Ugly Drum Smoker

[Mossberg]

Originally Posted by Bubblehead

Dam thats a nice background distraction. So in the rare case a cook doesnt turn out too well you always have that sexy DOTW to talk about.

Nice lookin smoker too.

[kcarz]

I'm building my first UDS and made my charcoal basket. It stands 15 inches high. I am using an old weber lid and 2 cooking grates. With the 15 inch basket that only leaves about 8 1/2 inches to my first grate. I know I don't need to fill the basket full of charcoal but is that too tall of a basket? It is not a problem to cut it down if needed.

[Bacon1632]

Love my new Cubs UDS build by GaryK1398! I will get some pics up when I get the logos attached. Can't wait to try it out. And the weather should be perfect this weekend! He used engine paint on the entire drum and it turned out excellent!

[Sterling]

Originally Posted by kcarz

I'm building my first UDS and made my charcoal basket. It stands 15 inches high. I am using an old weber lid and 2 cooking grates. With the 15 inch basket that only leaves about 8 1/2 inches to my first grate. I know I don't need to fill the basket full of charcoal but is that too tall of a basket? It is not a problem to cut it down if needed.

KCARS, you don't need to go through the trouble of cutting down your basket unless you want to. You're right: Just don't fill it to the top, maybe only half way, and you'll be fine using both grills. If you need to do something huge that's going to take 12-20 hours, fill the basket and only use the top grate.

Lots of options with a large basket.

The smoker I leave at work has a basket about that tall and it gets used to feed ribs to my shop staff about once a month.

Sterling

[Larry Livingston]

I have been reading all your msg and I finally am convinced to try your barrel smoker. I was able to purchase one ready made off the internet. but when I got it they had cut a large hole at the bottom side of the barrel and put a door with hinges on it. My question is: Has it been ruined by this door? Should I have this opening welded up? I need all your help--Larry

[kcarz]

Originally Posted by Sterling

KCARS, you don't need to go through the trouble of cutting down your basket unless you want to. You're right: Just don't fill it to the top, maybe only half way, and you'll be fine using both grills. If you need to do something huge that's going to take 12-20 hours, fill the basket and only use the top grate.

Lots of options with a large basket.

The smoker I leave at work has a basket about that tall and it gets used to feed ribs to my shop staff about once a month.

Sterling

Thanks Sterling. I knew someone had the info I needed. Having a blast building it. Can't wait to start cooking.

[N8man]

If bad came to worst, and you suspect that the door is allowing unwanted oxygen to fuel your fire, you can always line the edges of that door with aluminum foil, gasket-like, to help plug any air leaks that may occur...

Originally Posted by Larry Livingston

I have been reading all your msg and I finally am convinced to try your barrel smoker. I was able to purchase one ready made off the internet. but when I got it they had cut a large hole at the bottom side of the barrel and put a door with hinges on it. My question is: Has it been ruined by this door? Should I have this opening welded up? I need all your help--Larry

[Ground Pounder]

Picked up my freebie drum from the maintenance guys today, but I'm not too sure about this one.

It's a Mobil Grease, XHP 222 drum. We use this stuff to grease up forktrucks and manipulators in a higher-heat environment.

The drum is unlined, and I'm wondering if even a blazing-hot burnout is going to be enough to get rid of all of the residuals, considering this stuff penetrates and holds pretty darn good.

Of course, the drum says not to reuse, but I believe all petroleum-based products have that warning on the sticker. Maybe I should call a local refurb shop and see if they use these types for refurb? Might give me some indication on whether it'll be able to be cleaned out or not.

[garyk1398]

Ground pounder, If ya got for free, it can't hurt to burn that thing out with a blazin' hot fire and see what the inside is like afterwards. Just guessing but... with the high heat plus the petro-based stuff should equal a complete removal and clean drum. Hope it works for ya!

[1FUNVET]

Originally Posted by garyk1398

Ground pounder, If ya got for free, it can't hurt to burn that thing out with a blazin' hot fire and see what the inside is like afterwards. Just guessing but... with the high heat plus the petro-based stuff should equal a complete removal and clean drum. Hope it works for ya!

Burn baby burn You should be fine like gary said. Enjoy the build and make sure ya have plenty og beer on hand for the job

[Ground Pounder]

Originally Posted by 1FUNVET

Burn baby burn You should be fine like gary said. Enjoy the build and make sure ya have plenty og beer on hand for the job

Good enough for me... wienie roast at my house tomorrow night!

[smokindave74]

I have an idea to build a second UDS. I have an open top drum with a bolt ring. As noted in several other posts, the Weber Kettle and Big Lot's lids do not fit precisely on an open top barrel without some metal bending, hammering, etc. However, they (both styles of lids) do fit nicely on a closed top drum on either end. (For those of you who don't know what I am talking about......the top and bottom of most closed end drums just have a crimped or welded joint that is slightly smaller in diameter than an open top lip.

My idea is to use the open flat-top as the actual bottom of the drum.....essentially leaving an open cylinder for the actual drum. Both ends would be removed during during construction.

My idea is to use a small bead of rtv silicone in the flat-top lid groove to seal the drum when I set the two pieces together.

If I let it cure before assembly, my guess is that I can remove the whole drum from the bottom lid for cleaning/removing the ash.

Any opinions........???

My only thought is that the RTV might actually glue itself together, and I won't easily be able to get the drum separated from the lid as easily as I imagine. I guess I would just have a regular drum then.....not an "easy-clean" cylinder.

Maybe I don't need the RTV, if I just put the bolt ring back down and tighten it? The original lid had a seal in it, but it was a foam/rubber material, and I already burned that out for fear of nasty off-gases from it.

Just an idea.....anyone done this????

Smokindave

[Bubblehead]

Originally Posted by kcarz

Great job. Did you use a paint gun or rattle can to paint it? I am working on my first UDS now.

Rattle can with hammered finish.

[thetazzbot]

ok. my uds info from dallas week of 04/08/2011

16 " pizza pan @ walmart $3.00
lined food barrel $15 @ craigslist. look for ad by dustin in plano
21.5" grates 10.99 ea @ walmart
18.5 " weber charcoal grate (actual size is 13.5") 10.99 @ lowes
metal strip for air control $6 for 6 ft @ lowes
misc bolts nuts washers $12
two temp gauges $9.99 @ academy

so far maybe $60 invested. for only $839 more i could have a big green egg lol

[edit]gas for driving around for all this stuff: $60[/edit]

getting that liner out... priceless.

[Sterling]

Originally Posted by smokindave74

I have an idea to build a second UDS. I have an open top drum with a bolt ring. As noted in several other posts, the Weber Kettle and Big Lot's lids do not fit precisely on an open top barrel without some metal bending, hammering, etc. However, they (both styles of lids) do fit nicely on a closed top drum on either end. (For those of you who don't know what I am talking about......the top and bottom of most closed end drums just have a crimped or welded joint that is slightly smaller in diameter than an open top lip.

My idea is to use the open flat-top as the actual bottom of the drum.....essentially leaving an open cylinder for the actual drum. Both ends would be removed during during construction.

My idea is to use a small bead of rtv silicone in the flat-top lid groove to seal the drum when I set the two pieces together.

If I let it cure before assembly, my guess is that I can remove the whole drum from the bottom lid for cleaning/removing the ash.

Any opinions........???

My only thought is that the RTV might actually glue itself together, and I won't easily be able to get the drum separated from the lid as easily as I imagine. I guess I would just have a regular drum then.....not an "easy-clean" cylinder.

Maybe I don't need the RTV, if I just put the bolt ring back down and tighten it? The original lid had a seal in it, but it was a foam/rubber material, and I already burned that out for fear of nasty off-gases from it.

Just an idea.....anyone done this????

Smokindave

Dave, a lot of folks have done this. I don't think the caulk is going to give you a whole lot better seal than just holding the lid on the bottom with the bolted ring, tightened up snugly. So I wouldn't worry about caulking the lid unless you notice temperature control problems during your first few cooks.

Build it, cook with it, and make adjustments from there.

Remember, K.I.S.S. Don't over think this.

Sterling