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-   -   Ugly Drum Smoker (https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23436)

colonel00 10-13-2010 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gjdad (Post 1429270)
Here is something similar to what I was tinking off building.

http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/...moker017-1.jpg

Another shot

http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/...esmoker013.jpg

Definitely a cool idea but I fear you will run into more problems than its worth. Aside from the obvious air leak issues you will be fighting I really worry about temps. There are 6 racks in this thing and if you fill them all with meat it will reall cause issues. If your fire is pumping out a temp of 250 hitting the bottom rack full of food then the temp will decrease drastically for every rack thereafter. Top racks will be well below 200 I fear. And, you had mentioned pull-out racks but I do not see how these would pull out with meat on them.

gjdad 10-13-2010 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by colonel00 (Post 1429392)
Definitely a cool idea but I fear you will run into more problems than its worth. Aside from the obvious air leak issues you will be fighting I really worry about temps. There are 6 racks in this thing and if you fill them all with meat it will reall cause issues. If your fire is pumping out a temp of 250 hitting the bottom rack full of food then the temp will decrease drastically for every rack thereafter. Top racks will be well below 200 I fear. And, you had mentioned pull-out racks but I do not see how these would pull out with meat on them.

I agree will all those issues.

Leaks - by sealing the door openings with silcone and weather stripping.

Temp - proper air flow

Pull out racks - some sort of internal frame of channel and expanded metal.

jcinadr 10-13-2010 10:26 AM

I would not worry about the zinc conduit nuts. The whole drum serves as a heat sink - it just does not get that hot. Honestly if the paint is not pealing, would zinc melt (the only time we get it hot enough to peal paint is in a very deliberate burn out)?
---
As for the extra barrel on top. I stuff sausage occasionally (which included 4-6 hours of smoking). I have considered putting a wooden smoker on top of my drum for just such a special occasion. For me the advantage would be I could make it square - which would be a lot easier for hanging sausage (traditionally you load the sausage on a rod, and put the rods in the smokehouse). A 2x2x2 box on top could easily accommodate over 100lbs of sausage (probably about 150 - and that is still leaving a LOT of convection room). I have also considered just making smoker drawers. I would make a base, lid and drawers. Put the base down, then drawer 1, and top with the lid. When it is time to put on drawer two - lift the lid, drop in the drawer, and put the lid on top. If necessarily the stack could go up several more layers.

Jay871 10-13-2010 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkalach (Post 1429235)
Greetings all. This is a great site and thanks to all who contributed to this helpful thread. I just picked up a drum and everything I need to build my UDS, but I have a few questions that I did not see specficially answered here.

I bought a reconditioned drum from a barrel company. I don't know what was in it but the seller said all their drums are sent out to be burned and repainted. Mine is "unlined" but seems to have a thin, dark grey coating on the inside that's rough to the touch. You can almost see metal through it. Could it be rust inhibitor and is it dangerous?

Also, I saw a "no weld" method for air intakes that uses pipe nipples and conduit nuts to secure them, but the nuts are zinc coated. Will three, thin conduit nuts at the inside bottom of the drum be a health hazard?

I planning to do a burnout of my barrel this weekend but will try to post some pics of it here before I do. Also thinking of getting it sandblasted after the burn.

Thanks again.

Jim

I used the "no weld" method with pipe nipples and conduit nuts, and I was also concerned about the zinc coating on the conduit nuts. My solution was to burn the thin layer of zinc off the conduit nuts with a torch. I've done several burns and haven't had any problems.

brunski 10-14-2010 08:25 AM

Well, i made some modifications to my UDS. I added the cheap-o BigLots kettle to my UDS. At this time i'm only using the top cover as it will be enough for my needs, i still have the bottom half of the kettle to be used on my 2nd UDS (whenever i build it).

The kettle lid sits flush enough on my drum, if there is any big issues with the lid, i'm planning to use those large binder clips to seal it - i don't really forsee any issues there. THe lip of the kettle lid was flattened then hammered while sitting on the drum to make it fit. I may need some more work on it to make it a better fit (as you will see on my pictures)

The other mod i did is, i added 'feet' to my grates and removed the bolts where my top shelf used to seat on my drum. So, at this point i'm only using the bolts that i originally put 25in from the bottom of the drum. This mod allows me to easily extract the grates loaded with food without having to tilt and sit them on the floor or table and, if needed, change the placement of the grates in the drum.

mod maiden smoke will be tonight - we'll see how it handles


See pictures here,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/5451002...7625037423797/

thanks for looking,

brunski

Smokin' Aces 10-14-2010 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigmista (Post 335670)
The door really isn't necessary. I found that out later. I only open it when I really need to crank up the heat quickly and most of the time Ihave to prop somethign against it to make sure it stays closed tight. I've learned a lot and my next one will be better.

I currently have six holes around the bottom and 4 holes around the top. I leave the holes at the top open during a cook and usually two holes at the bottom are open to give me steady 225-230 temps. I plug them with aluminum foil since the guy that made it just burned the holes in instead of drilling them and making them circular.



you can also use magnets to put over the holes reuseable and neater

chaddie 10-14-2010 10:41 AM

Great idea adding the legs on your grates!!! Nice photos!!:thumb:

garyk1398 10-14-2010 10:51 AM

brunski, I see in your pics that you only used 3 legs per rack. Any issues with tipping or balancing meat?

brunski 10-14-2010 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garyk1398 (Post 1430572)
brunski, I see in your pics that you only used 3 legs per rack. Any issues with tipping or balancing meat?

Not if you're careful - just center the meat(s) if possible.

4dueces 10-14-2010 10:12 PM

First of all, THANKS to all who have given advice on this thread. Without your advice, I would not have learned about the UDS and attempted to build one. Here is my finished UDS completed with the bottle opener, lid and the charcoal basket I made.
http://i978.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/IMG_0169.jpg
http://i978.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/IMG_0167.jpg
http://i978.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/IMG_0164.jpg
http://i978.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/IMG_0163.jpg

bob80001 10-14-2010 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4dueces (Post 1431341)
First of all, THANKS to all who have given advice on this thread. Without your advice, I would not have learned about the UDS and attempted to build one. Here is my finished UDS completed with the bottle opener, lid and the charcoal basket I made.
http://i978.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/IMG_0169.jpg
http://i978.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/IMG_0167.jpg
http://i978.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/IMG_0164.jpg
http://i978.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/IMG_0163.jpg

Great looking smoker, but Coors - with a Cardinals bottle opener?! You seem conflicted... :becky:

armor 10-15-2010 05:50 AM

Nice looking drum.

jkalach 10-15-2010 09:18 AM

Safety of this drum?
 
Finally got some pics of my drum. I got it from a reconditioning business that said it was unlined, but it looks like some red liner survived their 1000 degree burnout process. I've already drilled holes in this so I'd like to move ahead with my build. Any thoughts?

I'm thinking of burning it a couple of times and then having it sandblasted.

Sorry for the links but I've been trying to post pics according the procedures with no luck.

http://flic.kr/p/8Keofm

http://flic.kr/p/8KbkfT

1FUNVET 10-15-2010 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkalach (Post 1431554)
Finally got some pics of my drum. I got it from a reconditioning business that said it was unlined, but it looks like some red liner survived their 1000 degree burnout process. I've already drilled holes in this so I'd like to move ahead with my build. Any thoughts?

I'm thinking of burning it a couple of times and then having it sandblasted.

Sorry for the links but I've been trying to post pics according the procedures with no luck.

http://flic.kr/p/8Keofm

http://flic.kr/p/8KbkfT


Hard to tell from pic's, but looks like rust. If thats the case, you are good to go. It won't hurt to do a burn, but if you get it sandblasted you are wasting time burning it out.

Phubar 10-15-2010 10:02 AM

Looks like rust to me too.


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