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My dad and I built one of these out of a whiskey barrel when I was a kid. We filled the bottom with 3-5" of sand, used a metal oil drain pan suspended by chains as a charcoal basket. We never filled it with water and never had any fire issues. The inner layer of charred wood is a good fire protectant and we only used it for low and slow (<300 deg). Made a lot of good Q and it's still running today (25-30 yrs later). we learned a lesson with screwing the bands (gotta do it) and also adding an extra band immediately below your cut line for the lid, otherwise it will have a pronounced underbite.
 
I don't have the link handy but I built one a while back and chronicled it here on the brethren. I'm sure the search will help you more than I can right now. Wine barrels make great cookers since they insulate so well. But they do require a "tune up" now and then to keep them tight. If I can ever get my hands on a regular sized barrel I might give it another shot. The barrel I used was too big. Good luck!
 
Update 7 Apr 11

Bands and wood sanded
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9 of 210
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almost done
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Tomorrow the top gets cut.

Thanks
 
This is fantastic. I can't wait to see the finished product. Like another guy said, that is one Perdy Barrel Smoker (PBS).
 
Cant wait to see this one done myself. Being the first American born Italian in my family we use to make wine all the time. All I remember were the amount of bees in the garage. Wish they had a barrel still to do this.
 
I like the rustic look of the bands the way they are, considering not painting them?

Yea man you gotta keep that rustic look. It's like an old antique, the character is in the flaws.

Now that you mention it, that may look good. A clear coat over the bands would stop the from rusting and keep the rustic look.
 
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