Ugly Drum Smoker

Aloha, new guy here who's fixing to construct a drum smoker for a friend who mentioned he wanted a cheap smoker out at our deer lease. Wanted to share some info and a couple of ideas.

You can get a new kettle lid from Weber. The part number is 65174. My kettle lid has a small ding where the porcelain got knocked off so I decided to spring for a new lid and use the old on the drum. The new lid has a screw-on handle vs. the welded handle on the old one. Price was $51.27 + $7.00 FedEx shipping. Plus tax too, Weber must have a DC here in Texas somewhere.

There's a local guy who's selling nice 55 gallon drums for smokers. They're the heavier gauge unlined steel with smooth sides. I got another 55 gallon open head drum for free and plan to cut the top rolled edge off so I can trim it down so Weber lid will seat. According to my math cutting out ~2.5" section will bring it down to 22" but will probably start with 1.5" and use the Weber lid as a template and gradually trim back the edges like a piston ring until it's just right.

The drum I'm building will run off a Guru so planning to just have a single 3/4" air inlet. I scrounged up a 16 gallon steel grease drum for free from a nearby semi truck service center to use as a firebox. 14 1/4" diameter and the charcoal grate from an 18" Weber kettle is a perfect fit. I cut off the bottom 12" of the drum for the firebox and will drill a hole for the 3/4" inlet at the bottom on one side and space out two or three outlet hole on the opposite side.

Since I want to have at least two cooking grates (and hopefully 3) I've got a couple of ideas for a diffuser. I was able to scrounge up a 16" diameter piece of 1/4" steel plate that sits real nice on the firebox as option A.

I was also able to scrounge up a 30 gallon steel oil drum, 30 gallon drums are 18.5" in diameter. So option B is to cut off the bottom 3" or so of the 30 gallon drum to use as a diffuser/drip pan.

So I will be unnecessarily reinventing the wheel a bit along the way but the end result should be pretty cool.

Firebox

Looking Good !!! What are the mesurments of you fire Box Mesh ??


The fire box
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Mr_Cadman said:

Looking Good !!! What are the mesurments of you fire Box Mesh ??

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It's 3/4" mesh. The bottom grate is a 18" Webber. The sides are about 12 1/2" high.

I have almost read this entire thread, it took me some serious time, and I've read multiple other threads on this forum on UDS's as well as smoking in general - can't thank you guys enough. Despite all my reading, and I hate to bring this up, but I have a burnout question...

I have 2, month old, unlined 'food grade' barrels that held coconut oil, organic palm oil, or shea butter as the label tells me. From my notes, I know there is probably still a rust inhibitor in their despite being unlined and 'food grade.' My plan is to do one burnout to get whatever crap may be inside out, as well as to strip the exterior paint. I plan to take a wire brush or sanding brush to the outside to strip whatever paint it leftover. On the inside, my plan was to pressure wash with a soapy solution to get all the soot out and rinse with pressure washer as well. Once it's dry, apply a coat of vegetable oil and season once it's assembled. Does anyone see any glaring problems with that? There is still some coconut oil or whatever was in there left over, should I try to get all that out before the burn or just let it burn with the burnout?

I have read multiple angles on this and just want to be 100% sure before I get this project started. Thanks!

Let it burn with the burnout. I had coconut oil in my drum and it was fine.

jgp54321 said:

I have almost read this entire thread, it took me some serious time, and I've read multiple other threads on this forum on UDS's as well as smoking in general - can't thank you guys enough. Despite all my reading, and I hate to bring this up, but I have a burnout question...

I have 2, month old, unlined 'food grade' barrels that held coconut oil, organic palm oil, or shea butter as the label tells me. From my notes, I know there is probably still a rust inhibitor in their despite being unlined and 'food grade.' My plan is to do one burnout to get whatever crap may be inside out, as well as to strip the exterior paint. I plan to take a wire brush or sanding brush to the outside to strip whatever paint it leftover. On the inside, my plan was to pressure wash with a soapy solution to get all the soot out and rinse with pressure washer as well. Once it's dry, apply a coat of vegetable oil and season once it's assembled. Does anyone see any glaring problems with that? There is still some coconut oil or whatever was in there left over, should I try to get all that out before the burn or just let it burn with the burnout?

I have read multiple angles on this and just want to be 100% sure before I get this project started. Thanks!

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Turns out, I also used a barrel that had contained coconut oil. Here's what I did and it worked well. I drilled my holes first and then used a Harbor Freight weed burner on the outside with the barrel upside down. Any oil residue will melt out and/or burn. Took approximately 20 minutes to burn all the paint off the outside (turns to white ash). The rust inhibitor inside burns off as well but leaves almost no residue. I then took a wire cup on an angle grinder and went over the inside and outside (about 30 minutes). A quick wash with Dawn and water on the inside and your ready to paint.

I wiped mine down with rubbing alcohol and painted with one can of Krylon Grill paint. The paint goes on kind of runny with splatters, but when it has dried, looks beautiful. As soon as the paint dried, sprayed the inside down with Pam. I think what your planning to do is roughly the same, so you should have good results. If you go the weed burned route, you will then have the means to light your coals in the drum and not have to handle hot coals.

Good luck!

Bad Actor said:

Turns out, I also used a barrel that had contained coconut oil. Here's what I did and it worked well. I drilled my holes first and then used a Harbor Freight weed burner on the outside with the barrel upside down. Any oil residue will melt out and/or burn. Took approximately 20 minutes to burn all the paint off the outside (turns to white ash). The rust inhibitor inside burns off as well but leaves almost no residue. I then took a wire cup on an angle grinder and went over the inside and outside (about 30 minutes). A quick wash with Dawn and water on the inside and your ready to paint.

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I've already got the weed burner as I use a borrowed UDS from a friend currently - plus it's a fun 'toy' :grin: My worry was grinding the inside, seems like a huge PITA and would take much longer than 30 minutes. Happy to hear differently. Thanks for the advice!

I did it! I read all 12338 posts. The problem is, my brain is now full and when I learn something new, old information is overwritten. After reading the last post, I've forgotten how to tie my shoes.:loco:

jgp54321 said:

I've already got the weed burner as I use a borrowed UDS from a friend currently - plus it's a fun 'toy' :grin: My worry was grinding the inside, seems like a huge PITA and would take much longer than 30 minutes. Happy to hear differently. Thanks for the advice!

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I used a weed burner on mine too. After the weed burner I think the burn out may have been redundant but I did it anyway.

Kaptain Kadian said:

Love the thread. I have been cooking on a standard uds for years now with a bbq guru attached to it. I absolutely love it. I have build and sold probably 10 or so. I recently decided to make one for my cousin for his birthday. His was a little different. He has been in love with this t shaped uds that he saw years back. Well, this is how it turned out. Let me know what you think. I have a bunch of pictures of the build if anyone would like more info on how it was built.

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Hi if still available would appreciate the build pics thanks
Dan

Finished entire thread. All 12,341 posts. Time to gather parts. Already have the Weber Kettle for parts, got it last night off CL for $20. Now to collect the drum and misc. pieces. Thanks to those who shared their knowledge here from Jan. 13th, 2007, until today.

I'd rather put a strip of flat stock around the inside of Drum to get Weber lid to fit than cut the rolled edge off - that rolled edge makes them much stronger and not sharp edge.

I built my first UDS, norco style, and smoked a naked fatty. It worked great, and i was amazed at the steady temps. Thanks to all of the contributors up to pg. 133. Took me a week to get that far. :mrgreen:

The first smoke,
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is a couple racks of baby backs.
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Pic was taken right after I threw them on. They've been on for an hour now at 215-230*. I can't wait for lunch.:whoo::whoo:

Looks like your build was a success. You may have to package up those ribs and send them to me just to make sure they turn out ok. LOL
What are you using for heat/smoke?
Everything looks great. Be sure to let us know how it all turns out.

Kingsford blue bag and hickory chips. Memphis rub.

Kind of hillbilly but works

Thought I put this up here for those that like me can not get enough exhaust flow out of the Weber knock off lid vent ( I did not want to add a second wheel vent). If the wind blows any where the opening, my temps drop fast and 250 degrees is about the max I can get using that vent. So, I made a 3 5/8 hole nearest the center as I could ( the handle is in the way to be in the center and not get REAL hot) I made one of my aluminum flashing exhaust covers like my other flat lid UDS. But again when it is windy ( almost always), it really needs an exhaust chimney or the wind will affect how the coals burns/air flow. I also required an easy way to add/remove the chimney as I keep a tarp over the UDS when not in use and use a clip over the handle to keep the tarp on. Also I needed to be able to lift the lid as required during cooks with the chimney on. So I bought a soft spring at the hardware store, used 2 tye wraps, tweaked a coffee can, the spring easily stretches around the can and holds the can even in 30+ MPH cross winds. It doesn't look great, but it works like a charm and is very functional. And yes, you can peek down thru the hole to view your cook without removing the lid when required. I haven't come up with anything better as of yet, but I'm workin on it. I've used this now for over 1 full year.


This is when I first added the hole to the lid. I can reach over 700 degrees with my intakes and this 3 5/8 hole for exhaust when required.

So after I was pulled the ribs off the UDS yesterday I shut all the vents and made sure the lid was seated. I was hoping the coals would go out. Nope. I went out today at just after noon and it was still going at 160* 28 HOURS after I started the coals they were STILL going. :twitch::twitch: So i decided to take advantage of the situation and threw some foil wrapped leftovers on the top grill and opened all the vents back up. :becky:It's up to 325* now and I'm about to go pull the left overs off.

I am dirty and tired but tomorrow I'll be giving he new drum I constructed a seasoning burn. Even managed to get two coats of flat black grill paint applied. My welding-fu is weak - the welds are ugly but strong. But at least I managed to get everything secure without burning through the drum.

Since it's made to run off a Guru I've been kicking around ideas on the easiest way to run the probes inside without snaking them through the top vent. I'm considering using a sabre saw or cut-off wheel to make a small slit 1/8" - 1/4" in past the curved lip of the lid. Thoughts?

BaronVonOttomatic said:

I am dirty and tired but tomorrow I'll be giving he new drum I constructed a seasoning burn. Even managed to get two coats of flat black grill paint applied. My welding-fu is weak - the welds are ugly but strong. But at least I managed to get everything secure without burning through the drum.

Since it's made to run off a Guru I've been kicking around ideas on the easiest way to run the probes inside without snaking them through the top vent. I'm considering using a sabre saw or cut-off wheel to make a small slit 1/8" - 1/4" in past the curved lip of the lid. Thoughts?

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I don't have a guru, but drilled the smallest hole possible in the side of my drum to fit two probes. Works great.