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Ugly Drum Smoker

First Fruits

I finally read the entire thread and built my first UDS. I made ribs and a fatty(once I figured out what those were) and NO disappointments! Thanks for all the great detail that made it so easy on this tread.
 

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1st UDS pics

Here is my first UDS in it's "testing" phase prior to paint and refinement. I am having some trouble with maintaining temps @ 250F but I will keep working at it until I figure it out. Probably leaks around the hand hammered lid which I tried to seal with foil and vice grips....
 

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i love this thread i joined this forum because i wanted info on these UDS and bbq-brethren seemed to have the most info. I am barely on page 54 and have about 600 pages to go.

great job Brethren and hopefully when i am ready to build one someone local could guide me in the right direction.
 
I have lurked on this sight long enough, and have just built my second UDS, but needed a theme. I am associated with a Brew Pub in Wisconsin, and we brewed up a Kolsch this spring and it inspired me. Kolsch is typically served in a sleeve, or straight sided glass. Can you see where this is going . . . :help:
The Brewery loaned me their Stencil, and the rest is history.

Thanks for all of the tips in these 600+ pages. I incorporated a number of them in this build.
 

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Bought an unlined recertified drum today (from a local company), burnt it out for about 5 and a half hours, let it cool, primed part of it (ran out blargh) and painted one section of it, gonna finish painting it tomorrow, and post some pics! Don't have any more money though haha so I wont be able to get any grates or make a basket for a while. but at least I'm doing it :D
 
10_Bears said:
Dont think there's any liner in there. Mine came out the same after a sand blast. Just has a coarse finish that's all. Is that right GRAVITYGUY???
Click to expand...

Yeah thats right, the blasting makes the surface quite rough. The inside was completely orange before so the lining has definitely gone.

I've actually just completed my first trial run. I didn't actually intend cooking but I couldn't resist so I went out and bought a fresh to chicken to just throw on and see how it turned out. I used about 1.5 chimneys worth of charcoal and 2 good size chunks of maple wood. Chicken was amazing and the charcoal is still smouldering away 6 hours later! I can't believe how little charcoal is actually needed. See below for a picture of my first chicken.

chicken.jpg

It propbably wasn't the best smoked chicken in the world as I literally just threw it on and hoped for the best. Even still, it tasted fantastic. I can't wait to see what things taste like when I add rubs etc!!

Thanks everyone for posting and allowing to build my UDS, I couldn't have done it without the posts on here! :mrgreen:

I'll carry on updating as I get more proficient and hopefully i'll be able to help others in the future :-D
 
Just as I finished typing the last message, the typical british weather prevailed... hard heavy rain!! Any chance of finding out how long the coals would last has just evaporated (pun not intended)!
 
Finally!

It took me way too long to get my charcoal basket welded, but yesterday it was done. In the meantime my neighbor and I built a cart out of old L channel he had around, painted it, put shelves on, and even figured out how to hinge a flat top. Since he's a plumber, all things can be solved with the judicious application of pipe.

Hosed it down inside with Walmart brand Pam and left it run for a couple of hours last night with all 3 inlets open. Pegged the thermometer at 475 when I went to check and shut it down before bed. From the charcoal left in the basket, I think we did a real good job with keeping it airtight.

All I have left is to drill 2 holes for my temperature probes to run through. Using 3/8" brass close nipples and lock nuts for the entryway.

I'm going to drill a hole through the center of 2 silicone rubber stoppers, maybe slit the stoppers to get the probes throughv(or drill the hole large enough) and then seal the stopper ends up with some Sugru.

Think I'll go to the grocery store after work and cook an inaugural naked fatty on it tonight.

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My plumber friend will take that as a complement. :grin:

Google "Pneumatic Copper Potato Cannon with tripod" for more of his handiwork.
 
Took a pic of the paint, I think it turned out decent, other than the fact that it looks hairy... I guess that stuff 'll just burn off when I season it. Gotta read back on how to clean out the soot from inside too..
2qVBH.png
 
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Hello, I'm new here so sorry if this doesn't make any sense.

My brother and I are going to make our first UDS for my father for his B-day/Fathers day and I was hoping that you guys can help me with a few things. The first thing is, if I get a food grade 55 gallon steel drum and get it sandblasted to remove the liner, do I still have to burn it afterwards? Or do I burn it 1st and sandblast whatever is left including the remaining outside paint?
 
tonoxtono said:
My brother and I are going to make our first UDS for my father for his B-day/Fathers day and I was hoping that you guys can help me with a few things. The first thing is, if I get a food grade 55 gallon steel drum and get it sandblasted to remove the liner, do I still have to burn it afterwards? Or do I burn it 1st and sandblast whatever is left including the remaining outside paint?
Click to expand...

If you are getting the drum sand blasted then you won't need to burn it out. The blasting literally gets rid of everything right back to the steel itself. In my opinion it's far better as there is no mess involved when getting it blasted. Sandblasting may cost a few $$$ but if you think about it, you will actually save that on all of the sanding discs etc that you will need to clean and sand it if you burnt it out. I got mine soda blasted and I was very happy. Did my first cook a few days ago :mrgreen:
 
smokeraddict said:
those ribs look fantastic
Click to expand...

Totally agree. I have seen people talking about fatties before and I had no idea what they were.

Now I know I will definitely be making some for my smoker! I'm salivating just looking at it! mmmmm fatties.........
 
I am totally new to this and am getting ready to build my first UDS. I have a question regarding how much charcoal to use. I'm sure it has been asked before but there are soooo many post to look through. How do you know how much charcoal to use? I know it has to be different if you are smoking tri-tips compared to shoulders. From what I have been reading it seems like its about a pound per hour. Would this be a good estimate?
 
inraged2002 said:
I am totally new to this and am getting ready to build my first UDS. I have a question regarding how much charcoal to use. I'm sure it has been asked before but there are soooo many post to look through. How do you know how much charcoal to use? I know it has to be different if you are smoking tri-tips compared to shoulders. From what I have been reading it seems like its about a pound per hour. Would this be a good estimate?
Click to expand...
A pound an hour is a good place to start I guess. There are a lot of variables to consider though. Outdoor temp. Wind. Humidity. Volume of meat. etc.... Cheers!!!
 
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