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!

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 "

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?


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




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:

Dont worry about paint, just let it rust!

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

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".

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.

"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!

Yup; you should do that.

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:

My UDS Project...
 

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.

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.

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.

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 "