Ugly Drum Smoker

TurboDog · Sep 12, 2011

tuliku said:
Half hour later at 280 F

= edit =
Another half hour later at 320 F
Me so happy, looks like it works properly now, but still, any comments / advice for improving are very welcome !

== edit ==
Another half hour later still at 320 F.
I guess this is the max temp then
To try to get it hotter, i closed 1 of the 3 pipes. The daisy lid was all the time closed.

I'm not sure if you were referring to the 3 intakes or the 3 exhausts , but to get your temps hotter you likely need MORE airflow from the intakes. From what I've read here you want to leave your exhausts wide open all the time , and control your temperature with the intakes. Not enough heat would indicate not enough airflow. For a really easy test you could remove the ball valves during a cook and check what it does to your temps. Great looking UDS , and looks like it was a heck of a party , take care.

chief domestic engineer · Sep 12, 2011

my uds

Hi everyone,
After reading the entire thread and every other UDS thread I could find I finally dove in....I love it!! My WSM is sitting under the cover now.

Also, I can't count on wind in my back yard so this is my 'quick forced air system'

P.S. ..... can someone unlock the recipes for me now? ....

Arat · Sep 12, 2011

chief domestic engineer said:
Also, I can't count on wind in my back yard so this is my 'quick forced air system'

Now that's high tech... I like it :-D

tuliku · Sep 12, 2011

chief domestic engineer said:
Also, I can't count on wind in my back yard so this is my 'quick forced air system'

A very nice solution, how did you attach the bottle OT the fan ? Or is it just leaning against it ?

spareheat · Sep 12, 2011

:thumb:Chech chicks indeed :thumb: Very nice UDS too

chief domestic engineer · Sep 13, 2011

tuliku said:
A very nice solution, how did you attach the bottle OT the fan ? Or is it just leaning against it ?

yes, the bottle is just wedged against the fan. the mouth of the bottle almost fits into the intake hole. it works great.

coewar · Sep 13, 2011

chief domestic engineer said:
yes, the bottle is just wedged against the fan. the mouth of the bottle almost fits into the intake hole. it works great.

That is quite the perfect shot for "you're a redneck if..."

wonderful.

However, I recommend NOT to cook with that.

The plastic will melt.

You do not need any "wind" when you get the right hole sizes going. The fire inside the barrel will create the draft for you.

jcinadr · Sep 13, 2011

I am using a computer blower fan (made for 1U rack units I think) on mine. It does not take a very big fan to provide ample air to hit high temps. Of course, mine is connected to a digital thermostat - I am so lazy when it comes to maintaining temp - set and forget. One issue with a side mounted blower is that I got somewhat uneven burns - I now have a bottom mount and a diffuser and the burns are very even.

Others have used a shop vac to provide air for a burnout. That would practically turn the barrel into a blast furnace.

h20loo · Sep 13, 2011

I would suggest just opening your vent hole up to 2" and making an appropriate flap for it. We have built over 50 barrels and never experienced an uneven burn but we have never used forced induction. We make our own BGE style intakes as we thought if it works for them then it should work for us. Indeed, it does.

chief domestic engineer · Sep 14, 2011

coewar said:
That is quite the perfect shot for "you're a redneck if..." wonderful.

However, I recommend NOT to cook with that.

The plastic will melt.

You do not need any "wind" when you get the right hole sizes going. The fire inside the barrel will create the draft for you.

yes....i r a redneck

I agree, i could open up the intake holes but in my defense I must say I have used it 3 times and the plastic does not melt. I think my charcoal grate needs some work. I have a piece of expanded metal with three bolts holding it off the floor with my WSM charcoal ring on top of it. The ash will choke out the fire before the charcoal runs out. I scored 3 weber lids yesterday so I will start dialing it in i guess.

coewar · Sep 14, 2011

chief domestic engineer said:
yes....i r a redneck I agree, i could open up the intake holes but in my defense I must say I have used it 3 times and the plastic does not melt. I think my charcoal grate needs some work. I have a piece of expanded metal with three bolts holding it off the floor with my WSM charcoal ring on top of it. The ash will choke out the fire before the charcoal runs out. I scored 3 weber lids yesterday so I will start dialing it in i guess.

Hmm.. That plastic is not melting? At all? I definitely did not think it would hold up to the 300 degrees or more that's down there by the fire.

How tall are these 3 bolts? It sounds like a fine approach as long as they lift the bottom of the coal grate say 3 inches off the ground.

I recently scored 1 weber-like lid but it's just a hair line too small causing it not to fit properly. I have to maybe hammer out the edge which might do the trick.

chief domestic engineer · Sep 14, 2011

Nope, no melting of the plastic at all. As for the bolts, I used 3 inch bolts to hold the charcoal grate off the floor. Under that I am using a 30 gallon drum lid as an ash pan (found it by the roadside).

M.A.D. · Sep 14, 2011

coewar; I recently scored 1 weber-like lid but it's just a hair line too small causing it not to fit properly. I have to maybe hammer out the edge which might do the trick.[/QUOTE said:
I am building m'y first uds. Same problem with a brand new lid. Mesure the drum and the lid and look for ovalness.... I had to hammer and grind the drum, and make the lid ronder.

NapalmRunner · Sep 14, 2011

I ground the top lip of the drum off. Lid fits like a glove now.

coewar · Sep 15, 2011

NapalmRunner said:
I ground the top lip of the drum off. Lid fits like a glove now.

I don't know what kind of crazy grinding machine would do that. I have a drill but really? I tried using a little grinding wheel I have for it and it seems like it would take hours. I tried using it to strip paint from the lid. I gave up on that quickly in favor of the metal stripping wheels. It still took maybe 1 hour to clean it off! Just the LID.

NapalmRunner · Sep 15, 2011

I used a 4.5 inch side grinder...Took about 20 minutes or so...

jcinadr · Sep 15, 2011

chief domestic engineer said:
Nope, no melting of the plastic at all.

The intake holes are below the fire and the hot air - I bet you could put your hand on the side of the drum near the bottom and it would not be all that hot - the lid is rarely too hot to handle and it is probably the hottest part of the outside of the drum. Many have used flexible magnets to cover their draft holes. IIRC they don't like heat very much either. I have used pvc fittings outside of the drum w/o any issues.

That said, something is off with your intake or exhaust holes if you "need" a blower. The only time one might actually be helpful is lighting your coals with a weed burner. I use a tiny blower very successfully - but it is part of my BBQ guru.

Carbon · Sep 15, 2011

coewar said:
I don't know what kind of crazy grinding machine would do that. I have a drill but really? I tried using a little grinding wheel I have for it and it seems like it would take hours.

Use an angle grinder with a grinding disc. It took me about half an hour to grind down the drum lip (the small rolled lip of a closed end drum, not the large lip of an open end drum). With a little grinding the Weber lid will fit snugly.

sbramm · Sep 15, 2011

Carbon said:
Use an angle grinder with a grinding disc. It took me about half an hour to grind down the drum lip (the small rolled lip of a closed end drum, not the large lip of an open end drum). With a little grinding the Weber lid will fit snugly.

i did this as well on my closed top drum but needed to tweek the weber lid just a bit. now the lid fits nice and snug. start at the top of the lip and grid down until you see a seam and pull the inner portion of what remains of the closed lid out. then grind down the perimeter until your lid fits. you could even do this to open the drum i suppose. easy peasy. :becky:

M.A.D. · Sep 17, 2011

First cook in UDS

I built a UDS : 34'' drum, weber 22,5'' lid, 1 grill at 2,5'' from top ( will add a second grill), instead of 4 pipes with caps and ball valve, i am using 6 smaller holes ( 1/4'' ) times 4 blocked with fridge magnet.

I did 2 jerk pork shoulders (3 hours) and added chicken legs ( for the last 2 hours). Tried 7 lbs of charcoal, with 3 pucks of maple (drilled holes in them and stuffed them with allspice). Lowest temp was 240 F, to grill the chicken in the end, highest temp with all the holes opened was 380 F.

I bought a drum with 6 holes in the bottom that i will plug with screws to try to lower the temp to 225 F.

I will add holes to the vents to get up to 400 F.

I oversmoked the jerk pork.

Overall, happy the the result, the meat was juicy and tender.

Can't wait to do ribs for my friends....

Sorry for the poor quality picture, used the laptop ( could not find working batteries). Notice the thermometer probe older, a green tomato from the garden...:-D

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