Wow! What an awesome thread. I've read roughly 50 pages with the intent of reading it all eventually. I plan on finishing mine in the next 2 weeks, time
permitting. I have a couple questions, the answers to which I am sure I will eventually come across, but I would like to build this thing before next year. So here goes.

1. Does it matter if I use 1/2 or 3/4 inch intakes?

2. 3 or 4 intakes? I would rather have 3

3. I want to have the ball valve on a 1ft riser, just to be able to see inside the ball valve. Will this work, and has anyone seen a difference between ball valve on a riser vs. at the bottom of the drum?

4. My plan is to use 2" conduit that is 6" long for an exhaust stack with a magnet for control. Does this sound ok?

Once again, I have been looking for all these answers, and found some great info, but it seems I could spend days looking through millions of opinions. Thanks again for any help!

3/4 intakes you need only 3 even spaced.
I have 2 ball valves on 18" risers so one should be OK on a 6" riser. I did mine for convenience. (getting old)
2" exhaust is fine, I never cover mine, only use the intake as adjustments.

Thanks. Was at RD earlier, picked up an 18" aluminum pan. Looks like I had a ~16" before. That along with a tiny bit of unscented clay litter on the bottom, I should be good.. we'll see :)

So I'm planning on following these plans for my build, http://howtobbqright.com/udssmoker.html, but I had a question about the exhaust. He says he cut holes for 3 exhaust holes but ends up capping off 2 of them. So do I really need to cut 3 holes or can i just have the one hole with the ball valve on it?

Had a guy ask if I could put a stack and thermometer on his.

I came up with this.

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/f...oker/MAtt3.jpg

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/f...oker/MAtt2.jpg

A half inch brass hose nipple for a thermometer hole. I just got a 12" brinman therm from homedepot.
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/f...oker/Matt1.jpg

I was watching a YouTube video and the guy was using digital thermometer that would not only keep track of the internal temp of what he cooking but also let you know what the temp is for the smoker as well.

It was basically two thermometers in one.

It looked pretty awesome...anyone know the best brand and/or place to get one.

Thanks!

Maverick et73 from Amazon

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Check out the Maverick ET-732. It is real popular with a lot of the Brethren.

I read many threads on this subject myself before I built mine, including this one (well i read about the first 50 or so pages then scanned the rest). I ended up going real simple for my first build and followed this thread: http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=43943

As for your holes, I assume you meant intake not exhaust. Most everyone has 2 or 3 intake holes and caps off all but 1 when cooking most of the time. The idea is that the extra 2 holes help bring the UDS up to temp when starting, then when up to temp they are capped and the 3rd normally has some sort of valve to fine tune the temp. On occasion when higher temps are needed one or two of the intake holes can be un-capped.

Get the ET-732 newer version with some updated features and fixes.

Finally completed my first UDS with a lot of the credit going to this thread. Spent more than I thought because I wasn't willing to wait and bought most of the items new. Barrel cost me 30 had to spend 60 to get it sandblasted (red liner) 30 for new grates 50 for misc hardware and 20 for wheels to attach to the extra lid I got for free. Makes a great dolly! My first burn was pretty hot I think because I started with too much charcoal. Using the minion method how many coals should I start with? I used about 2/3 of a chimney full and had trouble keeping the temp under 250.

Did you try covering 2 of the 3 holes on the bottom? I start with all 3 open till I get to temp then plug 2 and usually holds at about 235-250

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if you want to stay below 250 8-10 briquettes, if you want t go hot 275+ you already have the answer

You can also just use the ashes to absorb the grease. It's free!

The wider you make your basket, the more grease it will catch.

I don't use an ash pan. Just let the ash fall to the bottom. When you get ready for a cook, take your basket out and spread ash around the bottom. It'll soak up the grease. Then use a shop vac to clean it out. Works like a charm! If no shop vac, you can make a scoop. Garden hoe works good too. But the ash does a great job soaking up the grease.

Thanks Bludawg. I cant wait to fire this thing up and cook on it. I assume it will take a while to come up to temp with that few lit coals but that's what it's all about right?