Ugly Drum Smoker

sbramm said:
has anyone ever used a weber smokey joe as the charcoal "basket" for a drum? i have a line on a $5 smokey joe and thought that would be fast and easy way to get a charcoal "basket" in a drum. capacity might be an issue and maybe air flow as well.

thoughts?

cheers,

scott
Click to expand...


I don't know if airflow is going to be your friend with that... but you could probably use the grill grate as the bottom of the charcoal basket, fwiw. At least that's my plan. :p
 
It's nice to see the new ideas and some have some merit. My suggestion would be to build a simple UDS and don't reinvent anything. You might be surprised that it really does work at it's best without reinventing every little thing.
 
Meat Burner said:
It's nice to see the new ideas and some have some merit. My suggestion would be to build a simple UDS and don't reinvent anything. You might be surprised that it really does work at it's best without reinventing every little thing.
Click to expand...

i have already built 3 drums so far! all have been traditional builds without deviating from the established and proven design. i figured i would throw the smokey joe idea out even though i wasn't quite convinced of its potential for success myself!

cheers,

scott
 
Smoker update, even in the cold (below freezing with a nice breeze) the smoker worked flawless! smoked up a nice 10lb butt with cherry and hickory and only had to reload once (didnt get nuff coal in the basket -- was first smoke on the sucker) held nice temps and the intake worked great..love the color coded gauge to just look out the window of the warm house and see where your at.. the other two 3/4 capped emergency intakes I placed on it, Well I did use one when I reloaded the smoker to recover a little quicker so they arnt a waste!!-
 
I just started a second drum today- a steelie this time. It's for a friend of mine at work. We get hydraulic fluid in them fairly often, and they don't have the dreaded liner. I rinsed it out with mineral spirits, then scrubbed it with Dawn liquid soap, blasted it with the pressure washer, and torched it off today. I filled it with cut up pallets and had me a good fire going! I'm kinda surprised the local fire department didn't show up, as I live in dense suburbs where nice people don't do that sort of thing. Next weekend I'll finish her up. I'll post some pics then, but it's gonna be a pretty routine UDS- nothing new or fancy.
 
h20loo said:
I'm surprised your neighbors weren't all huddled around it and commending you on a good idea!!
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That's a good point- the temperature shot up to 42 today after a low of 30.... and this supposed to be Florida! Mid 20's tonight- brrrr! (we need a frozen emoticon)
 
Basic UDS

I must admit that while all of this information for endless modifications on building a UDS is great...I am really uncertain on what a "basic/traditional" UDS consists of? Could somebody direct me to an old thread or lend a hand?? My barrel is ready to build, I am hungry and I need some help.
 
i have a 2"diameterx 4" long black pipe with an elbow. keeps water and snow out. for exhaust at the bung hole
 
timmy7649 said:
how do you keep your uds from building up water. maybe a little hole in the bottom? what is your all thoughts?
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Do you mean from condensation and/or steam? How is the water getting in in any quantity that builds up?

If you have a hole in the bottom, I'd say to make sure you have a way to control whether or not it's open during a cook otherwise it'd be an intake.
 
IronStomach said:
Do you mean from condensation and/or steam? How is the water getting in in any quantity that builds up?

If you have a hole in the bottom, I'd say to make sure you have a way to control whether or not it's open during a cook otherwise it'd be an intake.
Click to expand...

That's exactly my approach. I dont need no steenkin ball valves or magnets.
 
Last edited:
Mark--I guess I'm a bit dense. The last picture shows the round disk wit the tabs...how? Is it in the bottom with the bent tabs down? If so, I assume that allows the air from the bottom vent to come up around the disk and into the charcoal basket? Are the tabs strong enough to support the weight of the charcoal basket when full?

Thanks for clarifying this.
 
My drum is heavy guage stainless steel and had a closed top that I cut out and then cut about 1" deep every inch or so around the circumference. I took that piece and then I bent down every other tab for "legs". This is my inlet air diffuser. And it will easily carry the weight of a full charcoal basket (although I personally only use wood).

I am confident that a closed top from a normal steel drum will be sufficently sturdy for this purpose as well.

I hope this helps. Any more questions, feel free.
 
New here, and getting to get my drum!

Found a steel drum that had water soulable paint. Guy says it all washes out and he has sold many for smokers.

So, here we go.
 
Had to contribute

Just finished mine. Still gonna paint it though

IMG_2697.jpg
 
For your viewing, (and my eating), pleasure!

Well here it is, boys. First time with my UDS...9 lbs. of butt. Rubbed, injected, mopped, n' pulled.
bbq3.jpg

bbq2.jpg

bbq1.jpg
 
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