UDS Discussion (likes/dislikes or mods/changes)

[savageford]

If you had it to do again what would you do differently?
What would you have added or left off?
What was your first mod?

For me I think I should have spent more time fitting my weber lid to the drum, it's a bit leaky and wheels or casters would be nice too. Also I wish I had mounted my handles a bit lower, though my air intake pipes make good handles too, lol.

I am still loving the adjustable shelving brackets I used for the grates but more time will tell on how gunked up they get.

[Carbon]

Changes or mods, if any, can always be made on the existing UDS instead of starting all over again. I've made minor changes/mods or tweaks along the way on my UDS.
My UDS has several plugged up holes all around......but they're hardly noticeable.

[Budman1]

Add wheels or a cart. Still want to add a dome lid so I can fit a second rack, Did build a mini-uds , my SJ dome fits almost perfect, It's nice for small/short smokes.

[DriverWild]

I would start with a stainless steel drum

[Heisenberger]

Originally Posted by DriverWild

I would start with a stainless steel drum

I'm looking for one now. The inside of mine rusted and I was fine eating from it... my friends not so much. Found a few used but the lowest new price I've found is about 500. I would also change my intakes to 1" rather than 3/4'' so I can get it really hot if I need to (I guess it's not too late for this). I also would've lowered my rack closer to the fire - I think the 24'' minimum is a bunch of malarkey, all that matters is the temp as long as you're not tooo close

[Novass]

mine has a 2" bung at the bottom. if I was to do it over I would get a 2" ball valve to use.

[SmokinJohn]

Single 2" intake, single 2" exhaust. Ball valves on both.
Drum dolly
Lid /grate holder

[sigpi906]

For a guy that's in the middle of building my first, I want to say thanks for this thread.

1. It's just fun to talk about
2. It's great to hear what people want to change.

[sigpi906]

Originally Posted by Heisenberger

I'm looking for one now. The inside of mine rusted and I was fine eating from it... my friends not so much. Found a few used but the lowest new price I've found is about 500. I would also change my intakes to 1" rather than 3/4'' so I can get it really hot if I need to (I guess it's not too late for this). I also would've lowered my rack closer to the fire - I think the 24'' minimum is a bunch of malarkey, all that matters is the temp as long as you're not tooo close

Hey Heisenberg, Did the inside just rust out from it getting rained on, or what? Anything you could have done to prevent it? Anything I can do to mine post-burnout to help with not having that problem? Or is it just a fact of life with a non-stainless drum?

[DriverWild]

Originally Posted by sigpi906

Hey Heisenberg, Did the inside just rust out from it getting rained on, or what? Anything you could have done to prevent it? Anything I can do to mine post-burnout to help with not having that problem? Or is it just a fact of life with a non-stainless drum?

I'm finding that even with a cover I have surface rust when it rains, probably the 90%+ humidity lately. If I leave the cover off then I find a pool of water in the drum so I know it's going to rust out pretty quickly. I believe the water is coming in through the smoke stack threads and closed bung threads. I plan to try either JB Weld or real weld to seal it up. Besides the fact it won't rust like these steel units, stainless looks great. For my next I'm looking at Bubba's Barrel's. They are far below the $500 price point. I don't know if they are 400 or 300 series stainless? With the lower price point they might be 400?

[borzwazie]

I had made a sliding intake door for mine in an effort to save money. It works, but I wish I'd used a ball valve instead.

I would add wheels, but I wheel the thing around with a dolly and set it up on bricks while cooking, and that works just fine. I do wish I could find time to add a small table to the side.

The UDS works great. The only problem with the UDS is the airflow after you open the thing. All that extra oxygen gets in, so you get a big slump, then a big spike in temps if you're not super quick. You have to shut off all air flow for about 15 seconds or so before you open it up to mess with stuff to avoid the worst of the spike. As a result, I don't usually mop whatever's cooking, but I don't think it's necessary, especially if you're foiling.

Ideally, you would segment the top and bottom of the UDS with something to restrict air flow and act as a heat diffuser. You would need to cut a door in the bottom side of the UDS to add/remove fuel that way, though, so it complicates the simplicity of the UDS, and that's really the whole point.

I leave my UDS outside all the time. I don't have any rust issues. I spray the outside with cheap bbq paint from time to time, and fatty pork does the job on the inside for me.

I had used a 22" grill lid for the lid on my drum. I have a scrap piece of bent aluminum and chunk of metal I use as a exhaust rain deflector - I just use the metal chunk to keep the aluminum from falling off. Looks ghetto but works great. I don't get any water inside at all.

I use an old coffee can with holes in the bottom as a firestarter chimney. I start 9 or 10 chunks of charcoal with a propane torch. Everything comes up to temp in roughly 30 minutes or so after I start the coals. Once I'm at 220-ish, it doesn't take very much airflow at all to maintain temps.

I use a big tinfoil roasting pan on the bottom of the lower grill as a deflector. It cost a buck and it works great. I just used a little steel wire to hold it onto the grill. I poked a few small holes in it to let juice drip through. Keeps things cooking nice and even. I don't use a water pan, I haven't found it to be necessary in the UDS.

[N8man]

From the start of my DrumPit to the current incarnation....

rednecked ugly drum smoker...june '07
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...99&postcount=1


1st mod...cart, upgrade therm and addition of shelf for remote therm


2nd mod...increase cooking capacity


3rd mod...re-engineer cart, 2nd increase of capacity


4th mod to date...cart stability finalized

[Bludawg]

What I would do different next time.
This was the original configuration


I got rid of the castors and added rubber wheels
this is the way it is now


The next one is going to have a 2" intake stand pipe with a simple slide flap, a fold-able work table.

[OutlawSwine]

The most helpful mod I did was store it somewhere where the dog couldn't hike his leg on it. Rotten mutt........

[Garrett]

I made 3" makeshift daisy wheel for mine, so I wouldn't have fumble with a valve and caps. The highest temp I have maintained so far has been 450. May have been able to go higher but didn't want to burn off any of that yummyness on the inside.