Lining inside my UDS?

ojsmitty · Mar 9, 2014

I recently bought two 55 gal drums that were used to hold tomato paste. On the inside of the drums is a rusty colored lining of some sort, and I was wondering if this would be an issue. I will attach some pictures of it. Is it something that won't be a big deal as long as I season it, or is it something I should sand off? In one of the pictures I went over a spot a few times with sandpaper and got to bare metal almost instantly. Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

ajstrider · Mar 9, 2014

I think all linings should be removed to be safe. At higher temperatures they may let off dangerous fumes that get into your food. Most people just burn them off, but you can sand them off if you want to take the time. Burning will also melt off the outside paint, if you wanted to repaint it.

Blythewood BBQ'er · Mar 9, 2014

I would get the liner out, burn, sand, or maybe sandblasted. I had a green liner in 2 on my drums, got them sandblasted for 60$ total inside and out. The rust color ones are tougher to get out I believe, but never had one.

ojsmitty · Mar 9, 2014

So, would burning most likely take the lining off? That would be a lot easier than sanding.

castlepines · Mar 9, 2014

Burn baby burn!

cmwr · Mar 9, 2014

My first UDS had this lining. I burned the hell out of that drum and still never got it all out. That was even while using a leaf blower to blow air in the barrel. The next day I used an angle grinder with a wire wheel and I went through 2 wheels and still never got it all off. I gave up. Someone on this forum told me that the fire I had raging in this barrel was way hotter than any fire I would be Qing with and not to worry about it. I seasoned the drum and used it for almost 2 years. Made some damm good Q and I still got it sitting for a backup. Bottom line is as long as you burn the hell out of it......whatever you cannot get out I wouldn't worry about. My 2 cents.

skimo · Mar 9, 2014

I'm not totally convinced that burning is the best way to remove a liner as I've burned 2 barrels and it barley made a dent.

Angle grinder and wire wheel was my answer with a lot of work and beer lol

ojsmitty · Mar 9, 2014

Thanks for all the input!

bpainter · Mar 10, 2014

I would remove the liner how knows what chemicals are in it. I checked around town and found a place that sells new unlined drums for $55. I just buy new drums now. I have build 6 UDS's so far.

DjPorkchop · Mar 10, 2014

I believe you will get a 50/50 mix of 2 answers.

1) Get rid of it no matter what!
2) If a 12 or 1300 degree fire don't take it out in 3 or 4 hours burn, then low and slow won't hurt.

I had the tan liner in both my drums. I lit them up and kept tossing in logs for HOURS with raging heat and flames and the heat nor flames touched the liner at all. And as well, I burnt up a couple wire wheels only to have my back hurt so bad I stayed in bed for 3 days or so after (I have 3 ruptured discs).

I finally said ,"Ah fark it" and seasoned them and called it good. Now all that said, I have talked to a local company about sandblasting and coating my next one.

So the moral of this story is, this thread could go on for literally PAGES. :-D Take it for what it is worth and make a decision and have fun along the way and enjoy some great que!

ITBFQ · Mar 10, 2014

Burn it, grind it, clean it, season it, and eat. That liner is TOUGH to get out... which is why when I make my next drum, I will be buying an unlined one from a fellow brethren!

SmokinJohn · Mar 10, 2014

I'm with Chop on #2.

My burns tend to flame 2-3 feet higher than the barrel. No paint remains after I am done. Burn it burn it burn it

JamieK · Mar 10, 2014

My UDS also orginally contained Tomato paste and had the same liner, only needed one really hot burn out, and then used a wire brush on a angle grinder to remove the rest. Good luck, and enjoy the build.

ojsmitty · Mar 10, 2014

Awesome, thanks! Any tips on building a fire to get the hottest?

chicagokp · Mar 10, 2014

Put the drum on bricks, make the holes for your intakes. Put in some charcoal, add lit on top, put in good hardwood logs, like oak or hickory. They will burn very hot. Depending on the weather, you may soak the ground a bit around where you do the burnout and you may want to put a metal screen over the top to keep any lit ashes from blowing out and causing a fire elsewhere. Also, do this early in the morning where you can make sure it's safe for most of the day. You'll probably still have hot coals the next morning if you do it right. I did.

Resist the urge to melt glass bottles or aluminum cans.

ajstrider · Mar 10, 2014

Let me chime in again after my first entry. Since my concern is that the lining would off gas some nasty stuff at cooking temperatures, if you burn the hell out of it and it doesn't disappear, I would be comfortable with that. I have a great source for unlined, new drums so I haven't had to deal with these linings, I would have thought burning them would get them out but apparently that is not the case.

Don't set your yard on fire.

Teleking · Mar 10, 2014

SmokinJohn said:
I'm with Chop on #2.

My burns tend to flame 2-3 feet higher than the barrel. No paint remains after I am done. Burn it burn it burn it

Same here. Burn, season, eat. 3 to 4 hour burn with a cherry red drum ain't gonna off gas anything at 250F

cmwr · Mar 10, 2014

Like I said earlier.....my first drum I burned 4 pallets through it and had a leaf blower laying on the ground blowing air into my intake hole. I had flames shooting 4 feet out of the barrel lol. After 3-4 hours of this I still had a red liner inside although all the exterior paint was gone. That liner is hard stuff!! Then I tried to grind it out with a wire wheel and burnt 2 wheels up and never made much of a dent. I figured the liner gods had spoken at this point and no 350 degree smoke was going to hurt anything if a 500+ fire couldn't do it!

JamieK · Mar 10, 2014

I drilled the intakes and burned a few days after xmas, so loaded the drum up with leftover wrapping paper and cardboard and used 2 broken down pallets. Here is a pic during the burn, flames got about 10 ft high at one point (about 5ft in the pic).

After the Burn

Here is inside, the drum at this point only grinded to the first rib.

Lining inside my UDS?

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