Just finished my first Boston butt. OMG, I think I could fall in love with this kind of kookin'

Howdy All;

Well, so far I've read 750 of the 10,101 posts to see if I can unlock the secret of the UDS..... still back in 2007 :pop2:...

Will be traveling South for the Winter for the next week. Time to contemplate what I've read, and do some fishin...

hank

I did that very thing to my DrumPit and more...
Try these and see iff'n they help with your build......

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=28252
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=130795
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=131871
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=109339

If I get what you're after, you want to use part of a second drum as the lid for your current UDS which will add some height when in place, yeah? Kind of like using a Weber lid on top of a UDS but instead you're using a second drum, so your "lid" will have straight walls and flat top.

If so, and you don't want to mod your current UDS (so you can continue using your current flat drum lid when you choose to), I'd imagine your best chance would be to take drum #2 and do whatever you have to to open the bottom... turn it upside down, cut off the bottom, etc. I'd then use some thinner gauge metal to make a long strip perhaps 7 or 8 inches in height and long enough to go around the inside circumference of your UDS. Weld or bolt it to the inside rim of your "lid" drum so maybe 3 or 4 inches extends down and can slide into the open top of your smoker. you may need to use some high temp silicone or other sealant to get rid of air leaks on your extension lid. Fine tune with a rubber mallet and I expect you'd be good to go.

Speed is a good thing when getting into, and out of a UDS IMHO...the more unwieldy you make the lid the more "farks" will be involved in getting it on and off :-). Unless you can hinge the extended lid.

I made it through pages 280 over the last month and got started on my build.

Burned it out this weekend

http://i869.photobucket.com/albums/a...th619/burn.jpg

All cleaned up, inside and out with the wire wheel. Lid got a little out of whack, so using the clamp to suck it back in.

http://i869.photobucket.com/albums/a.../cleanedup.jpg

Assembly and season in the next few days. Dont think Im gonna paint it....all the bells and whistles will come out on the next one.

Thanks for all the great posts with detailed info!

Josh

You should clear coat to keep that funky pattern the wire wheel made..

I'm liking the shelve set up. Anyone have any pics to share of how to set it up?

The shelf is really simple, 4 1X4 treated attached to 2 1X2s and hinged to a 2X4 that's bolted to the drum. The brace is a 1X2 that is hinged and sets on a bolt.

Would RustOleum Clear Enamel stand up to the heat from the drum?

Personally I would use engine paint.

Just thought i would throw my UDS into the mix. It's my first, so it's not as good as most of what i see here. But its a start....



http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=144797

edit* thought I was in the google search box

Made some progress tonight. I have all of my parts now, but only had time to remove paint, surface rust, and the liner from the inside of the lid (the inside of the barrel was unlined) and construct the charcoal basket, though I have no pictures of it since somehow a 5/8" bolt snuck it's way into my bag-o-bolts and other appropriately sized hardware from Home Depot, so right now it's only sitting on 2 legs. I'll swing by on my way home from work in the morning to pick up a proper sized bolt.

One coat of spray-on Klean-Strip was all it took to have the paint literally falling off in big chunks and sheets like a wilting rose (felt like a popped balloon).
http://i.imgur.com/mNnuJ.jpg?2

I had tan liner on the inside of my drum lid, which I tested with a wire wheel and it was tough to break through to bare metal, but one coat of Klean-Strip and the wind could have blown it off to bare metal. Here's a pic of me testing it with a metal rod, just showing how easily it peeled away. I ended up wiping the rest of it off with a shop towel.
http://i.imgur.com/89Hnw.jpg

Here it is sanded inside and out (no inside pics). I'm not re-finishing the bottom because who cares?
http://i.imgur.com/ivFeE.jpg

One can of Klean-Strip was all I needed to remove the paint from the barrel and lid as well as the liner on the inside of the lid. It's advertised to work on epoxy so I figured I'd give it a shot for the liner and it worked like a champ. I've read through the first 500 pages and some change, but up until that point I think besides wire wheels, sand/soda/bead blasting, and burnouts, the only other thing anybody has tried was oven cleaner. I can't promise this will work for all liners, especially the dreaded red, but for a few bucks it's definitely worth a shot. If you try it and it works, I absolutely recommend properly cleaning out the inside of your barrel before cooking on it, though, as this stuff is pretty potent.

I think I paid about $6-$7 for it at Home Depot. Their site is acting funky right now, but here's the manufacturer's link for it: http://www.wmbarr.com/product.aspx?catid=72&prodid=112

I have a drum with the dreaded red liner. Got quoted $90 for sandblasting, still pricing around. I'm really tempted to give this a try, but do you have any concerns about contaminating the inside of the cooking pit?

I'm going to use a homemade mixture of liquid blue Dawn dish soap + vinegar (to eliminate any residue) to wash the inside of the lid tomorrow. After a rinse and a dry, I'm going to give it a wipe down with 91% Isopropyl rubbing alcohol, then season.

I'm no expert at this, but I think after that it should be fine. If I were going to do the inside of the barrel, I'd probably take a sander or angle grinder to it after a wash and rinse, just for reassurance, if anything else.

I'm curious how it works out for you, though. If your red liner is as horrible everyone makes it seem, then a couple of cans would be worth the risk if you're unable to do a long, hot burnout.

Yeah, I live in a pretty dense suburban neighborhood, I don't trust being able to safely (or legally) burn out a drum. That coupled with the dreaded red lining led me to decide to just go for a sandblasting. The drum was free anyway, so it's less painful to pay more for the blasting. I'm on medical leave right now and can't do a lot of work on my drum but I'll be thinking it over for a few weeks from now, thanks for the info. :thumb:

Anyone used a high temp silicon on the outside their smoker?

Let me explain. As I have posted I have modified the top to my drum to accommodate a lid I found from a charcoal grill. I secured the top and lids with self taping screw but now I have smoke leaking out around the contact points between the two. I was thinking that a thin bead of high temp silicon would solve this problem.

Any thoughts?

D

I believe our brethren from Man Cave Meals used some on his Kamado to seal smoke leaks in one of his vids.

I used it on a brinkmann style smoker to seal the sections together.

Nice idea with the Klean-Strip. I'm staring at a lid too with a tan liner and my drum is unlined. I think i will give this a try and was planning on doing a burn out to get the paint off on the outside but maybe I will do the the Klean-Strip as I live in a subdivision and dont want to give my neighbors a heart attack. But there is a lot of homes being built and plenty of scrap wood and my wife is going out of town in a couple of weeks with the kids and it would be bad ass to have some fire.

Also I have 2 questions. This will be my 3rd build and I'm sticking with the KISS method. But I want to add something to my lid (flat;not weber lid) so I can hook it to the drum when I'm tending to my food. I'm getting tired of putting it on the ground, etc. What do you use? A large bolt?

Also if I do go the burn out route; will I have to do anything inside the drum to get the black smoke off? Was hoping I could just season it from there but should I clean it out? Dont have a power sander or anything. Thanks.

At Home Depot in the same section I picked up my lid handle (Door Hardware aisle), they have multiple options for "robe hooks". I took a small propane torch to it for a bit so hopefully everything potentially toxic is burnt off. It came with 2 screws, but I used my own stainless steel bolts instead.

Smoked 2 fatties on mine, one sweet Italian sausage stuffed with pepperoni, mozzarella and pizza sauce for the wife. One breakfast sausage stuffed with sautéed jalapeños and onions and cheddar cheese, wrapped in a bacon weave for me. Have pics for proof, will post later when I'm on my laptop.

I followed the KISS method. Took some minor tweaking to get the temps stable, but I'm confident after a couple of more smokes that I'll be familiar with its personality and it'll be smooth sailing from there. A big thanks to all who submitted their failures and successes which helped save the late-comers like myself from waisted time and unnecessary headaches.

I'll use Kleen -Strip for sure on my next build. I can't believe I didn't think to try that.

Just finished a cooker that I plan to sell....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...1/DSC_0288.jpg

Remote temperature gauge.....http://i1225.photobucket.com/albums/...70E2B5049B.jpg

^^^..Thought I was only one using binos to check temps from my 2nd floor apt...Dont use em as much as i did with first few cooks on UDS...got er dialed in for any temp between 225 thru 350°...uds ROCK

Ugly, basic, and mine
 

After much delay (about a year), I finally finished my first UDS last weekend.
The unit was assembled from a free drum donated by a friend, some canibalized parts from 2 CL 22.5 OTS's, and a few other donated and purchased parts. It features 2 cooking grates, a 14" X 9" charcoal basket no-weld basket with attached pizza pan ash catcher, and for now a turkey thero fitted into a 1/8" X 1/4" brass hose barb. I'm planning on mounting a second turkey thermo probably next week, as well as investing in an ET 732 Digital with some anniversary money from my wife, part of which paid for my newly minted Brethren subscription.

Shown are: the finished UDS, the basket in progress and the aluminum rim added for seating the Weber lid.

Thanks to all the many Brethren for their insipring tips and recipes and the community attitude that makes this forum such a great place to be.

Matt Allen
Huntsville, Ontario, Canada

200 pages down......:wacko:

200 pages down......:wacko:

200 pages down....:wacko:

My apologies...laptop froze. . . mad rampage clicking created the triple post...im guessing :mmph:

alot of great reading in here guys thanks!

Nice shelf. Just don't put any food on the treated lumber. Bad stuff in treated lumber.

As I read through this thread a couple of questions come to mind that I have not seen answers too, or I should say, have not seen definitive answers too. I do realize that a lot of this is at user discretion and/or preference, that there may not be a right or wrong answer to many of the design elements.....many ways to skin a cat. . . etc

With that said I am looking for pro's and con's, recommendations based on experience more than what is right or wrong:

Charcoal basket size is one:
For those of you built you baskets on Weber charcoal grates, what are the pros and cons of using the grate from an 18" versus the one from a 22-1/2". I'm not looking for pros and cons of the build, but rather of fit, form and function. Does one clog easier than the other? Is the smaller that much easier to get in out of the drum that makes it a no brainer? Does one seem to achieve more consistent temp's from edge to center of drum?

The other thing relates to the 24" from bottom of charcoal basket to first cooking grate. I have seen some insist that this should not vary much from that. I do understand the importance maintaining distance from heat source to delectable flesh. But I'm not sure why that the 24" +/- generally accepted grate to flesh distance isn't, at least somewhat, charcoal basket or more specifically charcoal height dependent?

i.e. if you are running a 15" dia by 12" high charcoal basket and start will a full load, uncommon I know, you start you cook 12" from the heat source If you are running a 18" by 8" high basket (roughly same full load volume) you start your cook 16" from heat source.

If a 24" grate to grate height works for the first scenario why won't a 20" grate to grate height work for the second?

I'm not disagreeing with the general 24" rule, and I understand maintaining proper distance to prevent flare ups, over smoking, and maintaining consistent cooking grate temps is all part of it, just trying to figure out why that seems to be somewhat of a hard and fast rule regardless of basket size and distance from flesh to heat source when you start you cook?

Thanks,

I've only built one and it hasn't even been alive for a week, so please don't run away with my answer as truth, as it's only an assumption. I'm not a pro at this.

Any way, I'm guessing the 24" rule has to do with being an absolute distance. You can start with different heights due to the amount of fuel you're using, but 24" will always remain constant throughout the life of your smoker. Save for any intentional adjustments on your part.

Surely someone with a bit more knowledge on the topic will come along and correct me if I'm wrong or touch up on why 24" is the magic number (lost/wasted heat any distances greater than that?).

I just moved the 3/4" plug from the top of the lid to the bottom of the lid and left it standing out far enough to hang on the edge of the drum.

Hi.Iam new here and looking for some advice.I am going to build a UDS and have just bought a drum online which was used for transporting juice.I have just noticed that it only weighs 10 kilos and others weigh 18 kilos.As the drums are he same size i assume the one i have bought is thinner grade steel.Will this cause me any problems with construction or performance of the finished product.Many thanks in advance.

I guess it's OK to make picnic tables out of treated lumber but not BarBQ pits...Hmmm???

I'm sure he meant that you shouldn't put food directly on treated lumber like you would with food grade tops. There are some nasty chemicals in treated wood that you really don't want in your food.

I have a question about my exhausts. Will threading the 8 holes in my lid with nipples create any chimney like effect (if that exists), or is it exactly the same as just having the holes bare.
I'm debating whether I should thread the holes with a pipe plug to close it off, or just install the nipples and use caps for cutoff...

hi im new here, need some advice. Ive bought a steel drum (32 inches high, 22 inches diameter). is this too short to convert to a UDS? Also, is it essential to have 24 inches between coal basket and grill grate? Thanks in advance

Do it either way, no difference. Mine are flat.


Not an expert but some where between 22 1/2 to 24 would be acceptable, just adjust the height off the bottom a small amount.

I use the refrigerator magnets from Harbor Freight.
http://www.harborfreight.com/4-piece...set-98502.html

Easy to use and you can hang your cooking implements from them.

Waited for the city inspector to make his routine 11:30am drive by and then completed the burn out today...hopefully build this weekend.

I'm starting another UDS build and picked up a couple cans of the Kleen Strip and it really works. I didnt want to do a burn out so I used it to strip the paint off and then I had one lid with the tan liner and it worked like a charm. I got most of the paint off the drums although the pics show some spots. 2 cans for 2 drums. Gonna finish the build next weekend.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-A...9/P1010903.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-4...9/P1010908.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-i...9/P1010909.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-1...9/P1010905.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-j...9/P1010907.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-o...9/P1010912.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-H...9/P1010910.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-e...9/P1010913.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-V...9/P1010914.JPG

I picked up a can of Kleen-Strip to test on my dreaded red liner... I'll report and post pix when I do later this week. Glad to know this stuff works so well on the tan and exterior paint.