Ugly Drum Smoker

Disciple882542 · Oct 16, 2011

GEORGIA CRACKER(FROM TEX) said:
You need a 1" hole for the 3/4 pipe nipples. I used a hole saw for mine and the nipples fit tight. I backed them up with conduit nuts one inside, one outside.

I used 1" pipe nipples on mine, which needed a 1 3/8" hole with the conduit nuts on front and back.

I couldn't find the hole size for 1" nipples on here so just wanted to make available to the group (went through a couple of $12 bits prior to finding the right size lol).

God bless,
Disciple

smokingj · Oct 16, 2011

Well it's finished......
Pics will be posted tomorrow when I can get the camera back from the gf.
Did a small test run this afternoon to test for leaks and to set the paint.......Looks GREAT!!!!! So far everything has been on the money.
Just wanted to say Thanks to the brethren and the site for getting me where I am today.

Paul Worth · Oct 17, 2011

After trying a weed burner, Easy-Off, and three different paint strippers on the dreaded red liner, I did a burn this weekend with two pallets and a leaf blower. I just set the blower about two inches from each intake hole for about 15 minutes. Eight-foot flames out the top! I wouldn't try this in town. The next day the liner came out with just a light scrubbing with a scouring pad and water. Maybe this will help someone else who is stuck with a lined drum. I would have moved on to an unlined drum by now but 30 gallon drums are hard to find around here. Looks like it's going to make a nice mini-smoker for the bi-annual trips to Bristol Motor Speedway. I'm using a 16-quart stainless mixing bowl for a top. Will post photos next week.

MattCom · Oct 17, 2011

This is a burn out I did last week. The opening is for the BGEE sliding door. There was not any liner it's a S/S drum that held Teatree Oil.
I used a leaf blower to get it going, but it didn't need any help. It was windy that day and it was a roaring flame. Now I just need to reassemble it and get cooking.
Damn my lawn looks green too!!!

Rodney · Oct 17, 2011

10_Bears said:
For those that have the side air intake pipe, what are your pipes made of? I found a perfect sized pipe today for mine but it's galvanised. As it's actually outside the drum it shouldn't really matter, should it???

Zinc, which is the plating on galvanized steel, doesn't melt until 787 degrees F, and it doesn't boil until ~1600 degrees F. The only hazard is zinc vapors, which definitely won't become mobile until above the melting point (and probably not until the boiling point, but don't quote me on that). Consequently, just don't use it on your charcoal basket and it'll never be a problem. Nothing else gets anywhere near that hot in a smoker.

Some here will say "better safe than sorry", but especially since zinc vapors are only a hazard if you inhale them, and a significant quantity of them at that, it's kind of a stretch.

FYI, some people here use a PVC pipe as a smoke stack, and that works fine. When smoking at 225, I can literally lift the lid off of the smoker with my bare hands, especially if I use my 2" galvanized pipe smoke stack as a handle. That should give you an idea of how hot the smoke stack (doesn't) get during use.

-Rodney

smokingj · Oct 17, 2011

Here she is:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=280747261948436&l=5fae849ac1

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=280747435281752&l=d4922765b4

alternate lid which I scored for free.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=280747711948391&l=5820eda7f9

Did 1 more test run this afternoon and seasoned her with a slab of fatback. Lit the whole neighborhood up when that got to cooking :becky: She held 250 the whole time till I shut her down......currently using a 11.5 inch wide fryer basket and had no issues with the 3-4 hours she was going. Plan on building a better basket but for now it seems to be working with the fry basket.

Question on draw. Would it be better to use the Weber kettle lid or the flat lid to get the most efficient draw/airflow?

Johnny_Crunch · Oct 17, 2011

For anyone needing a lid or a rain cover I found this at Gander Mountain. It is a deer feeder lid that is made of galvanized. I bought it to cover my flat top drum lid to keep rain out of it while it is not in use. I am sure you could use it for your lid if needed as well. $35.

Rodney · Oct 18, 2011

10_Bears said:
Also, what size basket does everyone have?

Mine's 13.5" dia. x 8" deep. See my signature for the "how I made it" video. (note I said "how I made it" and not "how-to"... :-D ) It's about the perfect size for a ~15 hour cook at 225. I've gone 13 hours and had some left over.

jcinadr · Oct 18, 2011

Should also note that the inlets (if open) will have a constant flow of cool air through them - and even if closed will be partially outside the drum being cooled. I don't think the plugs on them ever even got very warm to the touch.

Rodney · Oct 18, 2011

jcinadr said:
Should also note that the inlets (if open) will have a constant flow of cool air through them - and even if closed will be partially outside the drum being cooled. I don't think the plugs on them ever even got very warm to the touch.

Agreed. Even the side of the drum barely gets warm at anything lower than about a foot up the side of my UDS.

-r

Pappy · Oct 18, 2011

10_Bears said:
Also, what size basket does everyone have?

17" diameter x 12" high, 3" legs

10_Bears · Oct 18, 2011

Rodney said:
Mine's 13.5" dia. x 8" deep. See my signature for the "how I made it" video. (note I said "how I made it" and not "how-to"... :-D ) It's about the perfect size for a ~15 hour cook at 225. I've gone 13 hours and had some left over.

Thanks for that Rodney, good to see some vids.

Rodney · Oct 18, 2011

10_Bears said:
Thanks for that Rodney, good to see some vids.

Just remember if you build it like I did, turn the expanded sheet around 90° from the way I oriented it. It's about four times easier to bend that way. :thumb:

BillywannaQ · Oct 18, 2011

So when you cut the expanded steel, the diamond pattern should be vertical to you?

Sammy_Shuford · Oct 18, 2011

10_Bears said:
Also, what size basket does everyone have?

I can't answer for everybody!

But I used a fire grate for a 18 inch weber kettle. Built up the side 8 inches.

Rodney · Oct 18, 2011

Sammy_Shuford said:
I can't answer for everybody!

But I used a fire grate for a 18 inch weber kettle. Built up the side 8 inches.

Yep, that's exactly what I did on my basket. The charcoal grate from an 18.5 inch Weber is 13.5 inches in diameter. Then I bolted a 16 inch galvanized steel pizza pan to the bottom of it.

10_Bears · Oct 19, 2011

About to paint my UDS, do I paint under the lid or not or doesn't really matter. It is almost bare metal at the moment, still has some paint there. Would prefer to paint it for cosmetics but wont if it will affect my cooking results in some way. (I'm using the drum lid, NOT a weber lid)

armor · Oct 19, 2011

No, you do not want to paint under the lid.

Rodney · Oct 19, 2011

armor said:
No, you do not want to paint under the lid.

Yeah, no paint needed. It'll get a nice, black, oily coating on it the first time you use it. It'll be better off without paint.

expatpig · Oct 19, 2011

16" x 16" adjustable bottom grate.

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