Ugly Drum Smoker
- Thread starter jgh1204
- Start date
otterpop
Full Fledged Farker
Burned out my drum last weekend. One fire Saturday night in the bottom of the barrel, then Sunday I put 3 hollow tile (cinderblocks) on end in the bottom with a 22.5" Weber grate on top, and had a second burn in the upper half of the drum. Hoping to finish by Saturday to be ready for smokin' Superbowl Sunday.
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inv3ctiv3
is one Smokin' Farker
So I am picking up a couple of drums this weekend and this thread has been a huge help for me so far! Can't wait to start my build!
inv3ctiv3
is one Smokin' Farker
pigwacker
Found some matches.
Rolling expanded metal
Any body have any ideas on how to roll the expanded metal beside having a fab shop roll it?? Thanks for any thought.
Any body have any ideas on how to roll the expanded metal beside having a fab shop roll it?? Thanks for any thought.
Sammy_Shuford
is Blowin Smoke!
Tac weld, or ty rap edge to grate, bend around and tac/ty as you go. Worked fine for me!
sbramm
is one Smokin' Farker
i bend the expanded metal around an empty propane tank from my gasser. nearly the perfect curve and super easy.
smokeyw
is Blowin Smoke!
I completed my UDS except for the final paint job. I broke it in with a 10 Lb. butt. I love this thing!! It took a total of 16 hours to cook the butt and all I had to do was minor tweaks on the ball valve and I shook the basket down to break the ashes up at about 8 hours.
I have a question for more experienced drumhead bretheren. I have a dome lid but I only installed the bolts for the lower rack. I still have room for an upper rack. My question is: Is the second rack more trouble than it is worth? I seldom cook anything low and slow that I don't need to get at sometime during the process. Do you find that removing the top rack to get at the lower is a PITA? Do you need to rotate the racks of meat during the cooking process so that they are done at the same time?
I have a question for more experienced drumhead bretheren. I have a dome lid but I only installed the bolts for the lower rack. I still have room for an upper rack. My question is: Is the second rack more trouble than it is worth? I seldom cook anything low and slow that I don't need to get at sometime during the process. Do you find that removing the top rack to get at the lower is a PITA? Do you need to rotate the racks of meat during the cooking process so that they are done at the same time?
Skidder
Babbling Farker
I have dual racks and find myself using the top rack for the most part unless I'm doing six or seven shoulders. It all depends on what and how much your smoking.
blackdog043
is one Smokin' Farker
No problem using it. Just wash it out with hot soapy water a couple times, to get the worst of the oil out, then burn it out.
blackdog043
is one Smokin' Farker
"I have a question for more experienced drumhead bretheren. I have a dome lid but I only installed the bolts for the lower rack. I still have room for an upper rack. My question is: Is the second rack more trouble than it is worth? I seldom cook anything low and slow that I don't need to get at sometime during the process. Do you find that removing the top rack to get at the lower is a PITA? Do you need to rotate the racks of meat during the cooking process so that they are done at the same time"
I mostly use my top rack for appetizers while I'm smoking. It's not really a problem if you have a place to put your top rack, to get to the bottom rack. I use an old card table. You will probably need to rotate your racks if you have the same meat on both. Just be very careful when tilting the bottom rack to get it past the top bolts, hate to see you loose a rack of meat. I like the idea somebody came up with, they used long bolts in the top rack to rest on the bottom rack. This way, no need for bolts thru the top and your bottom rack will come straight out. You could put bolts on both rack's so you can rotate them. That's my next mode.
I mostly use my top rack for appetizers while I'm smoking. It's not really a problem if you have a place to put your top rack, to get to the bottom rack. I use an old card table. You will probably need to rotate your racks if you have the same meat on both. Just be very careful when tilting the bottom rack to get it past the top bolts, hate to see you loose a rack of meat. I like the idea somebody came up with, they used long bolts in the top rack to rest on the bottom rack. This way, no need for bolts thru the top and your bottom rack will come straight out. You could put bolts on both rack's so you can rotate them. That's my next mode.
1FUNVET
Babbling Farker
jcinadr
Knows what a fatty is.
First time I rolled around a propane tank, then used some vice grips to keep it shaped while I tacked it (probably used a ratchet strap as well.)
Second time I just secured it with a couple of hog rings - worked a lot better than my lousy tack welds.
--
I used expanded for the bottom of the basket as well, so when it was a tad to tight I simply cut a little more metal till I could pound it in place.
BigButzBBQ
is Blowin Smoke!
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Since we can do videos now, it only seems appropriate to do one involving building a UDS.
YouTube - UDSBuild
YouTube - UDSBuild
inv3ctiv3
is one Smokin' Farker
Got my drums today! Gonna start building soon hopefully, is sawing off the top the best way to get the lid off?
First things to do:
Get lids off
Wash out with water/soap
Burn out 2-3x
Wash again
Make charcoal basket
Make diffuser
Make brackets to hold racks
Burn again with vegetable oil to season.
First things to do:
Get lids off
Wash out with water/soap
Burn out 2-3x
Wash again
Make charcoal basket
Make diffuser
Make brackets to hold racks
Burn again with vegetable oil to season.
AJP
Full Fledged Farker
Did you already check to see that a weber dome will fit.
inv3ctiv3
is one Smokin' Farker
B
BlueHowler
Guest
I used a 1" hole saw and drilled the holes where the edge of the saw cut right by the inside lip. The next hole was drilled where part of the edge overlapped the previous hole. That leaves a little triangle shaped piece of metal that can be hammered down.
D
drewjohnson
Guest
Lined Barrel - I'm Grinded out
I picked up a fruit juice barrel with the red liner. I burned a giant fire Friday night. Sat morning, I hooked up a steel wire cup and started grinding. The outside was bare metal easily, but the inside was not easy at all. Some spots are almost bare metal, some not. I worked on it for about an hour straight, but the inside is not bare metal. My question:
Would it be possible to season the inside with oil, get a couple rounds of smoke/heat through it, then use without the inside being bare metal?
As many UDS pros as are here, has anyone been faced with the same issue, and what was the outcome? I've read, in this forum, that a weed burner to the outside of the drum is a good way. What is the negative of leaving it as is and attempting to use it. Thx - Drew
I picked up a fruit juice barrel with the red liner. I burned a giant fire Friday night. Sat morning, I hooked up a steel wire cup and started grinding. The outside was bare metal easily, but the inside was not easy at all. Some spots are almost bare metal, some not. I worked on it for about an hour straight, but the inside is not bare metal. My question:
Would it be possible to season the inside with oil, get a couple rounds of smoke/heat through it, then use without the inside being bare metal?
As many UDS pros as are here, has anyone been faced with the same issue, and what was the outcome? I've read, in this forum, that a weed burner to the outside of the drum is a good way. What is the negative of leaving it as is and attempting to use it. Thx - Drew
