Ugly Drum Smoker

[AJP]

Originally Posted by sdb25

I doubt it. If that were the case he would find a bunch of unburnt charcoal outside his basket, and I dont' recall him saying that.

No i'm thinking it burns a bit then falls out of the basket, causing a stirring of the charcoal and making it burn faster. I could be all wrong just a thought is all.

[BobBrisket]

is done.

Don't ask about the lid. Beer buzz and paint fumes high make you think you have artistic abilities...........even when you don't!





UGLY ARSE DRUM BASKET

It's done. Finally.

Bob

[AJP]

Can you explain how you beat the drum lid out bigger? I have a lid but it wont fit my drum.

[sdb25]

Sweet drum!

[BobBrisket]

Originally Posted by AJP

Can you explain how you beat the drum lid out bigger? I have a lid but it wont fit my drum.

Eye protection, hammer, long sleeve shirt, and pound out the outter lip. Not gonna look pretty afterward, but I then pounded it over the lip of the lid and welded it to that.
Here's the link where I explain it.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=77856

[AJP]

Originally Posted by BobBrisket

Eye protection, hammer, long sleeve shirt, and pund out the outter lip. Not gonna look pretty afterward, but I then pounded it over the lip of the lid and welded it to that.
Here's the link where I explain it.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=77856

So basically just beat the chit out of it.

[BobBrisket]

Originally Posted by AJP

So basically just beat the chit out of it.

Yeah, pretty much. Ear protection would be nice too. I tell you what, good way to relieve stress though!

[AJP]

Originally Posted by BobBrisket

Yeah, pretty much. Ear protection would be nice too. I tell you what, good way to relieve stress though!

It's a brand new lid, just not sure I want to do that just yet. Seems like a lot of work also.

[BobBrisket]

Originally Posted by AJP

It's a brand new lid, just not sure I want to do that just yet. Seems like a lot of work also.

The thing with the lids and the enamel is that even the smallest bend will crack the enamel. Another way is to use a cresent wrench, close it to the thickness of the lid and slowly expand the outter ring all the way around, not as bad, but will still chip the enamel. Depending on the lip of the drum you can also pound that one out so it will accept the lid a little better.

[AJP]

Originally Posted by BobBrisket

The thing with the lids and the enamel is that even the smallest bend will crack the enamel. Another way is to use a cresent wrench, close it to the thickness of the lid and slowly expand the outter ring all the way around, not as bad, but will still chip the enamel. Depending on the lip of the drum you can also pound that one out so it will accept the lid a little better.

How much bigger do you think I can make it, I'm easily 2 inches short right now

[BobBrisket]

Originally Posted by AJP

How much bigger do you think I can make it, I'm easily 2 inches short right now

Can you post a pic of the lid on the drum? 2" is quite a bit and you may not be able to make the fit even if you pounded it out. My lid would actually fit on the drum very tightly if I forced it on, but it would pop off because it was too tight. You may need to go with the Weber flange mod so the lid can rest on the lip of the Weber coal flange.
The thing with drums is there are lots of variables depending on the drum and what set up you go with in regards to the lid.

[AJP]

Originally Posted by BobBrisket

Can you post a pic of the lid on the drum? 2" is quite a bit and you may not be able to make the fit even if you pounded it out. My lid would actually fit on the drum very tightly if I forced it on, but it would pop off because it was too tight. You may need to go with the Weber flange mod so the lid can rest on the lip of the Weber coal flange.
The thing with drums is there are lots of variables depending on the drum and what set up you go with in regards to the lid.

That is what I thought. I'll just return the lid and stick to the flat barrel lid.

[Rodney]

I'm planning my UDS right now, and this thread has been a great resource. So far, the plan is to get a used, lined, open-top drum from a friend for free and have it sandblasted inside and out. It'll then get a coat of black Rust-Oleum BBQ paint on the OUTSIDE ONLY. ;-)

For the charcoal basket, I was planning on making it 12" square x 6" tall, from flattened expanded sheet. Starting with a 24" square sheet of it from McMaster-Carr, I'd just cut 6" squares from each corner, forming a cross shape, fold the walls upward, and weld the junctions between the walls. Will this likely be big enough for about a 10 hour smoke? I'll probably use a 1" deep pizza pan for an ash pan. I'll then put a handle made from ~1/4" rod across the top of the basket (likely about 16" high) for easy removal of the basket/pan assembly.

As for the vents: I'm thinking I might give the magnet approach a shot on the intakes. I'll get a chunk of magnet stock from McMaster-Carr while I'm ordering my expanded sheet. If I don't like it, I can always cut the holes bigger and put pipe fittings in. ;-) Regarding the exhaust vent: It seems that everyone just runs it wide open. I read about 100 of the pages here, and I didn't find mention of there being any benefit to partially closing a ~2" opening, probably because I missed it... I only read that it should be closed in order to quickly shut down the coals. Also, many of the designs here are either always open or just open/shut. Any benefit to an adjustable exhaust? Also, what's the benefit to having a chimney on the exhaust vent?

To hold up the grate, I'm liking the idea of using U-bolts... it just looks so clean. I may weld something to the top surfaces of the u-bolts to "cage in" the grate so it doesn't float around.

Can't wait to get it going!

-Rodney

[BobBrisket]

Originally Posted by Rodney

I'm planning my UDS right now, and this thread has been a great resource. So far, the plan is to get a used, lined, open-top drum from a friend for free and have it sandblasted inside and out. It'll then get a coat of black Rust-Oleum BBQ paint on the OUTSIDE ONLY. ;-)

For the charcoal basket, I was planning on making it 12" square x 6" tall, from flattened expanded sheet. Starting with a 24" square sheet of it from McMaster-Carr, I'd just cut 6" squares from each corner, forming a cross shape, fold the walls upward, and weld the junctions between the walls. Will this likely be big enough for about a 10 hour smoke? I'll probably use a 1" deep pizza pan for an ash pan. I'll then put a handle made from ~1/4" rod across the top of the basket (likely about 16" high) for easy removal of the basket/pan assembly.

As for the vents: I'm thinking I might give the magnet approach a shot on the intakes. I'll get a chunk of magnet stock from McMaster-Carr while I'm ordering my expanded sheet. If I don't like it, I can always cut the holes bigger and put pipe fittings in. ;-) Regarding the exhaust vent: It seems that everyone just runs it wide open. I read about 100 of the pages here, and I didn't find mention of there being any benefit to partially closing a ~2" opening, probably because I missed it... I only read that it should be closed in order to quickly shut down the coals. Also, many of the designs here are either always open or just open/shut. Any benefit to an adjustable exhaust? Also, what's the benefit to having a chimney on the exhaust vent?

To hold up the grate, I'm liking the idea of using U-bolts... it just looks so clean. I may weld something to the top surfaces of the u-bolts to "cage in" the grate so it doesn't float around.

Can't wait to get it going!

-Rodney

Personally, if you are going to make the basket out of expando, make it just as high. I can't tell you if you will get 10+ burns out of a 6" high basket cause both of my baskets are at 10" high and as big all around. Might as well have the height there if you need it for longer cooks.
As for the exhaust, pretty much leave it open all the time. You want to have good exhaust and then use the intakes to control temp.
Your idea sounds great to me. Can't wait to see it.

[CUTigerQ]

Originally Posted by sdb25

I doubt it. If that were the case he would find a bunch of unburnt charcoal outside his basket, and I dont' recall him saying that.

I don't find a lot but I do find some. I'm thinking I'm losing it too as it burns, it settles and dropping through. It's making me scratch my head for sure. Maybe there was too much ash in it already before the cook. I didn't empty it out but there didn't appear to be a Loy of ash but maybe I need to empty after every cook?