PID Temps for Delaware/Mid-Atlantic Region on my UDS


 
B

BSmith-DE

New member
Hello all. I am taking on the Heatermeter with Linkmeter Project for my 55 Gallon UDS so I can attempt to do "set it and forget it" smokes.

I don't really have a good understanding or grasp on the BPID coefficient variables and was hoping that someone could chime in and tell me their defaults for their BPID settings for their setup. I reside in Delaware so if you are in MD, Eastern PA, or Central/Southern NJ or any where in the Mid-Atlantic your input would be greatly appreciated.

My fan is a 6.5 CFM and I generally use regular briquettes for fuel. My UDS is air tight. By that I mean when I shut down the inlets and exhaust the fire dies.

The project is a bit over my head, but I really like what the end game seems to offer.

Again, I am thankful for any comments and input that I can get.

Brandon
:flagkettle:
 
First of all, I would tell you to do yourself a favor and toss the briquettes and move over to lump charcoal. Briquettes are not well suited for long low and slow cooks, you really need to burn them until they are white before you cook on them and that's not practical for these types of cooks. IMHO lump coal is really the way to go...

On the PID settings, don't over think it. In general the stock PID settings should do pretty well, just play with the top vent a bit until you're hitting your mark reliably. If your HM is running in the high %'s then open the top vent more, if you are having overshoot close the top vent more. You could look up what others have posted about their UDS PID settings and try those, but in general I wouldn't think a UDS would be too picky because they have a large volume to heat and are not well insulated. In general, the more insulated the grill and the smaller the cooking area the more picky the grill will be about PID settings. The UDS is large and single walled so it bleeds heat which makes it easier for the HM to do it's job....
 
X2. Use Lump in UDS.

I've used both a rotodamper and microdamper on my UDS, posted the PID settings in those threads (sorry, not home, don't have them handy).

Just don't get caught up on trying to maintain that perfect temperature line with a UDS -- even a nicely sealed one will have some fluctuations. Not a big deal.
 
Ralph, Thank you much for your advice concerning the PID settings. Sounds like words of wisdom gained from true experience.

Why so strongly against briquettes as fuel? Is that a general statement or just a bias against briquettes when using it as a fuel in a UDS? I consistently put out great food with good temperature control using essentially all brands and types of briquettes mixed with hardwood chunks for flavor.
 
I use 7, 0.01, 4 for my PID settings on my UDS using a MicroDamper. A UDS is not a super efficient pit like a kamado so you will have some temperature fluctuations, just accept it and don't drive yourself insane trying to get a flat line. As far as the "switch to lump" comments...I disagree. I've built 5 UDS drums now and have played around with briquettes and lump. For whatever reason, which I haven't been able to figure out, some UDS run well on briquettes and others run well on lump. The notion that you have to cook on fully lit briquettes is false. You want to start your pit and allow the pit to get to temperature, then let it sit at temp for about 30-60min. This time will allow the charcoal in the basket to warm up which will then in-turn allow the charcoal to combust and burn cleanly. This is the same logic as those who cook on a stickburner, it's always best to preheat your sticks on the firebox before placing them in to burn - provides (near) instantly clean burn.
 
BSmith said:
Ralph, Thank you much for your advice concerning the PID settings. Sounds like words of wisdom gained from true experience.

Why so strongly against briquettes as fuel? Is that a general statement or just a bias against briquettes when using it as a fuel in a UDS? I consistently put out great food with good temperature control using essentially all brands and types of briquettes mixed with hardwood chunks for flavor.
Click to expand...

Briquettes are pressed together with all kinds of stuff, not just wood, so you are supposed to burn them white before you cook on them. That means a good deal of the fuel is gone before you use it. This also makes refueling a PITA 'cause you can't just toss fresh (unlit) coals into the fire mid stream. Lump coal is real wood, it burns a bit hotter and a bit longer than briquettes, it gives your food a better real wood flavor and it is easier to refuel etc. The irregular size/shape of the coals also makes it easier to build a fire that breathes. Overall it's just better IMHO, give it a try and see if you don't agree with me. Old school "Grilling" and smoking are very different types of cooking, burning a bed of briquettes to white and throwing some steaks or burgers on is just fine, but for a long low and slow lump coal has the properties you are looking for, not briquettes IMHO...
 
Lump burns hotter and faster, briquettes burn lower and slower - this is a simple known bbq fact. As I had stated above you do not need to bring all your briquettes to white ash to cook on. Also a UDS can run for 20+ hours without needing to add fuel. Ralph, I know you lack experience with a UDS, but the OP has already told us that his pit runs well with briquettes. BSmith, if you are getting the results you like with briquettes stick with it, there is absolutely nothing incorrect about cooking with them. And in my experience on UDSs that run lump well I don't find there to be a "better real wood flavor".
 
You don't "need" to get the briquetts white to cook on them, but they give off an unpleasant tasting white smoke until they are charred over.

For a hot cook, it is easy to get them all lit and wait until the smoke cleans up. For a low and slow cook using a snake or minion or related method, the foul flavored smoke is slowly released throughout the cook.

I see no advantage to briquets that offsets this problem. Why settle for briquets when there is a much better alternative that is readily available?
 
Relax Steve, I just stated my opinion on briquettes VS lump for the guy from my experience and I know many would agree, no need to chastise me for stating my opinion. I'm not going to go item by item to explain why I have the opinions you are disputing here, but my guess is if the OP gives lump coal a try he may agree with a few of my statements.
 
Thanks for the words of wisdom gentlemen. All have made great points and sounds like all know what they are talking about as I have noticed some of the things mentioned about briquettes my self. At some point I am going to give lump an honest shot. For now, I have a stockpile of briquettes and I have been satisfied with the results using the minion method in my UDS. One major advantage of briquettes over lump right now is the fact that briquettes go on sale and lump NEVER goes on sale here. You can get 37.2 lbs of Kingsford (on a special sale) for $9.88 (about $0.265 per lb). Royal Oak is always about $0.84 per lb. and never goes on sale. Even when Kingsford isn't on sale it's still about $0.54 per lb. It adds up.
 
Matt Fine said:
For a low and slow cook using a snake or minion or related method, the foul flavored smoke is slowly released throughout the cook.
Click to expand...

I haven't experienced this, and I haven't seen it on the circuits either. A very large number of winning bbq teams run briquettes. Yes you will get off flavors on the very initial warm up, this is why you don't put your food on right away though.

I should note that I am not a strictly briquette guy. Briquettes and lump have their place, and with proper use there is absolutely nothing incorrect/wrong/foul with using briquettes. I keep plenty of stock of lump and briquettes on hand. For hot sears on steak I run lump (because it burns hot and fast), for cooking in my kamado I run lump (because it produces less ash which allows the low airflow to keep the fire going), for my UDS I run briquettes (for two reasons, its cheap and plentiful and the drum I keep around runs it well).
 
Back when I was strictly a weber kettle guy I used briquettes, when I started running the bullet smoker and kamado I quickly moved to lump for the above stated reasons. I hardly ever need to run to the store to buy lump coal but when I used briquettes I was buying bags all the time, so in my experience lump is more economical for me. My grill will easily put out a fire and with lump coal I just shake off the ash and light it up again, sometimes I get several cooks out of one load of lump coal.

Though I respect Steve's right to his opinions and am not attempting to challenge his experience, my experience aligns more with what Matt had stated. As Steve said, there will be some "off flavors" from a freshly lit briquette, so there is really no way to prevent that smoke from getting in your grill during a long cook. You're gonna have to feed fresh coal to a fire at some point for a long cook unless you leave unlit coals in your fire from the start, like a minion setup or whatever... either way you have fresh black briquettes lighting in your grill while the food is on.
 
My .02$

Been using a UDS for over 5 years now and most of that time using an heatermeter. You said you had an stock blower, you would be better off with atleast an 10cfm.

Don't worry about the PID settings at first, I just use the stock settings. The best way to keep a good smoke, is to not start alot of coals at first. The PID will take many cooks to figure out and you will find out that they really don't effect the UDS that much if you have learned to setup the UDS.

What I do.
I have a 3/4 inch inlet(nothing else) with a ball valve. I start with it almost completely closed. I want the UDS starved, so without the heatermeter it won't keep temperature.
Start a chimney with a quarter or less of coals, just enough to get things going.

The UDS, is very good at holding temperatures without a heatermeter, but to get good results with a heatermeter you need to make sure the UDS can't hold the setpoint. So, I set the ball valve to the point where it is stable at 200°f, for a smoke of around 220-230. Let the heatermeter bring the temp up to the setpoint. This will also keep the temp spikes to a minimum. I can usually get a stable temp for almost 20+ hours, or until the ash build up starts to interfere with keeping a stable temp.

But you biggest issue is your blower size. I have an 28 cfm(overkill), lol. And from 100+ smokes I have always found that a maximum of 30% has givin me the best control. This is about 8.6cfm. Every once in a while, I may go higher, for high heat cooks, but I always revert to 30%


Lump vs. briquettes

Lump has less ash, better for longer cook. briquettes have to much filler that get in the way for very long cooks

But for most smokes, who cares
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top