Ugly Drum Smoker

Just finished my first Boston butt. OMG, I think I could fall in love with this kind of kookin'

Howdy All;

Well, so far I've read 750 of the 10,101 posts to see if I can unlock the secret of the UDS..... still back in 2007 op2:...

Will be traveling South for the Winter for the next week. Time to contemplate what I've read, and do some fishin...

hank

Peddler said:

Here is a question I know some will have the answer to and I'm sure I've seen it on here somewhere.

I want to extend the height of my UDS by using another barrel (like the top 1/3 rd). Does anyone have pic on how it was/is done or a link to a thread that shows this.

Thanks
Jim

Click to expand...

I did that very thing to my DrumPit and more...
Try these and see iff'n they help with your build......

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28252
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=130795
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=131871
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=109339

Peddler said:

N8Man ... I'm using a flat lid on my open top UDS smoker at this time and have a closed end drum to use as an extended lid instead of a Weber lid. I'm intrested on how the two mate and if they will seal fairly well. I'm not planning to modify the UDS, just add an extended lid.

Thanks
Jim

Click to expand...

If I get what you're after, you want to use part of a second drum as the lid for your current UDS which will add some height when in place, yeah? Kind of like using a Weber lid on top of a UDS but instead you're using a second drum, so your "lid" will have straight walls and flat top.

If so, and you don't want to mod your current UDS (so you can continue using your current flat drum lid when you choose to), I'd imagine your best chance would be to take drum #2 and do whatever you have to to open the bottom... turn it upside down, cut off the bottom, etc. I'd then use some thinner gauge metal to make a long strip perhaps 7 or 8 inches in height and long enough to go around the inside circumference of your UDS. Weld or bolt it to the inside rim of your "lid" drum so maybe 3 or 4 inches extends down and can slide into the open top of your smoker. you may need to use some high temp silicone or other sealant to get rid of air leaks on your extension lid. Fine tune with a rubber mallet and I expect you'd be good to go.

Foxfire said:

If I get what you're after, you want to use part of a second drum as the lid for your current UDS which will add some height when in place, yeah? Kind of like using a Weber lid on top of a UDS but instead you're using a second drum, so your "lid" will have straight walls and flat top.

If so, and you don't want to mod your current UDS (so you can continue using your current flat drum lid when you choose to), I'd imagine your best chance would be to take drum #2 and do whatever you have to to open the bottom... turn it upside down, cut off the bottom, etc. I'd then use some thinner gauge metal to make a long strip perhaps 7 or 8 inches in height and long enough to go around the inside circumference of your UDS. Weld or bolt it to the inside rim of your "lid" drum so maybe 3 or 4 inches extends down and can slide into the open top of your smoker. you may need to use some high temp silicone or other sealant to get rid of air leaks on your extension lid. Fine tune with a rubber mallet and I expect you'd be good to go.

Click to expand...

Speed is a good thing when getting into, and out of a UDS IMHO...the more unwieldy you make the lid the more "farks" will be involved in getting it on and off . Unless you can hinge the extended lid.

I made it through pages 280 over the last month and got started on my build.

Burned it out this weekend



All cleaned up, inside and out with the wire wheel. Lid got a little out of whack, so using the clamp to suck it back in.



Assembly and season in the next few days. Dont think Im gonna paint it....all the bells and whistles will come out on the next one.

Thanks for all the great posts with detailed info!

Josh

You should clear coat to keep that funky pattern the wire wheel made..

Peddler said:

Thanks
Jim

Click to expand...

I'm liking the shelve set up. Anyone have any pics to share of how to set it up?

The shelf is really simple, 4 1X4 treated attached to 2 1X2s and hinged to a 2X4 that's bolted to the drum. The brace is a 1X2 that is hinged and sets on a bolt.

geo said:

You should clear coat to keep that funky pattern the wire wheel made..

Click to expand...

Would RustOleum Clear Enamel stand up to the heat from the drum?

Personally I would use engine paint.

Just thought i would throw my UDS into the mix. It's my first, so it's not as good as most of what i see here. But its a start....



http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=144797

edit* thought I was in the google search box

Made some progress tonight. I have all of my parts now, but only had time to remove paint, surface rust, and the liner from the inside of the lid (the inside of the barrel was unlined) and construct the charcoal basket, though I have no pictures of it since somehow a 5/8" bolt snuck it's way into my bag-o-bolts and other appropriately sized hardware from Home Depot, so right now it's only sitting on 2 legs. I'll swing by on my way home from work in the morning to pick up a proper sized bolt.

One coat of spray-on Klean-Strip was all it took to have the paint literally falling off in big chunks and sheets like a wilting rose (felt like a popped balloon).


I had tan liner on the inside of my drum lid, which I tested with a wire wheel and it was tough to break through to bare metal, but one coat of Klean-Strip and the wind could have blown it off to bare metal. Here's a pic of me testing it with a metal rod, just showing how easily it peeled away. I ended up wiping the rest of it off with a shop towel.


Here it is sanded inside and out (no inside pics). I'm not re-finishing the bottom because who cares?


One can of Klean-Strip was all I needed to remove the paint from the barrel and lid as well as the liner on the inside of the lid. It's advertised to work on epoxy so I figured I'd give it a shot for the liner and it worked like a champ. I've read through the first 500 pages and some change, but up until that point I think besides wire wheels, sand/soda/bead blasting, and burnouts, the only other thing anybody has tried was oven cleaner. I can't promise this will work for all liners, especially the dreaded red, but for a few bucks it's definitely worth a shot. If you try it and it works, I absolutely recommend properly cleaning out the inside of your barrel before cooking on it, though, as this stuff is pretty potent.

I think I paid about $6-$7 for it at Home Depot. Their site is acting funky right now, but here's the manufacturer's link for it: http://www.wmbarr.com/product.aspx?catid=72&prodid=112

Terry Hesticles said:

...I think I paid about $6-$7 for it at Home Depot. Their site is acting funky right now, but here's the manufacturer's link for it: http://www.wmbarr.com/product.aspx?catid=72&prodid=112

Click to expand...

I have a drum with the dreaded red liner. Got quoted $90 for sandblasting, still pricing around. I'm really tempted to give this a try, but do you have any concerns about contaminating the inside of the cooking pit?

Foxfire said:

I have a drum with the dreaded red liner. Got quoted $90 for sandblasting, still pricing around. I'm really tempted to give this a try, but do you have any concerns about contaminating the inside of the cooking pit?

Click to expand...

I'm going to use a homemade mixture of liquid blue Dawn dish soap + vinegar (to eliminate any residue) to wash the inside of the lid tomorrow. After a rinse and a dry, I'm going to give it a wipe down with 91% Isopropyl rubbing alcohol, then season.

I'm no expert at this, but I think after that it should be fine. If I were going to do the inside of the barrel, I'd probably take a sander or angle grinder to it after a wash and rinse, just for reassurance, if anything else.

I'm curious how it works out for you, though. If your red liner is as horrible everyone makes it seem, then a couple of cans would be worth the risk if you're unable to do a long, hot burnout.

Terry Hesticles said:

I'm going to use a homemade mixture of liquid blue Dawn dish soap + vinegar (to eliminate any residue) to wash the inside of the lid tomorrow. After a rinse and a dry, I'm going to give it a wipe down with 91% Isopropyl rubbing alcohol, then season.

I'm no expert at this, but I think after that it should be fine. If I were going to do the inside of the barrel, I'd probably take a sander or angle grinder to it after a wash and rinse, just for reassurance, if anything else.

I'm curious how it works out for you, though. If your red liner is as horrible everyone makes it seem, then a couple of cans would be worth the risk if you're unable to do a long, hot burnout.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I live in a pretty dense suburban neighborhood, I don't trust being able to safely (or legally) burn out a drum. That coupled with the dreaded red lining led me to decide to just go for a sandblasting. The drum was free anyway, so it's less painful to pay more for the blasting. I'm on medical leave right now and can't do a lot of work on my drum but I'll be thinking it over for a few weeks from now, thanks for the info. :thumb:

Anyone used a high temp silicon on the outside their smoker?

Let me explain. As I have posted I have modified the top to my drum to accommodate a lid I found from a charcoal grill. I secured the top and lids with self taping screw but now I have smoke leaking out around the contact points between the two. I was thinking that a thin bead of high temp silicon would solve this problem.

Any thoughts?

D