MY take on the UDS- step by step build

Thanks guys. I wish I did have a welder... I know a guy that CAN weld, but he doesn't have one yet. As for the basket- planning on burning some busted up pallet in it prior to cooking to get the coating off. If it survives that, it should be ok to smoke with.

Thanks again for all the support. I'll update this thread when I start cooking with it so you guys can see how it works.

Logo

I whipped up a quick sketch of the logo for the new build.

Here's the original photo:



And here's the logo:



I'm goin to hell, aren't I?

expatpig said:

Goin to hell in a charcoal basket!

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Best thing about hell... plenty of hot coals laying around!

Progress as of 5-1-2010

Good news! Thermometers came in the mail this morning! I rushed out to the Depot for some brass fittings, then over to the lab to finish the build:

















Ta-Daaaah!

The only thing left to do is paint the name & logo on the back. It's been a good build- fun, challenging and very informative.

I'll post more pics after I get the Logo painted and of my first few cooks. I'll get you all some info on how it performs and suggestions for anyone who wants to duplicate this design.

Thanks to all!

Phubar said:

I know overkill is your thing but...

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But what? Too soon?

Better finished pics

Here's some better pics of the final results:











Gonna test it out tomorrow or weds depending on weather.

RE: Mod comments

After looking thru the thread a little, I realized that a lot of people are confused/insulted by the changes I've made to what's called the "classic UDS design" so I thought i'd quickly go through my reasoning for doing things the way I did and give you all a lil background.

1) Wheels

I live in a small, upstairs apartment with no garage or shed. The only way I could protect my investment was to make it mobile. Since I usually start cooking early in the morning while everyone else is asleep and have a bad back from years of heavy lifting, I can't really just heave the sucker out from under the carport alone. Also, wheels seemed like one of the most basic and instinctive things a person would want to add to a heavy object.

2) The hinges

A hinge is a hinge is a hinge... Didn't see a huge problem with adding this. The lid itself isn't that heavy, but after adding the 6" exhaust and elbow, it was a little unwieldy. I also thought that simply adding a hook to hang it off the side of the drum might damage the paint job or the thermometers or annoyingly make me walk around the unit to get to the back, and I think we all feel the same way about being forced to do unnecessary exercise... It swings open the way it does because I'm right handed and it makes it much easier to load the meat in from the side table.

3) Air intake

It's not really all that different from other single intake designs I've seen. Mine just goes thru the bottom of the barrel instead of the side. My thinking was that the fire might burn more evenly. Does it actually make a difference? I don't know. It might not. But since I have the extra clearance underneath (which I think might be why more people haven't tried it yet), I figured it was worth a shot.

4) Coal basket

Just like every other coal basket I've seen, with two small "mods" to allow the air intake to come up thru it. Not a big deal here.

5) Shaker Bar

My design for this is actually way less complex and involved than i've seen on some other smokers. I wanted to get the same results they do without having to weld a bunch of stuff or make additional holes in the drum. I think I've accomplished that nicely. It also takes advantage of having the air intake come up thru the middle, which serves to keep the basket in the middle of the drum while shaking it.

As for my first build, Sean "Puffy" coals, I do still intend to use it. I don't view it as a failure or obsolete. Did I deviate too far from the basic concept? Probably, but again, I had reasons for why I made the changes I did. It just turned out that those changes didn't really solve the problems they were meant to or didn't function the way I thought they would. As I said earlier in the thread; lesson learned, moving on.

Thanks again for reading. Hopefully this helped someone outh there. Good luck with all your future builds and keep on Que'ing!

Ribeye pron

Tested out the new rig yesterday:












Everything came out amazing. Loaded up the basket with briquettes and
some chunks of oak.

I seasoned 4 of the steaks with Adobo and the other 3 with Montreal
Steak seasoning.

I didn't put anything on the corn and taters.

The corn was the best I'd ever had, eventhough a couple of them caught
on fire because I had the grate too low. When I opened the lid, the coals
flamed up from the rush of oxygen and burned off most of the husks.
Oddly, those were the better tasting ears!

Did notice a few things I have to fix with the rig tho. There are a couple
of holes in the bottom where the cut-outs for the axle are. Those need to
be plugged because they are letting air in and making the temp harder to
control.

Also, the intake baffle/flap is warped, probably from when I burned the
stickers off of it. That is also letting in air because it doesn't fit tightly to
the end of the pipe.

Hinges worked great. Shaker bar worked great. Extra space from the
bigger shelf came in really handy.

Overall, very satisfied with the results. Even more satisfied with the food
it produces.

Southern Smoker said:

I'm all for mods providing you're not in a patent or copyright infringement thingy..

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Well, patent violation is only really an issue if you produce and sell them to the public, but I get what you're saying.

Norcoredneck said:

Mods are a great way to increase your post count. They keep you coming back asking why your smoker doesn't work as advertised.

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My smoker works great, actually. And my "mods" work as advertised, unfortunately I'm under equipped and the problems i'm having with it are directly related to that. They are simple and easy to adjust. I don't know if other people are having problems with "mods" like mine. If they are, they have been conveniently left out of their postings.

By the way, I noticed you "modded" the spelling of the word "all" in your signature... j/k

I appreciate the feedback!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhcDMUhunOs

Quick vid about the hinges and "shaker bar"

Hurmm... For some reason I can't edit my posts to fix all the pics...

Well, here's some more pron from my latest cook. Did 2 full racks of spares a couple days ago using my new and improved rub. They were a huge hit. Many compliments. Still wish I would have been able to let them cook a little longer, but I had some important stuff come up that morning that delayed my start.

Just after putting them on:





Half way thru:







Finished:





Look at that pull-back. Came out great! Tasted great! Think i'm finally satisfied with my rub... maybe just add a hint more garlic & onion powders.

Also, very satisfied with the new rig. Air control is pretty effortless. Holds a nice, steady temp the whole time. Basically set it and forget it. All my "mods" working perfectly.

Gonna try to cut out a heat diffuser today from this sheet of heavy steel I found in my uncle's garage. I'm thinking it will help even out the temps. Bottom thermometer reads about 80* higher than the top and it's only 6" away.

Also thinking about how I'm gonna go about fixing the problems with my first build. Got some good feedback from my fellow bretheren already, so, yeah... Cheers!

Sean "Puffy" Coals said:

Hurmm... For some reason I can't edit my posts to fix all the pics...

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Oh, surrrrrreeee! NOW the edit button starts to appear! But i still can't edit any of my past posts...

Well, in that case, here's a link to my conplete, detailed write up on the build:

http://reddhotpoker.blogspot.com/