Let the midi UDS build begin!! [ongoing... with pr0n]

My drum is here!

I looked high and low for a 30gallon steel drum. Nothing was available in Houston. Drums available from one supplier locally would cost $120 :shocked:. Next option was an hour way, ~$30 and it would be lined, brand new, so would have to be burned out. Used and/or reconditioned drums were available near Beaumont, San Antonio, and Dallas, all 3-4 hours away. Fark! Then I found one supplier, Zoro Tools (zorotools.com), selling a new, closed head, unlined, steel drum for $63 and free shipping. So, I jumped on it, and 5 days later my drum was delivered. Has the standard 2 bung top. Flipped it over, and the 18.5" Weber lid fit perfectly!

Now as I start my build, I have some questions which I need help with. I've read the UDS threads and tried to learn what I could:

1. Was planning on opening the top (what used to be the bottom) with a sawzall. I've done this sort of thing with an angle grinder and hammer/chisel before, but think the sawzall will give me a cleaner cut. Although the drum is new, I will fill it with water first to diaplace any vapors which may be lurking inside. My wife will kill me if I blow up the garage cutting this thing open.

Would anyone recommend any other method? Looked for a deheader, but that is expensive to cut one drum.

2. What should the spacing be between racks? The drum is almost 29.5" in height. I was planning on placing bolts to hold racks at (measuring from the top) 2", 7", and 14". Will the 7" level rack be good enough for beer butt chickens? The 14" will give me the option of using a water pan or clay saucer as a diffuser.

3. The charcoal basket will be 8" deep, expando sides, charcoal grate for an 18.5" Weber kettle will form the bottom. Was planning on raising it 3", with an ash pan underneath. Will that give enough clearance from the top of the charcoal basket to the grates (about 10.5" from the top of the basket to the second grate)?

I would like to put 4 all-terrain type handtruck wheels for mobility (I think Skidder did that for his UDS in a past thread). Using 1/2" nipples and ball valve for the intakes.

I have built 1 55gallon UDS, and a SJ mini WSM. I would love to hear your suggestions or tips.

Thanks!

[could someone please teach me how to intersperse pics and text in a post??]

Boshizzle said:

Congrats! And, I think that's a great deal on a new drum.

BTW - To post pron, click User CP in the left corner of the site under the line that indicates which forum/thread you are viewing. Look down the list on the left side of the screen for Pictures & Albums. Click it and from there you can create a picture album. Follow the prompts to upload pics. Once you upload and caption a pic, you can click on it and it will give you the code to use to post pics inline with text. The code will be something like

img http://pic filename /img with img and /img in [].

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Thanks for the tutorial. I'll try it out when I get more pics.

Good deal man happy you got one

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AustinKnight: Again, many thanks for trying to help me out earlier.

Great price for a 30 gal drum. That number on the box is a Grainger part number and they list that drum for $129! (plus shipping)

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J Pete: Yeah, I think Zoro is a reseller of some kind. New drums of this size cost double or more from manufacturers. An open head drum would have been ideal, but hey, for that price, delivered to my door, i'm happy with Zoro.

Can someone educate me about what an air chisel is??

Jay Gee said:

I can say for sure about this drum but I bought a drum that said that in the description. It was a thin urethane coating and was gone way before the outside paint on my initial burnout.

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Thanks for the info. I'll let you know what it looks like when I open the drum up.

Update...

Couldn't get back to the build for some time, but I've made some progress in the last 2 days.

Used a sawzall ($25 from HF) to cut the bottom out (which is actually the top). Cut pretty easily. Then ground out the sharp edge/lip. Used a weed burner to burn out the light liner, which was some kind of polyurethane. It vaporized pretty quickly. I think I got the drum up to about 300°F or more - it was smoking but not red hot.

Made the charcoal basket out of a 2'x2' piece of expando from HD. The basket is too tall in my opinion - about 12" high. I will probably remake it to be 8" high as originally planned.

I'm having trouble trying to figure out what distance from the top of the drum (without the lid on) the racks should be at. Original plan was 2", 7", and 14" from the top, but I'm considering 3", 8" and 15" from the top of the drum instead. Any thoughts?

[Thanks to Boshizzle I can now intersperse pics with text. Now if I only knew how to resize pics, so i don't keep posting these ginormous ones...]

Firby13 said:

Maybe slide your grate up inside a bit before you cut it down.
That would save having to add legs for air clearance.

YMMV,
Steve

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I like how you think! That same idea came to me this morning, and you're right I won't have to add legs to raise it off the bottom.

Phubar said:

Basket is Phine...from the looks of your pics mine is about the same dimensions.
If you think it's too tall you could always add less coals.:thumb:

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Good point. plus I won't have to bend down as much to lift the basket out if I leave it at a foot high. I will probably raise the grate to 4" from the bottom, within the basket, which will leave me with an 8" deep basket.

Can I ask what distance from the top of your drum you installed your grates at?

El Ropo said:

Add less coals = score!

It looks very functional. Lots of great BBQ is gonna come off that. You will be stoked. Love the basket, just fill it up a tad lower. Be sure to bury wood chunks within unlit coals. (first rookie mistake).

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I still forget to bury the chunks when lighting up my UDS... even though I'm not quite a rookie now:doh: I should have a reminder tattooed onto my arm or something!