Exhaust holes for the lid?
I have seen BDS has holes around the outside of the lid.
Most others have one or two exhaust pipes closer to the outside of lid. Very few with exhaust in the middle of lid. Is there a proper place or does it really make a difference?

Andyll

I started out with the big hole open by itself and stuck the thermometer in the smaller one. The temps wouldn't get higher than 220-230° so I added the other 2 holes. It won't be hard to fid the holes in the lid. I'll probably add another intake hole and see if it helps. Thanks for the advice everyone and keep it coming.

Another problem I'm having is my basket is too big. Apx. 15" diameter and 6" tall. I'm thinking of making another ring to set inside that's smaller for the shorter cooks. Maybe something like an 8" diameter.

Cover all the exhaust holes except for the bung and increase your 1/2" intakes to 3/4" and you'll be jammin!

A smaller basket is nice for smaller cooks! :cool:

Go with what Bubba said.
You need enough air traveling into the fire to keep it going, you have also lost the ability to 'tune' your temps because you are starving it. You need to get to the point where you have too much air in so that you can throttle back and hit the temps you want. If you chose to stay with the 1/2" intakes then add a third and put a ball valve or some sort of air flow control in place.
You can always make a smaller basket to fit inside the larger one.

Welcome brother.
The jury is still out on what works better or gives a more even cook so go for what's easier or experiment and see what works for you.

Remember to post pictures.

UDS in the Dictionary
 

Temp issues or not this thing should be what you see in the dictionary when you look up UDS. The UDS poster child.
KISS, ugly, functional, cheap.

There's a post somewhere with a template layout that Swamprb swears by...he says it gives the air circulation a swirling effect that acts like a convection oven. Help me out here Swamp! :-P

Thank you. That's what I was going for. Although I did just pick up 2 weber grills cheap and I have a lid now.

Im sure im in the wrong spot ugle its not but man it made some great ribs today stainlees steel drum eating maple and hickory pellets sorry the stuff thats hanging off the back is going to get a cover and I will post more then :icon_devil

Now that's no ugly drum there bbq lover. Nice.

thanks its eating pellets and its a fun deal.. 3 outings and everybody that got some told us it was the best ever first was ribs for me and my buddy and his family 2nd was chicken and corn on the cob for guys from work and todays ribs for me and my family .. right now set the dial @ 250 and its there all day there is a swing of 5 degs we are working on that lol the meat is very moist and the smoke ring is about half way into the meat so far just a fun deal so far we are going to try a brisket next week :-P

sf, yes it is really ugly....but growing on me! Take bubba's advise and it may get even perdyer! Experiment a little and it will be just fine. Then stick with what works.

Damn!! What did you pay for the stainless steel drum? I cant touch one for under 300.00!

http://i37.tinypic.com/14bkvwi.jpg


Ohh man that's one he!! of a nice drum! I need a stainless one to go with my gear!

Save your money Dock, just "Chrome"it!:biggrin:
http://www.paintsprays.co.uk/catalog/images/P21.gif

Ok, I am cross-eyed now from reading 141 pages of posts.

But the good news is I am picking up two barrels this week to build my first UDS. And I have a bunch of ideas after reading all those posts. Hope to submit pics of the build soon!!!

Haahaha That stuff don't work you can't fool me! lol Now the gold on the other hand.:lol:

well we where dropping off a load of alum <chips > to the metal recyclers and ask them if they had any drums one guy told us to go look around the corner we seen to stainless right away both not shiney lol like now anyway we ask the guy how much he told us go weight them we did and 40 bucks later we left with 2 stainless drums and a hand full of money from the chips ..lol we went back last week told him if he gets anymore to call us should be a looker this season at the cookoffs

Pomona Bling!

Ya baby!!

I have tried to read this thread from start to finish on several occasions and have yet to read all of it. Be sure your eyes are uncrossed before working on your UDS! :twisted: Good luck on your build! :-P

I did it but it took a whole weekend. My drum is very ugly too but makes some pretty food!!!

That is what it's about.

That is a steal! I pay $20 for a regular steel drum. Very nice snag.

Plan on starting a double UDS building project
 

My Brother and I are starting a UDS build project over the holidays and could use any advice yall brothern could give, we think we got it down but there is always some better way of doing things, we plan on posting picture thru out the build.
Charlie :-D

Keep it simple brother. There is always a new way that may not be better than the simple design. Look forward to your build pics. Hve fun!!!

How many drums do you have? Build a basic one and cook on it while you experiment with your super drum. End of the day you will get the info here you need to be eatin good.

I've lost two days to this thread, but on a positive note I found a free drum. I just have to figure out the logistics of a 55ish gal drum vs. a tiny compact car. If anyone sees a little blue car with a big a$$ drum strapped to the roof, don't laugh. It's just me.

The christening
 

thanks to this forum i built my first uds and christened it friday night surrounded by several mega towbehind smokers disco balls, flat screens ,etc on smokers at a sporting event i took out the (trash can smoker) as it was called and proceeded to serve up the best bbq of the weekend hands down. i let those guys taste and they talked about the trash can all weekend expect more members very soon thanks for all the info guys im hooked.

My last drum came home in a Chrystler Neon. You can make it happen man.

Top, ya might want to wander over the cattle call and introduce yourself if you haven't already and welcome!

wheres cattle call didnt see heading for it:sad:

I will add, Keep it simple.

That's a really good stroke of luck. My stainless drum was a little harder to fashion than carbon steel drums, but really not significantly more difficult. I would urge you to get some carbide drill bits though. If you want, I can send you my PowerPoint presentation on my stainless steel UDS build.

marks right good drill bits a must I work in a machine shop so we have good tools lol

Chassis punch makes short work of stainless.

Well after much bending of the Weber Lid and some banging with a rubber mallet, it appeared i had a fit.

Fired it up and there were quite a few leaks. Continued to work with the rubber mallet and pretty much got it sealed up. I threw some rib tips I had left over onto it and they came out really nice.

UDS held the temp very well as usual and I have to say with the Weber lid on it seemed to not cook as fast as with the flat lid. Did a Tri Tip over the weekend and it rocked.

Two questions for you veterans. Do I need any more exahaust holes for the weber kettle lid? It did not seem like I did, seemed to work great. But I do have 8 in the flat top.

I'm not sure that I need the Weber extension if I decide to go that route, but the seal on the lid might be even better. If I do, is it typically designed as a permanent fixture or to be removed?

Thanks in Advance and I'll remember to have the camera around next cook.

I dont think you need to add more holes to the weber lid.

I run my weber daisy wheel wide open ith 1 1/2 to 1 1/4 of my 3/4" intakes open and have no issues what so ever. Infact if I stay with kingsford, I can leave the same setting( when I start a new smoke), once I dump in a full chimney and it will set at the same temperature.

While I know they are supposed to be ugly...

Is anyone using any paint other than "high heat"?

I've seen quite a few colors posted here but when I go to HD and Lowes, my choices are BBQ Black and BBQ Black.

No need for fast with a smoker just more quality beer time. :biggrin:

Dupli-Color Engine Red matches all my Red Weber Kettles.

Go to an auto parts store and you will find dozens of colors.

No high temp on my drums.

I just use left over automotive paint-usually enamel but my friend used base/clear. I have had temps approaching 400* and no blistering or discoloring so far. I haven't found a need for high temp yet!

Asking for input on How Many UDS cookers you would recomend for a KCBS comp?

Thanks,
Ken A.

4 minimum...(one for each meat)...maybe 5 ( one hot one for setting glazes)...:-P

where can i find 1/2 inch stainless plugs for intake -exhaust holes

http://www.mcmaster.com/

Not Stainless but nickle plated. Page 3671


9563K43Push-in Metal Plug Nickel-Plated, Fits 1/2" ID, 21/32" Head DiameterIn stock at $11.87 per PackThis product is sold in Packs of 50

Has anyone had good luck with an 85 or 110 gallon drum? I finally read through the whole thread, but i dont remember seeing anything conclusive about this. My motivation is trying to get 2 racks in 1 smoker without dealing with the non fitting weber lid. I think the extra capacity would make it a good size to use regularly as well as hold enough to do the larger family gatherings. I just dont have enough time with my current work crazyness to deal with the fine tuning to get the airflow dynamics right if it doesnt work. Thoughts?

Thanks all,
-JD