Impressive space station looking basket! Wow

Anybody try a wok lid in place of a Weber kettle lid?

http://wokshop.stores.yahoo.net/flatlid.html

i dont see why it wouldnt work, except that for standard sizes buying a used kettle might be cheaper, and then you have a free grill as well.

If you look at the actual sizes. A 24" is actually a 22"
26" is actually 24"
Not the right measurements to fit most drums.
You can get a knock off kettle for around $40 new. Cheaper when on sale. And you get a cooking grate and coal grate. And the bottom of the kettle can be modified to use as a lid. If a used one can not be found cheap.

I’m building a 30” UDS so I don’t have the luxury of using kettle lids.

Czar
If money is no object, I'm sure someone could fab a big dome for your Mega UDS. If your drum has a removable flat lid already, I'd stick with that. Your grate will be very large (26.5"?)- are you wanting a dome lid so you can add a 2nd grate level? If so- that will add a lot of cooking area to your cooker for sure. I'm not talking you out of that- but I don't run 2 grates on my 55 gallon UDS because handling hot, full grates of meat sucks - a royal PITA. Now make the grates 40% (?) bigger and do the swapping... I'd just a soon not.

Can't wait to see how your project turns out.

Grates will actually be 29” and fabbed by one of the Shirley boys :becky:

And yeah, sticking with the flat lid for now. Top rack will just be the rib rack and sit 3” below the lid.

There is a lip around the outside.
https://sep.yimg.com/ay/wokshop/flat-lid-54.jpg
I wonder if the "26 inch", actually 24 would work because of the lip? Or a strip of metal around the outside?

"Grates will actually be 29”" plus "fabbed by one of the Shirley boys" = Those gonna be pretty heavy. If you are going with the top being solely for ribs, you won't have to do much juggling/rotating racks- that's a good thing.

Ugly Drum Smoker
 

Just picked up the 29” round gates Tyler Shirley made for me. It’s top notch in looks and build quality. It’s not heavy at all. About the weight of a pizza pan.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...f6d537c5ee.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...9fda0ec18b.jpg

Holy cow. That thing has almost 2x the surface area of a 22.

Winning :rockon:

He even threw in some juice with the deal? Nice!:becky:

I would have been able to cook my Xmas spread on one grate rather than 3 on my WSM. And would have gotten more sleep before my 17 hour drive across the South. I’m ready to retire the WSM.

Retire it to Florida! I’ll take it!

if I ever find a 110 gallon barrel come up on my local craigslist Im building one of these bad boys.

Here's a photo of mine running Christmas Eve, it's got some air gap issues, but it was the first time it was used, so I know what I need to do to fix it. All in all it was good, just ran a little hotter than the thermometer in the dome was indicating, going to have to invest in a remote read meat probe so I can watch internal temps closer.
http://i1305.photobucket.com/albums/...pstcfssunm.jpg

Any more 55 in a 85 builds out there.?

The only thing I would do similar to that would be to insulate where the charcoal basket is to get a more efficient burn since everything will just be pushed out from the draw. I just need to find me a 26" pipe about 16" tall and I can do that with my UDS.

What do you call these and can you get them from the big box stores like Lowe's and homeDepot?

Not sure of the technical name, but yes, I got mine at Lowe's. They're nice.

Shelf support strips used in bookcases.

If you don’t mind welding some support rods to your grates, these would be a great alternative. The adjustable rack system will allow you to move grates up and down with food.

https://www.hunsakersmokers.com/prod...le-rack-system

They're called shelf pilasters. I have them in my UDS and I wouldn't do it again, for a few reasons.

1. The clips in the pic above aren't long enough. A grate can still "fall through" if pushed too far to one side. You'll need to buy the ones that are slightly longer, with a "tit" or "hook" to keep the grates from sliding too far to any one side. Pic below.

2. Oftentimes, when removing a grate (especially a lower grate) if you bump a clip from below as you pull the grate up, that clip will pop out and end up in the bottom of the UDS or in the fire basket. This happens WAY easier than you would think.

3. Over time, unused slots in the pilasters get some "buildup" in them, making those slots nearly useless.

4. How much adjustability does a guy really need? I believe I'd be much better off just using stainless bolts at set depths. I have a Weber lid on mine which allows me to run a grate right up at the top and I use a grate right above the fire basket for a diffuser and water pan. I've cooked on two grates many times, and three grates once or twice. Two is manageable easily enough. Three is kind of a pain.

This has been my experience, anyways. As always, your mileage may vary.

http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/AFIAAM...j4U/s-l300.jpg

I believe I was the first to utilize the rack guides in a UDS. However, I do not use that style of guide or clip. Here is what I use and they have worked out great for me, for years now;

Lowes track=107828

[IMG]https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/8...923/ZWyMZd.jpg[/IMG]


Lowes bracket= 107820
[IMG]https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/8...924/OCxWlR.jpg[/IMG]

I weld mine in, but you don't need a welder, there are through holes for screws. Sure beats fixed bolts IMO. Allows for complete adjustability for multiple grates.

I also cut the brackets short for the grate support. I keep them long for the diffuser and saucer support;

[IMG]https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/8...923/ijthqt.jpg[/IMG]

Smokey
 

I hope I am posting in the right section. I have learned a lot from you guys and finally built my own UDS. I am smoking a BUTT for New Years, wish me luck. Here is a pic

I use the same strips/brackets as SmokerKing, they work great.
MikeTheTiger, nice looking UDS.

That's a real nice unit!

Jeff Makes GREAT baskets for UDS:http://www.giveittogodbbq.com/xxl-champion-baskets.html

Lol crap just left Lowe's with the undesirable ones I posted. Your setup is exactly what I need. I'm building a stacker for my kettle but it's the same idea. Guess I'll run back to Lowe's lol.

To me, the whole cooking with multiple racks on a UDS is almost more trouble than it's worth. I did 4 good sized briskets on 2 different occasions- I won't do it again. Rotating grates because one cooks at a different temp, meat wrapping, spritzing or flipping are all the pits.

I'm with BigDan- you don't need a ton of different heights. 3 more studs set in a good spot will take care of you just fine.

That being said- if you do need (or think you need) a ton of height options, the setup that Smokerking uses seems to be the best of the bunch.

Hinges work better for multiple grates, they flip up as you lift lower grate and you can flip them up before putting in lower grate.

I completed a new drum smoker last week. I bought the floating hinge assembly from Mark Hunsaker plus the lid handle. The bottom vent I got from Big Poppa smokers, as it is for a medium size fan for use with my DIGI Q. I splurged and bought a cast iron grate from Napoleon. I LOVE it! I can use it without the fan, and with the stack it hits and holds the temps right on the nuts. I use a basket I bought from Jeff on Giveittogodbbq.com
I couldn't be happier. The rest of the parts I got at Home Depot. Here are a few pics.Happy Smoking Farkers!!

Temperature be damned... I'm smoking Pork Butt tomorrow.
Meat rubbed and resting, will be ready to go on the UDS in the morning
http://i1305.photobucket.com/albums/...psqmb0zoip.jpg

Agreed, but with a cone top, it gives you more room for adjustability. Meat can be further away from the fire.

With a vertical smoker, I'm in the mindset, as far as away from the fire is best. If I want to get closer, I can.

Any pictures?

Hi. Very nice build. What is the source of that grate?

Right here:https://www.amazon.com/Napoleon-Char.../dp/B00CYUELZY

I may give this a whirl. My current pilasters are bolted in so this would be the simplest "fix" and it looks like it would end the current issues. I have it setup now for a grate at the top and one 6" below that. The top grate works for most everything except for turkeys. I stand them up on a beer can and almost always do 30 pounders, so I remove the top grate and use the second grate. The domed lid allows for enough room.

About the only time I use two grates at once is for ribs. It works well if do spares on the lower grate and baby backs on the upper. That way I don't need to rotate them. I put the temp probe at the lower grate and the temp difference has them done pretty much at the same time.

thanks a bunch

looking at the 2017 kcbs team of the year results,

it looks like THREE of the top 5 teams are cooking on UDS.

if thats the case, WOW. lowly drum in high places.

2. Shake N Bake bbq
3. Gettin' Basted
5. Big Poppa Smokers.

Can anyone confirm that these teams are indeed cooking on drums?

Question for you guys. A business owner local to me is selling 55 gallon drums for 60$ bare metal on the inside with no liners or coatings and was used once to store coconut oil. Is that a fair price? It's appealing to me because I won't have to burn it out.

Hinds that seems fair since it is ready to go. I can get a stainless one here in PHX for about $75. I will never go through the pain of having to burn out a liner etc again.

I can get brand new unlined drums for about that in my area. See if there is a drum retailer close by and check that. If you can get new for the same price I’d use that info to drive down the cost of the used drums.

I paid $20 for mine and it was the same scenario. Unlined, had been used once for some type of cooking oil. The guy I bought it from is a member here, although I can't remember his username. He owns a recycling business and he'd get the drums from the company that was on the receiving end of the oil purchase. I think he no longer gets them but it might be worthwhile to check with your local recyclers.

In hindsight, I wish I had bought a few as opposed to just the one.

what part of texas are you in? Im in dallas and a couple of sellers sell the unlined drums for $35.

but even at $60 I would still buy an unlined drum for the convenience. at that price you can still have less than $120 in the cooker.

I'd go for it. I got mine for $51 and even though I didn't have to burn it out I did to burn off the outside paint.

btw, I didnt burn off the outside paint on mine and the original paint has stayed intact.

You can get a complete stainless steal barrel for $75? Aren't they more like 10x that price?

Oops that clearly was a typo on my behalf.
Here is the ad for the guy I used last year.

https://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/f...439201785.html

Haha make sense now. I was about to book a flight to phoenix and drive a uhaul full of them back at that price. My buddy works for mcmaster carr and he got me a brand new with removable lid unlined for $60 with his discount so I'd think anywhere around that price for unlined is worth it. If found cheaper, great.


On a side note, when you store your drum, do you leave a vent open or is it sealed? Would you think keeping silica gel packs or a larger desiccant packet to keep moisture down would be helpful to control service rust prevent mold growth if stored for a while?