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Offset smoker mod for UDS using a kettle grill... crazy idea?

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caliking

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Howdy brethren.

I had a crazy notion (which others may have had before me)... about building an offset mod for my UDS. What if I took a kettle grill and used it as a firebox connected to the UDS (crude schematic diagram attached) using 2" pipe with a ball valve to isolate the UDS when needed? The pipe connection could be heavy so I might have to build some kind of support, or consider shortening the legs of the kettle grill.

I would consider building a larger cooker out of a propane tank or something like that, but I lack the space, equipment, and skills for metal welding/cutting work of that nature.

Any thoughts?
 
Last edited:
I wonder if the smoke having to travel down to the bottom of the UDS will cause it go stale. Or will it even travel down the pipe? I've only seen offsets below the main chamber as heat and smoke travel up. Let us know how it works.
 
Why would you want to do this? I am not understanding the benefit.
 
I built a horizontal drum smoker for a friend using a 55 gal. drum and a 20# propane tank for a friend. I went to the muffler shop and had some exhaust pipe bent to connect the firebox to the drum and for a smokestack.

It worked great, but I had a welder to work with. Maybe you could get the guy at the muffler shop to weld you something up. The smoke pipe wouldn't have to go into the bottom of the drum, just below your cooking grate.

Good luck,


Chuck
 
The inspiration comes from being curious about an offset smoker and how it works. Yes, I could go and just buy an offset smoker... but then I could just go and buy Q too :-D. It would give me another project as well.

What drives the airflow in a horizontal smoker? I had thought that airflow would be established by having a relatively air tight system with one inlet and one exhaust. Would the temperatures be sufficient to cook my groceries?

I could start looking for a welder if I get serous about it... or just stick with the UDS for now...
 
Looks like you would have a heat transfer problem from the kettle to the UDS. Even if you could get enough heat through a 2" pipe that travels down, your fuel consumption would be much, much greater than the UDS...

Like BBQ Bubba, that configuration could make a good COLD smoker.

Just my 0.02

Papa
 
I've been toying with doing something similar but using a 5 gallon bucket at the base of the UDS.
My idea is that then I may be able to achieve lower temps for extended periods for making stuff like Jerky, beef sticks and items like that.
I have the bucket and lid just need some time to make the mods.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
 

Attachments

  • UDS Offset.xls
    13.5 KB · Views: 46
Can't see that working out for ya, heat rises and a 3' drop of the pipe does not seem feasible. Maybe if you cut the Legs off the Kettle to about 4" and then used a 6" pipe between you may have something that would work. If I were to build an offset I would do something different altogether. JMHO
 
sfbbqguy said:
I've been toying with doing something similar but using a 5 gallon bucket at the base of the UDS.
My idea is that then I may be able to achieve lower temps for extended periods for making stuff like Jerky, beef sticks and items like that.
I have the bucket and lid just need some time to make the mods.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

your idea looks better!

I am concerned about the heat transfer issue. So how is this resolved in the typical offset smoker?
 
heat is moved through an offset by using the tendency of hot air to rise out of the chimney and the resultant air flow pulls the heat from the fire chamber into the smoking chamer. Hence the importance in having the balance between exhaust and intake capacity. Also why extensions to the chimney can result in lower hot spot temperatures and more even convection heating through a chamber. Vertical smokers such as UDS types do not require long chimneys as the vertical chamber creates the convection draw itself. All of this is not disimilar to a house, wherein, you can create up and down drafts in stairways if the house is not properly vented.

I can see what you are thinking as one way to achieve your goal of having longer smokes available to you. At one time I was giving a lot of thought to having a Smoky Joe connected to the bottom vent of a old style Weber Kettle and using the Smoky Joe as an offset firebox. Just not sure why I would do that.
 
HumboldtSmokeBBQ said:
Where did you two guys get your engineering degrees???
AWESOME DRAWINGS!
Dont go getting any ideas on bridge building, ok?
Click to expand...

Don't know about the other, but I got mine in 1st grade... with a grape scratch 'n' sniff sticker:biggrin: They told me it was legit! Luckily, what I do for a living does not require any drawing skills.

@landarc: I am also curious about the taste of Q from an offset smoker and whether it would be an improvement on the UDS. But it seems that would be regression instead of evolution. Maybe I will stick with the UDS for the moment... might actually build this contraption if I want to cold smoke cheese or jerky. Thanks for your input!
 
I think others would be more qualified to comment, but, I do believe there will be a difference based purely on direct fired heat versus indirect fired heat. Fat drippings have a distinct flavor when burned. I can totally see having both types of cookers. I do not think it would be either an improvement or a digression, just a difference.
 
HumboldtSmokeBBQ said:
Where did you two guys get your engineering degrees???
AWESOME DRAWINGS!
Dont go getting any ideas on bridge building, ok?
Click to expand...

You like my drawing skills! That's why I have to contract out my Avatar edits and Improvements.

The biggest reason I was thinking of the offset fire was to achieve lower temp smokes. Not necessarily a cold smoke for cheese and the like but temps I could sustain at around 150*.
I'm going to move forward with the mods at some point in the near future so we'll know if it works or if it's a waste of time.

A couple things that inspired the thoughts were N8Man's Schlong Tube and an older advertisment that showed an offset firebox on a barrel...I'll try to find it and post.
 
landarc said:
I think others would be more qualified to comment, but, I do believe there will be a difference based purely on direct fired heat versus indirect fired heat. Fat drippings have a distinct flavor when burned. I can totally see having both types of cookers. I do not think it would be either an improvement or a digression, just a difference.
Click to expand...

Yeah, agreed. I read here, somewhere...a major difference/benefit/bad aspect/great aspect of the UDS is that you get that meat dripping onto your fire box...from a far.

Now, if you want an offset, build an offset. Like Bob says...it doesnt hurt to have two different cookers! I jsut htink if you are going for a nice working off set...there are better platforms out there.

And...better drawings! :lol:
 
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