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Ugly Drum Smoker

Refer to page 721, Salad Bowl top - Squatchin' re drips from rim edge.


Later finding, the moisture drips were not a big problem, so forget it. Mostly condensed vapor and little or no grease. Will see after a few more smokes.
 
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Outboard Racer said:
Nice build on your smoker. I had problems with my intake holes not being real tight as well. I put a washer on the inside and outside of the pipe and that solved that. I like you exhaust cover I did the same thing on mine.
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Something else you can do it use RTV Caulk on both sides, just in case you don't have a tight fit.
 
SmokinJohn said:
Something else you can do it use RTV Caulk on both sides, just in case you don't have a tight fit.
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It fits tight, but a sort of metal to metal and all that moisture-filled smoke rising to top and some comes down inside surface...

Not a big fan of using gasket stuff etc, but will consider idea. Thanks.

I imagine the problem is not much different than when using Weber top that extends outside, unless their angle at edge traps the moisture.

That is why I mentioned it...seems the cost of the Salad bowl is about the same as if one installed the 6-inch inside metal ring to support a medium Weber top, if the top cost nothing...
 
After a lot of advice from Outnumbered and reading this thread until my eyes were bleeding, I figured it was time to get one built.

A good friend found me a barrel. cut out the lid, and welded up a coal basket for the promise of some free Q. The barrel was unlined and held antifreeze. We washed it out with a Hotsy power washer and detergent, then I burned it out.

I sanded the outside with a random orbit sander and got all the hardware on in a couple hours.


I looked for a couple weeks on CL and couldnt find a used Weber kettle for a decent price, so I grabbed a CharBroil kettle from Menards that was on sale for $38. I figured that was a decent price for a lid & grate. The lid didn't fit. Since I'm not a welder I got a little creative with a 6' stick of aluminum and a riveter.



It was painted by 10, seasoned by noon and cooking dinner by mid-afternoon.



And now for the first weekend PRON:

 
Cherrywood said:
I figured that was a decent price for a lid & grate. The lid didn't fit. Since I'm not a welder I got a little creative with a 6' stick of aluminum and a riveter.

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Nice work! I dont' have a riveter, but would simple nuts and bolts work? I guess i'd have to add washers to prevent air leaks?
 
Cheerywood, awesome UDS... not so ugly! One question: how far down is your second grate from the top of the drum? looks like 8 or 9 inches to me. Alternatively, how far up is it from the charcoal basket? do you find that any of your meats get more done on one side like a deeper bark?
I'm asking because I want to make my next UDS with a grate thats about 18-20" from the basket but I'm afraid my food will burn
 
Vinny-Thanks! I'm sure small bolts would work. I used a cheapo hand riveter that cost @ $15. I had one cook on a windy day where I had a tough time keeping my temps down. I'm thinking I need some sort of gasket or hi-temp silicone around the edge to seal things up a little better.

Heisenberger-Thanks! My lower rack is 8" down from the rim which is 24" from the bottom of my basket. I'm only 3 cooks in, but haven't noticed any issues with edges overcooking.
 
I'm only on page 328 of this thread, but who could get that far and NOT start building? (Ok, I peeked at the end, so I know who did it...)

Well, I got the UD part, now I gotta turn it into an S. Found several drums at the local scrap yard ($8 apiece,) and grabbed the one with the least amount of rust on it. I think it held hydraulic fluid, but not 100% certain. Gonna drill it and do a better job of grinding the lip on the rim of the drum, then burn it this weekend.

Monday I'm taking it to a local sandblasting company to get the bejeebers blasted out of it. I figure for the $25 he quoted me on the job, it's well worth it.

I have a neighbor who's going to weld the 3/4 close black iron nipples into it for me, then the whole shebang will get paint. Haven't decided on a paint job yet, but I'll be using a black Weber lid on it, so it'll be something that'll go with that.

I know, I know - pics or it didn't happen. Well, here ya go - it happened...
 

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I picked up 2 new metal drums with no liner for $30 each. (Posted in another thread).

I also scored some cheap expanded metal to make my baskets. I went to a local steel supply store and picked up two 12" x 48" sheets (enough to 2 baskets) for a total of $15. If you have a steel supply store in your town, see if they have remnants, that's why mine was so cheap. It would have cost me $40 for that amount of metal at HD.
 
RemoGaggi said:
I picked up 2 new metal drums with no liner for $30 each. (Posted in another thread).

I also scored some cheap expanded metal to make my baskets. I went to a local steel supply store and picked up two 12" x 48" sheets (enough to 2 baskets) for a total of $15. If you have a steel supply store in your town, see if they have remnants, that's why mine was so cheap. It would have cost me $40 for that amount of metal at HD.
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Like you barrels. I also see your from Sac as I am close by. You mention you bought your expanded metal from a steel supply store. I was wondering if that might have been Blue Collar in Sac. I was going to go up there to check for some as well and was wondering if this was where you went.
 
Outboard Racer said:
Like you barrels. I also see your from Sac as I am close by. You mention you bought your expanded metal from a steel supply store. I was wondering if that might have been Blue Collar in Sac. I was going to go up there to check for some as well and was wondering if this was where you went.
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I got my metal from S&K Steel here in Sacramento. They had A LOT of expanded metal remnants. They also have a lot of remnant steel pieces that you might get creative and use on your UDS somehow. Good luck!
 
RemoGaggi said:
I got my metal from S&K Steel here in Sacramento. They had A LOT of expanded metal remnants. They also have a lot of remnant steel pieces that you might get creative and use on your UDS somehow. Good luck!
Click to expand...


Thanks for the tip. I will look into this for sure. Trying to convince the wife that a 3rd barrel is needed lol.
 
Updated my UDS...

My favorite line from the original movie, "Red Dawn"
 

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Got me some new gadgets for my UDS build..

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SkinnyVinny said:
Nice work! I dont' have a riveter, but would simple nuts and bolts work? I guess i'd have to add washers to prevent air leaks?
Click to expand...

I did the same with mine, but with 3/4"l x 1/4"d stainless nuts and bolts. I C-clamped the aluminum bar to the outside of the drum first, then bent it around the drum, clamping every 8 or 10 inches to get the aluminum formed. Trimmed the excess and squoze it into the inside of the drum. I drilled bolt-holes in the drum first then marked the aluminum for matching holes. After they were drilled, I had some problems with the holes lining up and had to re-drill a few. I would recommend you just clamp the aluminum strip inside the drum once you have it formed and trimmed and drill through both in one go.
My strip protrudes about 3/8" above the drum lip - if I do a future UDS I'd go 1/2" or 5/8"
I also used red hi-temp silicon to seal.
 
smokainmuskoka said:
I did the same with mine, but with 3/4"l x 1/4"d stainless nuts and bolts. I C-clamped the aluminum bar to the outside of the drum first, then bent it around the drum, clamping every 8 or 10 inches to get the aluminum formed. Trimmed the excess and squoze it into the inside of the drum. I drilled bolt-holes in the drum first then marked the aluminum for matching holes. After they were drilled, I had some problems with the holes lining up and had to re-drill a few. I would recommend you just clamp the aluminum strip inside the drum once you have it formed and trimmed and drill through both in one go.
My strip protrudes about 3/8" above the drum lip - if I do a future UDS I'd go 1/2" or 5/8"
I also used red hi-temp silicon to seal.
Click to expand...

I am building my first UDS and have the same issue with the Uniflame lid being too small to fit. Here is the link to my build thread: http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2475371&posted=1#post2475371

So I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts about welding the Uniflame dome to the original drum lid. My drum lid has a nice tight seal. The real issue may be whether I am a good enough welder to weld two THIN pieces of metal together. I have had lots of practice in the last couple of days and have gotten much better. I know there was someone who did this and I was hoping they would chime in. It it really difficult to weld the two together. I was planning on spot welding in 4 places and then doing very short spot welds around the perimeter, maybe 2 seconds for each spot.

Or would it be easier to just buy a piece of metal or aluminum and bend it inside the drum like in the above posts?

Anyone with experience welding the two pieces together? I am using flux core. I don't have a bottle of gas yet.

By the way this thread ROCKS!!
Thank you all so much for your help. I hope some others find what I have done to be useful too.
 
Belaurora said:
I am building my first UDS and have the same issue with the Uniflame lid being too small to fit. Here is the link to my build thread: http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2475371&posted=1#post2475371

So I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts about welding the Uniflame dome to the original drum lid. My drum lid has a nice tight seal. The real issue may be whether I am a good enough welder to weld two THIN pieces of metal together. I have had lots of practice in the last couple of days and have gotten much better. I know there was someone who did this and I was hoping they would chime in. It it really difficult to weld the two together. I was planning on spot welding in 4 places and then doing very short spot welds around the perimeter, maybe 2 seconds for each spot.

Or would it be easier to just buy a piece of metal or aluminum and bend it inside the drum like in the above posts?

Anyone with experience welding the two pieces together? I am using flux core. I don't have a bottle of gas yet.

By the way this thread ROCKS!!
Thank you all so much for your help. I hope some others find what I have done to be useful too.
Click to expand...

I've seen here in this thread what you're thinking of doing, but I don't remember if they've welded or bolted lid.

I think it's a good idea

Here it is:

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=77856
 
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