Ugly Drum Smoker

In the spirit of doing it cheap & simple, I was hoping there was a better option than buying a $40 mount from BBQ Guru.

Has anyone come up with their own design that was simple, effective, and cheap??

Anchors Smokeshop said:

Go to the bbq guru website and there will be info on the setup there.

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In the spirit of ingenuity & inexpensive, I was hoping that some one had come up with a way other than purchasing a $40 adapter from BBQ Guru.

I ran my UDS for the first time this weekend. I put 1 full webber charcoal chimney full of Kingsford in my basket. I piled it up around the outside edge of the 13" diameter basket to get a Minion method going. Then, I put 1/2 lit charcoal to fill up the middle. I put it in my UDS, and had temps at 200d nearly instantly. I close the vents and then slowly opened them as the temps steadied. It then chugged along around 240.

But, after about 5 hours, the temps started to fall off. I opened it up and saw that I still had a lot of charcoal around the edges, but the charcoal in the middle had all burned up. I shook the basket and knocked the coals into the middle and all was good - other then all the black smoke it made.

Is there a preferred way to start the coals? I think this next time I'm going to skip putting the charcoal in the middle.

---k--- said:

I ran my UDS for the first time this weekend. I put 1 full webber charcoal chimney full of Kingsford in my basket. I piled it up around the outside edge of the 13" diameter basket to get a Minion method going. Then, I put 1/2 lit charcoal to fill up the middle. I put it in my UDS, and had temps at 200d nearly instantly. I close the vents and then slowly opened them as the temps steadied. It then chugged along around 240.

But, after about 5 hours, the temps started to fall off. I opened it up and saw that I still had a lot of charcoal around the edges, but the charcoal in the middle had all burned up. I shook the basket and knocked the coals into the middle and all was good - other then all the black smoke it made.

Is there a preferred way to start the coals? I think this next time I'm going to skip putting the charcoal in the middle.

Click to expand...

Try lump. Level it off in the basket, Dump 3/4 lit lump chimney in the center.

Well you guys know how to make the wheels start turnin. I'm starting a uds now. I have the the fire cage built but the catch pan I'm using is off an old water heater. I have removed the paint from the hot side but the underside still has paint. Do I need to remove that paint also?

Muscrat said:

Well you guys know how to make the wheels start turnin. I'm starting a uds now. I have the the fire cage built but the catch pan I'm using is off an old water heater. I have removed the paint from the hot side but the underside still has paint. Do I need to remove that paint also?

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Yes, remove the paint. Burn it off before putting any meat in the uds. You don't want that paint burning off during a cook.

I'll do that. Next question is since I'll only have one grill. How far from the top do I need to put it?

Thanks in advance.
I'd post pics but don't know how. All I get are red x's

Muscrat said:

I'll do that. Next question is since I'll only have one grill. How far from the top do I need to put it?

Thanks in advance.
I'd post pics but don't know how. All I get are red x's

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You want it at least 22-24" from the bottom of your charcoal basket. From there, if you just have a flat lid, I would try to put it down 8-10" to allow clearance for large butts or a turkey.

SmokerKing said:

Try lump. Level it off in the basket, Dump 3/4 lit lump chimney in the center.

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I've gone back and forth with lump and K with my ECB. I got good results from either...

I'll try and level it off this next time, rather than all in the middle.

Mike W said:

Wanted to share these. I got two used drums that had sunflower seed oil in em. Had em sand blasted inside and out, then powder coated. I figure it's worth $100 each to keep my lungs clean and save almost 10 hours of burning, grinding and painting. Used the hardware from my current rusted spray painted ones. I use a method where both racks have 6 in carriage bolts (like tables) the bottom rack supports the top rack. This way the racks don't get hung up and I can swap racks mid cook with ease. This is why the bolts on the sides are so low. Also the thermometers are just for looks. I am always using electronic devices. These will stay in the team trailer when not in use. They are as shiny as a new Weber Kettle. My teammate has the same two but powder coated red. We cook on 4 one for each meat. Thanks for viewing! Mike.









Yesterday am after an overnight seasoning.

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Some folks have been asken me to show how I built my racks so here are some more picts.



You can get away with bolts on just one rack but I like the ability to swap out the racks mid cook top for bottom etc. I do some small catering gigs where I cook 3 shoulders per rack. The bottom rack would get done about 3 hrs sooner so now I swap halfway when I foil. The racks can be lifted out with ease. The bolts let the racks act as a stand/table with meat on the racks. I can quickly pull the racks and meat out and close the lid back up. I'll foil than swap rack positions. Having two levels of support bolts (bolted through the drum) doesn't allow for this since your bottom rack will get hung up on the top bolts. I also put my thermometer below the bottom rack. It again is just for looks. It runs about 40 degrees cooler at that level than the center of the top rack.


Here I have a third rack that sits on the top rack. This will allow me to cook two to three racks of spares (St Louis) Rib tips go on the bottom rack. We cook 4 racks for competitions and this method allows me to cook em flat without a rib rack. I also foil ribs so again they can lay flat two racks per rack. This also works for chicken pieces.








Here I have my third rack (rib rack)


I used pure non plated steel bolts. Hardware total for two racks $5. Stanless steel will set you back $40. These bolts are coated with oil when you buy em to prevent rust. I got mine at Gnahl Lumber (So Cal). My rack bolts that go through the drum are stainless and all other hardware is stainless.


I figured someone would ask about my basket set up so here are some picts. I also picked up a 2x20 aluminum cake pan at a local bake shop. You can also find em online. I’ve seen people use galvanized oil pans but that has led, and I’m kind of against my kids growing a tail. :-D I used two kettle coal grates at 90 degrees. This is to hold lump better. If ya use briquettes I don’t think it’s necessary. I also have a container of used deep fry oil and a paint brush. I paint all metal after each cook with a coat of oil to keep the rust off.

http://cooksdream.com/store/llprd202.html





This has deffinatly become an addiction. What I love most is scoring higher than folks on $8000 cookers. These little things turn out (in my opinion) the best bbq. Thanks for viewing and sharing your's too. Most of all have fun!

I am not using a guru blower - so not sure the best method to put it on.

In the past I used a small pvc junction box - one of the small ones that connects conduit to conduit. I drilled out a hole on the side of the box for my fan and plugged up one of the conduit holes. I used a thread to pvc fitting to connect the box to my nipple. The fan was held in place with zip ties. It worked pretty good.

The problem with connecting the blower to an existing nipple is that the fan hits one side of the fire basket. On warmer burns that will cause the basket to burn unevenly. I suspect if it every becomes a large enough annoyance you could build a small diffuser plate - or plumb to multiple nipples. My solution was to but the blower on the bottom, and use a full diffuser plate.

jcinadr said:

I am not using a guru blower - so not sure the best method to put it on.

In the past I used a small pvc junction box - one of the small ones that connects conduit to conduit. I drilled out a hole on the side of the box for my fan and plugged up one of the conduit holes. I used a thread to pvc fitting to connect the box to my nipple. The fan was held in place with zip ties. It worked pretty good.

The problem with connecting the blower to an existing nipple is that the fan hits one side of the fire basket. On warmer burns that will cause the basket to burn unevenly. I suspect if it every becomes a large enough annoyance you could build a small diffuser plate - or plumb to multiple nipples. My solution was to but the blower on the bottom, and use a full diffuser plate.

Click to expand...

Thanks... you don't get the side burn issue in the egg, but the blower, though on the side of the Egg, is well under the lump. If you attach it ultimately to a nipple, like the typical intakes that people use, that should work as a nozzle that really blows the air underneath the coals, and just keeps the air oxygen rich and moving through the drum. I'll tinker with it and figure something out.

Right now, my best idea is to use a 1" ball valve for my main intake, and use a piece of bicycle inner tube rubber as a gasket of sorts to make a tight seal between the fan and the valve... if that makes sense.

@ mikeW
I see your concept and i really like it.
I have couple of questions:

1. how many inches from the bottom for the 1st rack?
2. What are the sizes of the bolts between the racks?

thanks for your information

brunski...

When I was attached to a nipple, I was doing 2 things that were exaggerating the issue. One I was cooking hot (300-350 my tiny blower was giving all it had). The other was I was running with twigs instead of lump.

Current set up has an oversized blower that is restricted by the pipe bushing (did not have a spare close nipple). With the blower wide, it can keep an even fire burning in the basket (not that I would ever want to keep a fire burning while smoking - but it was a cool experiment).

jcinadr said:

When I was attached to a nipple, I was doing 2 things that were exaggerating the issue. One I was cooking hot (300-350 my tiny blower was giving all it had). The other was I was running with twigs instead of lump.

Current set up has an oversized blower that is restricted by the pipe bushing (did not have a spare close nipple). With the blower wide, it can keep an even fire burning in the basket (not that I would ever want to keep a fire burning while smoking - but it was a cool experiment).

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"When I was attached to a nipple, I was doing 2 things that were exaggerating the issue"

Can we say that here???????:laugh::becky::laugh:.

Paul B
SS UDS

@Mike W
What does the bottom shelf bolts stand on?
I like the idea of having a table/shelf when pulling the whole grate out,
just not sure how the bottom part works.

Thanks for the explanation.

Smiter Q said:

@Mike W
What does the bottom shelf bolts stand on?
I like the idea of having a table/shelf when pulling the whole grate out,
just not sure how the bottom part works.

Thanks for the explanation.

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Hi Smiter Q.
The bottom rack bolts simply dangle/hang down when used as a bottom rack. They do not support the rack when on the bottom. Bottom bolts through the drum support the bottom rack. Look close and you will see just bolts through the drum 14 in down.

Thanks for the inquire. :thumb:

brunski said:

@ mikeW
I see your concept and i really like it.
I have couple of questions:

1. how many inches from the bottom for the 1st rack?
2. What are the sizes of the bolts between the racks?

thanks for your information

brunski...

Click to expand...

1. Good question? I only know its 14 inches from the top. It's probably about 12 in from the fire. This doesn't stress me. My fire always burrows down into the middle of the coal. When I open my lid there is not a fire burning on the top coal. It’s like a soft ball size of fire in the middle of 10 inches of Royal Oak Lump. This may be due to the top layer of coal doused with drippings or my stoker fan blowing at the bottom of the basket and the fire is chasing the oxygen down to the middle of the coal. Either way if you maintain your heat correctly you'll get pretty even burns top or bottom rack. Example if you adjust your intake so the probe on your bottom rack is at 250 you’ll be at about 230 on the top rack. Heat rises but the bottom rack is closer to the fire so it’s a bit of a wash. Now if you adjust your intake so that your probe on your top rack is at 240 your bottom rack will be at 280+. Ok now I’m rambling.
2. The bolts are 7 in by ½ in. Steel bolts. Once mounted they will place the racks about 6.5 inches apart.
Thanks for inquiring! :thumb:

Just wanted to share these pretty picts of our old UDS's before replacing em with the powder coated ones we just did. I love to see picts of UDS's at competitions. Thanks for viewing and sharing in the excitement. :clap2:

With the weekend fast approaching, I added the essential hardware to my half-painted smokers (they are supposed to be ugly, right?) and currently have them seasoning with ~8lbs of kingsford briquettes in each.

They are holding temps rather well. My BBQ thermometers have 3" probes, and they are reading within a few degrees from the oven thermometer that I have sitting on the bottom rack in the middle of the drum. Not sure if that is because I went with 16" diameter x 6" high baskets or what, but it's nice that I don't have to compensate.

One of my inlet holes was a tad too large. The nipple pipe slipped right through. I used one of those conduit bolts on each side of the drum and they held tight. The mod appears to be doing a good job of holding the pipe in there when I work the cap and keeping the air out of the drum without regulation.

My wife was awesome helping me wrap these up today. I sent her out to Lowes to buy me a black nipple pipe since one of mine ended up being another similar piece. While there, she also snagged me an awesome 1/4 drill bit to replace the cheapo one that broke while I was working. And if that wasn't enough, she made up some ABTs because she insisted that I cook something on the dry run.

Thanks everybody for your help. I'll post some pics and pron for you after I catch up on chores and knock out this weekend's mega-smoke.