I am building my first UDS and have the same issue with the Uniflame lid being too small to fit. Here is the link to my build thread:
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...=1#post2475371
QUOTE:
"So I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts about welding the Uniflame dome to the original drum lid. My drum lid has a nice tight seal. The real issue may be whether I am a good enough welder to weld two THIN pieces of metal together. I have had lots of practice in the last couple of days and have gotten much better. I know there was someone who did this and I was hoping they would chime in. It it really difficult to weld the two together. I was planning on spot welding in 4 places and then doing very short spot welds around the perimeter, maybe 2 seconds for each spot.
Or would it be easier to just buy a piece of metal or aluminum and bend it inside the drum like in the above posts?
Anyone with experience welding the two pieces together? I am using flux core. I don't have a bottle of gas yet.
By the way this thread ROCKS!!
Thank you all so much for your help. I hope some others find what I have done to be useful too."
Reply:
I've done this a couple of times! DO NOT try and weld a bead..... just keep doing pulse welds until your all the way around. It will take FOREVER it seems but I crank out a lid in about 45 Min. The trick really is setting your heat in mid range and wire speed slow. you only want enough heat to melt the lid and rim together in a spot weld and any filler you add to that, you will need to grind off. space your spot welds about every 1/4" and remember that your trigger pull should only be long enough for you to say "ON" and release. move 1/4", and repeat. keep this up until you start overlapping welds to make it leak free.
Post pics or questions if you can.
