If a Redneck wanted to build a UDS

I may be stupid but...
The most important thing when it comes to getting a barrel,
is the fit of the lid.
It doesn't much matter what has been in it other than paint, it will all burn out after several good trial burns.

How many old guys do we know that have been cooking out of fuel oil tanks for years?
Put the heat to it and stop all the fretting.

Weiser



boothguy said:
I have been looking through some web sites concerning carcinogens in oils that would be shipped to a fuel oil/lubricant dealer and it appears to me that a barrel that was used to deliver hydraulic oil would be relatively safe. In most cases, hydraulic oils do not contain much if any carcinogenic materials. AS the oil is not used as a lubricant many of the additives that are in motor oils are not present. I checked out safety sites from AmsOil, Mobil, etc and found that carcinogen is not listed as a hazard in their hydraulic fluid.
Of course it is best to be very cautious in selecting the barrel and the oil dealer is required to carry the safety sheets of any of their oil products and should be checked before purchasing a cheap barrel. Food barrels would always be the safest to use as they cannot be used more than one time before being disposed of but lately, most food quality barrels are now made out of recyclable plastic and a steel barrel may become difficult to find in the future.
In any case, it is very important to always check to see what the barrel was used for before making a decision to use it to smoke your food. Burning out the barrel is always necessary no matter what sort of barrel you find.
STAY SAFE
Click to expand...
 
Weiser- I pretty much agree with you. All these food grade liners are not very food grade while the fire is being put to them. The bottom line is to burn all barrels out really well with hardwood and clean them down to the metal. I just dropped off two barrels and a whole bunch of hardwood to some picketing strikers down the road. They do a great job of burning out my barrels. After a couple of days I will take them two more!!! No Fire Marshal visits!
 
Weiser said:
I may be stupid but...
The most important thing when it comes to getting a barrel,
is the fit of the lid.
It doesn't much matter what has been in it other than paint, it will all burn out after several good trial burns.

How many old guys do we know that have been cooking out of fuel oil tanks for years?
Put the heat to it and stop all the fretting.

Weiser
Click to expand...

My slightly different take is how a surplus Weber kettle lid fits.
 
h20loo said:
. I just dropped off two barrels and a whole bunch of hardwood to some picketing strikers down the road. They do a great job of burning out my barrels. After a couple of days I will take them two more!!! No Fire Marshal visits!
Click to expand...

Finally . . . a way to get picketers to make a positive contribution (if you live north of the Mason-Dixon line.) Wouldn't work for me in the desert. :frown:
 
Very resourceful!
Great idea. :lol:

Weiser


h20loo said:
Weiser- I pretty much agree with you. All these food grade liners are not very food grade while the fire is being put to them. The bottom line is to burn all barrels out really well with hardwood and clean them down to the metal. I just dropped off two barrels and a whole bunch of hardwood to some picketing strikers down the road. They do a great job of burning out my barrels. After a couple of days I will take them two more!!! No Fire Marshal visits!
Click to expand...
 
Grate tutorial!!! This should be a sticky. Beats the dickens out of a 200+ page discussion. Not that that there isn't a wealth of information there, just a whole bunch of chaff to filter thru.
 
I agree on making this a sticky it has saved me a few dozen hours (that I can be Q'ing instead :))
Does anyone have a good suggestion for cutting out the top of a sealed lid drum? My weber lid fits this one perfect. I also have an open lid but the weber will only hover on it I have seen a few people weld an extra lip on the drum to make it fit, with no real access to a welder does anyone have a suggestion for this problem?
Thanks for helping a fledgling out!!
 
I am new to the forum, am currently building my first smoker... I have some ideas which I will share as soon as I have the photos...
 
hosshess said:
I agree on making this a sticky it has saved me a few dozen hours (that I can be Q'ing instead :))
Does anyone have a good suggestion for cutting out the top of a sealed lid drum? My weber lid fits this one perfect. I also have an open lid but the weber will only hover on it I have seen a few people weld an extra lip on the drum to make it fit, with no real access to a welder does anyone have a suggestion for this problem?
Thanks for helping a fledgling out!!
Click to expand...


LOL... see this is already answered in the thread that you don't want to read... :roll:

just messin... to answer your question, i flattened the lip out and then reshaped it while it was sitting on the drum... all done, and only a few minor leaks that were solved with a little tin foil... :biggrin:
 
Norco,excellent job.You have made it so simple that even i can understand.Just walked back to machine shop and checked for empty barrel and found one exactly like yours in the picture(coolant for machines).Went shopping in warehouse and even found nipples and ball valve.This looks like my weekend project. My project to build offset smoker with 3/4" thick hydraulic barrel has been put on back burner for now.:icon_devil:icon_devil
 
Hello,

I'm brand new to this site, and I'm brand new to the BBQ world. I have always loved to eat it, But now is the point to start making it.

I am one step #1 of a UDS, I have the barrel.

I have one Question before I begin the Building process, actually two.

#1 What kind of Drill Bit's do I need? I am completely ignorant to drilling steel, I will purchase everything needed including the Drill.

#2 Any tips on burning the Liner off of the lid with-out using a weed burner? The barrel I have has a red liner inside, I believe it was used for pomegranate juice.

Thank You for your help, this thread has been extremely helpful.
 
420 Reasons to Eat said:
Hello,

I'm brand new to this site, and I'm brand new to the BBQ world. I have always loved to eat it, But now is the point to start making it.

I am one step #1 of a UDS, I have the barrel.

I have one Question before I begin the Building process, actually two.

#1 What kind of Drill Bit's do I need? I am completely ignorant to drilling steel, I will purchase everything needed including the Drill.

#2 Any tips on burning the Liner off of the lid with-out using a weed burner? The barrel I have has a red liner inside, I believe it was used for pomegranate juice.

Thank You for your help, this thread has been extremely helpful.
Click to expand...

It's all in here.....
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23436&highlight=ugly+drum+smoker
 
Reasons you will need a punch to make a starter "dimple" in the metal, this will allow you to drill a pilot hole. Once you have the hole you can use a step drill bill. You can see it in Norco's pictures it looks like a little golden pyramid. go slow and extend the hole just enough to accept the metal threaded pipe this will be important if you want to use the lock nuts rather than weld them. As for the burn out I just started a really good fire and it got most of the liner out the weed burners are pretty cheap here in So California we have a tool place called Harbor Freight not the greatest quality but it is inexpensive. Please feel free to email me if you get stuck. Good Luck Dan
 
I am toying with the idea of a lid. I am picking up another 55gal drum to experiment will post picts either way.
 
If you don't mind spending some cash I can tell you where you can get a no mod lid that fits most closed head drums.
 
Has anyone ever tried using a SawZal and cutting down through the lip say maybe a half inch every inch or so then tap the lip inwards a bit with a hammer to make the Weber lid fit? If the cuts leaked a little air you could seal them with high temp sealer.
 
Just a questions - I built a UDS, and have fired it up. It worked well, but I had a minor issue on the build. Mine's a no-weld model, so I wanted to use the conduit lock nuts. My problem is that the lock nuts don't go onto the nipples far enough - in other words, they get maybe 3/8" on and that's as tight as I can get them, so they don't actually lock anything on. Any suggestions? It works as is, as I can work the caps so as not to twist the nipple, but I'm also not sure they're quite as airtight as they should be.
 
KaBudokan said:
Just a questions - I built a UDS, and have fired it up. It worked well, but I had a minor issue on the build. Mine's a no-weld model, so I wanted to use the conduit lock nuts. My problem is that the lock nuts don't go onto the nipples far enough - in other words, they get maybe 3/8" on and that's as tight as I can get them, so they don't actually lock anything on. Any suggestions? It works as is, as I can work the caps so as not to twist the nipple, but I'm also not sure they're quite as airtight as they should be.
Click to expand...


Put one on outside concave towards can, one on inside concave towards can.
 
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