Brainstorming My Next Build

[fshnwiz]

Just my opinion mind you but I would never disgrace a 55 gal drum by laying it on its side or by cutting holes in it for anything other than air intake. I recently modified my pds (prettty drum smoker) by extending the height by 5 1/2 ". This allowed me to install another rack right at the top of the original drum. Now By adding some hooks to my charcoal basket I can raise It and hang it on my original grate bolts If I happen to need to sear or to grill something. Best of both worlds.

[Sean "Puffy" Coals]

It's just 1 idea I had. Like I said, based it on the "big baby" design, which seems to be pretty popular. I wouldn't go as far to say that laying a drum on its side was a disgrace, i'm just trying to some up with ways to make a larger capacity unit using drums instead of, say, a gigantic propane tank. Drums are free and easy to get for me- large tanks are expensive and hard to move. I don't know. Still a work in progress.

[h20loo]

Your first idea is doable, the second looks like a cold smoker. Variations of your ideas were in Mechanics Illustrated in the 50s and 60s and I'm sure many people built them. Your horizontal grill needs to be raised from the wood on bolts and the wood protected from heat by diffuser metal.
I think your UDS and horizontal grill need a third vertical UDS style barrel with an offset wood burning firebox(also a M.I. plan). I'm sure these plans have been posted by a Brethren within the past 3 years.
Your climate is similiar to mine and I need to wrap my UDS in the winter to keep it efficient. You would need alot of fire to melt the snow off two drums.

[Sean "Puffy" Coals]

Hmmmm, some interesting points to consider.

[Sean "Puffy" Coals]

Here's a better pic:

[Howtobrew]

You can use tile backer board from Home Depot for insulating to your wood frame. It's called Hardi-board or something like that. Ceramic composite, non-flammable. quarter inch thick. Easily cut to size.

[jimmyinsd]

if you couldnt make your little "clean out" door on your UDSv1 seal decent. how do you think you are going to get those monster doors on this to seal up enough to hold temp and smoke?

[Wampus]

HOLY FARK MAN!!!!!

If you tell me that you just "whipped up" these sketches, I'm gonna scream!! The modeling pics look pretty awesome!

I'm even an AutoCAD guy, but holy CHIT batman!


Nice "rough sketches"!!




All-in-all, I guess I don't see the point of combining the smokers. It'll make it aweful heavy and less portable. I have a UDS and a couple of kettles and I'm glad they are all independent. I've loaded each up in the truck and sometimes a couple at a time to take to friend's/family's places or even camping (yeah, that's how I roll) and if they were tied together with a cabinet, that would've been hard to do. I have used 1, 2 or even 3 cookers at the same time and I just roll them all out to the driveway as I need them.

Look, I'm not trying to rain on your parade. I'm just throwing it out there.

Looking forward to final pics of whatever you do.

[Sean "Puffy" Coals]

Originally Posted by jimmyinsd

if you couldnt make your little "clean out" door on your UDSv1 seal decent. how do you think you are going to get those monster doors on this to seal up enough to hold temp and smoke?

Ummm, the fact that I'm actually going to put a seal on it? Better design? More reseach? More experience? Probably a combination of all those things.

On the first UDS I built, I made no attempt to even create a seal. I just cut the door out and went on. It wasn't really a surprise that it let a bunch of air into the drum. The surprise (to me) was how difficult it made cooking in it.

[Sean "Puffy" Coals]

Originally Posted by Wampus

HOLY FARK MAN!!!!!

If you tell me that you just "whipped up" these sketches, I'm gonna scream!! The modeling pics look pretty awesome!

I'm even an AutoCAD guy, but holy CHIT batman!


Nice "rough sketches"!!




All-in-all, I guess I don't see the point of combining the smokers. It'll make it aweful heavy and less portable. I have a UDS and a couple of kettles and I'm glad they are all independent. I've loaded each up in the truck and sometimes a couple at a time to take to friend's/family's places or even camping (yeah, that's how I roll) and if they were tied together with a cabinet, that would've been hard to do. I have used 1, 2 or even 3 cookers at the same time and I just roll them all out to the driveway as I need them.

Look, I'm not trying to rain on your parade. I'm just throwing it out there.

Looking forward to final pics of whatever you do.

Thanks!

Whip them up? Hardly. Each one took at least a couple hrs. The model was probaby 5-6 hrs.

The point? ...just like building stuff. I think it's a viable design. Like I said- the capacity of a big cabinet smoker without the investment.

Just got a new job with much better pay. Might be able to build this thing sooner than I thought.

[Southern Home Boy]

Originally Posted by Sean "Puffy" Coals

Thanks!

Whip them up? Hardly. Each one took at least a couple hrs. The model was probaby 5-6 hrs.

The point? ...just like building stuff. I think it's a viable design. Like I said- the capacity of a big cabinet smoker without the investment.

Just got a new job with much better pay. Might be able to build this thing sooner than I thought.

I think your biggest challenge (besides getting a good seal on the doors) is going to be getting enough heat into your verticals. Big Baby uses much larger diameter stove pipes. I know you said it wasn't to scale, so maybe that's what's throwing me off, but I think you'd need much more and more direct an opening from your proposed firebox to your verticals.

Aside from that, I think the concept is sound. Execution will be your bugaboo. Can you weld?

[Phrasty]

Hey I know it seems obvious and looking at it now its prob a bit tall and top-heavy and one day will prob fall over and crush a small animal but this could be an option.. couldn't it? Just stack one drum on top of the other. You will most likely have a difference in heat temps at the top but then you could prob use the top racks for warming or something... hmm i dunno. Not sure if it will work to be honest but I have already put together the illustration so I might as well show it. A possibility... maybe! maybe not? lol


Cheers

[Sean "Puffy" Coals]

Might be in the position to buy a welder in a few weeks- provided my expense checks start comin. Question is- what should I buy? Mig, tig, stick, arc? What do the welders recommend recommend for a beginner? Need something cheap and easy to use/learn.

[citrus]

Man, that thing will hold a lot of meat!

[aaabbq]

have you started this build yet? im looking at doing one very simalar