Ugly Drum Smoker

A welding shop made my fire basket out of 9 gauge expanded for $25. Very nice guys and made some new friends. Very cool
 
spareheat said:
I paid $52 for #9 3/4" rolled flat expanded metal 4 X 8 sheet in Memphis two months ago. I got three fire basket rings 10" X 48", three 16" round pieces to overlay the firebasket bottom grill ( 16" x 48" ) and four pieces 24" X 24" that I used for tables on each side of two smokers ( will have pics this weekend ). I made three fire baskets but just two smokers for now.
Homed*p*t has 24" X 24" pieces for $20. It would take eight of these to equal a 4' X 8' sheet. 8 X $20= $160
If you get a 4' X 8' sheet of new #9 expanded metal for $20, jump on it and smile all the way home.
Click to expand...

I thought it sounded really cheap since I bought a 4 x 8 sheet of 16 gauge from them a few months ago for around $80. He never said if the expanded sheet was #9 or something else but I need something pretty heavy.
Whatever the price mmmmmeat and I only live a few miles apart and we both need fire baskets and I want shelves, etc. We need to tag team a 4 x 8 sheet. :idea:
 
my obligatory "finally finished reading the whole dang forum and now I'm starting my build" post

Put together my fire basket last night in about 20 minutes. Used 2 pieces of 12x24" expanded steel, a couple of pieces of 1/4" threaded rod, some nuts and fender washers. Just bent each piece of steel into a rough semi-circle, overlapped them, ran the threaded rod all the way through with washers/nuts sandwiching the steel. Used a rod on the top and bottom. The one on top also serves as a handle. Used 16 gauge wire to attach the Weber charcoal grate to the bottom.

Hope to work on the barrels this weekend, but it is football season.
 
Web Flamed UDS

This is the greatest thread ever :clap2: I read the entire thing, took notes and then planned my own UDS. I thought I should post it on this thread as I got so much inspiration from here. I created my own build thread if you want to see all the Pictures (75+) and steps along the way. http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=116286

Here she is, Enjoy!

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Great looking smoker zacman!
After following your fantastic build thread last week I had to order that tin BBQ sign for my UDS as well.
 
Why do some people have their air valve come up along side of their smoker? I know some do it so they don't have to bend down to make adjustments but I was wondering if there is another reason?
 
Ive been reading this for a few weeks now and am at page 140 of 174 (50 posts per page) and I dont remember if i read anything addressing these issues. If they we addressed, then I apologize. I finally picked up the new unlined drum on Monday and a new performer lid today thanks to a brethren. I opened the drum clamp and the Weber lid doesn't fit the top but fits the bottom perfectly. Is it ok to remove the bottom and build the smoker upside down with the clamp on or are there problems with doing that? Also, when i opened the drum, I noticed about 12 pin holes on one side of the drum. they are about mid way up. Will this pose a problem? I would think not since they are tiny and are a constant but if they are, how do i mitigate their influence on temperature? Lastly, the drum is rusted inside as it was a brand new unlined drum. Im sure the pin holes let in humid air causing it to rust. Will a burn out remove the rust or do i have to sand it down?
thanks
 
Several Brethern have built upside down. Light up the firebasket and set the drum over it.

I would sand down and then fill pin holes with JB weld. It's rated to 500, and safe after cure.
 
Carbon said:
Great looking smoker zacman!
After following your fantastic build thread last week I had to order that tin BBQ sign for my UDS as well.
Click to expand...

Yea love the sign it was the perfect size. Originally I wanted to cut up some old license plates and put the cactus and Arizona on it but when I saw this I had to get it. Wanted to avoid the questions "what is that thing" it's a BBQ of course says so on the sign!
 
Mr. Bo said:
I thought it sounded really cheap since I bought a 4 x 8 sheet of 16 gauge from them a few months ago for around $80. He never said if the expanded sheet was #9 or something else but I need something pretty heavy.
Whatever the price mmmmmeat and I only live a few miles apart and we both need fire baskets and I want shelves, etc. We need to tag team a 4 x 8 sheet. :idea:
Click to expand...

Agreed!!

Posted from my fancy android fone!!
 
Mr. Bo said:
I thought it sounded really cheap since I bought a 4 x 8 sheet of 16 gauge from them a few months ago for around $80. He never said if the expanded sheet was #9 or something else but I need something pretty heavy.
Whatever the price mmmmmeat and I only live a few miles apart and we both need fire baskets and I want shelves, etc. We need to tag team a 4 x 8 sheet. :idea:
Click to expand...


I guess I'm lucky.....in Nashville(TN), we have a Metal scraps store.......I paid $16 for a 11" x 48" piece of #9 expanded metal that was a scrap. And for the included price, I got another piece of it for the bottom of my basket. That was also scrap and was about 11" by 14" that I trimmed to fit the circle of the basket. I can buy anything there that is considered scrap. As long as it is in my ability to form or cut or weld it, it is way cheaper than buying full length or sheets of the same material.
 
I am new to this UDS build, but I have read so many threads from this forum that I feel like I know what I am doing when I buy things and the drum....I am going to keep looking and will post pics as I go. I started today so I will post pics of what I have done today, please feel free to give me any information that you feel will make things better, tomorrow I will do the burn out. Today: Got the barrell...(Olive Oil Barrel closed top). I cut off the top (took 2 inches off the top so the it's now 32 inches tall. Cut out 4 intake holes at the bottom (1 inch)...I have a webber kettle grill top 22.5 inch that fits great ( waiting for the smoke test to see if its air tight..if not I will get a stove gasket to help it out).........
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...16696345363.2140134.1490005175&type=1&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...16696345363.2140134.1490005175&type=1&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...16696345363.2140134.1490005175&type=1&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...16696345363.2140134.1490005175&type=1&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...96345363.2140134.1490005175&type=1&permPage=1
 
hankll said:
I guess I'm lucky.....in Nashville(TN), we have a Metal scraps store.......I paid $16 for a 11" x 48" piece of #9 expanded metal that was a scrap. And for the included price, I got another piece of it for the bottom of my basket. That was also scrap and was about 11" by 14" that I trimmed to fit the circle of the basket. I can buy anything there that is considered scrap. As long as it is in my ability to form or cut or weld it, it is way cheaper than buying full length or sheets of the same material.
Click to expand...

Maybe not so lucky my friend. The scraps didn't happen for me so I ordered a 4 x 8 sheet of 13 Gauge. (Hope it's thick enough) 1" hole for $24 plus tax. Mmmmmeat and I are going to split the cost and the sheet. So we will each get a 2' x 8' piece for around $14 each. This will allow us to build our charcoal baskets and leave material for shelves I think. Hope it turns out to be a good deal for us.
 
Where did you get your expanded metal from? I have seen in the past where others have ordered off of Amazon. It might be nice to have a separate thread where people can compare sizes and prices to see what works best.
 
That might be a good idea but shipping costs would be pretty high. I ordered ours from an Ornamental Steel & Iron shop that's about 25 miles away in a larger town. They didn't have any in stock so they had to order it. Had no luck here where I live finding anything.
Not sure what size 13 ga expanded metal is but if a 13 ga wire is close it should be fine. The box stores in my area that had E M were way high for 4 x 4 pieces. Hope this helps.
 
i was at a welding shop today in my home town, he gave me an estimate for a 9 gauge round grate apprimately 22.5 inch in size...told me that each would be about 11.54 each....so way thicker steel and will last for a long time..than the webber grill grate....most expensive part would have been the labor......20 dollars.......so for both grates it would have been 42 bucks....18.99 for the webber grills at home depot.....so for about 6 more dollars you could get super thick expanded metal grates........if you have a welding shop in your town, stop by it might be a better deal in the long run
 
I'm in the process of building my 3rd UDS. I've had all my barrels burned out and sandblasted so they were bare metal when I painted them. I've done the same with my third barrel. My first two I painted with high heat primer and then painted them with engine enamel. My question is would I be able to skip the priming process and just paint them with the engine enamel since they are bare to save a little time and money?
 
Thanks zacman, for the sign idea. I just put it on my cooker. Family and friends thought it was pretty cool during last night's cook.

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Mr. Bo said:
That might be a good idea but shipping costs would be pretty high. I ordered ours from an Ornamental Steel & Iron shop that's about 25 miles away in a larger town. They didn't have any in stock so they had to order it. Had no luck here where I live finding anything.
Not sure what size 13 ga expanded metal is but if a 13 ga wire is close it should be fine. The box stores in my area that had E M were way high for 4 x 4 pieces. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Actually, you can get free shipping. Here is an example. It is a thinner gauge but should hold up fine for the sides of a charcoal basket. 48" x 48" for $32 shipped. A 24"x 24" cut of similar expanded metal is $20 at Home Depot.

Amazon.com: Carbon Steel Expanded Metal Flat Sheet, 3/4" LWD Diamond Openings, 0.075" Thick, 74% Open Area, 48" Width, 48" Length: Industrial & Scientific@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/415BlkVVzTL.@@AMEPARAM@@415BlkVVzTL
 
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