Ugly Drum Smoker

[Sammy_Shuford]

[misterrachel]

Regarding the placement of the thermometer...I see that it should be at "grate" level, but I'm assuming that it's mounted to stick just above or just below the grate. I also am assuming that it should be just below the grate, so as not to impede the food. Is that correct?

[Stef]

That's the ideal spot, yes.

[1FUNVET]

Originally Posted by misterrachel

Regarding the placement of the thermometer...I see that it should be at "grate" level, but I'm assuming that it's mounted to stick just above or just below the grate. I also am assuming that it should be just below the grate, so as not to impede the food. Is that correct?

You assume correctly. Mine is about 1/2" below grate.

[devious]

can you use a drum that was filled with oil or tranny fluid? i can get my hands on those all day long

[MushCreek]

I'm working with one right now that had hydraulic fluid in it. I rinsed it with mineral spirits, washed it out with Dove dish detergent, pressure washed it, and burned a pile of pallet wood in it. Any oil left in there is either burned up, or too scared to come out! The good thing is that many of the drums I've seen that had oil in them don't have the dreaded liner. This one was nice bright metal inside. To tell you the truth, I think it was ready after washing, but the consensus is to burn them out good. I can't imagine that a little oil residue is going to out-gas anything worse than charcoal briquets do. Burn it, build it, love it!

[IronStomach]

Originally Posted by MushCreek

This one was nice bright metal inside. To tell you the truth, I think it was ready after washing, but the consensus is to burn them out good. I can't imagine that a little oil residue is going to out-gas anything worse than charcoal briquets do. Burn it, build it, love it!

It's probably good that you burnt it, all the new drums around these parts that don't have the phenolic resin liner have a transparent rust-inhibitor sprayed inside.

Get that thing seasoned and post some drumpron!

[timmy7649]

Originally Posted by IronStomach

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.

sorry have not been on the sight in a while. but yes it is from condensation from when i cook.

[Sammy_Shuford]

Progress, a friend I work with is making me a 18 inch diamter fire basket, 4 inches high. Found wood crates at the receiving dock of our local news paper.

[caliking]

Hello all. n00b here. Building my first drum smoker, wife thinks I'm crazy (she was doing okay until I walked in with a weedburner)

I have most of the bits and bobs gathered, almost ready to start assembly. I have a number of questions which I was hoping the brethren can help me out with ( I promise the pron will come when I start assembling).

1. I bought a reconditioned drum - no liner, no rust inhibitor, painted lid and painted on the outside. The place I bought it from said that all drums had the inside burnt out. The inside has just a bit of rust, and some soot when I run my finger along the inside. I figured that if I washed the inside a few times I should be good to go?

2. I made a charcoal basket about 16" diameter and about 9" high. Found out that bending/shaping expanded metal when its 25F outside is nearly impossible, but much easier when it is 60F! I was going to use an 18" cake pan as the ash pan. Should the pan be 2" deep or 3" to catch the ash generated from a basket of this size? Also, how far above the rim of the pan should the basket be? 1"?

3. A few years ago I got a good deal on bags of Royal Oak hardwood lump charcoal, but it has lots of scraps in it as well as small pieces. I have been to the naked whiz site over the years, but was wondering what most other folks have been using (especially in the Houston area), and where they get it from. I have been tempted by regular Kingsford briquets and the promise of a slow even burn, but I'm worried about the meat tasting funky if the Minion Method is used for the fire during smoking.

4. The lid has the standard large and small bungholes. Do I need to drill extra holes in the lid to get good air flow? The bottom will have 3 intakes (1 of which will have a ball valve).

Thanks. I can start a new thread if that is what is preferred.

[N8man]

Personally, I'd do a good high heat burn out of the drum, just for my own peace of mind.
I would think 2" would suffice for the depth of your ash catcher.
I use Kingsford, employing the Minion Method, and I haven't had a bad cook from it yet.
On my DrumPit, I use the 2" bunghole for the exhaust, I have it plumbed with an 8" straight pipe topped with a 90* elbow.

Originally Posted by caliking

Hello all. n00b here. Building my first drum smoker, wife thinks I'm crazy (she was doing okay until I walked in with a weedburner)

I have most of the bits and bobs gathered, almost ready to start assembly. I have a number of questions which I was hoping the brethren can help me out with ( I promise the pron will come when I start assembling).

1. I bought a reconditioned drum - no liner, no rust inhibitor, painted lid and painted on the outside. The place I bought it from said that all drums had the inside burnt out. The inside has just a bit of rust, and some soot when I run my finger along the inside. I figured that if I washed the inside a few times I should be good to go?

2. I made a charcoal basket about 16" diameter and about 9" high. Found out that bending/shaping expanded metal when its 25F outside is nearly impossible, but much easier when it is 60F! I was going to use an 18" cake pan as the ash pan. Should the pan be 2" deep or 3" to catch the ash generated from a basket of this size? Also, how far above the rim of the pan should the basket be? 1"?

3. A few years ago I got a good deal on bags of Royal Oak hardwood lump charcoal, but it has lots of scraps in it as well as small pieces. I have been to the naked whiz site over the years, but was wondering what most other folks have been using (especially in the Houston area), and where they get it from. I have been tempted by regular Kingsford briquets and the promise of a slow even burn, but I'm worried about the meat tasting funky if the Minion Method is used for the fire during smoking.

4. The lid has the standard large and small bungholes. Do I need to drill extra holes in the lid to get good air flow? The bottom will have 3 intakes (1 of which will have a ball valve).

Thanks. I can start a new thread if that is what is preferred.

[caliking]

N8man: thanks for the tips. I like your DrumPit, especially the portability. I was going to use the ball valve to regulate the intake, but your magnet seems to be a cheaper option - maybe I can save a few bucks. Was going to drill intakes in the bottom and use nipples with caps, but I think I'll switch to the magnet/hole combo.

Does adding the stack to the exhaust add anything in particular? i have seen some folks add one, but not all.

I also noticed that you still have the bolt ring on your drummie. Does that help keep it air tight during the cook?

Have a good weekend!

[MushCreek]

The upright stack is very important, as it keeps old/fat/drunk Q'ers from falling over when making adjustments. Besides, it looks cool!

[caliking]

Check. Definitely need a stack then!!

[N8man]

I think that having a piped exhaust is just a personal preference but not an end all, be all, requirement, same for having a raised air intake. It was just the direction I took my build. In the beginning of my DrumPit, I used
cheap sheet magnets to manage the air intakes, but over time they
lost their magnetism and I have since switched over to ceramic magnets.
I use the lower Drum Clamp to meld my original DrumPit with the extension I added, the upper Drum Clamp I use for overnight cooks, lock it down and keep the neighbors and critters outta my Pit!!!

Originally Posted by caliking

N8man: thanks for the tips. I like your DrumPit, especially the portability. I was going to use the ball valve to regulate the intake, but your magnet seems to be a cheaper option - maybe I can save a few bucks. Was going to drill intakes in the bottom and use nipples with caps, but I think I'll switch to the magnet/hole combo.

Does adding the stack to the exhaust add anything in particular? i have seen some folks add one, but not all.

I also noticed that you still have the bolt ring on your drummie. Does that help keep it air tight during the cook?

Have a good weekend!