Ugly Drum Smoker

[Bbq Bubba]

Originally Posted by Philly-QueMaster

I have 4 intakes at the bottom which were drilled 1" in diameter and threaded with 3/4" piple nipples. I started out with all 4 open until the temp started getting close to 200 and then closed all but 1. As time went on and my temps started to drop I started taking 1 cap off of each intake until all 4 were open again. My charcaol ring I was using only measured about 7" in diameter. I plan to make it larger so its about 13-14" in diameter. Hopefully that will allow for longer cook times and more steady temp control

Patrick

You have WAYYYYYYYYY to much exhaust.
Why all the holes when you got a perfectly good bung?
Close up one or the other but your just letting the heat right out.

[Philly-QueMaster]

I don't have any pictures of just my charcoal basket. Basically I took a water pan from a different smoker I have (you can see it in one of the above pics), and I drilled a bunch of holes all around the sides of it. In the pick above I had only drilled holes around the top. I actually drilled holes all the way around it just about to the bottom of it. Then I put a grill rack on top of that, and I have an expanded metal ring that's 7" in diameter that sits on top of the grill rack. This was just a temporary setup until I could work on making a better long term solution.

Patrick

[westernhunter]

I am building a UDS and just cut off the top since I plan to use a Weber kettle lid. My question is regarding the exhaust vent on the Weber lid....is it big enough? Or do I need to add another exhaust vent to it? Do you guys who use the kettle lids modify them for more exhaust?

Also, the barrel had some iso-butyl-something-or-other alcohol in it and is unlined. Alcohol is VERY volatile and there is no longer any odor just from being open a couple hours. Should I still burn it out or just season it at a fairly high temp? I am hoping to avoid taking a wire brush to the inside and outside of the thing if possible.

I will take pics and post up when I complete the project.

Thanks!

[westernhunter]

One more thing......what thermometer do you guys mount on the UDS that gives you ACCURATE temps, and where do you buy them from?? I hope to avoid having a dedicated digital smoker thermo.....just use those for meat temps.

Thanks again!!!

[jtwisted13]

Originally Posted by westernhunter

One more thing......what thermometer do you guys mount on the UDS that gives you ACCURATE temps, and where do you buy them from?? I hope to avoid having a dedicated digital smoker thermo.....just use those for meat temps.

Thanks again!!!

i use a turkery deep fryer thermometer... cheap at any store... 12" stem

[CostaRican]

I want a weber lid to increase capacity on my UDS. I cant find one anywhere but I was in walmart and saw a uniflame kettle for 40 $. It would be worth it if I could recycle the food and charcoal grate into a 2nd UDS....what do you guys think? Are the parts sturdy enough?

[ajmcedar]

Originally Posted by CostaRican

I want a weber lid to increase capacity on my UDS. I cant find one anywhere but I was in walmart and saw a uniflame kettle for 40 $. It would be worth it if I could recycle the food and charcoal grate into a 2nd UDS....what do you guys think? Are the parts sturdy enough?

Works for me, just a little tweaking. plus I can still use the original, just a little leakage. The grate doesn't compare to Webers though, but cannibalism is worth it.

[Dr_KY]

I can see several people have not read through the thread.

[CostaRican]

thanks i'll try it. As for reading through the thread (i'm working on it I'm working on it) it's just long sorry if i'm repeating old stuff i'm new here!

[mister blister]

I thought i would post this link to a thread on a German BBQ site to show the twist they have put on UDS's. I guess you know you have a problem when you go to websites from other countries to see how they smoke meat.
http://mybbq.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16972

[Learnin Querve]

Gotta love Google. Open this page in a new tab...

http://translate.google.com/#

Then in the text box, copy mister blister's link...

The translation isn't the greatest, but it's a lot better than my German, which consists of about 10 words...

Chris

[TexasAggie97]

Well I did it. 3,476 posts and 232 pages. Thanks for all the info to those who have shared! Epic thread!

And now to finish the build.

Thanks again, y'all!

[helljack6]

Just out of curiosity, what's the largest intake people have used successfully? I am in the process of building my first UDS and to help keep costs down, i'm doing everything I can to use recycled stuff and tools from friends that I need for drilling. The tool I have for drilling the intake holes isn't 1" like I would want, but 1-1/4" so i'm trying to figure out if I should just go with three intake holes or still drill four. I'm using the standard 2" bung hole on the top with a 6" aluminum tubing JB welded to the top since I don't ever see my cooker pushing more than 250. Great forums and information ya'll got here. I've learned sooooo much after reading the UDS posting that I had to buy two reconditioned drums so I could start the project.

[Skidder]

Helljack if ya need a 1" step drill to do your project p.m. me your address and I'll send ya one. That's what we do here help others out. This is why they call us Brethren.

[Meat Burner]

Originally Posted by Skidder

Helljack if ya need a 1" step drill to do your project p.m. me your address and I'll send ya one. That's what we do here help others out. This is why they call us Brethren.

That's a cool thing to offer. Good for you!