Rust in UDS help needed!

Smoker101 · Jul 5, 2011

my friend wants to give me his UDS to start with before i make the big jump up to a good smoker. he told me he left it outside and it rained on it and now the inside has rust on the sides and bottom and needs cleaned out. the temp gauge is also shot now. so how do i clean the inside out and what is a alright temp gauge to get me started before i spend a lot of money on a BEG or a type of cooker. can i just burn it out? will it even hurt that the rust is in there? any help would be great. he used his a lot and it works great but now he owns and egg and does not use it.

Smoke & Beers · Jul 5, 2011

Depending on the extent of rust, you could hand sand it, knocking the rust bloom off, or use a grill cleaning brush with wire bristles if it isn't too bad. Just make sure you season it using veggie or peanut oil after you get it cleaned up.

As far as thermos...you probably want to find one with the same or larger diameter hole as what the original was so you don't have a hole bigger than the thermo. I buy all of mine off of Ebay (bobeickhoff is the sellers name)...and I always get the ones that you can calibrate...never had a problem with any of them and he is prompt in shipping.

Smoke & Beers · Jul 5, 2011

Smoker101 said:
my friend wants to give me his UDS to start with before i make the big jump up to a good smoker. he told me he left it outside and it rained on it and now the inside has rust on the sides and bottom and needs cleaned out. the temp gauge is also shot now. so how do i clean the inside out and what is a alright temp gauge to get me started before i spend a lot of money on a BEG or a type of cooker. can i just burn it out? will it even hurt that the rust is in there? any help would be great. he used his a lot and it works great but now he owns and egg and does not use it.

Oh...and don't let the name fool you... A UDS is a damn good smoker...just not $$$ or pretty....:heh:

Smoker101 · Jul 5, 2011

Smoke & Beers said:
Depending on the extent of rust, you could hand sand it, knocking the rust bloom off, or use a grill cleaning brush with wire bristles if it isn't too bad. Just make sure you season it using veggie or peanut oil after you get it cleaned up.

As far as thermos...you probably want to find one with the same or larger diameter hole as what the original was so you don't have a hole bigger than the thermo. I buy all of mine off of Ebay (bobeickhoff is the sellers name)...and I always get the ones that you can calibrate...never had a problem with any of them and he is prompt in shipping.

Which thermo do you buy i looked but i could not find the one you buy

Smoke & Beers · Jul 5, 2011

This one...
3" BBQ THERMOMETER TEMP GAUGE SMOKER/PIT/GRILL REST550

You may want to check with some of the vendors on the board here too...

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3" BBQ THERMOMETER TEMP GAUGE SMOKER/PIT/GRILL REST550

Smoker101 · Jul 5, 2011

how do you calibrate them?

CenTech · Jul 5, 2011

I bought a 10 dollar deep fry thermometer at Home Depot. It's got a 12 inch probe that sits about an inch below the grate in the very middle of the drum. I've tested it with an oven thermometer on the grate and for 14 hours they were within 3 degrees of each other.

chad · Jul 5, 2011

Smoker101 said:
how do you calibrate them?

Use iced water to check the low of 32 and boiling, at sea level, water to check the high at 212.

Most analog thermometers can be calibrated by loosening the nut on the stem on the backside of the thermometer.

1FUNVET · Jul 5, 2011

CenTech said:
I bought a 10 dollar deep fry thermometer at Home Depot. It's got a 12 inch probe that sits about an inch below the grate in the very middle of the drum. I've tested it with an oven thermometer on the grate and for 14 hours they were within 3 degrees of each other.

I agree with the deep fry thermometer. But it depends on what was originally in the drum as far as the hole size.

Smoker101 · Jul 5, 2011

1FUNVET said:
I agree with the deep fry thermometer. But it depends on what was originally in the drum as far as the hole size.

It was a 12" deep fry thermo

ssbbqguy · Jul 5, 2011

I make and sell therm. adapters that allow you to mount on any flat surface and on most cookers. Just need to let me know if metal or side thickness is greater than thin metal. I'll send longer adapters if needed. Runnning a sale now with adapter and therm. together for lower price. See at www.BarrelSmokers.net. Thanks. Steve.

El Ropo · Jul 5, 2011

A couple of points here IMHO.

1. A UDS is just as capable as a 22.5" wsm, maybe even more capable.

2. If the inside developed rust, than the "friend" didn't use it enough.

3. Fix it up, clean it out, whatever, it'll be a great bbq weapon.

4. A 3" therm isn't gonna be accurate, you want your temp reading directly under the center of cooking grate, not way out at the edge of the drum.

Smoker101 · Jul 5, 2011

ya he said he used to use it all the time but then he bought his BGE and then he forgot about it and left it outside without a cover on it. i will be getting it this thursday and i will be cleaning out the inside and then cleaning off the greats good. i will grease it down with cooking oil and then i will just do a good burn with some charcoal just to get her heated up and hot for awhile. then the true test. does that sound like a good plan on getting a fire in her or does it not matter?

Porkchop · Jul 5, 2011

Going from a UDS to a BGE is not going to a better smoker, just a different smoker. On a cost/performance basis he went to an inferior smoker (same performance for much greater cost). I bet a skillful q'er with a rusty old UDS will out cook an amateur hack like me using the top of the range BGE, and out cook me by an extremely large margin.

If the UDS you're inheriting is really badly rusted you can get another steel barrel, burn it out, and use all the components off the rusty one to build it up. If your friend's UDS was well used then it should have had a protective later of grease on the inside so it probably only has very light surface rust that will easily brush off.

baldbill · Jul 6, 2011

lol, the UDS is a good smoker, once you get it cleaned and use it and see what it can do you may not want to make the jump to a "good smoker", you'll already have one.

rossmatt06 · Jul 6, 2011

I am the "friend" that is loaning the uds. It served me well and made some very good q. Smoker was interested in buying an egg like mine and I suggested he start on something cheaper before taking the plunge. I started off with a CG but did some of my best q on the uds.

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harripooner · Jul 6, 2011

I heard you can put some olive oil on some steel wool and scrub away the rust. A wire wheel will take forever. I was making 3 drums a few weeks ago and forgot about our damn sprinklers. Needless to say i did a a little wire wheelin myself, but that was on the outside. If it had been used, I would imagine the rust isn't too bad. Good luck.

Rust in UDS help needed!

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