Official Start of the SS UDS

I'm starting a SS UDS- today, in fact! That's how I found this site- doing research about a drum smoker. I think the SS UDS needs a name of it's own- it definitely doen't fit into the 'Ugly' category!

I paid $40 for my SS drum- craigslist. I have most of the other stuff on hand. I'll start with the fire box first. I'm not going to cut the top out until I zero in on a cover. My Weber cover is just a little too small, although I can balance it on there. I've researched all over, and beside the arctic lids, I also found SS bowls and wok covers in the 22 to 22.5" range. If I go that route, I'll leave a lip inside the bead for the top to rest on. Another idea I had is to take a strip of 1/8" SS and wrap it around the inside of the bead, and have it stick up enough for the lid to sit on. If my Weber lid will work, I won't spend any more money on anything else.

Couple questions for you, Paul. Did you polish your drum, or did it come that way? Mine's not that shiny. Can you give me an exact inside measurement on the arctic lid? I'd hate to order one and have it not fit. How did you buy it? Their site said something about no direct sales- you have to go through a dealer? I tried rolling the bead inward on the drum- yeah, right! That SS is tough stuff!

The stainless steel should last forever. I have a friend with an offset smoker he made out of two SS drums, and it looks brand new after 10 years of use.

I'll try to take pictures along the way, especially if I do anything 'unique' on my build.
 
Great looking!

Quick question - What are you use to hold the long thermometers?
 
Pole D said:
Great looking!

Quick question - What are you use to hold the long thermometers?
Click to expand...

Somewhere on here someone suggested to use a Watts 1/4" barb x 1/4" MIP fitting ( A-192 ) found at Loew's in my case. I used a 1/4"barb x either 3/16 or 1/8" MIP. Smaller hole to drill into the drum. Then a couple of ss washers and a cap with a hole drilled in it. Just about the only thing on my SS UDS that isn't stainless!!

Paul B
 
MushCreek said:
I'm starting a SS UDS- today, in fact! That's how I found this site- doing research about a drum smoker. I think the SS UDS needs a name of it's own- it definitely doen't fit into the 'Ugly' category!

I paid $40 for my SS drum- craigslist. I have most of the other stuff on hand. I'll start with the fire box first. I'm not going to cut the top out until I zero in on a cover. My Weber cover is just a little too small, although I can balance it on there. I've researched all over, and beside the arctic lids, I also found SS bowls and wok covers in the 22 to 22.5" range. If I go that route, I'll leave a lip inside the bead for the top to rest on. Another idea I had is to take a strip of 1/8" SS and wrap it around the inside of the bead, and have it stick up enough for the lid to sit on. If my Weber lid will work, I won't spend any more money on anything else.




Couple questions for you, Paul. Did you polish your drum, or did it come that way? Mine's not that shiny. Can you give me an exact inside measurement on the arctic lid? I'd hate to order one and have it not fit. How did you buy it? Their site said something about no direct sales- you have to go through a dealer? I tried rolling the bead inward on the drum- yeah, right! That SS is tough stuff!

The stainless steel should last forever. I have a friend with an offset smoker he made out of two SS drums, and it looks brand new after 10 years of use.

I'll try to take pictures along the way, especially if I do anything 'unique' on my build.
Click to expand...

"Couple questions for you, Paul. Did you polish your drum, or did it come that way? Mine's not that shiny. Can you give me an exact inside measurement on the arctic lid? I'd hate to order one and have it not fit. How did you buy it? Their site said something about no direct sales- you have to go through a dealer? I tried rolling the bead inward on the drum- yeah, right! That SS is tough stuff!"

No I did not polish it was that way....
Not any more as I have mashed it out some to try and get it to fit. I was told it was a scosh over 23" so I thought I could make it fit with some persuation. Didn't happen. It would stay on the drum but I wasn't comfortable that it would with any kind of breeze. So the remedy was to drill 4 holes evenly spaced and inserted 4 #6 or 8 bolts(skinny) in the holes and held with nuts. Can be seen in my build pics. After doing this the nuts held the lid a lite 1/8" above the drum so off to th furnace gasket store and problem solved.
Bought direct from the site. I called them and spoke to some wonder folks there and bugging them with taking measurments for me. I think since I wasn't ordering a complete unit(parts only) they sold to me direct. If I remember right it measured 23", my drum measures 23" so I thought I could beat it as some have done with weber lids of the same ilk and were sucessful. From all my reading though these drums have a slight difference in measurements from company to company and from region to region.
Where there is a will there is a way, and you are right this drum should last a lifetime...........
By the way my drum now works great, tomorrow I think I will try some ribs.

Paul B
 
Hey Paul- I measured my drum, and it's exactly 23-1/32". My Weber lid is about 1/4" too small. You can kind of balance it on there, but I don't like it. I'm going to call Arctic tomorrow and see if they'll sell me a lid. If it's too small, I'm going to add a strip of SS to the inside of the bead, sticking up about 1/4" above the bead. I'll screw or rivet it in place, and use Hi-temp RTV to caulk it. I wish I could weld it in, but I'm not set up for SS. My friendly local welder would be too expensive. I got my fire basket done this weekend- I'll post pics when I get the rest of it done. I'm still toying with ideas for lower vent control. I was thinking about SS tubing coming up to the top of the drum, with some kind of valve at 'operator level'. Boat railing and fittings might be cool looking (but spendy). I also thought of using copper pipe, polished to a nice shine, which would offset nicely against the SS, but it would have to be maintained
to look good. I'm going for a classy look, like yours. Definitely not in the 'ugly' category!
 
MushCreek said:
Hey Paul- I measured my drum, and it's exactly 23-1/32". My Weber lid is about 1/4" too small.
Click to expand...
Does the drum have a wide radius lip rolled over the outside? If so, you can use a BFH and a body dolly (or some other suitably large hunk of metal) to slightly compress the lip and lessen the diameter of the drum, enabling the lid to fit without any welding or other fabrication.
 
OK, here are the final photos. Just off the SS UDS and cut up:

DSCF5304.jpg

DSCF5306.jpg


These just had a memphis rub on one slab, salt and pepper on one slab, and real lite garlic on the third slab. No spritzin or saucen.(this is my very first attempt at smok'in). I'll get fancyer as I go along. I know it isn't as tasty lookin as ya'lls but my wife's mom and dad, and our neighbors sucked them down and raved about them!!!

I think it was a toss up on which one I liked, to me they were all good.

OK folks, critique away, and be honest........... Oh, 3 1/2 hours at about 230*.

Paul B
 
I've seen some very nice lookin' drums posted, but I think yours outshines them all, and the ribs look darn good.
 
MushCreek said:
Hey Paul- I measured my drum, and it's exactly 23-1/32". My Weber lid is about 1/4" too small. You can kind of balance it on there, but I don't like it. I'm going to call Arctic tomorrow and see if they'll sell me a lid. If it's too small, I'm going to add a strip of SS to the inside of the bead, sticking up about 1/4" above the bead. I'll screw or rivet it in place, and use Hi-temp RTV to caulk it. I wish I could weld it in, but I'm not set up for SS. My friendly local welder would be too expensive. I got my fire basket done this weekend- I'll post pics when I get the rest of it done. I'm still toying with ideas for lower vent control. I was thinking about SS tubing coming up to the top of the drum, with some kind of valve at 'operator level'. Boat railing and fittings might be cool looking (but spendy). I also thought of using copper pipe, polished to a nice shine, which would offset nicely against the SS, but it would have to be maintained
to look good. I'm going for a classy look, like yours. Definitely not in the 'ugly' category!
Click to expand...

Drip enough BBQ sauce on the exterior and it will soon develop a nice brass patina. That way, you won't have to wear welding goggles to cook on it.
 
I got a price today from Arctic, so I'm going to order the lid, and see how (if) it fits. I thought of trying to roll the bead inward, since my drum is still sealed. I grabbed it with a big pair of pipe pliers and tried to bend it inward- didn't budge. I'll try the BFH and see what happens- that ought to piss off the neighbors! I'm also collecting all of the other bits and pieces for my build- all SS, other than the fire basket.
 
MushCreek said:
I got a price today from Arctic, so I'm going to order the lid, and see how (if) it fits.
Click to expand...
How much was the lid?

I thought of trying to roll the bead inward, since my drum is still sealed. I grabbed it with a big pair of pipe pliers and tried to bend it inward- didn't budge. I'll try the BFH and see what happens- that ought to piss off the neighbors!
Click to expand...
Yeah, I waited until Saturday afternoon to do mine. It was quite a racket.
 
MushCreek said:
I got a price today from Arctic, so I'm going to order the lid, and see how (if) it fits. I thought of trying to roll the bead inward, since my drum is still sealed. I grabbed it with a big pair of pipe pliers and tried to bend it inward- didn't budge. I'll try the BFH and see what happens- that ought to piss off the neighbors! I'm also collecting all of the other bits and pieces for my build- all SS, other than the fire basket.
Click to expand...

The thought and the sound (literally) of spending money for a new lid and pounding it larger to fit the barrel just pains me.

Here's my suggestion. Get a strip of steel that is 2" wide by 72.4" (where 72.4" = 23.03125 times Pi rounded up) Tack weld, bolt or pop rivit that to the existing lip of the drum to make a new smaller lip projecting above the existing lip.
 
Mark- That was an idea I had (#49), and I think it would work well for any drum that's too big for a ready-made lid. I ordered the Arctic lid today- $27.50, plus $20 for shipping and handling. That's kinda spendy, but for an all-stainless UDS (Ultimate Drum Smoker) I think it's worth it. Where else could you get an all-stainless smoker for that? I also ordered a bunch of different stainless options- some handles, hooks to hang tools on, SS U-bolts for grate racks, etc. If the Arctic lid is too small, I'll add the strip of SS to the inside of the bead, which is about 22.4" in diameter. I figured I can seal it with hi-temp RTV if the fit isn't perfect. I'm coming to find from reading the various threads that a good seal on the lid is vital to controlling temperature.

I wouldn't try to stretch the Arctic lid- it would be too hard to do it cleanly. I was thinking of trying instead to pound the bead of the drum inward with a BFH. Since my drum is sealed, I could pound on it pretty hard. Once it's cut, it wouldn't work. I'm afraid that pounding on it too much will distort the bead, though, and harm the seal. I just have to cool my jets til the lid gets here.
 
Before you try pounding on the lip with a BFH, make cuts in the lip every 0.25 inches or so along the circumference . Then when you pound the lip inwards, it will give easily and the gaps will close.

I use dthis technique to make an extension ring for a UDS and it worked well. No need for a gasket even! I used a cheap harbor freignt cut-off tool to make the cuts and made cuts about 3/8" deep.
 
MushCreek said:
I wouldn't try to stretch the Arctic lid- it would be too hard to do it cleanly. I was thinking of trying instead to pound the bead of the drum inward with a BFH. Since my drum is sealed, I could pound on it pretty hard. Once it's cut, it wouldn't work.
Click to expand...
I would suggest doing it after you cut it. If you do it before you cut, there's a lack of mass on the inside of the rim to help direct the force and you risk crimping the rim or just deforming it.
 
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