UDS fire basket help

zzrudyzz · 01-31-2013, 02:53 PM

Fist off let me say thank you guys for this forum. SO much great info here I have been reading nonstop for a month now. With the super bowl coming up I have decided to build a new UDS. The first one I had was a joint project with my buddie from somthing we saw one time at a Q. So with no direction and no idea this about this site we hacked it. So I am now just about done with my new and improved UDS.

My issue is I can not find any expanded steel to make the fire basket out of. The only guy I have found that has any in stock wanted $80 for a sheet of it and well that is more than I was looking to spend. So my question is any other Ideas for the fire basket? I was previously using a tractor disc has a hole in the middle and is concaved so it worked out some what but hard to control as well as i would like. I have some time constraint with the game this weekend so online ordering may also be out.

BBQchef33 · 01-31-2013, 04:28 PM

home depot sells it. Its on a shelf above the section with the steel rods, angle line, etc. Same isle as the work gloves or next one over. The come in 24x24 and 30x30.

jv_stl · 01-31-2013, 05:01 PM

Take a lid from a cheap old smoker flip upside down weld legs or use bolts . Grind vertical slits all the way around for airflow. Take grate it will slide in lid but not all they down which will allow for the ash to fall and air.

zzrudyzz · 01-31-2013, 05:25 PM

Thanks for the quick replys.

I called homedepot last night and they guy said none in stock but may have to do some recon tonight.

JV if I can not find some steel i will have to goto the junk yard and see what I can find.

Bludawg · 01-31-2013, 05:40 PM

Cheap aluminum stock pot cut the bottom out leave 1" as a lip drill a Bunch of 1/2" holes in the sides and put a small replacement grate in the bottom. Make short legs and bolt through the side. an old steel milk crate works good Too if you can find one.

Kloogee · 01-31-2013, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BBQchef33

home depot sells it. Its on a shelf above the section with the steel rods, angle line, etc. Same isle as the work gloves or next one over. The come in 24x24 and 30x30.

Yep, I got mine from HD too. I've seen the same at Lowes and Menards. When I asked at HD and Menards they didn't have a clue what expanded metal was. I had to pull up a pic on my iPhone from a google search to show them.

How did anything get done before the Internet and smart phones?

BluegrassSmoke · 02-01-2013, 01:38 AM

Do a metal fab shop search, they have to get theirs from somewhere, maybe they can give a location.

jmoney7269 · 02-01-2013, 06:28 AM

Have a fab shop make yOu one. That's what I did.

Works like a dream. Put a 20 lb bag of lump in, usually lasts about 3-4 cooks. Refill and repeat.

poppa smoke · 02-01-2013, 07:10 AM

Go to Lowes or HD and look at the hanging baskets in the garden center. I found one for about $12.00 yhat was 20 inches wide and 14 inches tall i added an old piece of a grate to the bottom. ithas been working for over a year cooking at least twice a week

razrbakcrzy · 02-01-2013, 08:52 AM

old wire fruit/produce farm basket

jrn · 02-01-2013, 09:06 AM

Jmoney, what's the height and depth of your basket?

chriscw81 · 02-01-2013, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poppa smoke

Go to Lowes or HD and look at the hanging baskets in the garden center. I found one for about $12.00 yhat was 20 inches wide and 14 inches tall i added an old piece of a grate to the bottom. ithas been working for over a year cooking at least twice a week

Care to share a picture of that? I'd never thought about using something like that.

Sent from my Nexus using Tapatalk 2

olewarthog · 02-01-2013, 01:44 PM

One of these will work also

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...TL._SY355_.jpg

J-Rod · 02-01-2013, 01:56 PM

Here's some hanging wire baskets, just to give you an idea of what you can use in a pinch. There's a lot of options out there but I'd start at the Dee Pot or BLowes and see what you find. Just be sure to burn off any paint or coatings before you cook with it.

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...Oqre0gHo8YDgDQ

chriscw81 · 02-01-2013, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by olewarthog

One of these will work also

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/415Edlh%2B9TL._SY355_.jpg

i'm drawing a blank on what to call this. a large straining pot?

edit: nevermind, found it

Amazon.com: Winware Professional Aluminum Steamer Basket Fits 20-Quart Stock Pot: Kitchen & Dining

01-31-2013, 02:53 PM	#1
zzrudyzz Got Wood. Join Date: 01-30-13 Location: Windsor ca	UDS fire basket help Fist off let me say thank you guys for this forum. SO much great info here I have been reading nonstop for a month now. With the super bowl coming up I have decided to build a new UDS. The first one I had was a joint project with my buddie from somthing we saw one time at a Q. So with no direction and no idea this about this site we hacked it. So I am now just about done with my new and improved UDS. My issue is I can not find any expanded steel to make the fire basket out of. The only guy I have found that has any in stock wanted $80 for a sheet of it and well that is more than I was looking to spend. So my question is any other Ideas for the fire basket? I was previously using a tractor disc has a hole in the middle and is concaved so it worked out some what but hard to control as well as i would like. I have some time constraint with the game this weekend so online ordering may also be out.

01-31-2013, 04:28 PM	#2
BBQchef33 Grand Poobah and Site Admin Join Date: 08-11-03 Location: Long Island, NY Name/Nickname : Phil	home depot sells it. Its on a shelf above the section with the steel rods, angle line, etc. Same isle as the work gloves or next one over. The come in 24x24 and 30x30. __________________ Site Administrator and Grand PooBah CBJ with a Fuzzy Blue Hat, 18 Foot Competition Trailer, Customized Klose BYC, Custom Built Shirley built to feed our Veterans(A.K.A "Abrams"), 1 Double Barreled Lang 84, 1 Heavily Modified Bionic Bandera, 1 Custom Super Medium Stickburning Spicewine w/stoker, 2 XL BGE, 1 Mini BGE, 2 Pit Barrel Cookers, 3 WSMs, 3 Weber Kettles, an NB Hondo, A Modified Brinkman Horizontal, DCS 48" Grill, a Broilmaster P3, a Blackstone 36 and 17, a covered, pellet pooping FEC100, and our duck died. :( News Flash: "A mans worth is judged by the weight of his integrity " You know your getting older when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy Smoke on KC. WWW.BBQ-BRETHREN.COM

01-31-2013, 05:01 PM	#3
jv_stl On the road to being a farker Join Date: 05-01-11 Location: St. Charles, MO	Take a lid from a cheap old smoker flip upside down weld legs or use bolts . Grind vertical slits all the way around for airflow. Take grate it will slide in lid but not all they down which will allow for the ash to fall and air. __________________ Jason- Uds, 22.5 Weber and Recently Added BGE

01-31-2013, 05:40 PM	#5
Bludawg somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 07-04-09 Location: Jonesboro,Tx	Cheap aluminum stock pot cut the bottom out leave 1" as a lip drill a Bunch of 1/2" holes in the sides and put a small replacement grate in the bottom. Make short legs and bolt through the side. an old steel milk crate works good Too if you can find one. __________________ I'm a Proxy Vegetarian> Cows eat grass & I eat cows.

02-01-2013, 08:52 AM	#10
razrbakcrzy is one Smokin' Farker Join Date: 09-13-11 Location: Fort Smith, Ar.	old wire fruit/produce farm basket __________________ [SIZE=2][B]Jim Boston[/B][/SIZE] [B][COLOR=black]Current Smoker[/COLOR][/B] [COLOR=red]"The most reliable, easiest to make at home, Smoker [B]"The UDS"[/B] W/ an Auber temp. Controller w/ 20CFM Blower.[/COLOR] [FONT=Arial][B]Future Smoker [/B][/FONT] [FONT=Arial]$5438.25 Total BYC Smoker!![/FONT] [SIZE=2]Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem. [/SIZE] [SIZE=1]Ronald Reagan, President of the United States; 1985 [/SIZE]

01-31-2013, 05:25 PM	#4
zzrudyzz Got Wood. Join Date: 01-30-13 Location: Windsor ca	Thanks for the quick replys. I called homedepot last night and they guy said none in stock but may have to do some recon tonight. JV if I can not find some steel i will have to goto the junk yard and see what I can find.

02-01-2013, 01:38 AM	#7
BluegrassSmoke On the road to being a farker Join Date: 03-01-12 Location: Radcliff, KY	Do a metal fab shop search, they have to get theirs from somewhere, maybe they can give a location.

02-01-2013, 06:28 AM	#8
jmoney7269 Banned Join Date: 02-07-11 Location: brenham, texas	Have a fab shop make yOu one. That's what I did. Works like a dream. Put a 20 lb bag of lump in, usually lasts about 3-4 cooks. Refill and repeat.

02-01-2013, 07:10 AM	#9
poppa smoke Knows what a fatty is. Join Date: 11-26-12 Location: Micosukee, Florida	Go to Lowes or HD and look at the hanging baskets in the garden center. I found one for about $12.00 yhat was 20 inches wide and 14 inches tall i added an old piece of a grate to the bottom. ithas been working for over a year cooking at least twice a week

02-01-2013, 09:06 AM	#11
jrn Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 07-30-12 Location: Quitman, Ms	Jmoney, what's the height and depth of your basket? __________________ UDS, mini wsm, 22.5" weber kettle

02-01-2013, 01:44 PM	#13
olewarthog Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 01-07-10 Location: Hazlehurst, GA	One of these will work also http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...TL._SY355_.jpg __________________ Jim Sewell --

02-01-2013, 01:56 PM	#14
J-Rod is One Chatty Farker Join Date: 08-15-12 Location: Irish Hills, MI	Here's some hanging wire baskets, just to give you an idea of what you can use in a pinch. There's a lot of options out there but I'd start at the Dee Pot or BLowes and see what you find. Just be sure to burn off any paint or coatings before you cook with it. https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...Oqre0gHo8YDgDQ __________________ Okie Joe offset, UDS, Akorn, Weber Kettles, I'm JD.