Ugly Drum Smoker

Doug Crann · Mar 16, 2015

biggin69 said:
She's suckung air somewhere. Try plugging the exhaust. I currently use the flat lid on my uds with the 2" hole for exhaust. To extinguish, I simply close the intakes and put the 2" bung back in the hole and she is out within 5-10 minutes.

That is what I figured. I used floor flanges for the intakes. Can't help but wonder if they are leaking a bit. Slathered some Hi Temp rtv around them....waiting to see.
Drums I got are all flat lids, no bungs. If it persists I am going to take all the intake flanges off and silicone them on the right way....see what happens from there....

biggin69 · Mar 16, 2015

Doug Crann said:
That is what I figured. I used floor flanges for the intakes. Can't help but wonder if they are leaking a bit. Slathered some Hi Temp rtv around them....waiting to see.
Drums I got are all flat lids, no bungs. If it persists I am going to take all the intake flanges off and silicone them on the right way....see what happens from there....

Leaving the exhaust open may be enough to keep it going as well. Try covering it with the intakes closed as well and see what happens.

TXLX · Mar 16, 2015

jgp54321 said:
Doing a burnout on my two drums tomorrow and some last opinions before we go at it. They are unlined/food grade but have the rust inhibitor. Plan is to flip them over and burn off the paint/rust inhibitor from the outside with the weed burner. Wash the inside we a power washer and sand the outside to get ready to paint. Any issue with that regarding the rust inhibitor? If at all possible, I'd like to not climb inside to sand it but want to be safe as well...

Also, if I spray the inside with cooking spray - how long can I wait for my first seasoning burn, depending on weather and how long this takes it may be a week or more unfortunately...

I just used a lot of soap and water on the rust inhibitor on my drums. It felt petroleum based, so I gave it a shot. It started rusting the next day, so I guessed it worked.

Doug Crann · Mar 17, 2015

biggin69 said:
Leaving the exhaust open may be enough to keep it going as well. Try covering it with the intakes closed as well and see what happens.

I shut shut the exhaust and closed the ball valve til the temp was done around 175*. Opened the exhaust and cracked the ball valve open very little...hovered around 235* for an hour before I got busy and snuffed it out.
I have "dual exhaust", they are both 2" pipes, 4 foot long. When I was screwing around with it I only had one exhaust open.

Can't help but wonder if the length of the exhaust is not creating quite a bit of draft....Going to take the intake flanges off and seal them the correct way and try it again....

dennisbrok · Mar 17, 2015

If you havend made one start on one best meat best ribs best bbq i ever ate love this machine !!!

Bushman5 · Mar 20, 2015

can't find thermometers to thread into the drum wall anywhere....(brick and mortar stores).

where is everyone finding these threaded thermos with long probes?

biggin69 · Mar 20, 2015

Bushman5 said:
can't find thermometers to thread into the drum wall anywhere....(brick and mortar stores).

where is everyone finding these threaded thermos with long probes?

I picked one up for mine at Lowes but it does not have a long probe.

Bushman5 · Mar 20, 2015

Hmmm, the Lowes near me musta been outta stock then......i'll check in a few days . Thanks Brethren.

Kaptain Kadian · Mar 21, 2015

Academy has a few options, and amazon has a ton of options

Displaced Texan · Mar 25, 2015

I used a deep fryer turkey thermometer... long probe and correct temp range. I used some small brass compression fittings to mount it to the drum.

Something like this: http://amzn.com/B00SKO7BWI

wdpope1 · Mar 25, 2015

thanks ebijack but I found that I need to clean fire basket between cooks found a burnt chunk of goo which caused bad burn
smoked 2 Butts ( 15 1/2 pounds)all night and temp held 220 233 all night checking hourly intill temp of 203 foiled smaller of the 2 put in cooler covered with cotton towels, larger one took another 1 1/2 hrs to get to 205 put in cooler for 3 hours shredded sauced, lasted an hour at party people didnt even use buns was just piling on plate and I thought I was going to have some for lunch that week

ebijack · Mar 26, 2015

wdpope1 said:
thanks ebijack but I found that I need to clean fire basket between cooks found a burnt chunk of goo which caused bad burn

I clean my baskets and drums before each cook, add fresh coals to the basket, wood then any left over coals and more wood. I don't like using lump due to finding way to many objects that should not be in there in every brand I have tried. The last bag of RO I had I found wall insulation pieces and a couple of rocks/hard objects in the bag.
Just to be noted in this long UDS build thread:
I am able to swap my flat/dome lids between both drums during cooks. Something I haven't been able to figure out is why the dome lid requires a bit more intake to reach the same temp as the flat lid. I would think the dome lid should flow better.

wdpope1 · Mar 26, 2015

making butt pron sat night cousin and family coming up from Tenn
his mom has bragged about it so now he wants to try some
now that i got my head on straight

Bbqallday · Apr 12, 2015

nathan said:
View attachment 107082
Finished my 1st. build today. Excited to get this thing smoking.

Hey Nathan is that a blue paint on there? Where did you get the paint from?

Clay-b-que · Apr 12, 2015

Built a UDS. Got a river county thermometer 4" version. Now I know why you DO NOT want a long probe. It makes it very difficult to get the basket out!!! Just an FYI for those of you who are as intelligent as I am.

wdpope1 · Apr 19, 2015

cousin and family eat 17 pds of smoked butt in less than 24 hrs they were very happy and so was my aunt
got to remember how to insert pic

wdpope1 · Apr 19, 2015

before I forget you al got to try smokin a chuck roast it was awsome

Razor800 · Apr 29, 2015

First post, be gentle. Often read that the hardest part of building a UDS is finding a barrel. I found this to be an honest assessment, however after months of searching, I found one. **Pause to let the applause die down** To my dismay it has a red liner. I have always loved everything Baskin Robbins, except inexpensive barrels from them. My plan is to propane weed torch it. Will that work? Follow up plan is Comet and elbow grease. As a noob, am I on the right track?

gaspipe1 · Apr 29, 2015

Razor800 said:
First post, be gentle. Often read that the hardest part of building a UDS is finding a barrel. I found this to be an honest assessment, however after months of searching, I found one. **Pause to let the applause die down** To my dismay it has a red liner. I have always loved everything Baskin Robbins, except inexpensive barrels from them. My plan is to propane weed torch it. Will that work? Follow up plan is Comet and elbow grease. As a noob, am I on the right track?

I never had to deal with the red liner, but be glad you noticed it. From what I read from the farkers here, you need to start a barn fire. I think the magic number was 3 wooden pallets. Drill the vent holes on the bottom since you will need air. I hear some guys used a leaf blower to feed it more air.

In my opinion, It's easier to start a fire and drink a beer rather than stick my head in a drum w/ a weed burner. Good luck and I know you will love it once it's all said and done with!

PS
My advice regarding vents/exhusts. Have 4 holes on the bottom. 3 of them the normal/smaller size 2 with caps and 1 with a valve. And one big one, i went to HD and looked for a metal hole cutter and threaded pipe w/cap to match. Then if you have a bung hole on the lid get like a 3" pipe to thread into that with a cap.

After all that I never had an issue running at any temp I needed.

LifeLongWNYer · Apr 30, 2015

Vent Size Clarification Request

gaspipe1 said:
I Have 4 holes on the bottom. 3 of them the normal/smaller size 2 with caps and 1 with a valve.

The new guy from WNY here again..... so what is the "normal" size? I'm not sure the guy in my plumbing supply store would know what I'm talking about when I ask for the "UDS normal size vent".

Also help me with the math. It says "4 holes" Then "3 normal.... 2 with caps and 1 with a valve." I am guessing that 3 holes, with 2 of them with caps ans 1 of them with a valve is what was intended.

Thanks,

JBP

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Ugly Drum Smoker

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