The Adventure Begins... (UDS)

Crüe-B-Cüe

Crüe-B-Cüe

is Blowin Smoke!
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I couldn't take it anymore. I drove over to the local drum place. I was all set to pick up 2 reconditioned open head drums. I was told on the phone that they had been burned out, undented and painted. They would be fine for grills and smokers. When I got there everything changed. They couldn't promise me they had actually been burned. They were all very dented. I'm not sure how they could call them reconditioned. They were just used. To top it off they told me that the inside was coated with a highly toxic rust inhibitor. I figured I could burn it out, but they were all in such bad shape I passed on those. The only thing they had there new were 55 gallon tight head drums. So I picked up two. Now the only problem is I have to cut the lids off. That would be no problem if I could find a Weber lid as I have a drum deheader. I guess I'm going to have to get the grinder out and cut the chime around the outside edge. This might be a good excuse to buy that Dremel I've been wanting.
 
Good luck! I tell ya what, though, if it had been me I'd have bought them somewhere else! I HATE that bait-and-switch chit. Farkers...
 
This keeps up, there's going to be Brethren before Congress, answering questions about "Drum smoker enhancers" and the results of having such an addiction. Sworn in and made to tell how long you've been using these enhancers to improve your cooking and give you an advantage over everyone else.
Could get ugly!
 
If only I could enhance this....

canopener.jpg


Life would be much easier. Anybody got any vitamin B12 and Litocain?
 
Crüe-B-Cüe said:
If only I could enhance this....

canopener.jpg


Life would be much easier. Anybody got any vitamin B12 and Litocain?
Click to expand...

I was going to take a photo of a drum and blow one of those up to show you can just get the XXL size of the opener. :)
 
Well there is this...

3938.jpg


It cuts on the outside of the chime, but for 2200 :eek:I would have to go into major production. Any orders?:biggrin:
 
Crue, I just used a sawz-all on mine . Filed off the burs and it came out fairly straight. What you need to do after the lid is cut, is to find some sort of oven gasket to fit all the way around the edges so your weber lid sits nice and tight.
Your not gonna get a perfect seal, but thats okay.
 
I don't have any Weber lids, so I thought I would just grind through the lip on the outside, pop the top off and use that as the lid for now.
 
Check your sears. I found one of those clones that had the same size lid as a weber it was about 38 dollars.
 
Intake question...I have a bunch of 3/4 ball valves at work. If I wanted to use pipes up the side to raise the valves up, would 2 3/4 intakes be enough? I know I see a lot of people using 3/4 with the valves at the bottom. Does it change anything by running them up the side?
 
I use 1 3/4" valve and have 3 nipples with caps. I typically get temp on 1 3/4" but occasionally open 1 cap and throttle back. Doesn't get real cold here though.

I picked this up on Ebay cheap. You can get a less expensive Weber clone and use the lid and grate and charcoal grate. Or Craigslist for a used Weber.
IMG_2437.jpg
 
I have a Wesco deheader. I guess I was trying to go cheap. My plan got off when I couldn't get the open head drums. I figured I would just try to reuse the drum lid, but it may just be easier to spend the money. Deheading would be much easier, I would have the 22.5" grate, the 18" grate and a lid all in one shot.
 
Lot's of places have these for a lot less than Webers. Agree not as heavy as a Weber but deffinately less$

07116242000


Damn you live in isolation. I went to Craigslist and not one BBq listed in Mobile!
 
Yeah, tell me about it. If you want anything used here, you have to get up at 5:00 am and hit the yard sales before all the good chit is gone.:biggrin: I'd rather buy new.
 
A little surfin' and I found that Academy has a Char Broil 22.5 kettle grill for 29.99 Not a bad price.


cb22.jpg
 
Went on a hunt last night. I ended up with a couple of Weber clones from Sears to canibalize. I've only hit a few speed bumps. I got the lids cut out, all my holes drilled & intake pipes installed. The worst part is the lids didn't quite fit. I've had to grind the lip down on the drums. The only other problem is the bolts to hold my cooking grate aren't quite long enough. I gotta find some a little longer. The grate sits there, but it's too easy for it to fall. I had to change plans on the fire basket. Two 24" sheets of expanded metal weren't long enough to fit around the 15" grate that came with the grill. So now a 6" deep ring sits on top of the grate. I temporarily tied it down with some rebar ties. I put some 3" long bolts as feet to hold it off the bottom. I'll try to have some pics a little later.
 
Here's some pics...

uds1.jpg


uds2.jpg


uds3.jpg


uds4.jpg


Just wanted thank everyone for all the knowledge. Pretty much anything you need to know can be found here.
 
LOL... my second UDS I built was just before my first comp. The bolts I used for the cooking grates were too short but I didn't realize is. During the comp I was cooking ribs on the new one. I opened the lid and the whole grate dumped into the fire ring!!!

I salvaged the ribs... but learned not to use bolts that were too short!!!
 
And don't buy the replacement 22" cooking grates at Academy. Got them home and realized they are actually only 20.5" :evil:.
 
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