Ugly Drum Smoker

Bentley said:

Well, the second UDS. I wanted to ask you Brothers who have made one and have an extended intake, is the height an issue with air intake?

Did not think the thing would go that high above the pit when I bought it!

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Let us know how your temps run when you fire it up. On mine I try to catch and hold the target temp on the way up rather than overshooting it then trying to back it down and it seems to work well. My intake is not as tall as yours and that may factor in on how yours will handle..also I have a 2" diameter, 8" length pipe threaded in the bung for the exhaust.

FWIW ~ Just found a new source for barrels in Lower Mid MO...

Shirley's Furniture & JR's Hardware (ask for JR)
Vienna, MO
573/422-3302

Seems JR buys open~head and closed~head barrels (used only once) by the trailer load from some outfit in Springfield. He may have said French's...can't be sure.

The barrels previously contained food~type products...pineapple, mustard, paprika, oleo, palm oil and such. Some lined, some not. Bung holes~a~plenty. Several different barrel designs. No dents. No runs. No drips. No errors...$14.50, you load.

The open~head one's are not at the store. He keeps them at his house under tight security, so you have to follow him to his house. I was hoping for a straight~sided barrel, but, sadly...no. He'll cut the top out of closed~head one's for you, if he doesn't have some done already.

Tell him, the guy who's 3 y.o. son boosted the bunjee cord sent ya.

Just an FYI more than anything...figured this was as good a place to post it as any.

When I posted photos of my UDS with the extended air intake (page 18 of this forum) I had no idea that so many people would be giving it a try. I was toying with a theory about air flow (I really got enthused about it when I saw a video featuring the Slow Snail cooking team using smokers along this same principal), draft is draft regardless where it comes from. Due to problems with my back I have a problem bending from time to time so I was looking for something easier and to make using the smoker a little more fun.

You must have intake and exhaust to acheive combustion, the amount of heat depends on the amount of air flow, notice that the orginal BDS and UDS clones has multiple air inlets at the bottom while my verticle air intake is singular, however a potential problem with some of the smokers being made with this design that are not being able to keep temps regulated is that they may not have a sufficent size air inlet. The reason I went with the 2" exhaust tubing is you need to be able to match the flow capability of the combined air inlets used on the BDS & UDS clone smokers that have 3 or 4 valves mounted at the bottom. You simply can't move the same amount of air thru a single upright tube that is the same size as only one of the bottom inlet tubes. To match that capability you must either have the same number of inlets that are the same size or 1 large inlet capable of flowing the combined amount of air. I have 4 of these smokers and they all work really well, all have 2" inlets and the exhaust are 2 1/2", I can set the temps at 215 or 350 and it will hold for hours.

One of the key secrets is to make sure that all other air sources are closed, use a small hammer and fit the lid to the barrell so it fits securely.
The verticle intake creates more of a bellows effect by having a large volume of cool air confined in the intake tube thus forcing it into the bottom of the smoker. Once adjusted you can place you little finger in the opening of the inlet tube and feel the air flowing as its being drawn into the smoking chamber. I made one for a co-worker and he loves it, I gave one to my Father for Christmas and at 76 years old he's smoking ribs, bologna, and shoulders every couple of weeks. So if your having trouble getting temps up or stabilized you may want to evaluate your inlet tube size.

I must agree with N8man try to catch your temps on the way up, it takes too long sometimes for the temps to drop back to where you want it.

Keep smokin'

I have found that the flow is more consistent and manageable through the upright pipes. If I close them down and open a side nipple the heat rises way to fast.

With my drum I'm seeing that I only need one draft hole open of the four that are available. I do have a damper on the exhaust stack. I run the exhaust open about 1/3 of the way. I burned it for 11 hours last weekend with only minor adjustments to keep it between 225°F and 250°F. It is great. I cooked a rump roast with good results. Are others using a damper on the exhaust?

What's yours look like?

Are you interested in the exhaust or the intake? Where can find info on posting a picture?

the damper actually.

I'll figure out how to attach a photo and get a picture of the exhaust stack and damper. It will be tomorrow before I can.

I usually keep my exhaust wide open and regulate the air intake. The damper on my verticle intake is usually not opened more than 3/8", which I think has about the same amount of air flow as one bottom mounted ball valve, however by having the larger diameter pipe I have the capability to open up more if needed, same principal as opening more bottom vents.

I placed my intake tube height at about 2" below the top of the barrel, this allows the exhaust to be higher than the intake opening (espically if using holes drilled in the lid). This helps create the draft effect, get the intake to high and you may effect the inlet air flow since you will have the hot air rising and passing the intake opening this may effect the cold air entering the intake tube. If this creates a turblance around the intake opening you may not get sufficent 'cold or heavy' air to enter the smoking chamber.

Keep the good eats smokin' :-D

I am with you JW used ure mods for my drum 2" intake w/ 3" exhaust. This works fantastic. I did cut my exhaust length down to 9" from 14" and the temp control is even better. Thanks for your great ideas and I now understand why it works so well. The extra 10 lbs I have put on will attest to that:lol::icon_bigsmil

Totally with you there wlh3 I'm on a diet now just so I can eat more Q this spring and summer :-D

I'm going with the N8man design on this weekend's barrel and a custom green and white, Amp Energy~National Guard #88 paint job. It's got a one~way ticket to the Spring race at Talladega.

If it survives 5 days at the free campground, I'll prolly sell it off to one of the yocals or passersby. I'm thinkin' $400 ought to be a good starting price...:shock:

Keep on druming! :smile:

Bottles 'n Bones BBQ said:

I'm going with the N8man design on this weekend's barrel and a custom green and white, Amp Energy~National Guard #88 paint job. It's got a one~way ticket to the Spring race at Talladega.

If it survives 5 days at the free campground, I'll prolly sell it off to one of the yocals or passersby. I'm thinkin' $400 ought to be a good starting price...:shock:

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I love my DrumPit so much, 400 Bucks is what it'd take to get it!

Chinesebob,

Here is my UDS working last weekend and a close up of the exhaust. The exhaust is Ø3" automotive exhaust pipe and the damper flap is cut from an electrical box cover with a 4" grinder. The flap is spring loaded to stay in place during operation.

O.K. gotta ask....why the damper on top? You don't close that when you cook do you?
I would think that could make for some stale smoke......i.e. creosote :shock:

Its all about balance. Think of a kettle. Same number of exhaust holes as intake holes. Air is moving out as a similar volume of air is moving in. In this case, my exhaust keeps the intake pulling air without a run away effect that spikes the temperature up. So one intake completely open and the exhaust damper open about 1/3 of the way will keep me in the 225°F to 250°F range for hours. More heat is retained behind the slightly closed damper. Additionally, it is easy to adjust (no stooping down, etc.) and is condusive to use in bad weather. Creosote is going to develop when the fire can burn more oxygen/fuel than the exhaust can vent. Mathematically, the exhaust is approximately four times the size of the intake at the adjustment I use. The food has all been good so far. What do you think?

The 'balance' will work both ways, and as long as there is air flow and the exhaust pipe doesn't extend to far into the cooking chamber you shouldn't get any stale smoke. I have tried setting my smokers that way Texas Q but I find that with the exhaust in the wide open position a stronger air flow (or draw) is established at the intake tube which results in the intake damper being opened very little to acheive temp, this allows wider ranges of adjustments for different cooking temps. Even with the exhaust fully open there is still ample heat in the upper portion of the cooking chamber.

Design and methods of operation will vary from smoker to smoker and as long as they work all is well, look at how many pages this thread is on this one subject, the information here is fantastic and its the different issues and points of views like the ones we're talking about here that have given alot of people the courage to tackle making their own UDS and spreading the joy of BBQ. It would be great to see all of these barrels in one place turning out some really great eats!

BY the way good looking smokers ya'll got there Texas Q and ratdawg :-D