Ugly Drum Smoker

[Norcoredneck]

Originally Posted by Richard_

how big is to big ?? I am ready to start building mine , but the hole saw bit I have is 2.25 , I plan on only 1 hole , will that be enough ?? and how for from the bottom should I drill it ??

Too big in my opinion.

[h20loo]

I agree with Norco but it really comes down to how much is open when you're smoking. I have one 1 1/2" hole and I have it wide open to start and then close it down to 1/8 to hold 225. I would think 2.25 might come up to temp faster but it depends on the exhaust also. What are you using to control the air? I think I would use sheet magnet or a sheet metal flap rather than a huge ball valve. I kind of like a nice clean look to the barrels without too much hanging off them yet my favorite barrel to cook on has a intake coming up the side.
Let us know how it works for you!
How high- 2" off the bottom seems to work good to keep ashes and juices in the barrel.

[Richard_]

perfect , ended up going with a 1.25 hole saw , probably cut 4 holes till after I do a burn to clean the barrel , then cap 3 of them and put a ball valve in 1

[Dr_KY]

You don't need to cut that many holes. Why spend the extra cash and risk leaks? It's not a bad idea if you plan on doing big loads of chicken though.

You can see I have two , one with a ball valve to adjust tempsand the other running wide open with a stainless nipple. They are placed one third the way around the drum with one space left in case I needed to add a third.

[wlh3]

Tried some thing new Fathers day on the drum. Cooked with no exhaust stack, just a open bung hole. Filled firebox with 10 lb of K. Put 2 lb of K in chimney and fired it off. Dumped well lit K on top of firebox, left all three holes open and put on lid. Side temp hit 225* center temp was 275* covered 2 holes up 1 open. 10 min later side temp 205* and center temp 240*. It stayed this way for the next hour and 20 min.
Time to put on the jerked chicken. Crips forgot to take out of refer for warm up, this was straight from the refer to the drum. Chicken is on, I do not leave lid off for any length of time. I load, temp and flip by taking grill off drum and replace lid then do what I have to, then put grate back on drum. Side temp 175* center temp went back to 220* with in 5 min I can live with that. Side temp took allmost 30 min to get to 200* center temp stayed around 220* to 225*. 30 min later time to rotate grill, just using open bung did not eliminate hot spot unde exhaust vent, but it did seem to be less (subjective). After short spike Temps returned to 200* center temp now 230* 30 min later time to flip. short spike then settled @ 205* side temp and 240* to 245* center. 30 min later rotate grill temps settled back to 205*side and 245* to 250* center. 30 min rotated grill temps settled in as before. 30min later flipped and opened 1 more hole temps now 230 * side and center was 260* 20min later flipped side 250* and center 280* 20 min later probed thighs temps in chix was 175* to 180 * depending on size. Dinner is on cook time 2 hrs 40 min

What did I learn from this


I do not think you need a stack for cooking, open bung works just fine.

open bung does not eliminate hot spot under vent.

Condensation under lid was nil, big difference noticed. this was 7 lbs of marinated thighs.

Doing a fast finish on the chicken worked very well

Drums rock

[Dr_KY]

But the stack is the bling.

[michiana mark]

Originally Posted by swamprb

I'll tell you it is a sight to behold to see the convection effect with the drum lid and my 8 vent holes swirling in the early morning of an all nighter with just my dining room light reflecting on the deck!

pic please.

[michiana mark]

Originally Posted by JD McGee

I'm liking the slot idea...you don't need a lot of threads to hold that cap. I'd mill it out leaving just enough to thread on the cap.

This actually has 4 1/4 " holes drilled in it. I have two of these in along with a ball valve. Tried to even out the air intake to evenly burn the charcoal on all sides.

[Richard_]

is there a magic # for the size ?? I was thinking of using 2.25 exhaust tubing

[sfisch]

Richard,
Saw one a couple weeks ago that the guy put a angled chrome tailpipe extension over and it looked really cool.

Scott

[Bbq Bubba]

Originally Posted by Dr_KY

But the stack is the bling.

You are totally right bro, but wlh3 is right, in my experience, a 2" open bung with no stack is almost the best draw you can get!
I have even shortened my PVC exhausts down to like 6" tall...taller exhausts = less stable temps and shorter burns. My 2 cents.

[Bbq Bubba]

Originally Posted by michiana mark

This actually has 4 1/4 " holes drilled in it. I have two of these in along with a ball valve. Tried to even out the air intake to evenly burn the charcoal on all sides.

Burn off the paint yet (too hot mod)?

[Dr_KY]

I'll have a shorter one made next week. Thanks for the tip.
This is the first time I have ran it in such a wide open space. I loaded the basket about half full and fired it at 7 PM Friday and she finally burned down Saturday when we capped it off at about noon. 19 hours was a log run for her but she may do more with a shorter stack.

[Norcoredneck]

WHL3 like I tell people. Run side gauge at 200 and you will be in sweet spot. 250 on gauge is why people think they cook so much faster.

[Norcoredneck]

Originally Posted by Dr_KY

I'll have a shorter one made next week. Thanks for the tip.
This is the first time I have ran it in such a wide open space. I loaded the basket about half full and fired it at 7 PM Friday and she finally burned down Saturday when we capped it off at about noon. 19 hours was a log run for her but she may do more with a shorter stack.

I honestly believe you can't beat flat lid with 8 1/2" evenly spaced holes.