Ugly Drum Smoker

[bstomper]

Ok, I just reciently built a uds about a month ago and have used it quite a bit. I am super impressed with it and with the food that comes out of it. I have had friends and family over on 2 occasions for ribs and a brisket. My brother and my friend want one now. Since I built this in a hurry(because of a time constraint) I didn't build it the way I wanted it, it's your basic uds with ball valves and the flat removeable lid. My brother wants one and would love the one I have now when I build my new one. I have been doing tons of searching for info on these and have come up with what I want. I am going to give the pie plate intake at the bottom of the barrel a try because I don't like the look and bulkiness of the ball valves, even though they work very good. With this I will have to raise my ash pan up from the bottom of the barrel some. I have only seen this done on a few uds's but they said it worked good. I guess I will see as I already ordered a couple stainless steel 9" cake pans for it. I am just wondering if the air flow will be enough to flow around the ash pan and into the coal basket for a good constant burn. If not I can plug up the holes in the bottom and go with the sliding side vents.
The biggest improvement will be a domed lid so I can put 2 cooking grates in it but I am having somewhat of a problem with this. There is no used weber grills in my area and the closest place to buy such a thing is an actual "weber bbq store" 6 hours away. I am "literaly" in the middle of nowhere in northern Canada and I don't have many options. In the hundreds of posts that I have read about webber lids, some barrels fit them perfect, some not so perfect and some fit the bottom of the barrels. There are guys that use open top barrels and some the closed top barrels and some bolt flat bar to the inside rim of the barrel for the lid. I have even seen where some guys have cut a notch out of the top of the barrel and used a ratchet strap to compress it tight again and then weld it up. all this just to fit the weber lid. I can do any of this and I have a shop full of tools to do it, welder, grinders, plasma, even a metal laithe if I need, but I would like to get the proper barrel to fit the lid, even if i have to buy a new one. Can any one tell me what the inside diameter of the weber lid is and if all the weber lids are the same measurements. Or even better, the outside diameter measurement of the weber kettle bottom where the lid rests. I don't want to spend the money on a lid if I can't make it fit. I asume that there are only a few different size barrels out there and i just need to find the right one. I just need the proper diameter of the right one.
I have a cheap knock off of the weber gril that I could use as the lid, it has hinges and a latch to secure the front down. I like the hinge idea and have thought of using it but it doesn't fit the barrels I have. If I can remember corectly it is 22.25" inside diameter. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[DMP]

95% Done. Still need to find a basket for the coals and season it. Did go ahead and spray it down real good with canola oil. Also need to anchor it to the cart some more. Hope to find a kettle lid one day. Plan on going digital with the thermometer


Pre drilling and burning.


Burned it for a good hour.


Drilled and painted.


Getting closer.


The finished look.


Hope to have it completely seasoned this week and to be cooking on it this weekend.

[Mr. Bo]

Nice looking build. I'll bet you're gonna be pleased with the cooking ability of the drum.

[tim timmens]

I am currently building my first UDS. I live in the UK and am struggling to find steel nipples at any of my local hardware stores.

Would using brass nipples be a problem?

Thanks

[DMP]

Brass should be fine.

[railwaysmoker]

Hi folks this will be my first uds build have been looking at various ideas and designs seen this on one of the sites

sorry about the picture not all of it is there but the bit that matters is there what do you guys think of this is it any good .
I am slowly working my way through this thread but as you all know its quite some thread .
the one thing I have noticed is that the uds that are on here don't seem to have a door is it a good idea to have a door or not to bother with one also I notice that people don't use a diffuser plate as shown in this diagram all help/advice will be most gratefully received.
Many many thanks in advance
Geoff from the UK
PS as I've just seen all the picture is here sorry about that on photo bucket it only shows the middle bit

[SmokerKing]

Originally Posted by railwaysmoker

Hi folks this will be my first uds build have been looking at various ideas and designs seen this on one of the sites

sorry about the picture not all of it is there but the bit that matters is there what do you guys think of this is it any good .
I am slowly working my way through this thread but as you all know its quite some thread .
the one thing I have noticed is that the uds that are on here don't seem to have a door is it a good idea to have a door or not to bother with one also I notice that people don't use a diffuser plate as shown in this diagram all help/advice will be most gratefully received.
Many many thanks in advance
Geoff from the UK
PS as I've just seen all the picture is here sorry about that on photo bucket it only shows the middle bit

All of my BUFORD builds have a door and a diffuser;

[DMP]

Smokerking, I see you used the shelving mounts for your grates. I bought some last week for my build and burned them to get the paint off. Still can't seem to get all of the paint off. Especially on the back side where you can't really get a wire brush to.

How did you clean yours up?

[SmokerKing]

Originally Posted by DMP

Smokerking, I see you used the shelving mounts for your grates. I bought some last week for my build and burned them to get the paint off. Still can't seem to get all of the paint off. Especially on the back side where you can't really get a wire brush to.

How did you clean yours up?

I believe I was the first to use the shelving guides and brackets in the UDS and the first brackets I used were painted white.

I simply used an oxy/acetylene torch to burn off the paint and galvanizing. Then wire brushed. I have since used some guides with different coatings ad the coating would not burn off. Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about the coatings. if you can't burn it off with a torch, it ain't coming off during your cooks. Especially after they become coated with the grease, fat and smoke.

[Rmhardie]

Gents - great site, used this to build my UDS two years ago. Recently I took the guts out of a gasser and used the cart for the UDS. Now it seems I'm having trouble getting it up to temp and holding it. I'm having to start with a much larger chimney of coals to start than before. Could the frame and side tables of the cart be affecting my intake? My other thought is just old lump that maybe has absorbed some moisture. Two pics attached (hopefully). First one is the uds on some landscape wall blocks and how it currently sits in the cart. domemod.jpg

cart.jpg

[jham0077]

I'd try some good, fresh charcoal. The tables don't seem close enough to affect the air flow.

[somapop]

Originally Posted by tim timmens

I am currently building my first UDS. I live in the UK and am struggling to find steel nipples at any of my local hardware stores.

Would using brass nipples be a problem?

Thanks

Hi Tim. I picked up all my valves and nipples from 'tool station' (there is one close by but delivery is free over £10).
I purchased three 3/4 brass nipples, 3 3/4 caps and 3 3/4 back nuts which will all fit neatly into my drum. The ball valve (22mm) was also purchased here for around £5 (full bore and stainless steel). That shop had pretty much everything I needed.

Struggling (at the moment) to find large washers (possibly M27?) to fit around the nipples. I think they use conduit washers in the US, but haven't seen similar here yet.
Once I start constructing it (carried out the burn this weekend) I'll post up pics.

[rumproastiltskin]

Chugging along - I'm currently up to page 125 (post 1861) and aim to read this whole thing.

So I went and grabbed 2 drums, a bunch of fittings, and am learning as I go. Thanks to Norcoredneck, n8man, bigmista, dr_KY, swamprb, JD McGee, and so many others for tips, rationality, explanations, and dimensions. This is an awesome thread

[rumproastiltskin]

Tim, I don't know about over there but over here brass can have lead in it - up to 8%.

I actually think the big Tesco in Raines Park sells black iron pipe and fittings. I know the hardware store in Kingston Upon Thames does - down the hill from Norbiton Station/across from Asda - or at least they did a couple years ago.

I sure miss how EVERYTHING can be delivered in London. Really miss that.

My £0.02 (can I still feed the birds with that?)

[tim timmens]

Thanks for your replies guys

I will be calling tool station tomorrow, please have everything in stock

I ordered 2 (400ml) can sof Rustoloum stove & BBQ paint. Don't you just love amazon prime, should be here in the morning.

I have sanded the outside of the drum down to raw steel. it's been a few days and it's getting a tinge of brown (rust) on it. I shall sand that in the morning.

Do I simply get a rag, clean it with some kind of degreaser then spray on the paint? Do I need a high temp primer or can I skip this? I presume as I want a shiny finish, I will get normal gloss black spray paint and paint over it then possibly a clear coat.

I was fortunate to purchase a brand new Weber 22 1/2" kettle grill yesterday for only £50. Lid fits on well.

Only issue I am having is the inside of the drum. It was a food grade drum. The liner was a light pink. I done two burns, 1st one was a wood pallet with no air intake hole at the bottom. The second was another pallet with 3 x 1" air intake holes.

The liner has pretty much disappeared, but sanding the inside is a royal PITA! I spoke to a few companies that provide sand blasting, got crazy quotes of £80+ ($136+). I presume I should sand it to remove rust and any residue form the liner. I have a jumbo wire brush coming tomorrow, so I maybe spending a few hours giving my arms a good work out sanding! if that fails, I will jus oil the drum and carry on...

I shall post some pics tomorrow