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thanks I will check that out. for right now I was just planning to use the bottom of the old drum , since I cut that out to use it upside down. but, at 20gauge its probably too thin to be very effective. |
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I tried THIS suggestion from SmittyJonz.. It was okay. As thick as a cheap pizza pan but with pre-made holes.
http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/old-...t-bottom-grate http://assets.academy.com/mgen/84/10197184.jpg |
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I have a deflector for my kettle which I rarely use, made from a wheel disk held together with bailing wire. |
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is this a lid that can be bought somewhere? |
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But give it a try. Also, straight holes into cookers are affected by wind. One of my reasons for using the elbows. |
Latest cook on the UDS. Char Siu according to this recipe :
http://blog.thermoworks.com/2017/09/...ar-Siu-Pork-cs The recipe uses a PBC but I thought it would be the same. During https://i.imgur.com/4zIuamwh.jpg Finished https://i.imgur.com/IfJyZboh.jpg Plated over rice https://i.imgur.com/2HEcKQgh.jpg Keeping the temps high was easy enough. I overcooked it just a little. The meat was a bit dry. I should've trusted the therm. Better next time. |
Eureka! Ive found it!
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I was looking for a way to incorporate a weber lid. I saw that some had cut the top 1-2 inches of a donor kettle and just dropped it in the drum.
well, it just so happens that I had a kettle sitting unused -I had used it as a donor for a lid and grates for my first uds. I was getting ready to cut it and I thought why not just drop the whole thing in the drum? you get: an adjustable smoke intake a heat sink prewelded tabs for the meat grate tabs for another diffuser or a second grate for meat it is essentially perfect- if it works. |
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enough air flow to keep a pure wood fire burning without problems. |
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thank you. I already used it last night. I finished it up minus latch and put it to work. I kept a roaring fire going by leaving the door partly to mostly open. I left the intake vents fully open and had to add logs about every 30 minutes. I then added a water pan oh boy it takes a lot of fuel. I burned through almost a $20 bag of hickory logs the meat came out tender and delicious and it had the best smoke ring Ive ever seen on my meat. BUT even though there was a lot of clean smoke going on. there was no difference in smoke flavor . so my conclusion is that a clean burning wood fire burns a lot like a lump fire. clean and not very smoky. so naturally I will go back to my regular uds since its so much easier and cheaper to cook on. |
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This morning after thinking about it a bit more, I am on version 2. taking your suggestion that I need more exhaust, I have removed the kettle. I also drilled 4x 2" holes in the top of the stock lid, and 4x 2" holes around the drum. I now have a latch to close the door and will control the smoke using the holes I made- wide open on top and adjusted on the bottom. I bought the magnet sheets from walmart to close them up. pictures forthcoming. |
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http://www.turnerindustriesinc.com/h...-npt-coupling/ |
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Charcoal Basket
Before I made a new basket for my 10 year old BDS I asked in a POST here and on a welding forum about which direction is easier to roll a strip of expanded metal when forming the basket. I did find the video from Rodney where he recommended rolling in the direction the short way (of the diamond), and most everyone also recommended this direction as well. The "short way" would have the long dimension of the diamond vertical when the finished basket is sitting upright in the normal position of use.
There are plenty of ways to form the basket, like forming it around a post, telephone pole, or a propane bottle.... but I decided on using a 13" diameter cast iron grate. My finished size was 14.5" in diameter. Here is how I did mine: 1. First I pre-formed my strip of expando by hand getting a slight arc in it. 2. Tie the middle of the strip to the grate with wire in two places. 3. Form the strip to the grate and made a new wire attachment every 4". 4. Continue to work the ends of the strip around the grate until both ends are ready to overlap. 5. Insert a bar or big screwdriver through overlapping diamonds on each end, and pull together. 6. Use a large C-clamp to hold both ends together. 7. I needed some slight re-positioning of my diamonds, so I slightly loosened the clamp and pried the diamonds where I wanted them, then tightened the clamp back up. 8. Use at least 2 bolts with washers on the head end and the nut end. (I used 1/2" dia X 1" stainless steel bolts) 9. Remove the clamp and measure for roundness. 10. I was about 3/4" out of round in one area so I used a couple of 2X4's for blocks and forced the cylinder into round. 11. Remove the grate, and check again for roundness. https://i.imgur.com/XGKK6ft.jpg https://i.imgur.com/9u0OB2b.jpg https://i.imgur.com/8gu9p1x.jpg |
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nicely done. the basket is the only challenging part of the whole UDS build, and I contend that there must be an affordable product out there that one could just drop in so as not to have a basket. Heck, I think that two chimney full of charcoal could probably power a uds at 275° for a good 8 hours. |
My first UDS fire basket was the bottom foot of an El Cheapo Brinkman. I left the feet on it, left the grate in the bottom, put a piece of baling wire across the top. It worked pretty damned good- I gave it to my SIL- he still uses it. I saw everyone using expando and figured it would be "better" since everyone used it and all... it wasn't. The ECB made a better fire basket than a smoker - that's for sure.
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sweet. thats a pretty bright idea |
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this time, I had more than enough exaust, and no smoke was coming out of the bottom of the barrel. All the smoke was going past the meat. Ohhhh boy. Way more intense smoke flavor than before. I do believe Im finally getting the stick burner taste I was looking for. Thank for the input btw, the smoker was going in this pic. if you look closely you can almost see that beautiful thin blue smoke. :thumb: |
I'd bet you burned alot less wood too.
A lot of your flavor is really coming from the dripping fat onto the burning wood. Not as much flavor from the type wood you burn cooking this way. Different flavor than doing over charcoal. |
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I did burn a ton less wood, and the cooking flavor coming out of the drum was unreal. I do like the dripping fat flavor , but for now I still had a diffuser in there mainly because Im still tuning and didn't know what to expect. AND, every vertical ive ever seen has that diffuser. I AM going to try something though. I have a suspicion that if I took the diffuser out, I could cook on wood at 250° using just a bed of 4-6 coals, adding a new chunk every 15 minutes. Im going to find a large coffee can and make a chunk burner to test this theory. |
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Would be easier using a weber style lid and your grate 1" below the lip of the drum. As the greater distance between fire/food helps. You will still get flames that kiss the food off/on. Very small splits, add one about every 15 minutes. No coffee can, let the fire breath. And you might start thinking about add a spacer that holds the cooking grate around 4" above the top of the drum. The extra exh from that 4" gap, no exh on the weber style lid. You can cooking wings, burgers etc at 550-650* and not burn the food with a real nice fire burning. http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640...924/BkwdM2.jpg http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640...923/B4liNO.jpg http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640...921/VDqLLo.jpg |
:rockon: I'm starting my build this weekend! I can't wait!
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very nice thinking there :) |
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Worked so well, I never made a purdy one. If I'm cooking below 350* I do not use the 4" riser ring. Just the 1" down from the lip cooking grate sitting on bolts. Weber knock off lid. |
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Bakers first UDS
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My first UDS :thumb:. I read through 1/2 of the posts before I started and I appreciate all the insights. The first picture is my dry run before the burn out.
Drum for $51 new, unlined. Burned out once and then used a wire wheel brush to get down to bare metal. I purchased engine primer and paint from AutoZone for about $18 (1 primer, 2 cans of paint). I think the paint job looks pretty good for a first time and it evened out really well. I left the lid alone since it was white and I'm too lazy to change it. Looks pretty good though. Lid exhaust is a 2" black pipe, 2" cap both of which I also painted. Grate is from my old 22.5" Webber. Grate is supported by bolts. The ones I installed are to short. I'll have to get longer ones. Charcoal basket grate is from the Weber as well. I used two sheets of 12x24" expanded metal with some sort bolts, washers, hex nuts. I also bought a cheap 12" metal trashcan and used the handle for the basket, perfect fit. I bent the metal easily Judith a tree log. Put the metal flat, put the log in to and use your hands to roll the metal and the log. The basket legs are 5/16" and 3.5" long. Put a washer on each side and two bolts. I found some neat clips to attach the expanded metal to the grate. Funny / dumb, but I knew my pizza pan wouldn't be wide enough but luckily the pan fit snug in between the legs. :clap2: I think it will still get the ash. Intakes are 3/4" close nipples. Drilled the 1 inch hole and used 3/4" conduit washer things to get a snug fit. 90* elbows and 3/4" x 24" extension pipes. Ball valves to control the air. I also have one other 3/4" intake on the back side with a 3/4" cap. I think with the Minnesota winters I'll probably need that one completely open. I went back and forth on how to support the intake extensions and ended up going with hooks that were threaded into the side and the pipes slid into. Looks like I'll need to get some nuts to secure the hooks better because it's not the greatest fit. Hardest part about the build was getting the intakes installed. A lot of pieces and not a lot of twisting room once you install the support hooks. Total estimated spent: $120. I'll update once I know the exact price. Tomorrow is my first season with a breakfast fatty. The wife has zero interest in trying the fatty. |
Well... I am waiting for my 110 gallon drum to be shipped and for Mark Hunsaker to send me my custom 20" Vortex basket. I am leery of ordering any 30" grates in case the barrel is dented or oddly shaped. But this will be fun...
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My first UDS was Classic Pit Barrel Cooker but I am thinking to build a customized one.I have a fire place too in my house. I need a seperate place to keep this drum.
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As much as I love my double stacked WSM, it's a pain in the ass to manage. Everything has to be unwrapped and unspritzed. When it's just one chamber, I can get one or two grates in but I'm looking for something bigger when I set it and forget it. A 29" grate will be about 660 square inches of cooking space and roughly double that of a standard 21.5" rack. Also, the Bandera is a stick burner and in another category compared to a UDS. I'm not building a UDS to make the cheapest thing possible. I'm already $650 into this project and I haven't looked at grates yet :heh: |
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Please post progress pics. I cant wait to see a 110 uds . where did you get your drum? |
Ugly Drum Smoker
OC Smokehouse is still a stick burner, lol.
The drum is from The Cary Company... and is a new Skolink yellow drum. It cost $230 but the shipping cost is $200 or so for a freight with a lift gate. Wished I live near IL to save on shipping. It's 100 pounds and a bitch to ship. It cost the same to ship two drums but what would I do with two drums? I use a Hunsaker vortex basket in my WSM and love how it handles the coals and the heat. I asked Mark to make me something for my 30" drum. So another $200 for a 24" heatshield and 20" basket. The original is 13" in diameter. I'm hoping to keep it under $1000. Any more and the wife will start to ask questions, lol. |
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its a moot point, but even though the old country smokehouse is sold as a stick burner , it would make a great charcoal burner too. just look at all the other verticals out there that are very much like the ocs but burn charcoal- no difference. |
Took a month but just got the drum in. I also got shipping notification of the vortex basket for tomorrow. It’s going down!
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...ae89076a74.jpg https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...0cb84fe5b5.jpg |
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ooohh yeah!!! |
Subscribed!
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80 gallon
Built 80 gal awhile back. Difficulty was finding domed lid. For those considering one, Home Depot has inexpensive fire pit lid that will work= http://landmann-usa.com.
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Ugly Drum Smoker
Finally got the Vortex basket. Here’s what Mark posted on the FB fan page 3 weeks ago:
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...7b1d12b5f0.jpg Here’s it is unboxed inside the 28” heat shield. 30 oz Yeti cup for comparison. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...c83e68a190.jpg Basket dimension itself is 18” diameter and 11.75” height. Close to what I asked for (20” and 12”). |
Impressive is the word. That ought to do the trick, for sure!
I'd love to have a vortex for my "little" 55 gallon UDS - but it seems pretty spendy (at least for me). Can't wait to see you get it all put together. |
What is the purpose of the vortex basket?
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The basket holds the charcoal while the deflector plate still gives you that fat dripping on coals taste without it affecting the fire or causing grease fires. It also cause a convection like draft with the draw. I have it on my WSM and it’s pretty awesome. |
Any pictures of it in your wsm?
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https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...623155c199.jpg https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...931c9c28fb.jpg |
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