Ugly Drum Smoker

Hello Brothers,
Just about to start my 1st ubs and I've learned alot here so far. My question is it better to have one large exhaust on the lid or six or eight smaller holes to allow for the correct draw? Thanks.....

Uds

Here is my UDS. Tomorrow I am going to cook some tri tips in it for the first cook out. Hope I get it right.
I also got the DigiQ DX controller and the adapter for the ball valve coming in the mail. Then I am all done with the project. I am very satisfied with the designing the builder put into it.

Coltrain said:

...So the moral of this story - DON'T USES CHEAP CHARCOAL! And to be on the safe side, don't use bacon grease to season your drum. :thumb:

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Interesting. I've used bacon grease to season all 4 drums I've made and have had no issues. I don't think that's your issue.

And "cheap charcoal"? I use the cheap WallyWorld charcoal if I'm going to use briquettes. No nasty smell/aftertaste like Kingsford leaves. I prefer lump instead of the compressed stuff.

If anything, I'll second the idea that you're using way too much flavor wood.

phileefan said:

Hello Brothers,
Just about to start my 1st ubs and I've learned alot here so far. My question is it better to have one large exhaust on the lid or six or eight smaller holes to allow for the correct draw? Thanks.....

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Hey. I just posted a long message with some of that covered 1 or 2 pages ago. If you have 2" bung hole in the lid, with at least three 3/4 inch intake holes at bottom, that's totally good. If you want to experiment, make sure to do the math so that your exhaust is at least as much circular area as the 2" hole. (calculations posted in that long message.)

I happen to have currently a 3" hole coming out the side, and then I use 3" duct piping to make a smoke stack. I used a 24" pipe (after an elbow). It works too well; lots of draft. I will cut that pipe into two 6" sections. Sometimes on windy or cold days, I need more draft, or if I'm smoking over night as the temps and moisture change dramatically.

My friend has four 1" pipes on the sides, each one with an elbow and just 4" pipe going up. It works well for him. Four 1" open holes is same circular area as one 2" hole.

otis said:

Interesting. I've used bacon grease to season all 4 drums I've made and have had no issues. I don't think that's your issue.

And "cheap charcoal"? I use the cheap WallyWorld charcoal if I'm going to use briquettes. No nasty smell/aftertaste like Kingsford leaves. I prefer lump instead of the compressed stuff.

If anything, I'll second the idea that you're using way too much flavor wood.

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I'm 95% sure it was the cheap charcoal - it even gave an off flavor when I used it to grill.

I keep reading that people put several "fist size" chunks of smoke wood in their basket - and though it may not look like it, I only had about one "fist size" amount of pieces in my basket, maybe a little more. When I was sifting through the remaining charcoal there were only 3 pinky to thumb size pieces of smoke wood that burned during the 3 hour run - all the others looked untouched. Do you think the smaller pieces would produce too much smoke? I've "over smoked" in my GOSM before and the smell was nothing like the ashtray smell in the drum. On my second run in the drum I used 1 fist size chunk of apple and 2 thumb size pieces of hickory and it worked out good - so who knows, it may have been too much smoke wood. I need to pick up a new bag of hickory chunks so I actually have "chunks" - I'm down to mostly thumb size pieces and smaller in my bag.

I'd really like to try using lump, but I figured the briquets would be easier to learn on, plus I stocked up during the last big sale at Home Depot.

Iv'e been having the white smoke problem too but i thought it had something to do with moist coals becasue it had been raining so much lately. Last smoke i did was a chicken and I didn't put a drip pan in there so maybee the fat mixing with the coals was it......not sure but more and more im thinking i need to refine my Kingsford minion technic, its coming out way too smokey and not the good kind of smoke, its the creosote tasting smoke.

so, finally finished my UDS

Here's my (blurry) UDS. A former apple juice barrel with a yellow liner. Removed the liner with a combination of wire wheel and burn.

One 3/4" vent at the rear with a screw-on cap, welded in, home-built sliding vent at the front with an 1-3/4" vent hole made from aluminum sheet I had lying around. Bent and shaped with a hammer, cutoff wheel, and a bench vise.

Charcoal basket is #9 expanded steel wrapped around a charcoal grate from a $25 Big Lots 22.5" grill, wired on with coathanger wire and welded along the seam (oxyfuel torch). 16" pizza pan for an ash pan. It seems fairly large to me, so it should hold plenty of charcoal for long burns.

The lid is also from the Big Lots grill, fits like a glove. No mods needed. I may re-use the wheels and legs from the Big Lots grill to put wheels on this thing, but I don't need 'em for now, I can use my dolly if I have to move it around.

Sanded the whole thing, sprayed the outside with high-temp paint.

Thermometer (not pictured) is a turkey fryer thermo from Walmart. Dropped it in boiling water to test, came up pretty darn close.

I only have a single grill in it for now, also from the Big Lots grill. I may add a second grill later.

Thanks for the thread, it was very instructive! I'm on-call to work on the 4th, so I'm stuck at home. I'll make the most of it with a maiden voyage of the UDS, a fatty, and maybe a pork shoulder.

So....this lid fit perfectly with no mods necessary? I may have to check out Big Lots. Does your barrel have the lip on it?

CenTech said:

So....this lid fit perfectly with no mods necessary? I may have to check out Big Lots. Does your barrel have the lip on it?

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Yes, it does. I should note that not all barrels are created equal! I got a lid and a locking ring for this barrel, but they didn't fit - too large.

I did shorten and re-weld the locking ring, as I had considered using the bottom half of the Big Lots grill as a bottom for the UDS - it has a vent built in. I decided the UDS would end up too tall as a result, so I didn't use it. I'll find some other use for it later, I'm a terrible packrat.

2nd UDS

First let me say I'm the farthest thing from a Raiders fan. In fact, I'm a diehard Bronco fan:boxing:; however, I do have a very close friend who is a Raider fan and thought this would be a great birthday present. This is my 2nd UDS build. My personal UDS is emphasizes on the "U" in UDS.

The handle is a Ham bone with multiple clear coats.

Tell me what ya think!

Oh, i forgot... Thanks to all the help and great info on this forum!!!

USBLUES said:

Iv'e been having the white smoke problem too but i thought it had something to do with moist coals becasue it had been raining so much lately. Last smoke i did was a chicken and I didn't put a drip pan in there so maybee the fat mixing with the coals was it......not sure but more and more im thinking i need to refine my Kingsford minion technic, its coming out way too smokey and not the good kind of smoke, its the creosote tasting smoke.

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Typically you don't want a drip pan in a UDS. The wonderful meaty goodness falls onto the fire and creates more moisture and flavor and some smoke. It's not bad flavor at all, so preventing the meaty goodness from falling into the fire is not a problem. Something else.

Perhaps you guys needed to clean out the sides of the barrel more? Or maybe indeed you've got some unwanted fuel burning.

BTW, if you air flow is not good, you'll add to the creosote development. And it also increases with certain weather conditions. Mostly, if you don't have enough draft pulling air through, it could be a problem. And certainly once in a while you have to clean out your UDS. I have to "service mine" now actually. Though nothing ever comes out tasting bad from it. I have a smoke stack that pulls the air and just keeps the meaty goodness coming.

Oh.. and when I smoke chicken, I actually bring it a little lower to the fire, and smoke it at like 350 degrees. Makes the skin nice and crispy and the chicken still comes out amazing.

inv3ctiv3 said:

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What length bolts did you use to hold your top rack? I am going to install a second cooking rack in my uds this weekend. Also, how far apart are your two cooking racks?

Thanks!

Chico, love the handle man:clap2::laugh: Top notch

Heat Diffuser or Not?

I'm building my first UDS next week and I see a few designs with a Heat Diffuser and Water pan between the firebox and the cooking great, but most designs do not. Is this just personal necessary or personal preference?

bluesninja said:

I'm building my first UDS next week and I see a few designs with a Heat Diffuser and Water pan between the firebox and the cooking great, but most designs do not. Is this just personal necessary or personal preference?

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I am wondering the same thing. I have seen the diffusion plates but I don't' know if anyone has used them with success at keeping the temps within 5-10 degrees for example. I have my UDS done, but what exactly does a water pan do for the meat and is it worth the trouble of installing one?
By the way, my first cookout with my completed UDS turned out the best tri-tip I have ever had. Thanks for the tips everyone.

Uds v1.0

:-D UDS V1.0
First UDS build and first full use went very well. Thanks to all the brethren for the tips used to build and cook.:-D

of interest, on The Travel Channel's Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations this morning, he was with a group of Bedouin's in the western Egyptian desert. For dinner, they dry rubbed a whole goat, wrapped him in foil, put a fire in the bottom of a 55 gallon drum, put the goat on the grate and buried the drum in the sand. :-D

The UDS is famous world wide.

Looking forward to first 'real' cook on mine in the AM.

pigwacker said:

Desert80, I like your hinges and was wondering if those were homemade or something you bought. Could you post a close up them??

thanks

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Here's the hinges. they came with the cheap bbq that was previously destroyed. All I had to do was buy longer bolts with extra nuts and washers so the lid would fit correctly. The hinges now have a lot of adjustment so the lid fits perfectly.

inv3ctiv3 said:

I got them on eBay for like $20, they have a 2.5"'probe

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2.5" isn't gonna get you an accurate reading under cooking grate, the probe should be 8 to 12" long so it's closer to center of cooking area. If you're not using a diffuser, I'd add 50 degrees to your reading out there on the edge.

Nice looking UDS other than that little nitpickey point