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Ugly Drum Smoker

tpenick said:
Fired up my brand new UDS today, and I just could NOT control the temperature while using natural oak lump. I ended up opening all the valves and letting it burn hot and quick, then using briquettes instead and those worked wonderfully. Did a couple of fatties and a rack of St. Louis spare ribs. Turned out great. I was very discouraged after the lump temps went crazy, but now I'm doubly excited as the results speak for themselves.
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I had exact same result with lump coals. Plus also a nasty smelling smoke because I didn't let it burn long enough or whatever. Plain natural charcoal works great, with some wood chunks for the flavoring.

I can run the UDS at 225 for a good 15 hours.. sometimes 20.
 
dae06 said:
Now you tell me. :twitch::becky:, I just ordered the iOue 110. Mainly because my off-set smoker really needs it, but after my UDS build I think I'll be selling the off-set.

Here's my build:
TwinsUDS.jpg
Click to expand...

offset smokers make pretty good grills though. Maybe remove the firebox to shorten it. The UDS is so-so at grilling when you want to do that some times. So can keep it to grill.. they are good for that because they can get really hot and let you have a hot and warmer side if you put the coals on one side.
 
chico4missions said:
I've seen quite a few baskets (Klose) like this out there & thought it'd be cool to add that mod to mine. Had some scrap metal laying around at work & was able to use the plasma cutter to cut the lengths down to 9". My basket is 12" x 12" x 12".

I'll probably add slots in my basket for them to sit in so I can add & remove at will. As of now they're just sitting pretty for the pic :mrgreen: Regular "old school" minion method works great for me but I'm definitely curious to see the results.

LOW & SLOW BABY! Thanks for all the info on this thread fellow drumheads!
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hey.. so that design is great because it essentially gives you a sort of clock. So if you light the coals just on one of the ends, it'll burn slowly and "move" through your maze. You can then put wood chunks along the way to have it smoke up at different times.
 
Here we go....

Alright guys, I've been a lurker for a while and finally couldn't take it any longer....I want to smoke something! Just started work on my first UDS....will keep you posted. I can't wait until the test run!

2012-03-1817-18-50617-L.jpg
 
For anyone dealing with the red liners, you can get rid of them pretty easy with one good burn and a good scrubbing with Comet. I was skeptical at first, but the red liner just disappears. It's much nicer than having to sandblast or wire wheel it for hours. Just thought I would pass it along.
 
Just scored 2 free unlined drums... here's the irony of it all. I got them at a Sandblast shop! One is for me (4th UDS) & the other will be USC Trojan themed for a buddy. Will post pics soon
 
Last edited by a moderator:
New to smokin' but finally finished the first build!

Started with an unlined drum, burnt out & scrubbed. Sprayed a coat of paint on, yada yada yada. Pictures :mrgreen:

Oh and the beaners attached to the handle of the drum allow me to hang the coal box upside down by the eye-hooks and grill (in theory anyways, I haven't yet tried it..).

1.jpg

2.jpg

3.jpg

4.jpg

5.jpg

6.jpg
 
El Ropo said:
I had a crush on a girl that lived down the street from me. You know how it is as a young boy. I tried to throw rocks at her first but missed. So that was the next logical step in an attempt to get her attention.
Probably too much info?
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That is some funny sh*t....and as a former 8th grade boy myself I see it as very logical.....:mrgreen::mrgreen:
 
eddytheflow said:
Oh and the beaners attached to the handle of the drum allow me to hang the coal box upside down by the eye-hooks and grill (in theory anyways, I haven't yet tried it..).

QUOTE]

Yep that will work I have done it I have (2) S hooks permanetly attached to my lower rack and I hang the handle of my coal basket from them to get the basket about 8" from my grill bottom. I move the bottom rack to the top and use it just like a charcoal grill. cooks steaks @ 500° like a champ...
Click to expand...
 
Thanks guys, I'll have to take more pictures when I put the grill setup to the test!

I guess the common consensus is anywhere between 5"-8" distance from the bottom of the charcoal basket to the grill eh?

Can't wait to get my hands on a weber lid so I can add the double rack.
 
What is the largest amount of butts you would dare to put on a UDS with just the 2 racks? I have a cook on the 9th of June for my company open house and am planning on pulled pork sandwiches. This weekend will be the maiden smoke on my UDS:pray:
 
I personally wouldn't do more than 6 large butts, 3 on each grate. or 8 smaller butts, 4 on each grate.

And I would definitely do it with my foil wrapped clay saucer diffuser. When all that meat starts rendering, it'll just about put out the fire. The clay saucer will catch most of the drippings, and keep the fire going clean and strong.
 
eddytheflow said:
new to smokin' but finally finished the first build!

Started with an unlined drum, burnt out & scrubbed. Sprayed a coat of paint on, yada yada yada. Pictures :mrgreen:

Oh and the beaners attached to the handle of the drum allow me to hang the coal box upside down by the eye-hooks and grill (in theory anyways, i haven't yet tried it..).

View attachment 63972

View attachment 63973

View attachment 63974

View attachment 63975

View attachment 63976

View attachment 63977
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that looks delish :)
 
1st time using a Guru on our Drum...before a competition. HELP?

Hoping to use 2 gurus on our UDS' for an upcoming kcbs competition.

Although I'm an Egghead, I have little to no experience with a Guru and hoping someone can ease my mind/put us in the right direction. In our newness to competitions, we need to get as much rest as possible...and last year was a constant worry about our drums bumping around all night.

I bought Guru's 3/4" threaded adapter for the ball valve....We have 1 cooking grate, with a grate slight below, where we normally place a deep dish pizza pan as the difuser.

-Am I capping all other intakes?

-Any advice on how to light when using a Guru?
Note:Without a Guru, we normally light 1/2 chimney, and place on top of the full charcoal basket.

-Any advice on how/where to set the pit temp probe? (I did buy the rubber grate post Guru sells)

-In regards to the deep dish pizza plate 'heat difuser' we've been using...should we keep it in? I'd actually like to replace it with an aluminum pan with water for the contest....so same deal I guess, right? Ok to use this?

In the end....I guess it'll be advantageous to test these out this weekend...so I guess I'm just looking for any general yeas/no's with using a Guru on a drum.

Thanks for any and all help....and my apologies for going well into things. The mind of a guy trying to chase the bbq dream? ;)
 
Fornia said:
Hoping to use 2 gurus on our UDS' for an upcoming kcbs competition.

Although I'm an Egghead, I have little to no experience with a Guru and hoping someone can ease my mind/put us in the right direction. In our newness to competitions, we need to get as much rest as possible...and last year was a constant worry about our drums bumping around all night.

I bought Guru's 3/4" threaded adapter for the ball valve....We have 1 cooking grate, with a grate slight below, where we normally place a deep dish pizza pan as the difuser.

-Am I capping all other intakes?

-Any advice on how to light when using a Guru?
Note:Without a Guru, we normally light 1/2 chimney, and place on top of the full charcoal basket.

-Any advice on how/where to set the pit temp probe? (I did buy the rubber grate post Guru sells)

-In regards to the deep dish pizza plate 'heat difuser' we've been using...should we keep it in? I'd actually like to replace it with an aluminum pan with water for the contest....so same deal I guess, right? Ok to use this?

In the end....I guess it'll be advantageous to test these out this weekend...so I guess I'm just looking for any general yeas/no's with using a Guru on a drum.

Thanks for any and all help....and my apologies for going well into things. The mind of a guy trying to chase the bbq dream? ;)
Click to expand...

Yes, cap all other intakes.
Light it the same way you always did.
I run my probes through the vent holes in the dome, but a hole and grommet is in my future
I use a 16" clay pot base wrapped in foil.

Here's my hot rod UDS.

015782ca.jpg
 
I am no BBQ Guru guru - but I do use one on my uds.

When I had 3 plugs - I would occasionally open them all for lighting (use weed burner method). My current UDS only has one hole - and it works fine.

I use a weed burner for lighting. I light just enough for the guru to catch and bring it up to temp. The weed burner preheats the uds, so it is a bit of trial and error. I do stick burns, which complicates matters a bit - they will ignite and spike the temp, but not have enough coals to stay lit once it is dampened down.

I use a drilled out tire stem as a grommet, it is just below the meat rack - I also have a second mechanical probe to double check temps. You don't have to drill out the stem much for the pit probe, you do have to shorten it and drill it out a bit more for the curved meat probe (I have 2 stems in mine, the second is 2" above the meat rack).

For the most part I keep my exhaust fairly closed - and let the fan force the air through (I am not using the guru fan, and mine does have a little draft when it is not running-mostly closing the top of the pit helps with this.
 
Whoo hooo!!! I just finished reading this entire thread. I have a drum: free, closed end tan liner; and a Weber grill: $20 from the classifieds and now I just need to finish finals this week and I can build it next week. Will post up pictures when its done.
 
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