Ugly Drum Smoker

And here is the result:

kuberlarrie said:

And here is the result:

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They look delicious and your build is beautiful.
Share some facts about the cook.

Started the UDS at 12:30. Sprinkled Maldon Salt on the ribs the previous evening. Dusted with Memphis Dust before going on the grill. Kept temps between 225 and 235 till about 20:30 the evening.
Lightly basted with Kansas style homemade sauce and chargrilled on hot coalbed for about 5 minutes to caramelize the sauce.

Maybe I left them a bit to long in the pit because they were very tender. But it was quite a thick rib rack so I thought they might take a little longer.

All in all I am very happy with the result. Planning to do a brisket cook in the bush on my upcoming hunt next week.

I'm going to pop the UDS into the back of my pickup and take it along on the trip.

Thanks a lot for all the tips and plans and howto's on this forum - for BBQ noobs like me it is a great resource!! [emoji1303][emoji1303]

Hi All,

been a member for a couple of years now; built my UDS from a lot of knowledge gained through this excellent thread, though first time posting. First of all, thanks heaps for sharing all your findings and knowledge here!

I put in a fair bit of effort in my UDS, it worked real well from the get go and I have done lots of smokes with each and everyone coming out a treat. it hold temps really well once dialled in (3 x 25mm holes at the bottom, covered up with fridge magnets)

Though the tinkerer in me started experimenting with electronic control, and to the UDS purists here - I agree the UDS need no electronic control.



I had an old OMRON PID controller laying around for the best part of 17 years, I intended to help a friend building an incubator for his exotic bird breeding in Sth Africa but never got to it before I immigrated to Australia. So i whipped together three crude enclosures with a small computer fan and a small servo opening and closing the intake. When the PID controller kicks in, the intakes opens fully and the fans run at max speed. When the PID switch the output off, the intakes close completely and the fans are off. This worked great with maintaining the temps within one degC over the +-8 hour cooks I have done at the time.


But then I read of the HeaterMeter which sparked my interest, I ordered the bits from the US, built the electronics and toyed with a few ideas on the damper/fan setup. As the HM continuously vary the air-intake opening and fan speed to maintain pit temps I could not re-use my previous damper/fan idea. Eventually I ended up with the HM electronics and the damper in one enclosure and having the 3 fans underneath the UDS with some copper tubing with holes to direct / spread the air underneath the coal basket.


I have recently done a 12 hour cook using the HM, and spent most of that time away from home but able to log into its website and keep an eye out on how the cook progress and can adjust the set temp remotely was great.



Here some piccies of my setup.





My UDS with the HM mounted



My HM / Damper combo



And its guts...



The base where the air is channeled to the fan-pods on the bottom



The fan-pods



All connected and running




Pit probe (Thermocouple) and 3 meat probes (Maverick 733 probes)



Air diffuser underneath coal basket



Coal basket ready to be lit.



UDS Hinged lid



Testrun, dialling in the PID values (Orange is the pit temp, red is the set temp, degC)

The Yorkshireman said:

Hello I'm currently working my way through this monster of a web forum! Currently on page 560, nearly there! I've started my build and have a question. I've gone for the three intake design, using one ball valve (included in the three). I've just realised I've drilled 1/2 holes using 1/2 nipples, and my ball valve is 15mm internal opening (sorry I'm from the UK so don't know 15mm is in old money!). I've realised everyone is using 3/4 intakes and balls valve. Am I going to have an issue with temps using this smaller size? Thanks in advance, and this forum is awesome!

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It depends on the temps you are trying to achieve.

More air flow = higher temps

I can get my UDS up to 475F (246C), if I need to, and that's with 3/4" intakes.

hi all just joined the group from the uk I am picking up my first barrel next week to make my first uds this thread has been a brilliant source of advice and ideas and to see how people have adapted the uds idea from the first posts is brilliant I will post pictures of mine when I have finished the build

Hi guys, im working on my first uds and was wondering if I could also use it as a grill. I've seen people who raised their charcoal basket, but I was wondering what kind of temps can I get at the top grate with all the valves open and the charcoal basket at the bottom? Thanks

muddypluka said:

hi all just joined the group from the uk I am picking up my first barrel next week to make my first uds this thread has been a brilliant source of advice and ideas and to see how people have adapted the uds idea from the first posts is brilliant I will post pictures of mine when I have finished the build

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Good luck. It's a great experience building and using it.

Aryeh said:

Hi guys, im working on my first uds and was wondering if I could also use it as a grill. I've seen people who raised their charcoal basket, but I was wondering what kind of temps can I get at the top grate with all the valves open and the charcoal basket at the bottom? Thanks

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I use it as a grill without raising the basket. I get ~300-400c after a few minutes with open vents and no lid. It's really hot.





Sear marks and all.

Aryeh said:

Hi guys, im working on my first uds and was wondering if I could also use it as a grill. I've seen people who raised their charcoal basket, but I was wondering what kind of temps can I get at the top grate with all the valves open and the charcoal basket at the bottom? Thanks

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Your max temps will be determined by how much intake and exhaust volume you build into your UDS. I can get 750* F + Without a problem. Coal/wood basket still on the bottom.
But if you want to sear fast/hot. Raising the basket shortens the time to get a crispy sear. More so at 750*+.

There is no law (that I can think of anyway) to keep you from owning a smoker AND a grill. You can smoke and grill on either one- but one will be better at grilling and one will be better at smoking. Guess which?

I have a flat top UDS... I *could* raise my coal basket up to make it a "passable" grill. BUT since my grate is 6 inches below the lip of my drum it is not very food flipping friendly.

It's your thing - do what you wanna do.

Hi all

So about a month ago, I bought an electric smoker on sale at WallyWorld for $89 because, as a displaced Texan, I am sick of the endless cycle of no more than one BBQ joint in my area (and those always go out of business). After one run, I was beyond annoyed. Having to reload chips every half hour is for people with kids, not me. After a little bit of searching, I ended up ordering a BPS kit and buying a new drum. I operated under the principle that it was better to beg forgiveness than ask permission from She Who Must Be Obeyed, avoiding any chance of a veto. Original,y, her response was 'we could have had a burn barrel.' After having some pulled pork and a fatty from LGE, she has stopped muttering.

In hindsight, I wish I had discovered this forum before I'd built Le Grand Orange because I wouldn't have needed a kit. But now, having the process figured out, I'm rearing to make me a small fleet, once I finish reading the thread. I'm on page 532. I've attached pictures of the smoker and the pork butt from the first cook.

Uds paint

Hey all,
I just found this forum and I'm in the process of my 1st uds build. I'm at the painting stage and this may sound dumb. But my question is do you paint the inside of the drum with the high temp grill paint or do you suggest just seasoning it with cooking oil or should I do both. Can't wait to hear back from you all. Oh yeah one more thing should I prime the drum 1st, I see online that rustoleum has a high temp primer. Thanks Dave

Black11455 said:

Hey all,
I just found this forum and I'm in the process of my 1st uds build. I'm at the painting stage and this may sound dumb. But my question is do you paint the inside of the drum with the high temp grill paint or do you suggest just seasoning it with cooking oil or should I do both. Can't wait to hear back from you all. Oh yeah one more thing should I prime the drum 1st, I see online that rustoleum has a high temp primer. Thanks Dave

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Don't paint the inside. Clean it down to bare metal. You want to oil it and season like cast iron.
Welcome to the forum!

Ok, so I've read through 137 pages of this thread so far. I've located a source for new unlined open top drums for $60 each. Do I need to strip the exterior paint, or will it hold up to the temps it would see during normal smoker use? Living in the city I'm pretty sure the new drum is the way to go. Much easier to drill some intake and exhaust holes and make a basket.

I've done it both ways- stripped/re-painted and just left it alone. /shrug- you will end up re-painting it eventually was what I found. Just used the flat black hi temp stuff to keep it from rusting- not a show piece.

10miler said:

Ok, so I've read through 137 pages of this thread so far. I've located a source for new unlined open top drums for $60 each. Do I need to strip the exterior paint, or will it hold up to the temps it would see during normal smoker use? Living in the city I'm pretty sure the new drum is the way to go. Much easier to drill some intake and exhaust holes and make a basket.

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I've seen a lot of barrels used to cook with over the years, the paint on all of them has burned off to some extent. I guess it depends on how eager you are to cook in it, and if you expect to modify it as you go.

dadsr4 said:

I've seen a lot of barrels used to cook with over the years, the paint on all of them has burned off to some extent. I guess it depends on how eager you are to cook in it, and if you expect to modify it as you go.

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I just figured with an unlined drum I wouldn't need to burn it out. In my neighborhood guaranteed the fire dept would be showing up, plus I don't really have a good place to do it anyway. My thought is that with this approach I could build the UDS and get cooking, then re-paint later.

In my previous career I was a machinist and would have had access to all the tools and probably quite a few materials from the scrap bin to complete the build. Or if I were closer to my parents he has all the tools (including a Smithy lathe/mill) to weld, cut, machine whatever was required to make a UDS. Matter of fact he could burn out all the drums he wanted to on his property in Montana!

10miler said:

My thought is that with this approach I could build the UDS and get cooking, then re-paint later.

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With your back ground, if you are anything like me, you will have ideas after a few cooks. A UDS is easy enough to disassemble to paint that I'd go for it!

dadsr4 said:

With your back ground, if you are anything like me, you will have ideas after a few cooks. A UDS is easy enough to disassemble to paint that I'd go for it!

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Yes I sure do! When I worked in the machine shop we had a powder coating station and my boss asked my if I wanted anything I wanted painted. I really liked the wrinkle finish paint, and thought a red wrinkle finish drum with stainless hardware would be very cool. Also I thought a through hole screw would be nice and clean to put a probe through without drilling an extra hole. Of course I'd tap the exterior to put a screw to cap it when not in use. Even without all the the tooling my experience would be of use in a UDS build. Sure would be nice to have a crew of welders, sheet metal mechanics, and a powder coating pro at my disposal though!

10miler said:

Yes I sure do! When I worked in the machine shop we had a powder coating station and my boss asked my if I wanted anything I wanted painted. I really liked the wrinkle finish paint, and thought a red wrinkle finish drum with stainless hardware would be very cool. Also I thought a through hole screw would be nice and clean to put a probe through without drilling an extra hole. Of course I'd tap the exterior to put a screw to cap it when not in use. Even without all the the tooling my experience would be of use in a UDS build. Sure would be nice to have a crew of welders, sheet metal mechanics, and a powder coating pro at my disposal though!

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They like BBQ, you know.:-D