Ugly Drum Smoker

so, can you get a good seal without the stove rope around the lid?

pigdog said:

so, can you get a good seal without the stove rope around the lid?

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You should be able to. I got a good fit by flipping my drum ie the bottom became the top. Used a nonWeber dome lid. I think most people have pretty good luck with a Weber lid fitting on to a drum which is right side up.

Good thing the Q doesn't care which way the drum was meant to be as long there is fire below meat:biggrin:

Got Snow?

Get Smoking! Sometimes being a teacher has it's perks--snow day. Fired up the Hillbilly Smoker and threw on a bird I defrosted in anticipation of the weather. It's cold up here...all 4, 1inch openings blasting. Temp on side of drum hasn't moved from 215-220 since 20 min after I closed the lid! Tried to do the beer can thing half way through but it was hot and wouldn't fit. The dog has the right idea licking up the suds that were sacrifced...it's Miller Time.

My baby...

My Girl--getting tipsy...

sjm now that's a lid clamp! Off subject I know but did you get that heavy wet snow we got in western Mass.

NICE!! I like the clamp idea. Makes for removing the band a lot easier. I was able to use the drum band to secure the Weber coal bowl flange and the lid sits on top of that. Never thought of using it like that. Can you say Snow Day??

Skidder said:

sjm now that's a lid clamp! Off subject I know but did you get that heavy wet snow we got in western Mass.

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The snow is heavy, wet and thick...a deadly combination in your snow and, ah--other things!

I got the clamp idea somewhere in the first 3500 posts of this thread--can't take credit for it but it does work nicely. Going to HF to get an el-cheapo clamp so that one from the Depot doesn't get destroyed.

Anyone use a cheap charbroil thermo (also from the depot) on their drum? It's garbage...reading around 200-210 on the side. When I hang the digitil in from the exhaust it's closer to 295-300. That's statistically significant! And no, it wasn't hitting the grate! Next mod is a turkey fryer.

pigdog said:

so, can you get a good seal without the stove rope around the lid?

Click to expand...

I've now modified 3 types of lids for use on a UDS.

Weber 22.5" Kettle lid:
Even though I got the entire grill used on Craig's List I couldn't bring myself to mess it up bending it, so I cut off the "lip" around the top edge of the drum I planned to use, the Weber lid sealed up acceptably. It leaked a little bit so I cleaned up the lid and applied about 1/4" bead of high temp silicon sealer (wood stove sealer) around the step down lip of the Weber lid. The top edge of that UDS needed to be sanded and shaped a touch to insure it wasn't sharp enough to cause harm when reaching down into the UDS, otherwise it was a simple fix. BONUS? 15.00 for a replacement cooking grate for the Weber and I gained an entire functional Kettle out of the deal.

Wal-Mart 22.5" $40 cheapo:
I pillaged this for a variety of parts. I flattened down the entire lip around the outter edge of this lid. It rests flat on the open/rolled edge of an open-ended drum. I'm still in the process of adding this to a flat-top UDS, I'm modifying the hinges slightly and then will be using thick, round flexibe wood-stove rope/seal to make it all fit snug.

Big-Lots 29.00 cheapo kettle:
I snagged one of these because initial measurements looked real good for a nice fit. I ended up having the do some bending around the outter rim to make a good, stable fit. This cause the enamal paint to chip a bit, no worries, sanded and sprayed it flat-black along with the UDS. The drum I used was a sealed drum, so I opened the top can-opener style, then used an angle grinder to make the folded/rolled edge fit with the Big-Lots lid. It didn't seal up very well until I added a 1/4" bead of high-temp silicon sealer, but now works wonderfully.

Each of these examples were different drums, different lids but it all worked out with minimal effort or modification.

My turn!

OK, so first off... thanks for the great info... really, everyone! I decided to through the K.I.S.S. method out the window despite a lot of advice to the contrary. Anyhow, here is my UDS:

http://stonejk.blogspot.com/2010/02/smoker.html

Let me know what you think!

thanks for all the good info. I found a 22.5 weber grill only used once for 15.00, and I'm thinking I am not sure about pounding that either. Am not sure what to do. Maybe make the flange that rests on the barrel top so I can use the grill and uds

Nice build jkstone! How'd you do them doors? Did they seal up tight? How well does it hold temp? Lastly, nice Fatty!

Thanks! I used a cutting wheel to cut out the doors, put some sheet metal behind to make a lip for the door to rest on, and used some high temp gasket maker to make a tight seal. I need to work on the lid some more, some smoke leaks there. I also need to make a charcoal basket... I'm using a bowl from my old WSM style smoker right now. I'll tweak the temp control when I get the basket made.

Can I ask why you went with doors?

The top door is so I can access food on the lower cooking rack without taking out the top one. I added the lower door for ease of cleanup and so I can add wood/charcoal if needed.

Seems fair enough. Wish you would have taken more pictures it looks really good.

Here are a few more pics...

jkstone said:

Here are a few more pics...

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I like it. Lots more detail work, but worth it, I'm sure. Any chance you got some bigger pics so we can see the detail work?
Nice drum!

BB he's got a few pics on his blog.
http://stonejk.blogspot.com/2010/02/smoker.html

jkstone you my friend have built yourself one of the nicest UDS'er on this thread IMHO. Very,very nice work.

I attached the originals. I'll get some more pics later.

Oops, try again...