Ugly Drum Smoker

[mostwanted]

Originally Posted by Rich Parker

That is how I did mine and now when it needs to be cleaned or refueled I just lift the drum off of the lid (bottom) and clean it.

These latches work good for keeping the lid (bottom) on.
http://www.amazon.com/MSI-PRO-51120-...8465523&sr=8-1



Here it is finished

Thanks. My biggest concern with this is drafts coming in through the bottom at the lid seam.
Did you do your pre burn after you cut the bottom out? I am concerned that doing the burn from the "new" bottom will cause it to warp. Maybe with it being clamped on it will be ok??

[Rich Parker]

Originally Posted by mostwanted

Thanks. My biggest concern with this is drafts coming in through the bottom at the lid seam.
Did you do your pre burn after you cut the bottom out? I am concerned that doing the burn from the "new" bottom will cause it to warp. Maybe with it being clamped on it will be ok??

Don't worry about the drafts as long as you don't have huge gapping holes.

I didn't have to burn my barrel because it was new but I wouldn't cut the bottom out until after you do your burn out just to make sure you don't warp the lid.

[cdsloop]

Well, I've been lurking here for a few months and I finally did it. I read about 225 pages of this and learned enough to tackle the build. New, unlined drum, $25 Weber kettle from CL, new grate, black pipe nipples and valve from Lowes, and some scraps from the shop, 4 or 5 hours of work and she's done. Fired it up for a seasoning/fatty smoke a couple hours ago. Temps went to 425 with all 3 (3/4) intakes open. Added some hickory chunks and put two caps on and closed the valve down to 1/2 open. Gonna put the fatty on when my temps regulate. Wish me luck...I'll let you know how it turns out.
Noob on a test run,
Chris

[AJP]

The using the bottom as the top now makes sense if the lid fits better, and you get a way to clean it better. I have an un-burned barrel that has a lid ring with a bolt I may give this a go on if I can get a weber lid to fit it.

[cdsloop]

Well, my UDS did great! I pulled my fatties and they're resting now. I smeared the inside with Crisco and after 3 hours or so I sprayed peanut oil on the sides for a second coat. After the fatties, it's as black as if I painted it. Thanks for all the great tips. It made my first cook a success. Tomorrow I'm on to bigger and better things...there's a couple racks of ribs thawing in the fridge right now!
Chris

[Mextra55]

This thread has be great , i am pretty much done making the UDS but does anyone have a good tips on screwing the conduit rings down tighter ?they just get stuck on the nipple thread after a few turns . I thought about taking the Dremel to it to open it up a lil

[Boshizzle]

Here are a few more pics-
This is the Big Lots Grill bottom with the rim flattened out. It works pretty well with only a small amount of leaks.

Here is the first cook - A pork butt rubbed with Yardbird and an Angus round roast that I had on hand rubbed with Bovine Gold. The food turned out good. I learned a lot from the first cook and will be making some adjustments. For example, I used a 19" pizza pan as a diffuser. The grease dripped on it and burned. I think I will try either some water in a pan or a clay tray on the next cook.

[Yleekyoti]

Great lookin pron !!! Hey I just wanna give a shout of thanks to this thread. I built my uds without the benefit of this thread. They work really well and no worries here. But I did learn in this thread that i was building the fire wrong... way to much lit charcoal. 2 or more chimneys at a time.
Did one chimney yesterday and it worked so next time I'll try half a chimney. Great thread here!!

[prtsmgr]

Originally Posted by Mextra55

This thread has be great , i am pretty much done making the UDS but does anyone have a good tips on screwing the conduit rings down tighter ?they just get stuck on the nipple thread after a few turns . I thought about taking the Dremel to it to open it up a lil

I know this was mentioned earlier in the thread somewhere, I will try to find a picture for you.

This is how I did mine.
The close nipples have a bulge in the center, you screw the conduit nut as far as you can on one side, put the nipple in the drum and put the other conduit nut on the same side making sure the points of both nuts will dig into the drum wall as they tighten.

Found the picture: http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...&postcount=125

Thanks Norco !

[Pole D]

Originally Posted by Mextra55

This thread has be great , i am pretty much done making the UDS but does anyone have a good tips on screwing the conduit rings down tighter ?they just get stuck on the nipple thread after a few turns . I thought about taking the Dremel to it to open it up a lil

I only used the nipple on the hole with the ball valve. The other holes I just used magnets on.

Anyhow the one nipple I used went in so tight that I just skipped using the conduit nuts. I didn't need them.

[Yleekyoti]

Lotta discussion about locknuts on nipples.. dont recall if its been mentioned but conduit locknuts are made for conduit threads. They will work on pipe thread nipples but they are harder to thread on. Pipe threads are tapered so a leak free seal will eventually be made. Conduit threads are not tapered and are easier to thread together. Anyhow thats why locknuts are hard to use on pipe nipples. ,,,Just sayin......

[ciret]

Finally had access to a good clean steel drum. Put it together and burned out it out good last weekend.

Seasoned it yesterday and tried a couple fatties. Was able to hold over 400 with all vents open, closed it down to 1 vent and held 300. Was burning lump.

[ciret]

Today I tried a rack of babybacks and a butt.

Stuffed the butt with 8 cloves of garlic, scored the fat cap. Rub both ribs and butt with mustard and dry rub. Let sit while I started the fire. Aprox 10 lbs lump in the fire basket with 6 fist sized chunks of hickory. Temp outside today was about 45 and pretty breezy. Had one vent (the 3/4" ball valve) open. Temp was at 330 when I put meat on. Probe for temp monitoring is just above cooking grate. Cranked the valve to about 1/2. After about 45 min temp was at 287. Closed valve to 25% open. 30 min. later temp was 270, closed valve to about 10% open. Temp stabilized at 260. Sprayed with apple cider vinegar, coke, soy sauce, tabasco mix 2 or 3 times during cook. Foiled both at 3 1/2 hrs, butt was 190 internal. Let go for another hour, unfoiled for another hour. Results were great.

[Boshizzle]

Nice drum and pron!

[Mextra55]

Thanks for the tips on the conduit rings . I did a test burn today and wow i couldnt believe how long you could go with little bit of charcoal . i didnt even cover the bottom of the fire basket . Cranked it wide open and got it up to 425 . capped both and opened the ball valve about half way and it locked in at 250 . I had heat for 5 hours and didnt even burn all the charcoal . I was amazed then I ran over and kicked my ECB lol