Ariachus
Wandering around with a bag of matchlight, looking for a match.
Hey all so I am looking at a 55 gallon uds build and need some advice/explanations.
Is it necessary to have top vents? I mainly ask because I see a number of people here making a big deal out of it and additionally many here and elsewhere endorsing the pit barrel cooker kit which I don't think has any ventilation besides the air vent and a few holes for the hanging racks. Or does that work because it uses the big teardrop vent vs pipe fittings and ball valve?
Can anyone confirm whether or not what is usually called "black pipe" would be safe to use for venting? From what I can see its basically oxidized steel that I think would not be an issue safety wise like galvanized would be and it shaves a bit of costs off copper or brass.
I'm seeing lots of suggestions of using expanded steel and bbq grate for a charcoal basket and I was thinking about using a terra cotta/clay chimney flue. The idea is I think I would get a pretty good combustion efficiency since charcoal would be insulated similar to some of the kamado cookers. I was also thinking about cutting a fan into an aluminum pizza pan similar to the hunsaker vortex baskets.
Thank you all so much! Please let me know any issues you guys ran into especially with using the drum lid vs a webber lid since it seems somewhat uncommon around here. Otherwise I'm planning on a propane torch burnout and taking a no weld approach, no welding skills or friends with welding equipment. Also I've heard some having issues with cleaning red lined barrels and I was thinking of using one that was used for juice concentrate because the guy selling them says their thicker walls and should hold up longer for a uds but they do have a red lining.
Is it necessary to have top vents? I mainly ask because I see a number of people here making a big deal out of it and additionally many here and elsewhere endorsing the pit barrel cooker kit which I don't think has any ventilation besides the air vent and a few holes for the hanging racks. Or does that work because it uses the big teardrop vent vs pipe fittings and ball valve?
Can anyone confirm whether or not what is usually called "black pipe" would be safe to use for venting? From what I can see its basically oxidized steel that I think would not be an issue safety wise like galvanized would be and it shaves a bit of costs off copper or brass.
I'm seeing lots of suggestions of using expanded steel and bbq grate for a charcoal basket and I was thinking about using a terra cotta/clay chimney flue. The idea is I think I would get a pretty good combustion efficiency since charcoal would be insulated similar to some of the kamado cookers. I was also thinking about cutting a fan into an aluminum pizza pan similar to the hunsaker vortex baskets.
Thank you all so much! Please let me know any issues you guys ran into especially with using the drum lid vs a webber lid since it seems somewhat uncommon around here. Otherwise I'm planning on a propane torch burnout and taking a no weld approach, no welding skills or friends with welding equipment. Also I've heard some having issues with cleaning red lined barrels and I was thinking of using one that was used for juice concentrate because the guy selling them says their thicker walls and should hold up longer for a uds but they do have a red lining.
