Ugly Drum Smoker

you could just burn it out again...

or maybe you can wipe it down with reducer and then a quick burn.

yeah, i'll try those ideas first....i only put one coat on and it needed a second one (thank god i took a drink break and checked the ole discussion boards before i did that).... oh well looks like no smoked ribs tonight, gonna need to fire up the old grill for some salmon instead.

I found a place local that does an Alkaline dip for $30, but I wasn't real sure about the chemicals involved, so I just hit mine with the orbital sander and burned. I think I'm going to have to do another burn before it's ready to cook on since the outside top looks like it's not been heated, however, I know it was hot bottom tpo top.

Added 2 extra UBolts for the bottom rack and that made it much more stable. They aren't symetrical, but guess I'll chaulk that up for the Uglu part.

Got the hitch pins and clips installed. Realized that was a waste of $14 since my UBolts for the bottom rack have a slightly bigger space, I can lift it from the other side and it comes out fine. Guess it will be helpful if I want to pull the whole rack out with something on it.

I beat the lip down on the Weber lid to make it sit flat on the barrel, now I need to go back in the posts to find a good latch system.

Rethought my Basket and found some expanded metal.

Should be cooking on it next weekend if this next burn works to my liking. Probably just paint it black and do a logo with some red Engine Enamel if I feel like going to the effort.

Already talked to the wife, doing some Taters and ribs for the first cook. May try my first fatty as well.

Dang this is a long thread but a good one. I'm at page 160 after a week can I stop and start building my UDS ? Bought a used weber today 25.00 Need to find a drum in the Charlotte NC area.

Ash pan, is it necessary?

I have a shop vac and coud just suck it out. And maybe a power wash every so often.


Got my Drum!

just my 2 cents on the pipe nipple question. 1) I used the black pipe nibbles and uncoated plugs. They rusted. If you use them, make sure to oil them often (I did not weld my nipples in - but used conduit nuts. More than once I ended up untreading the nipple rather than the cap.

2) they don't get very hot (120 maybe). I use brass now and it does not rust. I also have a piece of pvc attached to the outside to connect a fan - at the temp we are dealing with I am not even worried about the pvc.

Sammy_Shuford said:

Ash pan, is it necessary?

I have a shop vac and coud just suck it out. And maybe a power wash every so often.


Got my Drum!

Click to expand...

I personally do not use an ash pan. Makes cleanup super easy, but instead I just pick up my drum and dump the ash in the trash. And Ive gotten lazy enogh that I only do it if its more than an inch deep.

just my $.02

I built mine last friday. sry I only have 2 pics. one is welding the intake nipples in and the second is the first burn. MAn I can't wait to try this thing out

85 gallon drum

This thread is awesome and even though my eyes are crossed for reading the last two days I have a question. I've scored myself an 85 gallon drum. Will 3 3/4" intakes (2 capped and 1 valve) be enough for the extra size. I plan on having 1 2.5" exhaust in the center and roughly a 17" round X 8" tall fire box.

Thanks

ive read this whole thread and i have to say i enjoyed it especialloy the pictures i have one question has any body built a uds with a small fire box on the sid offset but kept the barrel verticle thanks for input i know im crazy

ok, it is done as far as work. I rough sanded the exterior, wiped with alchohol and put a couple coats of black grill paint on it.

Now I just need to do a couple of regular burn-ins for the paint cure and hardware before getting her fired up with food.

I beat the lip on the weber down flat since I goofed the bottom and could not do a collar for it. I still need to do more beating on it to get it level and I will probable repaint it to keep it from rusting.

Check out my lid clips. They are the giat office binder clips for temporary purpose, Still need to decide a final solution for that. I also added a couple of shelf supports for a future project. I'm planning on doing another barrel and connecting them with a shelf that's big enough for at least a full size pan. Probably build a cart/wagon for them for easy moving, hopefully, that will come in the spring.

All in all, I'm happy with it. I'll be glad to find out how it cooks.

Open to any and all feed back. Want to thank everyone on here for the great info and step by step pictures/instructions.

Looks great!

I finally did the weber lid mod on my drum today after inheriting a nice donor kettle. Fortunately, I was able to hammer the lip perfectly based on my drum's diameter, and it fits like a glove. I plan on using the kettle itself as a lid, but it's gonna take more than a hammer to accomplish that!

Good luck!

Great thinking with all the lid mods here!

It's funny, I had to use a weber lid in a pinch yesterday when i ran out of room on my primary UDS grate (!)... closed the top vent halfway and balanced the lid precariously on the drum top: the sides where the lid met the drum were leaking like a sieve, but it maintained the same temps as my flat drum lid with 8 x 1/2" holes. Who knew?

Rust after burning and cleaning

Quick question:

finishing my UDS (pictures coming soon). Anyway, I had a reconditioned drum that had been previously bead blasted, so I drilled all the holes and welded in the 3/4 nipples. After that, I burned out the inside using an oxy acetylene torch, raising the temp on the barrel to + 500 f. once that was done I washed it with a steam cleaner.

Now for the question; My drum has rusted on the inside before I've had the chance to season it. Do I have to sand out all the rust again? or can I season it and not worry about it?

Thanks,
ps. Love this forum!

Smokin'Ron said:

Check out my lid clips. They are the giat office binder clips for temporary purpose, Still need to decide a final solution for that. I also added a couple of shelf supports for a future project. I'm planning on doing another barrel and connecting them with a shelf that's big enough for at least a full size pan. Probably build a cart/wagon for them for easy moving, hopefully, that will come in the spring.

All in all, I'm happy with it. I'll be glad to find out how it cooks.

Open to any and all feed back. Want to thank everyone on here for the great info and step by step pictures/instructions.

Click to expand...

Looks great! I like the clips.. i don't think I would change those out.....

dboxx said:

Quick question:

finishing my UDS (pictures coming soon). Anyway, I had a reconditioned drum that had been previously bead blasted, so I drilled all the holes and welded in the 3/4 nipples. After that, I burned out the inside using an oxy acetylene torch, raising the temp on the barrel to + 500 f. once that was done I washed it with a steam cleaner.

Now for the question; My drum has rusted on the inside before I've had the chance to season it. Do I have to sand out all the rust again? or can I season it and not worry about it?

Thanks,
ps. Love this forum!

Click to expand...

Don't worry dude, just use it already. No need to get rid of the rust.

Smoking Ron, Looking good!

FYI... Just got back from the local Wally World and they have the 22.5" replacement grates for $12.00. I do not believe they are as heavy duty as the Weber replacements but they are pretty nice for the price

Finally Found

I finally located a drum this past weekend :-D. Now I am in the process of collecting all of the needed parts to put it all together once I get the burn out done. The drum has a thing brown/tan lining that should burn out easily since it is already scratched down to bare metal in one spot on the bottom. Here are some cell phone pics.:-D



One of these days I will finish painting that door and wall