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Smokin' D 01-21-2010 07:07 AM

Don't worry about the paint scraping off. A little vegetable oil on the bare metal and a few smokes later you have a nice seal against any rust.

caliking 01-21-2010 09:30 AM

Nice solution to the charcoal basket issue. I found expanded metal at a steel mill here in Houston.

Do you have any problems with the charcoal getting choked by ash? Maybe you don't since you get long burns...

BlkJeep 01-21-2010 09:49 AM

pirate- what type of heat diffuser are you using?

phoney- just food for thought but it looks like your charcoal basket may not let enough ash escape? Also you you may need more exhaust? My webber lid is not enough during cold weather smokes. I have to crack the lid a bit. Good luck and let us know if you change anything and how it affected your burn..

h20loo 01-21-2010 10:00 AM

Phoney- seldom do you want more intake than exhaust.
Your basket allows more air than a BGE(look at one) and they have no problem. Of course they only have one intake.
When it rains your barrel is going to fill with water- unless you cover it.

porcinepirate 01-21-2010 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlkJeep (Post 1151676)
pirate- what type of heat diffuser are you using?

I built the diffuser by making about a 16" diameter, minus some metal from some edges, and welded some angle iron, and will suspend it over the coals by a few inches, , the hight of my coal basket is about 12.5 " so I figure about 15 to 18 inches should do. I made it strong enough with 1 inch angle iron, so that it could hold a water or drip pan. There should be about 3-4 inch gap all around for the smoke and heat to rise.

As I mentioned I have been using a ECB smoker and the water pain seemed to be an integral feature. I have read on the site that some like the fat to drip into the coals for added flavor, but I can leave the diffuser out and try it that way also.

http://gi153.photobucket.com/groups/...g?t=1264091337

shifferem 01-21-2010 10:37 AM

Awesome thread everyone! I have spent the last few days reading all posts – not goin to ask for the information to be repeated and not goin to ask for a t-shirt since the UDS I plan to build will provide plenty of good pron to ease the pain on my eyes!
My priorities these past few days:
1. Read all the posts and get all the information I can so I can build a UDS
2. Find the supplies and build a UDS
3. Do as much BBQ on the UDS as I can
4. Finish our master shower so my wife will let me do more BBQ
5. Find some time to do more BBQ
6. Perhaps get a little work done with any left over time
My wife’s’ priorities:
1. Have me finish the master shower so she doesn’t have to use the spare shower
2. Have me actually work so that we can afford to finish the rest of her long list
3. Get me off the computer long enough for her to check her email and play games etc…
I think you see the issue here!
Getting ready to start finding everything I need for the build here in Montgomery Alabama and will get back once I begin the build with pics and pron!

porcinepirate 01-21-2010 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phoney (Post 1151496)
Here's my contribution!!!

Phoney, I am working on making covers/controls for my vent and exhaust holes. I can't see clearly from your picture how you did it. but are the covers held in place by a screw and spring?

Porcine Pirate

" Pigs are our Tasty Friends "

phoney 01-22-2010 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caliking (Post 1151654)
Nice solution to the charcoal basket issue. I found expanded metal at a steel mill here in Houston.

Do you have any problems with the charcoal getting choked by ash? Maybe you don't since you get long burns...

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlkJeep (Post 1151676)
phoney- just food for thought but it looks like your charcoal basket may not let enough ash escape? Also you you may need more exhaust? My webber lid is not enough during cold weather smokes. I have to crack the lid a bit. Good luck and let us know if you change anything and how it affected your burn..

Not letting enough ash escape is certainly an issue, im left over with tons of it in the basket after a cook.

But, at the same time I am able to maintain a good, stable temperature for 10+ hours, so until I find a better basket it's serving me OK for the mean time.

As for enough exhaust, ive got 4x 3/4" holes plus the small amount that escapes from around the rim of the lid. Is this still not enough?


Quote:

Originally Posted by h20loo (Post 1151688)
Phoney- seldom do you want more intake than exhaust.
Your basket allows more air than a BGE(look at one) and they have no problem. Of course they only have one intake.
When it rains your barrel is going to fill with water- unless you cover it.

Definitely covered! The weber kettle cover fits like a glove (is this just an Aussie saying?). As you can see I prop up one side to let all of the water run off too...

http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/2813/img1501v.jpg



Quote:

Originally Posted by porcinepirate (Post 1151780)
Phoney, I am working on making covers/controls for my vent and exhaust holes. I can't see clearly from your picture how you did it. but are the covers held in place by a screw and spring?


Yep. It's just 2x 3/4" holes drilled side by side and covered over by a length of steel strap held in place by a bolt n nut with a spring and a washer. I got the link from somewhere in this thread that is a "how to" - I pretty much followed this part exactly from the guide.

Link: http://uglydrumsmoker.blogspot.com/2...holes-etc.html

and: http://uglydrumsmoker.blogspot.com/2...ng-loaded.html

Here's a close-up of mine:

http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/328/img0145v.jpg


I only wish I had've painted the handles a different color looking at it now! :lol:

sdb25 01-22-2010 01:06 AM

Dont worry about paint, just let it rust!

phoney 01-22-2010 06:26 AM

Say, does anyone know how I can access the recipe database? Ive sent a PM to admin and got no response.... can anyone else hook a brother up? :D

Cheers

IronStomach 01-22-2010 08:07 AM

Phoney, I don't see what the problem with 4 x 3/4" holes for exhaust would be: the total area of your exhaust holes is: 1.77sq".
The exhaust in my drum lid (the Norcoredneck Edition) with 8 x 1/2" holes is 1.57sq".

riznfall 01-22-2010 09:15 AM

I have started to read this entire post. I just bought a food grade used drum for $35 delivered. It contained apple juice. Was wondering if I should start the build before I do a couple of good burns in it? I was going to get all the holes drilled then do the burn so that the fire has some air at the bottom.

BlkJeep 01-22-2010 09:18 AM

"Like a glove" must be everywhere! I like the cover too. The only solution I can think of for your basket may be to use a charcoal grate from a Weber and cut the bottom off your current basket. Then attach the grate to the bottomless basket. That might help the ash escape? But looks like your getting long burns? just me think out loud!

Mark 01-22-2010 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by riznfall (Post 1152850)
I have started to read this entire post. I just bought a food grade used drum for $35 delivered. It contained apple juice. Was wondering if I should start the build before I do a couple of good burns in it? I was going to get all the holes drilled then do the burn so that the fire has some air at the bottom.

Yup; you should do that.

CUTigerQ 01-22-2010 02:55 PM

My UDS journey starts this weekend! After reading the majority of posts in this thread I feel like I'm ready to build a uds. I can't wait to pick up my drum this weekend and get that first burn going. I'm seriously jonsein' for some BBQ cooked on something that I created. I'm going to take pics every step of the way and I'll post them as I do them. This is going to be an adventure for me! Let's see how this turns out.

1FUNVET 01-22-2010 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MariettaSmoker (Post 1153402)
My UDS journey starts this weekend! After reading the majority of posts in this thread I feel like I'm ready to build a uds. I can't wait to pick up my drum this weekend and get that first burn going. I'm seriously jonsein' for some BBQ cooked on something that I created. I'm going to take pics every step of the way and I'll post them as I do them. This is going to be an adventure for me! Let's see how this turns out.


Good luck. Really it's so simple even a cajun can build one. :biggrin:

Smokin'Ron 01-22-2010 05:19 PM

My UDS Project...
 
14 Attachment(s)
OK, So I read the 300+ page UDS post and the information is invaluable. Awesome Ideas. Since mine is a work in progress and will probably take me a total of a couple of weeks to complete, I'll post updates as I go (hope this is OK). Sorry haven't figured out how to type between images yet so they are all at the bottom.

I drove 2 hours 1 way to get my 3 barrels with no lids for $10 ea. I was so excited to get the barrels since I couldn't find any local, I just grabbed what he had avaialable. As you can see 2 are the same and had Lemon Pulp in them, I initially thought they were unlined, but decided to take my drill will a sanding bit to them and sure enough they were coated with a finish. The green one was obvious as it was tan inside.

So, I'm not a shop guy and don't weld or have the general metal shop tools, but I do have some wood working tools and auto tools. I decided to build my first UDS with what I want from the wealth of knowledge I have found here. So I went to the store and grabed a 1" Metal whole saw for my drill, 3 3/4 nipples, 2 caps, and a Ball Valve. Figured this would get me started on my project.

Had seen many folks using steel brush wheels to clean the inside and some posted pics of what they looked like after. The wife mops the garage floor so I knew that was not going to work. I had purchased a nice little orbital sander for wood working that had a built in vacuum to a catch attachment. So I grabbed some 60 grit and went at it... also had a drill bit for sanding to get the cracks. Here are some pics of the process from raw barrel through the sanding process to nice clean and shiney.

Once completed with the sanding, I drilled my intake holes 1.5" on center from the bottom. Install 2 3/4" nipple with caps and 1 3/4" nipple with a Ball Valve. I regret not purchasing the unibit now, the hole saw made the 1" hole oblong with the drill and I believe it would have been more precise with the unibit. When installing my nipples, they were really loose. I decide to use loctite to get them set and figure the burnout would take care of that later...

Note the pics of my sanding pads, they have a lot of life left. Since the barrel is round, I was only able to use the edges, I ended up going through about 3 pads for the whole inside of the barrel.

I'm uploading what I personally felt comfortable wearing (and what the wife felt was funny enough to snap a few photos of) while doing this. The first few minutes I sanded with no protection, I started coughing like crazy...Note the color of the mask I wore, I put it on the cooler for a reason as that was the original color. I wore the overalls because they are cheap and easy to take the grime off with having to scrub my clothes.

So now, after getting the nipples and ball valve installed, I have the final pics. This is as far as I was able to get tonight after about 3 hours worth of solid work with a drink break every now and then. I'll be working on plans for the charcoal basket, maybe a heat damper and as you can see in a couple of photos, the Weber that will be the lid and top cooking grate.

MushCreek 01-22-2010 05:35 PM

Very nice work! I like the hazmat suit, although it runs contrary to the redneck agenda. I recommend doing a high-temp burn-out, since there's still probably liner in the seams. I'd take the ball valve out if you do a burn-out- it might melt the plastic on the handle, and the ball itself might be nylon.

Smokin'Ron 01-22-2010 05:41 PM

Yeah, I'll definitely do a burn (late at night when all the neighbors are sleeping so the cops don't show up) and take the caps and the ball valve off for a full hot burn out... I wanted to do the sanding just for my own piece of mind. Thanks for the feedback.

Edit: Oh yeah forgot to mention I did wipe the inside down with rubbing alchohol to get the particales out and figured it would all burn out with the initial burn.

porcinepirate 01-22-2010 10:12 PM

question on temperature gauge.

I am hoping to be done with my build tomorrow so I can season it on Sat then make some bbq for the games on sunday. I purchased a Grill Care temperature gauge from walmart (only one they had). I have read some reviews one said good the other said inaccurate.

any advice on this unit or one you would recommend.

Porcine Pirate

" Pigs are our Tasty Friends "

shifferem 01-22-2010 10:28 PM

Nice work!! I'm glad to see that sanding discs worked decently on the liner as the HOA would have a fit if I did a big burn here...looking forward to seeing your end result. I will be out looking at a few drums this weekend crossin my fingers that they are good enough to get me started!

Sammy_Shuford 01-23-2010 12:53 AM

Only 3 60 grit pads to do the whole inside? I must say, I would expect more pads.
OBTW, you can get an adapter and small hose, hook the sander right up to a wet/dry vac.

MushCreek 01-23-2010 08:42 AM

I have 2 of the $5 thermos from Wal-Mart, and they are both right on the money. Get some water boiling; it should read 212. That will give you an idea if it is off, and by how much.

repoman013 01-23-2010 09:21 AM

i cant believe i read the whole thread, thanks to all for the great info , its has taken me months to fin read, work keeps getting in the way, i am building my smoker now will post pics when fin, iam kinda sad to be at end of thread , enjoyed reading after a hard night of stealing cars lol

porcinepirate 01-23-2010 01:33 PM

almost there

drum cleaned inside and out and painted - Check

http://gi153.photobucket.com/groups/...g?t=1264274992

Air Flow controls installed, hardware installed - Check

http://gi153.photobucket.com/groups/...g?t=1264275049http://gi153.photobucket.com/groups/...g?t=1264275086

all that is left is to pickup Webber grill parts this afternoon, then I will season it and then be ready for maiden smoke tomorrow.

Here it is with season smoke going. it has worked out great less then 10 minutes to 240 F, and holding over an hour once vents were adjusted. I used the bottom of the webber, it has more vent holes.

http://gi153.photobucket.com/groups/...g?t=1264285444

here is the temp gauge

http://gi153.photobucket.com/groups/...g?t=1264285564

Porcine Pirate

" Pigs are our Tasty Friends "

MushCreek 01-23-2010 04:39 PM

I like it! The bottom of the Weber looks like a good idea. What keeps it from sliding off in windy weather?

Smokin'Ron 01-23-2010 04:44 PM

6 Attachment(s)
Diggin' the upside down Gril for the lid Porcine. I goofed my weber up trying to may a lid collar. So I went to plan B with a hitch pin, I need a washer on each side to make it work, but they will allow me to pul the top rack adn pull the hitch pins to pull the bottom rack easily.

Install my thermometer, 1 handle ( I need more bolts), built my basket, but I don't think it is big enough. I couldn't find the expanded metal around her so I grabbed a charcoal chimney, knock the bottom and handle off and drilled a bunch of holes in it. Attached it to a charcoal grate with 2 U bolts.

For my first rack I used 3 U bolts, but it seems unstable, May need to add a fourth.

Removed all of the hardware and doing my burn tonight while the neighbors sleep :grin:

Meat Burner 01-23-2010 05:37 PM

Ron, I like your hitch pin idea. It can be tricky getting the botton grate in and out with stationary bolts for the top grate. Nice idea bro. I would be very leary of only using three points to hold any grate. From experience, it may surprise you how easy it is to dump a brisket into the bottom of your barrel. Four points would be a lot safer. Keep us posted as it looks great so far. Hope the fire basket works out. It might make a real hot spot in the center of the grate. Let us know.

CUTigerQ 01-23-2010 05:37 PM

I posted this already in it's own post but thought it was better suited for here...Im picking up a drum tomorrow and need to get the lid cut off of it for a UDS. Two questions on that, should I keep the top and make a lid out of it after it is cut off or should I throw it away and get a Weber lid...and if so, how should it be cut off??

2nd question is where can I get it cut off near Atlanta? Anyone know or can anyone here do it for me?

I wanna be cooking in this baby next week.

Thanks Guys!!

Meat Burner 01-23-2010 05:41 PM

This UDS threat has a lot of information about cutting the barrel and various ways to make the lid. You might want to take some time and read through it. It will answer your questions. Good luck.

CUTigerQ 01-23-2010 05:45 PM

I dont have a search feature because im not a paid subscriber yet. Otherwise, I would have searched for it. 319 pages is a lot to manually search for and could take me weeks.

Meat Burner 01-23-2010 05:57 PM

It's going to be a chore brother but well worth it. There have been so many things tried that worked out and also that didn't work so well. It usually ends up keeping it simple for the best performance. My favorite UDS, and go to smoker, is the first one I built almost 3 years ago. Was simple and works sooooo good.

MushCreek 01-23-2010 06:07 PM

There are several ways to cut the lid. You could cut it off below the bead, since most drum beads are a tad big for a Weber lid. This will leave a sharp edge, with no reinforcement, though. You can cut it inside with a chisel, or a reciprocating saw (SawZall) with a metal cutting blade. I suppose you could cut it out with a grinder as well. If you cut it out of the inside, it won't work as a lid. If you go to a place that deals in drums, they'll usually have a drum cutter, which is a giant can opener, for lack of a better description. The place I work has one. They leave a very sharp edge about an inch down inside- you want to pound it down with a hammer or grind it smooth- trust me on that! They have lids that fit open drums, with a big circular clamp that holds it on. I like the Weber lid, since you can put tall stuff on your top grate. If the bead is too big for a Weber lid, you can add a strip of steel around the inside, sticking up about 1/2" above the bead. On my stainless drum, I drilled and bolted it every 3" or so. I recently built a steelie for a friend, and welded it every 3" instead. A 1/8" X 1" strip works well, and you can bend it by hand. Keep asking; we can talk you through it! Here's some pics of the strip I added to my SS drum:

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k1...e/IMGP5024.jpg
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k1...e/IMGP5025.jpg

h20loo 01-23-2010 06:38 PM

Marietta- get your lid before you cut the barrel. You may want to leave a 1/2" lip inside for the lid to sit on.
Many people built their barrels when the thread was 10 pages old.
It sounds like you might enjoy the benefits of buying a ready to smoke UDS.

GldnKniteofBBQ 01-23-2010 07:05 PM

3 Attachment(s)
Im in the process of building my first smoker project in the form of an UDS. I wanted to pick the brains of some experienced builders to see what they think with a couple of questions i have... 1) Im using 2 3/4" ball valves to control air flow with no other holes drilled on the bottom. Is this sufficient? 2) I cant seem to find anything that isnt galvanized to attach these ball valves to, but i did find some copper nipples but for some reason they have PVC around a portion of it (i forgot to include that in the pics). Is the PVC going to give off toxic fumes? 3) If i remove the bung valve off the lid of my drum, will that be sufficient exhaust? It measures 2 1/2 inches in diameter.

I think thats it for now. I need to get after the charcoal basket next. Thanks!

[IMG]file:///C:/Users/Danny/Pictures/2010-01-23%20UCF/UCF%20046.JPG[/IMG][IMG]file:///C:/Users/Danny/Pictures/2010-01-23%20UCF/UCF%20048.JPG[/IMG][IMG]file:///C:/Users/Danny/Pictures/2010-01-23%20UCF/UCF%20047.JPG[/IMG][IMG]file:///C:/Users/Danny/Pictures/2010-01-23%20UCF/UCF%20046.JPG[/IMG][IMG]file:///C:/Users/Danny/Pictures/2010-01-23%20UCF/UCF%20046.JPG[/IMG]

porcinepirate 01-23-2010 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MushCreek (Post 1154419)
I like it! The bottom of the Weber looks like a good idea. What keeps it from sliding off in windy weather?

Right not it is not fully engaged but very close (part of it below the lip and some on the lip. I think the first thing I am going to try is to flatten out the rim edge, this should make is sit in and rest on the bolts holding up the grill.

Porcine Pirate

" Pigs are our Tasty Friends "

Smokin'Ron 01-23-2010 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meat Burner (Post 1154481)
Ron, I like your hitch pin idea. It can be tricky getting the botton grate in and out with stationary bolts for the top grate. Nice idea bro. I would be very leary of only using three points to hold any grate. From experience, it may surprise you how easy it is to dump a brisket into the bottom of your barrel. Four points would be a lot safer. Keep us posted as it looks great so far. Hope the fire basket works out. It might make a real hot spot in the center of the grate. Let us know.

Thanks Meat... I'll install another in the wider gap since I forgt to measure twice and drill once. I have a wider space on one side so that will be the forth ubolt. I have 4 Hitch Pins for the top rack adn drilled for 4, just need to get the washers and extra pins.

First burn in progress. I'm not sure it's getting hot enough high enough in the barrel. Bottm looks good and hot and is burning the outside, but the top still has the original paint on the outside? Should I be concerned? I'm going to do another burn, just curious how I should make certin it gets to the top. I had flames shooting out??? Still not convinced it did 100% burn.

sdb25 01-23-2010 08:05 PM

The 3 3/4" intakes are fine. You will most likely find you keep 2 closed all the way, and fine tune the temp with the last one (thats why you only leave them all open during initial startup, and why most people just put removable caps on those two).

For the nipples, go to the hardware store and get "black iron pipe nipples". These are used for gas lines, and usually in the area where the black iron pipe is.

Don't use copper, galvanized, or PVC. Galvanized is typically just zinc unless it's really old, but may be better to be safe.

Or you could just leave the drilled holes and cover them with magnets like some people do.


Ahh, the beauty of improvising and the UDS.

caliking 01-24-2010 08:58 AM

The first drum I cut with an angle grinder didn't look too pretty:-D had to hammer down the edges so I don't shred my arm reaching in to the drum. The second drum I cut was much better. I saved the removed tops for door hatches and such (I made one for my tandoor, but you might not need a hatch for a UDS

GldnKniteofBBQ 01-24-2010 03:21 PM

3 Attachment(s)
Gettin close on finishing my first smoker project....Charcoal basket done... just got the proper nipples for my ball valves (hehehe) Thanks SDB25, i had to go with brass tho, no black iron...everything was PVC, copper, brass, or galvanized... now im just waiting on the hi temp paint to dry on the inside....Next up is seasoning it ! I'll add new PRON when i get the outside painted....i was able to find some high temp metallic gold paint online and when that comes in i'll get the exterior done.

I wish this would hurry, im craving ribs.......

N8man 01-24-2010 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GldnKniteofBBQ (Post 1155478)
now im just waiting on the hi temp paint to dry on the inside....

Whoa, whoa, whoa....you shouldn't paint the inside....
You want bare metal on the inside.

Paul B 01-24-2010 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by N8man (Post 1155488)
Whoa, whoa, whoa....you shouldn't paint the inside....
You want bare metal on the inside.

Ya, I read that too :eek::eek::eek:

Paul B
SS UDS

GldnKniteofBBQ 01-24-2010 03:38 PM

hmmmm.....too late now :) Why not tho, it shouldn't effect its ability to hold heat and it should add a little protection (along with seasoning it) against rust.

N8man 01-24-2010 03:43 PM

Because of a little thing I like to call,"Lethal Toxicity"
The paint will outgas as it heats up and poison your food.
Not a pleasant afternoon of BBQing then.
Quote:

Originally Posted by GldnKniteofBBQ (Post 1155496)
hmmmm.....too late now :) Why not tho, it shouldn't effect its ability to hold heat and it should add a little protection (along with seasoning it) against rust.


Phesant 01-24-2010 03:44 PM

Well that's just scary.... paint, heat..... nocuous gasses....mmmmmm

GldnKniteofBBQ 01-24-2010 03:47 PM

dang it..... can i burn it off, or am i stuck having to grind it all off?

N8man 01-24-2010 03:53 PM

I'd do a couple of high heat burns in it, then sand what was left.
Better safe than sorry, Brother.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GldnKniteofBBQ (Post 1155502)
dang it..... can i burn it off, or am i stuck having to grind it all off?


GldnKniteofBBQ 01-24-2010 03:57 PM

i thought this Hi-Temp BBQ paint was made to handle the heat...... i guess im still in the "denial" phase of grieving :)

GldnKniteofBBQ 01-24-2010 04:13 PM

ok, i flew through the anger phase...and on to acceptance. Gonna make a call to a local sandblasting co tomorrow. Any idea on what type of prices i can expect for that?

Sammy_Shuford 01-24-2010 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GldnKniteofBBQ (Post 1155532)
ok, i flew through the anger phase...and on to acceptance. Gonna make a call to a local sandblasting co tomorrow. Any idea on what type of prices i can expect for that?


No, but post what you find out!


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