Southern Home Boy
is Blowin Smoke!
Building a UDS is like BBQ itself; it's more about the journey than the actual end-product
In all seriousness, slogging through the thread is truly well worth the time to do it. There are conversations imbedded within it that discuss a variety of issues having to do with intake draw, firebasket construction, exhaust options, grate placement, thermometer placement, types of thermometers and more that help you understand how the UDS works, not just build one.
Understanding the cooker you build will save you a lot of frustration and wasted money on botched cooks.:thumb:
OR....
Just take a 55 Gal, open-head drum, cut three holes in sides about an inch from the bottom of the barrel with a 1" bi-metal hole saw, thread in three 3/4" black iron close pipe nipples, anchor them on the inside with conduit nuts, burn it out till it glows cherry red, wirebrush the inside till it's down to bare metal, build your firebasket, measure 24" up from the bottom of your firebasket and mark that as your cooking grate level. Put in three 2" stainless steel bolts to hold your cooking grate. Immediately under the grate, drill a hole for a 12" stem turkey frier thermometer to anchor in. In the lid, screw in a piece of 2" pipe about 12" long into the 2" bung hole. Put a handle on the lid, some bricks under the drum to keep it off the ground, coat the inside of the clean, bare metal drum hardware and cooking grate with cooking spray, load up the firebasket with about 5-6 lbs. of charcoal, light one full chimney of coals to put on top, open up all your intakes and let it burn for another 5-10 hours to season the inside of the drum. POOF: UDS ready to cook on.
If you have any questions about ANY of that.... READ THE THREAD!!!:laugh:
In all seriousness, slogging through the thread is truly well worth the time to do it. There are conversations imbedded within it that discuss a variety of issues having to do with intake draw, firebasket construction, exhaust options, grate placement, thermometer placement, types of thermometers and more that help you understand how the UDS works, not just build one.
Understanding the cooker you build will save you a lot of frustration and wasted money on botched cooks.:thumb:
OR....
Just take a 55 Gal, open-head drum, cut three holes in sides about an inch from the bottom of the barrel with a 1" bi-metal hole saw, thread in three 3/4" black iron close pipe nipples, anchor them on the inside with conduit nuts, burn it out till it glows cherry red, wirebrush the inside till it's down to bare metal, build your firebasket, measure 24" up from the bottom of your firebasket and mark that as your cooking grate level. Put in three 2" stainless steel bolts to hold your cooking grate. Immediately under the grate, drill a hole for a 12" stem turkey frier thermometer to anchor in. In the lid, screw in a piece of 2" pipe about 12" long into the 2" bung hole. Put a handle on the lid, some bricks under the drum to keep it off the ground, coat the inside of the clean, bare metal drum hardware and cooking grate with cooking spray, load up the firebasket with about 5-6 lbs. of charcoal, light one full chimney of coals to put on top, open up all your intakes and let it burn for another 5-10 hours to season the inside of the drum. POOF: UDS ready to cook on.
If you have any questions about ANY of that.... READ THE THREAD!!!:laugh: