BDS Clone temp

A

AlabamaGrillBillies

is one Smokin' Farker
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Hey guys, I'm considering building a BDS clone for my dad as a father's day present. He is the reason i'm smokin' today and is currently smokerless. (this is isn't a total selfless act, as the smoker will be at his lakehouse and at my disposal when we visit:lol: ) I'm planing this as a father's day gift to give me some time to work on it a little bit at a time. Right now I have a question that I haven't seen answered in the other threads on this subject. I don't have a welder at my disposal, but as a full fledged redneck I have plenty of JB Weld. I know the product lists its heat resistance at 500*F max continous, with a 600*F 10 minute limit. I plan on using the JB weld to attach 'L' tabs to hold the food grate. I don't really worry about the heat there. I am considering using JB Weld at the air intakes to fit a ball valve or two. Here is the question, do you think the temp at the air intakes at the bottom of the drum will exceed 500*F?

Oh and I plan on calling the clone an "AGB" Alabama Grillin' Barrel. A nice play off of our team name.
 
Why not just drill holes and use bolts to hold the grates? Seems like a simpler solution.
 
Don' t do it!!
Just go KISS low budget and use nuts and bolts! You can make a no weld drum smoker in an afternoon with a drill and a Uni-Bit.

I did an allnighter and added unlit coals to the coals that had been burning for 13 hours and left the lid off for about 20 minutes and the thermometer was pegged at 500* and paint was flaking off the drum! I don't think the JB-Weld would have held up.

Brian
 
swamprb said:
Don' t do it!!
Just go KISS low budget and use nuts and bolts! You can make a no weld drum smoker in an afternoon with a drill and a Uni-Bit.

I did an allnighter and added unlit coals to the coals that had been burning for 13 hours and left the lid off for about 20 minutes and the thermometer was pegged at 500* and paint was flaking off the drum! I don't think the JB-Weld would have held up.

Brian
Click to expand...

Ditto
 
DO NOT use JB weld inside the cooker!
Just drill a few holes! Bolt up a few bolts.

The JB weld will outgas and eventually fail in this type of environment. Trust me.

You are looking a 45 minutes TOPS to put in the bolts.
 
jgh1204 said:
Yep, no welding needed. Stainless steel carriage bolts work great to hold the grate.
Click to expand...

Home Depot doesn't have SS carriage bolts. Are Zinc plated ok? I know not to use Galvenized... Where can you get SS?

B
 
Home depot does have the SS bolts, they are not in the normal bins but all SS hardware are in the labeled drawers.
 
Ok guys, Advice taken, no JB Weld. I knew I could count on you fellas to tell it like it is. Now on to another question. I can easily get drums that have had oil in them, is this ok. I know it will need several burns no matter what and I know to stay away from barrels with chemicals in them but I was thinking the oil might burn away clean.

Any suggestions on where to go for food grade barrels?
 
Well, now i'm on the search for a barrel. I found local dealers that have new unlined 55gal for $57, or 110gal lined for 244. After I get my 55gal model built for my dad I'm very tempted to build my own Jumbo Model!! Rocky sells his for $700, I figure that even at 244 for a new one I can build me a jumbo clone for $300
 
110 gallon UDS, that would be cool. I think a new unlined barrel for $57 is worth the pain of having to burn them out especially if you live in town.

The only problem I see with the 110 is the grates. The 22" replacement grates from Weber would not work, I am guessing.
 
Yup I have thought about the grate issue. Oh and update I've done some calling around and found new unlined drums for $40! I figure if and when I build a 110 UDS I'll just make my own grates. Thick expanded metal cut to size should work just fine if reinforced.
 
Bama,

What kind of business sells them for $40.. maybe we have one like that here.

Please give us the details.

Thanks

B
 
What kind of places are you guys finding these barrels? New and used ones?
 
I just looked in the phone book yellowpages under drums and barrels and found a place near tuscaloosa call "Alabama Drum Services". They were the cheapest out of everybody I called.
 
How critical is it for the first rack to be 24 inches from the bottom of the charcoal basket? I would like two racks in mine but the height is only 34-1/2" and that won't let me put in two racks with 24" from the bottom of charcoal basket to the first rack.
 
hrchdog said:
How critical is it for the first rack to be 24 inches from the bottom of the charcoal basket? I would like two racks in mine but the height is only 34-1/2" and that won't let me put in two racks with 24" from the bottom of charcoal basket to the first rack.
Click to expand...

I haven't done one that was less so I don't know for sure.... but from everything I have read it is important because you are cooking direct. If you want two racks use the lid off of a Weber Kettle. On mine the bottom cooking is about 25 inches above the fire grate and the top cooking grate sits on the lip where the top of the drum was cut out. It doesn't give me a huge amount of capacity on the top grate due the the height/curve of the Weber lid but for an extra butt or two or spares it is great.
 
hrchdog said:
How critical is it for the first rack to be 24 inches from the bottom of the charcoal basket? I would like two racks in mine but the height is only 34-1/2" and that won't let me put in two racks with 24" from the bottom of charcoal basket to the first rack.
Click to expand...


Just set a grate 24" above the coal basket and do a raised grate on top of it. Use a Weber Kettle lid if you want more space. Here is an example of a raised grate for a Big Green Egg
http://www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramicfaq.htm#raisedgrid
 
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