Ugly Drum Smoker

manther said:
Why did you remove the paint from the outside?
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Geo has his own reasons but I'll be stripping the paint from my next UDS because the pre-existing paint is likely not high-temperature. On occasion with my current UDS the outside area near the coals gets hot enough to make the paint peel, or worse, burn. The slight acrid smell detracts from the normally wonderful aromas coming from the smoker. :)
 
Deeg said:
Geo has his own reasons but I'll be stripping the paint from my next UDS because the pre-existing paint is likely not high-temperature. On occasion with my current UDS the outside area near the coals gets hot enough to make the paint peel, or worse, burn. The slight acrid smell detracts from the normally wonderful aromas coming from the smoker. :)
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Hmmm... I could burn mine off with my Oxy/Act torch. Don't wanna spend money for expensive grill paint, just to have the cheap drum paint underneath peel off.
 
My basket is 15"x15"x15" square. The only reason i went with 15" is because that's the only size scrap that was available in our fab shop. Each corner is braced with a piece of 1-1/2" x 1/8" angle iron.
 
I'd think teflon tape would melt like a cheap plastic bag. After a couple large cooks, any tiny leaks should get sealed up with BBQ gunk.
 
So after taking 2 weeks off from work and reading the Ugly Drum Smoker thread, the build has begun.
 

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More progress photos... Note to self, next UDS, use a torch.
 

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Fire cage time. "Borrowed" some expanded metal from a friend and bought some to complete the cage. Had some scrap U channel steel laying around from previous projects. Worked perfectly for the risers underneath the cage.
 

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Ready for a good burn out to get rid of whatever residuals were not removed by hours of sanding and De-greasing in the barrel.
 

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After the burn out, sanded and wiped the inside clean with some rubbing alcohol to make sure there was no soot or any particulates left inside. Once it was dry, coated the inside of the barrel with some cooking oil with a paper towel. Loaded up fire basket with around 8 lbs. of mesquite charcoal and some lump. Let it smoke for 3 hours. I am just shocked at how efficient this thing is. Once I got it settled in at 225, I literally did not do a thing to adjust temperature. I just sat there in amazement at how it held temperature and continued to smoke like a chimney without any intervention whatsoever. Haven't fully decided how I am going to build an ash catcher under my basket yet, so I went the cheapo route and just used some foil. Worked fine.
 

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After the seasoning burn, I couldn't help myself, so I cut a couple yard birds in half and threw them on the UDS. Some homemade rub and 225 for 5 hours is what it took. 8 lbs. of lump with 3 large blocks of pecan from an old tree we cut down 2 years ago. Note to self, remote thermometer is your friend, every time I opened the lid to check temperature, I would get a large spike that would take several minutes to recover from. Those kind of spikes could ruin a salmon... Must acquire remote thermometer.... Anyways, the chicken was delicious. Also, here is a picture of the UDS' new clothes.
 

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Boomer Sooner!!!!
 

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Just put it all together. I have a temp fire basket and I was planning on seasoning it tonight. Can I just coat the inside with EVOO? Or should I use something along the lines of a Pam cooking spray?
 
Sooner14 said:
After the seasoning burn, I couldn't help myself, so I cut a couple yard birds in half and threw them on the UDS. Some homemade rub and 225 for 5 hours is what it took. 8 lbs. of lump with 3 large blocks of pecan from an old tree we cut down 2 years ago. Note to self, remote thermometer is your friend, every time I opened the lid to check temperature, I would get a large spike that would take several minutes to recover from. Those kind of spikes could ruin a salmon... Must acquire remote thermometer.... Anyways, the chicken was delicious. Also, here is a picture of the UDS' new clothes.
Click to expand...

Next time, try getting the UDS up to 325-350, and power through the cook. Poultry doesn't really like low n slow. Shouldn't take more than 2 hours ever to cook chix halves.

Nice UDS though.
 
El Ropo said:
Next time, try getting the UDS up to 325-350, and power through the cook. Poultry doesn't really like low n slow. Shouldn't take more than 2 hours ever to cook chix halves.

Nice UDS though.
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Thank you for the advice. I think I will try it this weekend. The bird was good but the skin was very leathery... Methinks you are on to something. Thank you!
 
uds first burn.jpg


So I fired this thing up today. I let it run up to 500 and it held there a couple of hours trying to bake the paint and burn out anything on the inside that might have been gross. It was really clean short of a little surface rust that mostly came off when I wiped it down with vegetable oil.
I put the caps back on and throttled the valve back to get the temp down to 225. It has stayed put for the most part with very little fiddling. I am impressed with how easy it is to adjust the temperature and how well it holds it.
 
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