Super55 And Barrel UDS Drum Smoker Kit Combo

I just completed my first cook with the Super55 drum smoker and I am very happy with it overall. I ordered my kit just before Christmas and it took about a week and half to come in. When I opened it up I found a couple of pieces were missing and the handle for the coal basket was damaged. I reached out to Holy Smoker and they addressed it very quickly. I heard directly from the manufacturer to confirm what I needed and the replacement parts were shipped out the same day.
The build was pretty straight forward. Easily completed in a weekend including painting. I ran the smoker twice prior to cooking to test out the temperatures prior to attempting to cook. Glad I did as I had a better understanding of how it would run prior to putting it to use. I was better prepared for the first smoke which turned out to be challenging. Temperatures in Central Texas dropped below freezing and I fired up the smoker at 27 degrees. Temperatures stayed below freezing for almost the entire smoke. I put on a 8lb pork butt (could only find one boneless butt between 2 grocery stores due to people panic shopping ahead of the weather) and it took about 7 1/2 hours. Temperature control was a little challenging due to the cold and the wind. I clipped a digital probe on the grate next to the butt as I figured the dial would be off. I was surprised by how far off it was. It was a minimum of 50 degrees off but that extreme cold be due to the extreme cold.
The butt turned out great. I added some chunks of pecan and cherry to the lump charcoal. I tried to find cherry logs to place vertically through the coals like shown in the videos but couldn't find them locally. Still had a great smoke ring and good smoke flavor. Very happy with results and looking forward to many more cooks.

I am greatly pleased with this drum smoker and the versatility and flavor profile it provides. The lump charcoal provides such a natural flavor profile and this smoker is designed perfectly to deliver consistent heat levels for the hot and fast method for even long cooks. It has a generous coal basket so even brisket can be done on one batch of coals and utilizing the vents correctly produced hours of predictable heat stabilization at 275 degrees, even in cold winter temperatures. The heat diffuser eliminates the concern over hot spots, and the racks provide ample cooking space. Once the adjustment to the hot and fast method is made, I think any pit master or back yard bbq hobbyist would be pleased with this unit. I know I am!