JMSetzler
Babbling Farker
I picked up my second drum yesterday after not being happy with the first one. The new drum is a food-grade drum with a removable lid and it has a tan liner on the inside. Here are some photos...
The drum came with plastic stoppers in the top holes, so I swapped them out with the metal ones from the other drum that I'm not using...
This drum has a clamp type locking ring for the lid. I'll probably hang on to that...
The top diameter of the drum measures just a little over 23 1/4 inches which is a bit too large for a kettle lid.
My plan:
My objective overall is to build a UDS with two cooking racks and a lower rack where I can place a diffuser and water pan if needed. I am not going to cut the top lip off of this drum because I want to be able to use a dome lid or the flat lid depending on how much meat I plan to have on the smoker. I will find a dome lid and flare the lip on it to make a good fit. I will have three 1" air intakes at the bottom of the drum. One will be used with a simple cap and two will have elbows and riser pipes with 1" ball valves. I will attach side handles on the drum and a handle on the flat lid as well.
Build plan:
1. Assemble charcoal basket from expanded metal, charcoal grate, and make legs for it from stainless steel nuts, bolts, and washers
2. Make a suitable handle for charcoal basket
3. Clean out residual corn syrup from the drum
4. Measure and mark all holes for air intakes, mountings for the internal grates, pit thermometer, and internal meat probes.
5. Drill all the holes
6. Use weed burner to remove all exterior paint and interior lining from the drum
7. Use wire brush / angle grinder to remove all residual junk left over from the burn from interior and exterior of drum
8. Clean drum with rubbing alcohol
9. Paint the exterior of the drum, lid, and air intake system with Rustoleum high heat primer and let dry
10. Paint the exterior of the drum, lid, and air intake system with Rustoleum high heat black pain and add any extra graphics that I decide on and let dry
11. Install mounting nuts, bolts, and washers (all stainless steel) for diffuser and cooking grates
12. Spray the inside of the drum, lid, and cooking grates with cooking spray
13. Execute a seasoning burn in the drum with charcoal and wood chunks
14. Bask in the infinite glory of having accomplished this task when I already know I stink at building things.
I'll update this thread as the build progresses. It may be a week or two until I get started with the construction. I plan to get my charcoal basket built first so I will know where my grate measurements need to be.
Your feedback on this plan is appreciated!
The drum came with plastic stoppers in the top holes, so I swapped them out with the metal ones from the other drum that I'm not using...
This drum has a clamp type locking ring for the lid. I'll probably hang on to that...
The top diameter of the drum measures just a little over 23 1/4 inches which is a bit too large for a kettle lid.
My plan:
My objective overall is to build a UDS with two cooking racks and a lower rack where I can place a diffuser and water pan if needed. I am not going to cut the top lip off of this drum because I want to be able to use a dome lid or the flat lid depending on how much meat I plan to have on the smoker. I will find a dome lid and flare the lip on it to make a good fit. I will have three 1" air intakes at the bottom of the drum. One will be used with a simple cap and two will have elbows and riser pipes with 1" ball valves. I will attach side handles on the drum and a handle on the flat lid as well.
Build plan:
1. Assemble charcoal basket from expanded metal, charcoal grate, and make legs for it from stainless steel nuts, bolts, and washers
2. Make a suitable handle for charcoal basket
3. Clean out residual corn syrup from the drum
4. Measure and mark all holes for air intakes, mountings for the internal grates, pit thermometer, and internal meat probes.
5. Drill all the holes
6. Use weed burner to remove all exterior paint and interior lining from the drum
7. Use wire brush / angle grinder to remove all residual junk left over from the burn from interior and exterior of drum
8. Clean drum with rubbing alcohol
9. Paint the exterior of the drum, lid, and air intake system with Rustoleum high heat primer and let dry
10. Paint the exterior of the drum, lid, and air intake system with Rustoleum high heat black pain and add any extra graphics that I decide on and let dry
11. Install mounting nuts, bolts, and washers (all stainless steel) for diffuser and cooking grates
12. Spray the inside of the drum, lid, and cooking grates with cooking spray
13. Execute a seasoning burn in the drum with charcoal and wood chunks
14. Bask in the infinite glory of having accomplished this task when I already know I stink at building things.
I'll update this thread as the build progresses. It may be a week or two until I get started with the construction. I plan to get my charcoal basket built first so I will know where my grate measurements need to be.
Your feedback on this plan is appreciated!
