Ugly Drum Smoker

[MushCreek]

I'm not sure what benefit having forced air would give. The hard part is keeping the airflow to a minimum. You want just enough air to keep the fire smoldering slowly.

A second cooking grate is always a good idea.

If you make a lid, a single exhaust is fine. My UDS uses 2" pipe, which is a little bigger than 2" ID. If anything, that's too big. It works best if I block it off a little. Make sure you can close your exhaust so you can save charcoal for the next cook. If you close everything, it should go out fairly quickly.

I've never tried a diffuser.

Your fire basket sounds about right.

I built one UDS with a BGE door. It burns evenly, but seems to leak air a bit, as it's not as good for low and slow. It's not on my UDS, so I haven't had to fool with it.

[vafish]

Originally Posted by BigDaddyJT

Hi All,

OK, I admit I have read 90-95% of this entire thread and have the basics down. BUT still have a few questions. I intend to use a forced air system on my drum for the most part (Stoker w/ 5cfm fan). I already own multiple vertical smokers and BGEs and intend on using this as a "project/beach & park smoker" aka "beater". I have a good line on the drum (brand new top on). I just need to see if my Weber lid will fit. If not, I will have a flat lid fabricated. So In doing the research I came across some questions and ideas I would like to ask the experts:

1. I would like to use a BGE door insted of 3-4 holes on the bottom. For those that currently use this method, did you add the extra holes in your drum or did you only use the BGE for air flow? Did you notice any issues such as uneven charcoal burn.

2. My current plan is to use 2 cooking grates and a heat diffuser as well. I have a sketch drawn up already. Or should I just keep it at 1 grate to avoid the temp spikes I'm reading so much about?

3. If I have to fabricate a lid, I would like to use an exhaust stack instead of the holes drilled around the lid. How big (diameter) and how tall 4-6" do I need to make it? Is there an optimum place to locate the exhaust holes/stack (middle of lid or what distance from the outer edge)? I've seen both.

4. Add a heat diffuser/baffle or not. I plan is to install a 16" pizza stone or pizza pan w/ holes drilled out. It'll be 4" above the top edge of the charcoal basket 5" below the lower cooking grate (if added). Will this work? Do many use a diffuser or

4. My Charcoal grate will be 14" diameter (Weber grate), 8" tall (3/4" exp metal), w/ a 3" gap between the bottom of the grate to top lip of the ash pan. My ash pan will be 1" off the bottom of the smoker and 1" deep. From what I've read and seen, this seems to be the going size. Will this work? Too big, too small?


Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
JT

not sure how all those moss will work.

But I do know.if you follow the basic.directions they work great.

Why reinvent the wheel?

[jcinadr]

I use a forced air system - it works great. I have mine set up on a single 3/4" nipple. When I had it attached to a side nipple - there was definitely an uneven burn. The burn was from the side of the nipple to the other side of the uds. That said, the slow rate of the burn and distance from the burn to the food naturally minimizes the hot spot. When I rebuilt, I put the nipple in the center of the bottom and have a diffuser that pushes the air fairly evenly to the edges of the drum. This results in a very even burn.

I do not know how the bge door looks, but if I wagered a guess it has a plate on it to diffuse the incoming air (as apposed to simply blowing it as a single stream into the coals). My first attempt did not even have that - so anything is better than nothing and could very well be enough to give you good results.

[kevine]

It finally arrived, my Marine Corps bottle opener!

[Pappy]

Originally Posted by jcinadr

I use a forced air system - it works great. I have mine set up on a single 3/4" nipple. When I had it attached to a side nipple - there was definitely an uneven burn. The burn was from the side of the nipple to the other side of the uds.

I have not had a uneven burn with my drum. I use the IQ 110 attached to a side nipple also. My ash pan is a plow disk that has a slite cup to it. The nipples are just below the disk (just luck, was not planed that way). The air blows in under the disk, allowing for an even burn.

[jcinadr]

Disk plow ash pan would probably have been an easier fix that I did. My original build had the bbq ash pan - and I had temp issues (probably due to damp charcoal - but I blamed the pan for it's up/down airflow. I replaced with a pizza pan - and got better airflow (as the lip of the pan was now below the nipples - air could get sucked strait from the sides to the bottom of the fire). When I switched to the forced air system - the nipple was above the lip of the pizza pan - which caused an uneven burn...

I never thought about just changing the ash pan back to get a pre-made deflector. But deflecting down is even better. Perhaps will try it if I do a rebuild.

[BigDaddyJT]

OK I picked up my drum yesteday, cut it open and found it had a "corrosion resistant" coating. It's a redish-brown transparent clear finish, not the dreaded red liner. The drums are brand new, can/will this stuff burn out? I'm waiting to see what the expers say before I start the burn. I'm hoping it's OK.

JT

[1FUNVET]

Originally Posted by BigDaddyJT

OK I picked up my drum yesteday, cut it open and found it had a "corrosion resistant" coating. It's a redish-brown transparent clear finish, not the dreaded red liner. The drums are brand new, can/will this stuff burn out? I'm waiting to see what the expers say before I start the burn. I'm hoping it's OK.

JT

Hit it with a weedburner and it should be fine.

[BigDaddyJT]

Originally Posted by 1FUNVET

Hit it with a weedburner and it should be fine.

Thanks. Doing a burn, season and hopeflyy a cook this weekend. My Weber lid doesn't truly fit, so I'm contemplating buying an inexpensive Biglots/WM unit or fabricating a flat lid out of 3/16 plate. Any thoughts from the masses?

My Pops and I started making the basket yesterday. I kept things simple: 14" weber charcoal grate w/ 9" of 9ga expanded metal. Will post some pics in the next few days or so.



JT

[Paul Worth]

Originally Posted by BigDaddyJT

Thanks. Doing a burn, season and hopeflyy a cook this weekend. My Weber lid doesn't truly fit, so I'm contemplating buying an inexpensive Biglots/WM unit or fabricating a flat lid out of 3/16 plate. Any thoughts from the masses?

My Pops and I started making the basket yesterday. I kept things simple: 14" weber charcoal grate w/ 9" of 9ga expanded metal. Will post some pics in the next few days or so.



JT

I can't say about the Big Lots kettle lid as I haven't been able to find one around here. The WalMart lid (same as the Lowes) is too small and poorly built. The KMart lid (same as Sears) is a near fit and good quality but you still might have to grind down the lip of your drum a little bit. If the Weber lid is within 1/8" you might want to take a grinder to the barrel before buying another grill or hammering on the lid.

[BigDaddyJT]

Originally Posted by kevine

It finally arrived, my Marine Corps bottle opener!

Where can I buy one of these? I'd like to get one for my son, currently putting boot to A$$ in Afghanistan.


Thanks in advance,

JT

[BigDaddyJT]

Originally Posted by Paul Worth

I can't say about the Big Lots kettle lid as I haven't been able to find one around here. The WalMart lid (same as the Lowes) is too small and poorly built. The KMart lid (same as Sears) is a near fit and good quality but you still might have to grind down the lip of your drum a little bit. If the Weber lid is within 1/8" you might want to take a grinder to the barrel before buying another grill or hammering on the lid.

The Weber lid is that close. It looks like I just need to bend it out a little and or grind down the lip of the drum as you've indicated. I really don't want to modify my lid as I've had my weber for 12+ years now. It's part of the family, lots of memories on that grill. I may go buy another Weber OTG just for this project.

[brian.moler]

Finally...
After months and months I have finished this. I cannot wait to get started.
Thank you all for the tips and field development.

[Paul Worth]

Originally Posted by BigDaddyJT

The Weber lid is that close. It looks like I just need to bend it out a little and or grind down the lip of the drum as you've indicated. I really don't want to modify my lid as I've had my weber for 12+ years now. It's part of the family, lots of memories on that grill. I may go buy another Weber OTG just for this project.

I know what you mean. My wife got me a new Stok (Home Depot) grill for Christmas but I couldn't let the Weber go. The lid will go on a new UDS. If you have a 4.5" angle grinder, most closed-top drums can be shaved down to fit a Weber lid in about thirty minutes. If you don't have one, they're less than $15 at Harbor Freight. That's cheaper than a Big Lots grill and a good excuse to buy a new tool!

[MattCom]

While on the subject of weber kettle lids... does anyone have a solution to the moisture running down the inside of the lid and onto the outside of the drum?
I saw one solution that said to run a bean of hi heat silicone about an 1" up on the inside of the lid. This will force the condensation to drip into the barrel (hopefully not onto the food )... but anyway. I don't want to use this as a solution, bits of silicon in my food won't be tasty.
Any ideas? or should I just quit my complaining and keep wiping her down like a wet dog?