Looks like it was galvanized instead :sad: . I saw another that was holding kerosene will go that route. This uds will get built!!!

Hmmm, I've never seen a galvanized drum.

I saw on another thread to try a manget and it stuck.
http://i67.tinypic.com/vhf29w.jpg

I have spent alot of time reviewing this thread, finding ideas, and following along with interest. I'd like to thank all the UDS builders who contributed here. No pics yet, but I found an unlined barrel and assembled a very simple version of the UDS, using the 3/4" black pipe vents on the bottom, and 6 holes in the lid for exhaust. Its not "finished" but I got it mostly assembled and burned in and ready for some action. I dont weld and have no fabrication skills, but it looks serviceable enough.

For those who have cooked with both, how much different does it cook than a WSM?

Not all stainless is non-magnetic, but some is less magnetic than full carbon steel. I have a similar drum to yours that was purportedly stainless and a magnet sticks to it as well. Yours does look galvanized though.

easy test is to put vinegar on it and watch for the zinc to dissolve if it's galvanized

Thanks. I'm learning a lot!

Hello everyone!

Newbie smoker here. I am looking into building my own UDS. I really wanted to simply just buy a PBC, but due to the fact that I live in Bahrain, the total cost with shipping will slam me near $600. Getting our hands on a good smoker in general is tough. the Char-Boiled ones here go for around $320 here and that the basically only one available. Lack of good BBQ market here is making me weep. It was a miracle today that somehow we found someone that has a WSM, new and unused for sale at a decent price and we are snagging that one. My friend will keep that while I'll work on a UDS for myself.

In any regards, I have been hunting some drums to make my own. It isn't hard to find some used ones, but finding a place that sells a new one is very hard. (You'd think that the middle east would be abundant with these, but nope. only used and abandoned) Found and stored a few guides on how to make one. Still hunting for high heat resistant paint atm.

A colleague of mine was willing to let me snag these drums one for myself to build , but I wanted to see with you guys if these are good enough to build a UDS with. They (as far as I know) have been used to contain and transport Diesel.

Drums in Question: http://imgur.com/a/RZ9dR

my Apologise in advance for my english.

I have a guru controlled UDS that has been working perfectly for several years, but needed something MORE - a smokehouse (a small one anyway). Loving my UDS, and guru, decided last year to try to marry the two into a smoke house. It worked, but not so well. So this year tried version 3 (version 2 was bandaids on version 1).

I would love to be showing you pictures of a perfectly working version 3, my mini-maxi UDS. I worked amazing for almost 1.5 hours. Then failed in epic proportions. Only luck had me catch it in time to save the smokehouse from the fire department...

It's design worked perfect, going to temp and maintaining possibly easier than my UDS - so I will describe the good, before getting to the bad.

It is a tightly built, double walled smokehouse, clad in tin. The walls are vented on the top of the inside, and on the bottom - turning them into a heat exchanger. The exhaust smoke maintains the temp of the outside of the inner wall. My smoke generator was essentially a tiny UDS made out of a tamale pot. The guru provided air via a whole in the floor of the smoker and the floor of the tamale pot. Putting the mini UDS inside insured every last calorie of heat made it into the smokehouse. While not relievent to the design, cold smoke could also be piped in through the fresh air plumbing (if I ever wanted to cold smoke-just hook a hose to the chimney of my original UDS. I got cheap and did the elbow in the floor via a small wood box under the floor...

Well after working apparently perfectly for almost an hour and a half, the failures were very apparent - the floor was burnt through and it was on fire. The steamer shelf in the tamale pot (that I was using for a grate) melted, dumping the fully ignited coals onto the bottom of the pot (and possibly directly into the wooden box below due to the air vent hole). The pot's bottom then melted, so one way or another - coal was on wood in the path of the blower. The airbox was completely on fire (and all the wood under the pot was gone) when I managed to get the fire extinguished.

No real damage was suffered to the smokehouse itself (minimal scorching of some of the frame supporting the floor), so all I have to do is replace the floor and air ducting (to the guru fan). Had the fire gotten to the edge of the floor into the heat exchanger in the walls - it would have been a total loss).

Ok, rebuilding with a steel L rather than wooden airbox, steel floorpan, metal grait and stainless steel pot (30 quart). So much for smoking a few hundred lbs of sausage this week... Thank God I did a test run and caught this disaster as early as I did, and Thank God it happened (so I can build a safer version).

Will post again once this thing is up and running.
http://i1306.photobucket.com/albums/...shrdj0ncz.jpeg
http://i1306.photobucket.com/albums/...swfu4df3e.jpeg
http://i1306.photobucket.com/albums/...sszhz5fmj.jpeg

So.....we've made it through the big thread

So far I have me turkey thermometer, step drills, and most importantly the bottle opener (see earlier comments!) - I have a stainless steel barb for the therm, I have a .doc going with all my other thoughts....

I've contacted a supplier and once we're out of Xmas breaks will hopefully get a new Unlaquered drum and away we go!

Those will work, just burn them out - Nice n Hot -for several hours then scrub them out.

New guy joining the party here. Got 2 drums today that had ethylene glycol (antifreeze) in them. Inside looks like clean steel so plan is to clean with Dawn a few times then burn the snot out of them. Will this work??
She won't be pretty but I will post pics when done and maybe a few along the way.

Mine had gear oil in it I soaked it in water and dish soap then pressure washed it. Burned about 4 pallets in it and it's been fine, red hot fires that took all the paint off the outside. I'm not sure about antifreeze though some will give more insight so consider this a bump.

My second UDS build is officially underway, going stainless this time! Picked up this beauty a couple days ago

https://s27.postimg.org/8i30ls183/IMG_0046.jpg

Scrubbed it up to get all the gunk off and got my kettle lid to fit (which was a PITA). The lid is simply propped on top of the barrel in this pic, I didn't get an updated pic but I had to cut a 2" band off the bottom of the kettle and fix it to the rim of the barrel to get it to sit properly.

https://s27.postimg.org/5cn09b7zn/IMG_0049.jpg

Still planning on adding wheels, a wooden side table, and lid hinges (in addition to all the standard UDS hardware). Will probably post a thread when I finish the barrel but I like the look of it so far. Thinking about naming it the piggy bank :mrgreen:

Nice setup so far. How did you attach the cut off piece to your drum for the lid to work on the drum? Also, what is your plan for the wheels? Drum dolly, threaded axle, flange with pipe nipple and holes drilled through the nipple?!?!

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