Ugly Drum Smoker

[ymmiT]

I just realized I finished my drum about a month ago and never posted the completed pictures. Weber lid modification in process to still allow for flat lid use.

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Drum welded to the hand truck with upgraded wheels to allow for ground clearance ...

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...and a small movers dolly for the front wheel

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All the rain and pollen got her pretty dirty

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The usual basket and diffuser for when I need it. Eye-bolts are for a future grilling basket to hang from beneath the upper rack.

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In use at work with 35 lb of pork loin with golf umbrella zip-tied to the hand truck to keep her dry.

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And she's easy to load up and take places.

[KGNickl]

My drum smokers.

[stevenw106]

when i built my uds last year i built it with 1/2 holes in bottom been using a v burner in it tired of buying propane will 3 1/2 holes be enough air flow to burn charcoal i already had 1/2 inch nipples and thats largest bit i had

[NRF]

About three hrs into a 9lb 6oz butt.

Cruising at 239-244 degrees. 131* on the food probe.

Amazing how sensitive the ball valve adjustment is.

Thanks to all who have contributed so much to this thread.

[Smokendink71]

Well as I said I was going to build my first uds, this week I finally got to it and finished it last night, did my first burn in it over night to season it and tonight I'm throwing a brisket on it for my mom's dinner tomorrow per her request

[Smokendink71]

I didn't put the ball valve on and I'm glad now because it seems to keep temp just fine with me putting caps on the nipples and adjusting my exhaust

[retired trucker]

Originally Posted by hamiltont

I don't relish the idea of leaning inside of that thing to clean the bottom. An ash pan will only catch so much and I want easy access. SO! Here's my question/idea. Cut the drum into two halves at ~2" above the fire basket height and add 2" aluminum bar around the outside perimeter of the bottom section so the top section will slide inside of it. If you can picture it the top and bottom will meet at the middle of the 2" aluminum bar and rest on each other. The aluminum bar will serve as a seal and a guide, and will hold it all together. I might also add 2-3 clasps to hold it all together. Has anyone done this and if so what was your result? Cheers!!!

I have a pizza pan mounted to the bottom of my basket to catch the ash. It does a great job, but some ash spills over into the bottom. I take an ordinary garden hoe and a small broom from my fireplace tool set and sweep it onto the hoe. Take about 5 minutes to get it all cleaned out, and no bending into the drum.

I am too old and fat to do much drum diving.

[greg_99]

I've been lurking for about 2 weeks now .... last week I decided to build my UGS and today I completed it. I found an unlined 55 gal steel drum that had been used for Coconut Oil. It has a removable lid and 2 bung holes. It didn't take much to complete and tonight I'm giving it a test run. Nothing in it but 10lbs of briquettes. With one 3/4" nipple open, 1 closed and a ball valve at 1/4 open I'm getting temps of 260. I bet that will go down with meat in the smoker though. Nevertheless, I've closed the ball valve and in an hour I'm going to check to see if I've dropped to 225. I'll post pics tomorrow.

[Mister Bob]

Originally Posted by 10_Bears

Hey Mister Bob, awesome looking drum. I'm also doing a hot rod drum, a little different to yours though, and I was wondering what your method was to paint the flames. I'm tossing up on a few ideas, but just cant decide. Would love to hear about your flame painting experience.

Thanks mate.

First painted the black. Then taped over the entire bottom of the drum. Drew the flames using a cardboard template I made. Cut along the lines and peeled the tap in the shape of the flames. Painted the yellow, then the orange and finally the red. When everything was dry, I peeled the rest of the tape.

[greg_99]

Here's the UDS I built this weekend. Thanks to all the people who took the time to post on how to build one.

[chico4missions]

Made this USC UDS for a buddy. Just one rack for now. I painted it with hightemp paint just in case he wants to grill. Not quite the Crimson/red I was looking for but I think you can tell what team it is .... I hope. Just made a stencil out of poster board & tried my best to not get overspray. I've made a few for friends over the years (Vikings, Raiders, etc). Thanks to everyone for great advice!

[greg_99]

I just love my new smoker. This morning at 8 I put two 7lbs pork butts on. The temp stayed at 240 all day. I have to admit I didn't open the smoker to check, mop or turn. At 4 I opened the smoker, took my internal temps and voilà they were both 195-200 (in several places) on each pork butt. I can't believe how easy that was. I was worried because they had only smoked for 8 hours but when I took them off the grill, they fell apart. I figure that's a good thing.

[Smokendink71]

Well I finally got to cook on my new uds, turned out awesome, cooked faster than any of the rest of the smokers I've used before, ran like a champ, did 9 racks of riblets and a brisket (which I fell asleep on and over cooked it a little but still good) for my mom and wife. getting hooked in a major way, hope my wallet and wife can handle this hobby. so here's a few pics for everyone.

[Jeremy]

Believe it or not I just did 8 butts for a graduation and my uds ran for more than 24 hours straight on 1 full load of charcoal and about 6 or 8 fist sized or smaller chunks of wood mixed in. I'm guessing between 20 to 25 lbs of coal, there was some left from last time and I just tossed in a partial bag and a whole bag of kingsford.
I did the 2 larger ones then 3 and 3. I had the 3 waiting on a grill rack so all I had to do was open the lid, take out the rack with the cooked ones, set in the rack with the uncooked butts and put the lid back on.
I could not believe ther was even some left at the end although the temp was starting to drop a little with all the vents wide open.
very pleased.... so were my guests.

[10_Bears]

Originally Posted by Mister Bob

First painted the black. Then taped over the entire bottom of the drum. Drew the flames using a cardboard template I made. Cut along the lines and peeled the tap in the shape of the flames. Painted the yellow, then the orange and finally the red. When everything was dry, I peeled the rest of the tape.

Thanks for that, same method I was leaning towards. What kind of tape did you use, automotive tape or just plain old masking tape? Did you have any issues when removing the tape, like not all of it coming off?