Ugly Drum Smoker

bover said:

Working on building my first UDS right now. The drums I've got have removable locking lids, and the lids themselves have a ~2" bung and 1/2" air vent both with screw-in caps. In y'alls vast experience do you think just removing these caps during the cook would be enough ventilation for the smoke or should I drill some more holes? Right now I'm thinking that the bung alone would provide about as much flow as the vent on a Weber lid so no additional modifications would be necessary, but would appreciate insight from you guys.

Thanks.

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What I've done and like is using a black metal threaded pipe with an elbow attached so if it rains, it doesn't fall into the drum.

lima ohio there is a guy that sells drums food grade 15$ a barrels they had yogurt in them
www.ohiobarrel.com

smokeyw said:

I use a 50/50 mix of Royal Oak lump and Kingsford blue.

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my OCD tells me you have not meticulously arranged your fuel :becky:

Sounds like maybe your wood possibly caught fire and gave you a quick temp spike

garyk1398 said:

What I've done and like is using a black metal threaded pipe with an elbow attached so if it rains, it doesn't fall into the drum.

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+1 used a steel nipple. Lid collects water during a rain. You can always put a can over the nipple to keep the water from raining into the hole

just got my new step bit

what are you guys using to cut the hole in the top? My step bit only goes to 1 3/8"

righteousdog said:

my OCD tells me you have not meticulously arranged your fuel :becky:

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I love this idea! I use coat hangers to move my basket...

You can use a hole saw. Right from HD for the larger holes.

Here we go

My son called me up and said he had a FREE :becky::becky::becky: drum for me. All I had to do was go get it. I have read 90 percent of this thread and feel confident that I will have a new addition in a week or two. I have already got the 3/4 nipples, one 3/4 elbow, two pipe caps, and now I have the main part. I will probably go buy a cheap kettle so I can get a lid and grate.

Since it had Hydraulic fluid in it I don't have to worry about a liner, just need to clean it and give it a good burn:-D



This is the lid to my Weber, I do not want to have adjust it to fit the drum so I will find a new cheap kettle or a used Weber at the right price

I live in the KC area, where are you finding drums under $30? Found several places selling junk for about $25

one set aspen/mahagony removable side shelves awaiting linseed oil - why not add some accelerant?



close up. the shelves slide into the handle in case i don't want to use them or future mods/accessories.



the twins. i should be finishing the other set of shelves instead of posting :becky:



this one has to do with losing stuff

"Quote This is the lid to my Weber, I do not want to have adjust it to fit the drum so I will find a new cheap kettle or a used Weber at the right price
[/QUOTE]

I took a grinder to the top rim and took enough off all the way around until my lid fit. You might even try the lid on the bottom if you didn't cut it open yet, it might fit better.

I never thought about trying the bottom, thanks for the idea Blackdog:thumb:. I still want another Weber lid just to keep things simple and I just ordered a Smokenator for my Weber.

nice looking rigs righteous dog.

after my 6th cook now, i figured the spike wasnt really a spike. my smoking wood was smoking rather heavily initially causing the temps to be lower (albeit 220-230). once the smoke settled down it wasnt choking the fire out hence the increase in temp. i need to just wait a bit longer for it to dial in before leaving it alone. my buddy is bringing me 30ish lbs of boar he shot down in FL tomorrow. wish me luck, its my first boar cook.

So I finally finished up my UDS build this weekend and broke it in with a 3 hour empty burn with the intakes wide open, then cranked it down to 225* and seasoned it with a few fatties, then cranked it open again and let it run the rest of the day. I have to say that if there any non-believers reading this thread, if you follow the general guidelines set forth by the brethren they will definitely deliver as promised. When all was said and done, I ended up running around 350* for 9 hours total and 225* for 3 hours total and only used about 8 lbs. of charcoal. Un-farking-believable. Now on to the pr0n:

For this first build, I went with the no-frills-no-skills approach. No welding, no step-bits for the big intake pipe hole, no grinding or cutting. The basket is made up of the charcoal grate from a Weber kettle, 2 12x24" sheets of 18 ga expanded steel, and then some bolts, nuts and bailing wire where necessary:


And here's the UDS itself. For the intakes at the bottom, I drilled 3 3/8" holes around the bottom and covered them up with 1" diameter magnets. Bottom rack is 22" above the base of the charcoal basket and the top rack is 6" above that. Thermometer is the basic 100/475 from BBQ Bonanza.


Minion method setup. Coals lit with weed burner


First batch of "seasoning" fatties


With two intakes blocked and the third at 3/4 open, it settled in to 225* exactly shortly after this and held steady with no tending. I'm blown away by the efficiency of the rig!


And here's a shot of the final product. The one on top was stuffed with sauteed onions and cheddar with Corky's rub. The one on the bottom was stuffed with bleu cheese and bacon with steak seasoning on the outside instead of a rub. I got busy tending to a sick kid so they overcooked a little, but still turned out great.


Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread. This UDS will bring me and my family a lot of joy and full bellies for many years to come. For anyone on the fence about building their own UDS, do it! There's just something incredibly satisfying about smoking your food in something you built, which just happens to be something that most others use as a garbage can!

kcarz said:

I live in the KC area, where are you finding drums under $30? Found several places selling junk for about $25

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Consolidated Container Company. Just south of Kemper on State Line Rd.

Just ran my UDS for 26 hours, 225-250, on 8# of Rancher Briquettes.

Just can't beat it!

this is a good thread.
just a few hundred pages too long though.

Sammy_Shuford said:

Just ran my UDS for 26 hours, 225-250, on 8# of Rancher Briquettes.

Just can't beat it!

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Need details on the blower setup! Definitely a neat looking setup! :thumb: