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I use a cooking grate and attach to it pieces of angle iron (or aluminum). (https://www.google.com/webhp?sourcei...&bih=965&ion=1) I used the pieces that are about 1.5 inch wide measured from the corner on each side. If you lay it down in the shape of the "A" it would measure almost 3 inches wide. I used about 4 feet and cut it into 4 pieces to place on the grate.. the 2 middle pieces of course are longer than the 2 on next to them. The lengths I made to go as long as possible to not go past the diameter of the grate. The larger size is good for this; fewer pieces to use, however you need a serious saw blade to cut this unless you can get your hardware store to cut it. Grab a grate to try to imagine how to lay them down to determine how much you need. Then I placed the pieces almost next to each other, leaving a little bit of space between. What this does is make most of the heat come up along the sides of the barrel rather than straight up. And because of the "A" shape and slight spacing between, it allows the meaty goodness drip into the fire which is very important in a UDS. Finally, using iron makes it retain the heat and helps make a nice even overall cook. Aluminum will work fine too, just won't retain the heat as long but not sure how much that matters. |
What to do with UDS Spare Parts??
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Drum heads...my wife got me the Planet Barbecue book for Christmas. I did a quick scan and found my next project. Only problem is that I will have to officially change my name to the Schwenkermeister!! I've got enough spare parts lying around to fab up a German Schwenker Grill to go along with my UDS. I'm going to do it right by adding the airfoils below the grate to get constant rotation from my fire pit in the backyard. I've included a pic below of what a basic one looks like. Seems like the perfect portable grill/smoker.
Attachment 59755 |
Drum out of round.
After all the work, my drum top is a bit out of round. Think I can squeeze it with a clamp the other way to get it to stay round?
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Well mostly finished my first UDS. Put in some pipe nipples and caps as well as a ball valve on the inlet holes.
Cooked some boneless chicken thighs wrapped in bacon last night for dinner. Worked very well. Only took 1 1/2 to 2 hours had them up to 180 IT. Tender and juicy inside. |
Come on now
Dont tell me this thread is played out. LoL:-D
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Nah it's young yet. Only 9081 posts.
I finally got my first one dialed in and love it. Two more drums in the wings waiting for me to get them done. :clap2: |
UDS Build- First Smoke!
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After a bit of digging around, I had decided that I'd like to build a UDS.
I read up a bit, found a barrel and some parts and put this together. Thanks to everyone who's contributed to this thread, there really is a WEALTH of knowledge in the 9,000+ posts. After a quick seasoning and adjustment last night, I figured I'd test my skill with some chicken thighs. I've already got plans to build a few more. I've got a huge BBQ planned for the end of April. |
Nice PRON
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The 55 gallon smoker has been the best smoker I have ever used. It holds more consistent heat than any other one you could buy on the market. It's also cheaper to build than you could imagine, and you could say you built it on your own. I have an 8 foot smoker I've bought from a Texas company and it sucks. It burns through wood and charcoal like you wouldn't believe. I only seasoned it to make sure the inside wouldn't rust and it would have a coat of oil inside. But it burned through a whole bag of charcoal and 2 big chunks of wood like it was nobody's business. It also cost a fortune to build and have it delivered. Not to mention it arrived with damages. So learn from my mistake and go the right way from the beginning. Build a UDS.
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Don't buy a Texas smoker from any company. Save your money.
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Please don't buy a Klose bbq smoker or any other one from any other company if you are consdering building a UDS. I made the big $3000.00 mistake of buying a texas lone star grill and it arrived with a bent smoke stack, and damages on the back like it had fallen over, with deep scratches every where. The builder and the delivery company have done NOTHING to fix the damages. I am going to have someone come and fix it. And it has been three months since I have had the smoker. So just build your own out of a 55 gallon drum. I've since build 2 after getting my texas smoker and like them better any way. But I have to admit, I haven't used my texas smoker cause I can't until it gets fixed. TOTAL waste of money!!! UDS is the way to go. |
I need to take a couple pics of the UDS itself.
Here's the pork loin I made for New Year's Day. Brined it for awhile, then soaked in regular water. Rubbed with a modified rub I found on the net. It took pretty much three hours at 225. Took it to 140-145* internal temp and let it rest for an hour prior to slicing. http://flic.kr/p/b8YHythttps://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlinkhttps://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-B...0/IMG_0001.JPG Sliced it and put it in the fridge overnight. Then I threw them on a hot grill to get some sexy grill marks and kept them warm in a crock pot of sauer kraut. Had rave reviews all afternoon. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-D...0/IMG_0003.JPG Edit: Where are my pictures? Edit 2: GRRRRR Edit 3: The FAQ didn't help...I am seriously not this much of an idiot. Edit 4: Flickr is the idiot. http://flic.kr/p/b8YJve |
Behold! My UDS:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/--...0/IMG_0001.JPG For my fire basket, I decided to have the expanded metal go all the way around the grate and have three inches below and 9 inches above. I did this so I can put a grate at the lower bolt level and put the basket on upside down and use the top level as a direct heat grill. I had a friend weld it up for me. My fire basket: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-w...0/IMG_0002.JPG The only problem I've been having with this UDS is water collecting in the bottom during a cook. Anybody have any ideas on how to resolve this? You can see some rust on the bottom. I am also trying to figure out how a better way to put the thermometer in there. Right now it's just going through a hole and held in with a washer and lock washer so I can't easily pull it in and out. The inside: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-m...0/IMG_0003.JPG |
If you search in the uds thread theres a pic of the part to buy that will allow you to slide the thermometer in and out.I thought I had it in my favorites...
brickie |
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http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/a...UDS/uds016.jpg http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/a...tconnector.jpg[/QUOTE] |
the 1/2" one will do??? http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...atalogId=10053 like this?
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