Help!
I now have 4 drums that are 34in high. At what height do you install the cooking grate?
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24 inches from the bottom grate
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:confused: Help here brothers, 24" from the bottom of your fire basket I think...:confused: If you find a webber kettle lid you can add an additional grate above that. Yes...No...Maybe...Whatever... For sure...Fark it... what ever you want...No way...Try something...Punt...Help. LOL. Time for bed.
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Does anybody have a complete build photographed from start to finish??
Would love to observe.....Looks like I'm hooked searching for a drum as we speak! |
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Don't know how tall mine is but my first grate is 6" from the top and the second one is 6" below that.
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I'm still trying to hunt down a drum in my neck of the woods!! All this industry in my parts, and I'm not able to find a drum.
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Has anybody tried to use a metal garbage can instead of a barrel? They are definitely more accessible than the drums, bu I wonder what the trade-offs are with using galvanized steel...
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Don't Do It!!!!
Don't use anything galvinized to cook with!!!! Bad Mojo that!!!!
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http://www.kellydrums.com/ http://www.envirobiz.com/datademo/drum.htm ~ with the caveat that I have no idea how 'clean' and reconditioned barrel would be...or, how you'd tell what was previously in it. Are ya close to Atlantic City? They probably get buffet food in 55 gallon barrels. |
Thanks for the info. Maybe I'll get to work on one this weekend.
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I called my oil supplier the other day and he could get me a new drum for about $25.
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good price get it
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briskets on the barrel how many hours
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here is more on ugly drum smokers
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Welp, did some camping down at Truman Lake this weekend with five other families...22 folks total, a Yellow Lab and a half Pit Bull half Whippit chuck huntin' machine of a dog.
Took the trashcan along since no one mentioned what we were cooking on. Got there and found Smoky Joe and a standard issue forest service open pit concrete & steel HD grill...(not that there's anything wrong with that, but it was HOT outside). She chugged along all weekend even with various people constantly lifting the lid...Cooked with 50/50 lump and briqs. I dumped about beercan's worth of ashes out before putting it on the truck Sunday. Saturday...20 ears of unshucked corn on the bottom grate with 4 large foil packs of taters 'n onions on the top grate along with 30 brats cooked, wrapped and holding. Oh, and an 8 pack of dogs for the crump snatchers. All on a something I can lift in an out of the pickup easily, bad back and all. Thinking about modifying the bottom grate(s) with notches so they'll easily pass by the bolts that hold the top grate instead of having to angle it out. CLICK...or, maybe try a heavy duty butler tray hinge, drop~leaf hinge type set up for the top grate...:idea: Hmmmm.....might just work. http://www.paxtonhardware.com/images/4162.gif Came away from the weekend with supplier of lined barrels, if & when needed (cultured marble products company, FYI). Also traded my spare SS hardware and notes for the angle iron and the welding on a new charcoal basket. I'd have given them up for free, but he offered first...:wink: As of yesterday afternoon there are now 5 friends, 1 park ranger and 1 Benton county deputy spreading out around the Ozarks looking for barrels. It's craziness I tell ya...craziness. Sorry for the long windage, but she sho' did shine this weekend... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v695/bcswitz/x.jpg |
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No fair teasing us with the long shot of that lid, though. We need CLOSE UPS of the velocity stacks... . |
I knew a girl named "stacks" once...sadly, no pics :cry:.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v695/bcswitz/x2.jpg 'Pologies Thawley...I'm not the best photo guy, and I'm not sure my digital camera is from this century or not. It was a gift, possibly a re~gift... |
Those are SOOOOoooooo bitchen. Stainless allen screws, to boot. You're my kinda guy, Bones.
What's a application/source for the stacks? Motorcycle? Hot Rod Briggs&Stratton? You gonna put red, rubber balls in'em like the sprintcar guys do when the engine's not runnin'? Pretty trick, man. |
Thanks man...Nope, no application to speak of. Pops wouldn't come off any of the stacks I know that he's got stashed in his garage for his MG. I picked these up off Ebay for 7 bucks or so.
I've been thinkin' about getting some of those dual stack covers. Maybe two sets, cause I'll probably melt the first set. Wish I could have found a way to make 6 or 8 of 'em look cool on the lid of a barrel...maybe I'll side draft 'em next time??? It might not cook any good or draft worth a damn, but it'd look cool...! |
My first attempt...
This weekend I'm going to begin my first attempt at building one of these beauties! I picked up my first barrel from the guy who posted in Recycler. He had several empty food grade barrels (all with the interior lining, having contained apple juice concentrate). He sold it to me for $25, which I thought was fair considering its proximity of location. I opted to only get 1 barrel this time around since this wil be my first attempt at fabricating a smoker.
Currently, I am planning on using an old fireplace grate for the firebox (it's slots are thin enough for lump char), and bolting pipes to the sides for ventialtion (probably 2-3 at 1/2" - 3/4" a piece). I think I'll also drill 4 - 1/4" holes on the lid (in a tight square formation) and mount a pipe fitting over it for my upper exhaust (I'm thinking it will be a 1" diameter pipe that goes over it). I have no welding skills, so I am going to attempt to do this all with drills and bolts. I'm little nervous about burning off the inner lining with potential heavy fire and fumes, but I'll be sure to post pics in the coming weeks as I build it. Thanks everyone. |
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In your neck of the woods, I'd guess you could also take it down to the beach and burn it in. |
Hey Thawley...Any idea what kind of temps that 3M vehicle wrap can take? Do ya think the sides of a UDS are too hot?
This is gettin' out of control...LoL |
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Thats cuz USMC stickers wont burn!! :-P
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When postioning the first Food Grate. Does it need to be 24" from the bottom of the charcoal basket, ie 24" from the bottom grate, or 24" from the top of the charcoal basket, ie where the top of the pile of coal would be.
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My new basket cooks better than my old one even though it's 2-3" taller than the old one (about 18" from top of basket to top grate). That's my take on the sitcheeashun anyway... |
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Well, what i'm thinking of is having a 'hotter' bottom rack where the temps might be say 250 to 275 even, and a 'cooler' top rack where temps could be between 250 and 200. Cooking things like chicken and ribs on the bottom rack and butts and brisket on the top.
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Let me toss this out for idears.....My top grate is 7" from the lid. The over/under cooks are a slight hassle cause you have to remove the entire upper grate to tend the stuff on the lower one. I have made a grate extender for my Eggs that looks like this. What do you think of a 1/2 ring with a 1/2 grate to sit on the regular grate? Maybe used for potatoes, corn, smaller stuff like a short rack of ribs, a few wings etc. If it was 3" high you could still reach under it with tongs, or just spin the whole device 180°. (those bottom crossbars would not be needed.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3.../DSC02674a.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3.../DSC02677a.jpg |
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Hey Thirdeye, speaking of...What MIG welder would you suggest for the small home shop? Just for tinkering around the shop. Surely nothing ever over 1/4", I don't imagine... |
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Anyway back to your question. I don't know what your budget is but I like Miller. I used to not like their beer or their welders, now I drink Lite and own a Maxstar. For you, the Millermatic line may be something to look at to compare features. The 140 even has Auto-Set. Remember you will need a bottle of gas, a hood and some accessories. I've played with them at a couple of welding demo's, they are nice. You really need to try some on for size. There are some Lincoln machines at home centers that have similar features to the Miller. Some welding dealers have demo machines so you can get some trigger time before buying. http://www.millerwelds.com/products/mig/ |
Thanks man...BTW, bought a 12 pack of 16 OZ Miller Lites the other day. First time I've ever seen such a thing...'bout time!!! LoL
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Speaking of welding, I have a lazy eye (crooked eye farker) and have bad depth perception. I was on disability with a broken leg (in a hip cast) and had to pay a muffler shop $20 to weld 2 scissor jacks together to raise my bed. He did such a $hitty job when my first Income insurance check came in I bought a 250 amp Miller mig. I am not a great welder but I can stick things together. I needed a 115V welder to do fencing and I bought a Hobart 135, neighbor was hooked after playing with mine. He bought a Miller 135. They are almost identical (Miller owns Hobart) except his had a reostat for voltage where mine has a position click.. Wish mine had the adjustment when doing small stuff. If you go on Ebay welding outfits have lots of deals most with free shipping because they are drop shipped. Around the holidays most give freebies, carts, covers, consumables. Important thing to remember is don't buy cheap. Get a major brand so you can get replacement parts. It is as addicting as BBq. Since then I got a Miller SD180 tig/stick that I can not seem to get the hang of, and my favorite a plasma cutter my wife and daughter bought me. Join the Miller club online they have a E-newsletter that is cool, lots of ideas. Go to http://www.cyberweld.com/ good place. Buy a good helmet, autodarkening, best you can afford. Take it from One eye, it's too late when you can't see what your missing.
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Man alive! That was long read, it took me all afternoon(while working). Now I am convinced that I need a drum smoker. I read in one of the posts that it cooks from the bottom only. So if I wanted to use rib racks would I need to flip the ribs over in the racks? One of my probs right now is that I can't cook many racks on what I have now and I think a drum would do the trick. Thanks.
Jason |
Norco,
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You have a plas at home? Cool. I'm still a real novice with the TIG but I like the mechanics of the whole process. |
Yeah I have a plasma cutter, my wife loves me and listens to what I tell my friends. I have a lot of coaches when it comes to welding. The problem I have is keeping the tungsten away from puddle/filler. Probably didn't help that I started to learn on aluminum. Started getting the hang of it and then electricity rates went up and you can see the meter try to spin the house! Need to get back to it. Wish I had time to take a class. My eyesight is changing with age, need reading glasses. Got a hood with magnifier lens. Real cool if you need it.
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My machine is DC TIG only, so no aluminum. But it does have an adjustable arc pulse that helps me. It came with the finger control and a lot of welders like the foot pedal better. It's the out of position stuff that gives me fits.
My hood has a cheater lense too. |
Start a new thread
You farkers should start a new thread about welding
This is not Q-Talk info... JMO... |
How long are the thermometers you use in these?
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mine is 3 inches
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Most standard thermometers are @ 3-4 inches. I used a long temp probe in mine and the thermometer reads about 200Deg. when probe 6-8" in reads @250. I think this is part of the reason people say they cook faster. I run mine where the dial is "clocked" at 200 straight up. I can sit inside an still see it and know where it is even with my crooked eye no matter how many beers (short of passing out).
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Also, I've posted a separate thread for UUDS™ Foot-Operated Air Vents & fire-basket/ash-pan combo. Just wanted to link it here with the rest of the UDS info... http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1081/...4505bb12_o.jpg http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1041/...1658cbed_o.jpg http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1052/...fcbf5cbf_o.jpg |
WOW! What a great thread! Just finished reading from start to finish (at work no less!) and will now start searching for a 55-gal drum barrel for my very own attempt at one of these beauties. After all, how could something like these homemade smokers be called ugly?!
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