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View Full Version : 30 gal. UDS Help


Highcal
03-07-2014, 12:55 PM
So I'm new to smoking, and have already gotten great info on my other thread, and I apologize for questions that I am sure have already been answered in other threads, but there is sooooooo much info here in this forum, which is great but is also very overwhelming so I hope you all do not mind me picking your brain.

My drum is 18.25" wide and 31.75" tall and I will be using a domed Weber lid. Here are my questions.

1. How far down from the top of the drum do I install my cooking grill ?
2. How high up from the bottom do I make my air inlet holes, and do I make them 3/4 " like people us on a 55gal. drum ?
3. How many air inlets do I need ?
4. How high up from my air inlet holes do I install my charcoal basket ?

Bludawg
03-07-2014, 01:16 PM
So I'm new to smoking, and have already gotten great info on my other thread, and I apologize for questions that I am sure have already been answered in other threads, but there is sooooooo much info here in this forum, which is great but is also very overwhelming so I hope you all do not mind me picking your brain.

My drum is 18.25" wide and 31.75" tall and I will be using a domed Weber lid. Here are my questions.

1. How far down from the top of the drum do I install my cooking grill ?
2. How high up from the bottom do I make my air inlet holes, and do I make them 3/4 " like people us on a 55gal. drum ?
3. How many air inlets do I need ?
4. How high up from my air inlet holes do I install my charcoal basket ?

1. 1" below the edge 4" below the top grate 4" below the middle grate
2. the center should be 2" from the bottom Drill 3 1" holes to install 3 3/4" close nipples
3. answered above
4. 4" off the bottom of the drum

Fwismoker
03-07-2014, 01:32 PM
The cooking grate height pretty much depends on what kind of lid you have...Is it gonna be the flat lid or a dome lid?

The charcoal basket just needs to be able to get enough oxygen to it... 3"'s would be a bare minimum, i'd say 4 is best.

Intakes...more is better than less. My little mini WSM has four 1" holes. I'll open all of them up when i go super hot on chicken and open them both up to get the basket hot.

More air is always better because you can always close off what you don't need.

Fwismoker
03-07-2014, 01:35 PM
This build of mine is the same size as a 30 gallon pretty much and i have a domed lid and installed 2 grates.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=173767

bbqgeekess
03-07-2014, 01:41 PM
Answers in bold within the quote:

So I'm new to smoking, and have already gotten great info on my other thread, and I apologize for questions that I am sure have already been answered in other threads, but there is sooooooo much info here in this forum, which is great but is also very overwhelming so I hope you all do not mind me picking your brain.

My drum is 18.25" wide and 31.75" tall and I will be using a domed Weber lid. Here are my questions.

1. How far down from the top of the drum do I install my cooking grill ?

Not sure with Weber lid. 2 inches? Probably the same as people do with 55 gallon UDS who use Weber lid as well? I used a flat lid on mine.

2. How high up from the bottom do I make my air inlet holes, and do I make them 3/4 " like people us on a 55gal. drum ?

2-3 inches. (Allow for some room for either store bought dolly or homemade one.)

3. How many air inlets do I need ?

I went with 3 x 3/4".

4. How high up from my air inlet holes do I install my charcoal basket ?

I like the bottom of the fire basket to be just above the top of the circle of the intake vent.


Additionally, you can put another grate 8 inches below the top one, to use as an additional cooking grate and/or a place to put an optional diffuser medium.. Also a place to put a fire basket for grilling/searing. I use the charcoal grate for a 22.5" weber kettle (which is about 17.5" in diameter) for the lower grate to sit the firebox on for grilling/searing. (And I of course use the Weber 18.5" cooking grate on the top--the higher quality one that cost a few dollars more.. there are two models.. one is very sucky.)

Here's my 30 gallon build threads:
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=176062
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=176395

bbqgeekess
03-07-2014, 02:01 PM
1. 1" below the edge 4" below the top grate 4" below the middle grate
2. the center should be 2" from the bottom Drill 3 1" holes to install 3 3/4" close nipples
3. answered above
4. 4" off the bottom of the drum

I agree with this all--perfect! I just used 25 cent folded aluminum flashing sliders I made for my intakes instead of nipples.

And does the fire basket really need to be 4 inches above the bottom of drum? My intakes are 2" above and my fire basket sits about an inch above the origin of the circular intake vents--i.e. 3" from the bottom.

Highcal
03-07-2014, 04:17 PM
You guys are awesome, I appreciate all the help

Highcal
03-07-2014, 09:36 PM
Since I'm on a roll getting great responses I was thinking of using the magnet idea instead of ball valves(which I do not like the look of ) until I saw this idea here on another thread(i forget which member ) which i like, but not sure how well ky seals.
92426

I would also like to get ideas on which thermometers to use and how you all installed them. Ive seen some just poked through the drum, and some that are installed on a mounting plate which is attached to the drum.

SmittyJonz
03-07-2014, 10:27 PM
You oughta scroll thru :

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=80125

The above is on the bottom if a Brinkmann Gourmet - seals good enuff to snuff a fire
You can do similar but on side of drum like in the pic of this CL ad

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/for/4359485132.html

Highcal
03-08-2014, 09:20 AM
Ahhh perfect, that link has tons of info , thanks. Those BGE slider vents are really slick, I love the look they give the drum but I wonder how long they last before they gum up or how air tight they are when you want to snuff out the charcoal.

dadsr4
03-08-2014, 09:25 AM
Here is another vent alternative.
http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa345/dadsr4/BBQ/AirflowControlClosures_zps330e4a0d.jpg

Highcal
03-09-2014, 06:29 PM
Great ideas thanks.

Im still not decided on if I will try a sliding air intake or just holes with magnets or a ball valve .

Do these ball valves or nipples just screw on or is there a nut on the inside of the drum ?

Also I see many smokers with electronic thermometers which I am guessing probes into the meat. What are they using in the drum that the probes passes through to keep it air tight ?

Fwismoker
03-09-2014, 07:10 PM
Great ideas thanks.

Im still not decided on if I will try a sliding air intake or just holes with magnets or a ball valve .

Do these ball valves or nipples just screw on or is there a nut on the inside of the drum ?

Also I see many smokers with electronic thermometers which I am guessing probes into the meat. What are they using in the drum that the probes passes through to keep it air tight ?

Can't go wrong with ball valves for air tightness although i like my Big Poppa sliders. Yes nipples or ball valves need nuts on the inside unless it's welded on.

As far as probes go there are lots of ideas on here. This is what i did and like real well. It's just a electrical conduit nipple and nut and plugged with cork..total cost was like 3 bucks and i can fit multiple probes through.

http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee407/Amerivet/UDS/P1020066_zps4451f5d9.jpg (http://s1226.photobucket.com/user/Amerivet/media/UDS/P1020066_zps4451f5d9.jpg.html)

Highcal
03-11-2014, 01:06 PM
Cork, great idea. I been pouring over that mega thread, getting lots of ideas and think I came up with one of my own I have not seen anyone do. I was looking at ideas on how to hold up my grill, some put bolts through the drum with a nut on the inside, and others I seen use U bolts.
My idea is to weld nuts inside the drum at different levels and then simply screw the bolt into the nut from the inside, on the level I want, therefore being able to use whatever length I want to use to hold up the grill, and this also allows me to have a larger ash pan since I can unscrew the bolts to get the ash pan out only needing clearance for the nuts.

I also noticed some people hang their meat so I think I can make a rack that bolts onto the nuts that will be welded inside the drum to hang meat without the grill being installed.

SmittyJonz
03-11-2014, 02:05 PM
Probe holes dont need to be airtight even for snuffing fire if they are up at grate level - I just drilled a 3/8" hole.

Highcal
03-13-2014, 01:41 PM
ahh ok, good to know, I thought being air tight was the name of the game. After reading, and reading and reading lol that massive thread I think I may stay away from a regular thermometer and go with one of those digital ones that has two probes, one for the grill temp and one for meat temp, just not sure which brand, seems to be many companies selling them.

Highcal
03-16-2014, 07:07 PM
Got my basket all welded up, and got the nuts welded inside the drum for my racks and a possible diffuser. I highly doubt I will need more than one rack so my racks are not spaced very far apart, just enough space for jerky.

chicagokp
03-16-2014, 07:51 PM
Looks like good work! Time to get her dirty!

Highcal
03-16-2014, 08:07 PM
I still have to drill out the air intakes as soon as I can get my hands on a 1" step bit, and then decide if I am going the nipple and cap route or magnets, and then a good burn out since I think there is a rust inhibitor in it because the metal has a slight blue haze to it.

ebijack
03-17-2014, 04:30 AM
Nice build! Just a suggestion on your bolts on the inside for your racks. They are going to get very greasy, without anything blocking the nut threads, same thing. If you take a bolt and drill a small hole thru the center like an 1/8 inch. Use that to center drill each nut location thru the barrel, then carefully drill thru the out side using a sheetmetal unibit to open up the hole, then your bolts can be adjusted from the out side to set your rack heights and block the unused nuts. If that makes sense. Or only use your lowest rack height, and have bolt legs for your other racks. Real easy to lift in and out and you don't have to tip the racks with food on them to get them in/out of the grill. Been there done that.

Highcal
03-17-2014, 06:51 AM
I had thought about the the nut threads getting all gooped up with grease and was not decided if that would be good or bad. At first I was worried about the bolts seizing in the nuts from getting hot then cold over and over again so I figured having them full of grease may be good to stop them from seizing, but since my drum will only be used for smoking and not grilling I do not think the nut and bolts will get hot enough to have that problem.

If you guy think having them get loaded with grease is not a good thing then when I get to work today I will get some more bolts and cut most the threads off of them shortening the bolts so I can thread the bolt into the nut and have only the head of the nut sticking out which will basically cap off the nut but will hardly protrude past the nut so the grill can still be removed with out hardly having to tilt the grill.