most of my advice off Dave and went for 2 1 inch intakes and it works great both open to get it going then I can get from 225-400 off the one ball valve
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1346543479.484528.jpg

I've only done 2 cooks on mine one was chicken x2 the other was pp chuck and pastrami.
The chickens could probly have done with a deflector but the fat dripping on the coals did give good flavour but was pretty steamy a nd smokey.
Hope this is some help to you

[DDave]

You raised your deflector up a bit not to long ago... How'd that work out for you and what height is that at now?

The lower set of bolts are 15" from the bottom of the drum and the next level up are 22" from the bottom of the drum.

I've only done one smoke since I raised it. It didn't hurt anything but I can't definitively say it helped either. I do believe it used less fuel based on what was left the next morning.

You also made yourself the larger charcoal basket and then cut down on the height of that too... How'd that work out for you also?

The larger one (17" diameter) has 6" sides and the smaller one is 13.5" by 8". If I did it again, I'd make 'em both with 8" sides.

Do you still recommend having BOTH the smaller basket and larger?

Hmm, never gave that much thought. I don't know that there is any advantage to having the smaller one. It's just the first one I made. With the deflector, having a little bit of extra capacity helps. The smaller one is fine for ribs and pork shoulders in summer. Doesn't quite cut it for briskets and pork shoulders if the weather is cold though.

I suppose the large one with less fuel in it would work fine for ribs as well.

One of my concerns about really deep baskets is ash choke though. I think this is less of a problem if one is using lump and I really don't give it a second thought now that I use the controller. I'm not relying on natural draft so if the ash builds up a bit and the temp drops, the fan will just kick in until the temp rises again. Something to think about if using briquettes though.

If you want to use a flat lid, I would strongly recommend you do something to your lid to make it higher in the middle. Even a flat lid will be a bit convex. You don't want the low spot in the middle though because stuff condenses on the lid and you don't want it dripping on the meat. With the Weber lid, any condensation will make it's way to the side of the drum. With a flat lid with the low spot in the center, the condensation can drip on the meat and it usually does not enhance the flavor.

Hope this helps.

Dave