Double Barrel Build

[Sixeight]

I built a UDS several months ago and can't imagine life without it now. We have a competition coming up so I wanted to build a couple more to take with us. I was able to track down (3) food grade drums with only a clear coat liner. The week torch took care of the liner in short time. For this round I wanted to work on a hinged lid and sliding air intakes. The intakes were cut from an aluminum sheet pan I had laying around and have two different hole patterns. I wanted to have a couple options to see which one worked best. One has (4) 3/4" inch holes and the other (2) 1.5" holes.

Instead of a hinge I used square tube welded to the side with a 3/8" steel rod bent to 90. The rod was then welded to the double chimney for support. I saw this on another build and really like the idea of swinging the lid to the side. It works great and you can easily remove the lid for cleaning or hauling. I still need to add a hole for probes and maybe some castors, but at this point they are good enough for cooking!!

The two orange UDS's are new. The black UDS is my old one. I have one more barrel to build out, but I wanted to wait and see how these worked so I could fine tune the last one.

[diggles]

I love the hinge idea. I might have to add that to mine at some point.

[KevinJ]

Nice looking drums, the swivel lid is a great idea.

[rubbinright]

You might want to see if you can add a place to hold water to add moisture to your neat

[Sixeight]

Nice looking drums, the swivel lid is a great idea.

I wish I could take credit for it, but I came across the idea researching lids. They work great and are extremely easy to build. Probably cost a total of 5 bucks including the chimney pipes.

[Sixeight]

You might want to see if you can add a place to hold water to add moisture to your neat

I actually bought (2) 19 5/8" steel cake pans from my restaurant supply folks. They sit 5 - 6 inches above the coals. One pan holds about 1.5 gallons of water. I have a piece of copper tubing with a funnel on the end that slides between the grates and allows me to add water without taking everything out. I used it on my first one a couple time (ribs and small butt) and didn't have to add any more water. I may add a spigot on the third drum so I can fill it from the side without opening.

[Fwismoker]

You might want to see if you can add a place to hold water to add moisture to your neat

Water pans won't add moisture to your meat, although it can serve as a heatsink but usually isn't needed in UDS. Water will make you burn more fuel also.

[jeffturnerjr]

Water pans won't add moisture to your meat, although it can serve as a heatsink but usually isn't needed in UDS. Water will make you burn more fuel also.

I agree. Anytime I add a waterpan, it is a fuel SUCKER. And I have never seen a noticeable difference with a waterpan. I would contest the drippings that fall onto the charcoal produce a delicious flavor profile to the meat.