Ugly Drum Smoker

I dont have a search feature because im not a paid subscriber yet. Otherwise, I would have searched for it. 319 pages is a lot to manually search for and could take me weeks.

It's going to be a chore brother but well worth it. There have been so many things tried that worked out and also that didn't work so well. It usually ends up keeping it simple for the best performance. My favorite UDS, and go to smoker, is the first one I built almost 3 years ago. Was simple and works sooooo good.

There are several ways to cut the lid. You could cut it off below the bead, since most drum beads are a tad big for a Weber lid. This will leave a sharp edge, with no reinforcement, though. You can cut it inside with a chisel, or a reciprocating saw (SawZall) with a metal cutting blade. I suppose you could cut it out with a grinder as well. If you cut it out of the inside, it won't work as a lid. If you go to a place that deals in drums, they'll usually have a drum cutter, which is a giant can opener, for lack of a better description. The place I work has one. They leave a very sharp edge about an inch down inside- you want to pound it down with a hammer or grind it smooth- trust me on that! They have lids that fit open drums, with a big circular clamp that holds it on. I like the Weber lid, since you can put tall stuff on your top grate. If the bead is too big for a Weber lid, you can add a strip of steel around the inside, sticking up about 1/2" above the bead. On my stainless drum, I drilled and bolted it every 3" or so. I recently built a steelie for a friend, and welded it every 3" instead. A 1/8" X 1" strip works well, and you can bend it by hand. Keep asking; we can talk you through it! Here's some pics of the strip I added to my SS drum:

Marietta- get your lid before you cut the barrel. You may want to leave a 1/2" lip inside for the lid to sit on.
Many people built their barrels when the thread was 10 pages old.
It sounds like you might enjoy the benefits of buying a ready to smoke UDS.

Im in the process of building my first smoker project in the form of an UDS. I wanted to pick the brains of some experienced builders to see what they think with a couple of questions i have... 1) Im using 2 3/4" ball valves to control air flow with no other holes drilled on the bottom. Is this sufficient? 2) I cant seem to find anything that isnt galvanized to attach these ball valves to, but i did find some copper nipples but for some reason they have PVC around a portion of it (i forgot to include that in the pics). Is the PVC going to give off toxic fumes? 3) If i remove the bung valve off the lid of my drum, will that be sufficient exhaust? It measures 2 1/2 inches in diameter.

I think thats it for now. I need to get after the charcoal basket next. Thanks!

MushCreek said:

I like it! The bottom of the Weber looks like a good idea. What keeps it from sliding off in windy weather?

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Right not it is not fully engaged but very close (part of it below the lip and some on the lip. I think the first thing I am going to try is to flatten out the rim edge, this should make is sit in and rest on the bolts holding up the grill.

Porcine Pirate

" Pigs are our Tasty Friends "

Meat Burner said:

Ron, I like your hitch pin idea. It can be tricky getting the botton grate in and out with stationary bolts for the top grate. Nice idea bro. I would be very leary of only using three points to hold any grate. From experience, it may surprise you how easy it is to dump a brisket into the bottom of your barrel. Four points would be a lot safer. Keep us posted as it looks great so far. Hope the fire basket works out. It might make a real hot spot in the center of the grate. Let us know.

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Thanks Meat... I'll install another in the wider gap since I forgt to measure twice and drill once. I have a wider space on one side so that will be the forth ubolt. I have 4 Hitch Pins for the top rack adn drilled for 4, just need to get the washers and extra pins.

First burn in progress. I'm not sure it's getting hot enough high enough in the barrel. Bottm looks good and hot and is burning the outside, but the top still has the original paint on the outside? Should I be concerned? I'm going to do another burn, just curious how I should make certin it gets to the top. I had flames shooting out??? Still not convinced it did 100% burn.

The 3 3/4" intakes are fine. You will most likely find you keep 2 closed all the way, and fine tune the temp with the last one (thats why you only leave them all open during initial startup, and why most people just put removable caps on those two).

For the nipples, go to the hardware store and get "black iron pipe nipples". These are used for gas lines, and usually in the area where the black iron pipe is.

Don't use copper, galvanized, or PVC. Galvanized is typically just zinc unless it's really old, but may be better to be safe.

Or you could just leave the drilled holes and cover them with magnets like some people do.


Ahh, the beauty of improvising and the UDS.

The first drum I cut with an angle grinder didn't look too pretty:-D had to hammer down the edges so I don't shred my arm reaching in to the drum. The second drum I cut was much better. I saved the removed tops for door hatches and such (I made one for my tandoor, but you might not need a hatch for a UDS

Gettin close on finishing my first smoker project....Charcoal basket done... just got the proper nipples for my ball valves (hehehe) Thanks SDB25, i had to go with brass tho, no black iron...everything was PVC, copper, brass, or galvanized... now im just waiting on the hi temp paint to dry on the inside....Next up is seasoning it ! I'll add new PRON when i get the outside painted....i was able to find some high temp metallic gold paint online and when that comes in i'll get the exterior done.

I wish this would hurry, im craving ribs.......

GldnKniteofBBQ said:

now im just waiting on the hi temp paint to dry on the inside....

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Whoa, whoa, whoa....you shouldn't paint the inside....
You want bare metal on the inside.

N8man said:

Whoa, whoa, whoa....you shouldn't paint the inside....
You want bare metal on the inside.

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Ya, I read that too

Paul B
SS UDS

hmmmm.....too late now Why not tho, it shouldn't effect its ability to hold heat and it should add a little protection (along with seasoning it) against rust.

Because of a little thing I like to call,"Lethal Toxicity"
The paint will outgas as it heats up and poison your food.
Not a pleasant afternoon of BBQing then.

GldnKniteofBBQ said:

hmmmm.....too late now Why not tho, it shouldn't effect its ability to hold heat and it should add a little protection (along with seasoning it) against rust.

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dang it..... can i burn it off, or am i stuck having to grind it all off?

I'd do a couple of high heat burns in it, then sand what was left.
Better safe than sorry, Brother.

GldnKniteofBBQ said:

dang it..... can i burn it off, or am i stuck having to grind it all off?

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i thought this Hi-Temp BBQ paint was made to handle the heat...... i guess im still in the "denial" phase of grieving

ok, i flew through the anger phase...and on to acceptance. Gonna make a call to a local sandblasting co tomorrow. Any idea on what type of prices i can expect for that?

GldnKniteofBBQ said:

ok, i flew through the anger phase...and on to acceptance. Gonna make a call to a local sandblasting co tomorrow. Any idea on what type of prices i can expect for that?

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No, but post what you find out!