UDS Deflector...Opinions??

[Speedway73]

Hey ALL!!

I'm adding a heat deflector to my UDS. It's 20" in diameter by .120" thick. My questions are:

How far above the charcoal basket should it be??
Do I need to add slots or holes in it or leave it solid as is??

Any opinions/advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Rog'

[Richtee]

Needed in most cases in my opinion. Rather than holes..can you make it a dish to hold the fat? Distance above I'm not sure on, but 4-5 inches seems prudent.

DDave?

[DDave]

20 " seems kind of big. The inside of the drum is barely 22" across. That's not going to leave much room for heat transfer or airflow to keep the charcoal going.

How far above the charcoal basket should it be??

At 20", the higher the better. Mine is about 11" above but it lets quite a bit of heat and air through. The higher you put it the less heat they seem to block.

Do I need to add slots or holes in it or leave it solid as is??

If you are going to keep it that big, I would not leave it solid.

Any opinions/advice is greatly appreciated.

Some more deflector discussion here . . .
http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22852
http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14913

Dave

[Courser]

I've been using an 18" pizza pan on mine. Since I rarely FILL the basket completely I just lay the pan on the top of the basket. It's really been working well for me. Keeps the drips from landing on the fuel too.

[BYBBQ]

I use an 18" pizza pan setting on a 3rd grate about 16" down from the top lip of the drum. I'm using a Weber lid also. I guess that would be about 19" to 20" using a flat lid.

[S.W. Oh. smoker]

I have a 16" I think Pizza pan 16" down from the top of the drum. I had to drill holes in it or the center of the grate was considerably cooler than the edges.

[Bama BBQ]

UDS Deflector...Opinions??

My 22.5" WSM has an 18.75" water pan 12.5" from the bottom of the pan to the charcoal grate. I think it's the lid of the 18" kettle turned upside down. Hope this helps.

[DDave]

I had to drill holes in it or the center of the grate was considerably cooler than the edges.

Yep. The one I got from SmokeMeister does a pretty darn good job of evening the temps out from the middle to the outer edge.

Here was the first test run.
http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16562

With no deflector there's kind of the opposite problem. Center is quite a bit hotter than the outside. So something to balance that out helps.

Unless it's a short fast hot cook like chicken or tri tip. Then I don't bother with the deflector.

Dave

[Slanted88]

It truly depends on what ya got jacked in the drum gig...the drip's of fat/oil...i'm on the lean side...so be fine...with or out...just me...

[Speedway73]

Needed in most cases in my opinion. Rather than holes..can you make it a dish to hold the fat? Distance above I'm not sure on, but 4-5 inches seems prudent.

DDave?

Thanks Rich. At .120"...It's gonna be a bit difficult to shape a dish in it now. Could fire up the flame wrench with a rose bud attachment and cherry red the center. :)

[Speedway73]

20 " seems kind of big. The inside of the drum is barely 22" across. That's not going to leave much room for heat transfer or airflow to keep the charcoal going.



At 20", the higher the better. Mine is about 11" above but it lets quite a bit of heat and air through. The higher you put it the less heat they seem to block.





If you are going to keep it that big, I would not leave it solid.



Some more deflector discussion here . . .
http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22852
http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14913

Dave

Believe me Dave....I did everything but beg to get another batch of those deflectors made but non-the-less...didn't happen so I struck out on my own.

My barrel measures just under 23" so it leaves almost 1.5" all round the deflector. I think I'm going to go the holes route instead the rectangular slot method on yours. Good hole saws and a good Uni-Bit should do the trick.

I've measured out the center and will add a small eye hook to ease lowering/removing it from the barrel.

[hankll]

From my experience, I had a a hard time getting temps to get up to 225*, it just didn't work for me......I went back to smoking without it, and I'm able to control the temp better.

[Richtee]

From my experience, I had a a hard time getting temps to get up to 225*, it just didn't work for me......I went back to smoking without it, and I'm able to control the temp better.

You may have used too large a diameter. You should have at least 2" to 3" open around the deflector.

[DDave]

From my experience, I had a a hard time getting temps to get up to 225*, it just didn't work for me......I went back to smoking without it, and I'm able to control the temp better.

You may have used too large a diameter. You should have at least 2" to 3" open around the deflector.

And distance from the charcoal basket also makes a difference. The lower in the drum or closer to the fire basket it is the more ot tamps down the temp.

Dave

[Wahoo95]

I use a 3rd grate and 16" perforated pizza pan from Walmart and it works like a a charm.