If a Redneck wanted to build a UDS

txschutte said:

Measure a farkin' drum......

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I don't have a farkin' drum yet.

txschutte said:

read a farkin' thread, and you would realize that most 55 gal. drums are accomodating 22.5" equipment. SHEESH!!

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I have been reading, off and on for a about a month.

Then why are some cutting, grinding, welding and all this other stuff if they are "accommodating 22.5" equipment"?

The correct spelling is accommodating. SHEESH!

1. if you get an open headed drum, and it includes the lid, you can use the lid.

2. if you get an open headed drum and it does not have the lid, you can use a Weber lid or any other 22.5" lid.

3. if you get a closed headed drum, then you have to cut out the top of the drum, if you want to use a dome lid.

4. if you get a closed headed drum and you want a flat top drum, then you have to cut off the top while leaving at least an inch of the drum sides to flare out.

Norco's video shows him cutting out the top of the drum to allow for the use of a dome lid on a drum that was originally a closed headed drum. I would suggest you go figure out you needs first and proceed from there. I would say, use a dome lid, try and find an open top drum and see where you end up. There is never going to be a right way to get this done, the wrong way is gonna be to not get started. Like me.

By the way, closed headed drums are almost always cheaper, at least around here, than the open headed ones. Dome lids will give you more capacity than flat lids. UDS units are not any better based on how much thought is put into it, it is a low budget, recycled, shade tree unit that is best when built and used, not over-engineered and un-built. Unless you got a smoker already, go get you a drum and build something. Norco is a good guy to learn from.

Funny, my CHILD knew to buy a 22.5" grate for his drum. WOW.

Research. Research. Research. Despite all the BS, I'll be very happy to guide you along the way. Just PM or ask. I'm here to help, OK?

Drums that are 55 gal. are usually ACCOMODATING to 22.5" equipment. Therefore, a Weber, Uniflame, or any other equivalent of a 22.5" ROUND kettle grille is useable. The lid, the cooking grate, and the lower lip bolted onto your 55 gal drum is a great combination. A few with a bit of common sense would deduce that if a Weber donor would work, why wouldn't a Uniflame, Chargriller, Fisher-Price, or whatever work?

This place has archives of pics, tutorials, and other material for you to embellish upon, so have at it.

Just SEARCH.

Ash pan question for Norco

First, thanks for the excellent tutorial on building a UDS. I'm in the process of gathering materials for my first build. Haven't located my barrel yet, so maybe this is getting ahead of the process. I noticed somewhere you posted a picture of a Uniflame that you used as an ash pan. Can you tell me what diameter it is? I looked all over for a Uniflame and could only find a smaller one (looked to be about 13"). I didn't think that would be big enough. It's the end of season here so inventories are very low. I did find a BBQ Pro that is 18". Will that work, or will it be too big? I'm looking for a barrel that will work with the Weber Kettle lid.

This tutorial rocks! Thanks!

Quick question because I had a hard time understanding but I think no matter what was in the barrels its fine as long as they are burned out and scrubbed...

The reason I ask is I can get 50+ 55 gallon steel barrels open top with lid and locking band for 5 bucks apiece....
They have to be sold in 5 barrel lots, but that seems to be the price people are paying for 1 barrel so I'm headed out to get them in the morning unless someone says stop...

They had latex paint in them but have been power washed from what I was told....
It sounds almost to good to bet true

Tweedle said:

Quick question because I had a hard time understanding but I think no matter what was in the barrels its fine as long as they are burned out and scrubbed...

The reason I ask is I can get 50+ 55 gallon steel barrels open top with lid and locking band for 5 bucks apiece....
They have to be sold in 5 barrel lots, but that seems to be the price people are paying for 1 barrel so I'm headed out to get them in the morning unless someone says stop...

They had latex paint in them but have been power washed from what I was told....
It sounds almost to good to bet true

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Sounds like a great deal to me.

Anyone on here sell kits? Get your own barrel and get the kit bang you got a smoker....

Tweedle said:

Anyone on here sell kits? Get your own barrel and get the kit bang you got a smoker....

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Not much involved parts wise. Mostly labor intensive.

lid question

If I get a closed head drum, and cut the top out, could I use a open head drum lid, until i can find a kettle lid?
The open head drum has the red paint inside while the closed is unlined or I would use it.

I think the lid has red paint on as well. Do I need it to burn it off?

Hi everybody. I have all of my parts and am just get started on my build.

The drum I have is 34" tall. I am using 3 - 3.50in bolts as feet for the fire basket. So the bottom of the basket will be around 3.25in from the bottom of the drum. Going 24 in up from there puts me at 6.75in from the top of the drum. Is that too close to the top? Also weber lid does not fit.

Can I go any closer to the fire basket or can I use shorter bolts for the feet of the basket?

Since this is my first build I am thinking of going with just one rack and the lid that came with the drum.

Any help is much appreciated.

Pole D said:

Hi everybody. I have all of my parts and am just get started on my build.

The drum I have is 34" tall. I am using 3 - 3.50in bolts as feet for the fire basket. So the bottom of the basket will be around 3.25in from the bottom of the drum. Going 24 in up from there puts me at 6.75in from the top of the drum. Is that too close to the top? Also weber lid does not fit.

Can I go any closer to the fire basket or can I use shorter bolts for the feet of the basket?

Since this is my first build I am thinking of going with just one rack and the lid that came with the drum.

Any help is much appreciated.

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Why doesn't the Weber lid fit?

To make my Weber lid fit, I took some channel locks and bent the rim of the lid out and then sat it on top of the drum and persuaded it back in to shape with a rubber hammer.

Your lid doesn't have to be a perfect fit to work correctly. Mine always has smoke billowing around the lid during my cooks for a short period of time. You should be more concerned with air leaking through your intakes which will cause temp spikes

Thanks for your reply.

I was just trying to use the lid from my functional weber. I guess I will go and find a lid from a junked weber.

But what about the heighth of the cooking grate from the fire box grate? I still need to keep that at 24" min. So if my lower grate is at 6.75" from the top do I really have room to put the second grate? Should it be like 1/2" from the top?

Rich Parker said:

Why doesn't the Weber lid fit?

To make my Weber lid fit, I took some channel locks and bent the rim of the lid out and then sat it on top of the drum and persuaded it back in to shape with a rubber hammer.

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you might consider getting a set of cheap harbor freight (is there another kind?) body hammers..a stretcher and a shrinker..stretcher is smooth and shrinker looks like a meat mallet (multitasker!) anyway, you can take the lid and set the lip on something tough..heavy piece of pipe or whatever,
and peen it with the smooth hammer at opposed points, so it doesn't warp, and keep going around until it will sit on the drum snugly, and the use the shrinker to pull the ouckers back together if you get any...

and you get to learn something about body work...

I'm going to use the bottom of a donor drum and stretch it as above and weld in a rim so it will fit as a domed lid...and have a little extra room for the big cuts on the top grate.

Good deal or not??????

I can get a 22.5 weber floormodel from HD for $45. It doesn't come with a top grate or a charcoal catch between the legs. In whole it's banged up and the lid has a little rust around the edges. I'm really only buying it for the donor lid. Can't seem to find one. Good price or no??? Thanks in advance.