UDS Long Term Build, Have some questions.

I've decided that I want to build an Ugly Drum Smoker.
I predict it will be something of a long term build for a couple of reasons.
First, I am in the middle of a major bathroom rebuild. Not a remodel, walls came down, all new plumbing and electrical, etc.
This will take first priority, but I will have some time in between and my job affords me the luxury of being able to spend some time on it at work.
Secondly, I am challenging myself to do the build with free, and or, repurposed materials.
Currently, other than the actual drum, which I have a line on, I believe I could build one with the materials I have accumulated so far.
What I have available for intakes are (2) 1" elbows, ball valves, and fittings. I have non-threaded 1" aluminum thick wall tubing that I can machine and thread to 1" NPT.
I also have the same in 3/4", but have (4) assemblies. I can use any, all or any combination.
For exhaust, I can choose form 2", 2 1/2", 3" or 3 1/3".
I'm leaning toward the 3 1/2" because I also have a damper for it, but an concerned that it might be too big of a diameter.
The goal of the UDS is to get long, constant unattended cooking temps, and a damper on the exhaust is a variable.
I have seen some builds with no stack, just 1" holes drilled around the diameter of the lid. I don't care for that idea for two reasons, aesthetics and rain. There's just something about smoke coming out of a stack. :wink:

For the charcoal basket, I can certainly make one from expanded metal, but I saw one utubes vid using a 5 gallon bucket. I like the idea of that one and have a metal bucket available.
I have 3 HD casters, but they are non-swivel, so I may need to build a swivel plate for them.

I also have several 22.5" Weber grates.

The big question for now, what should my target intake and exhaust areas be? Planning on 90* elbows coming out of the lower sides of the drum with a section of pipe and the ball valves on top.
From what I've seen, 3 square inches of intake and 2 square inches of exhaust is fairly common.
Do any of the Brethren have some more wisdom they'd be willing to share?
Again, looking for long unattended burn times and before anyone suggests it, No I'm NOT buying a pellet grill! :laugh:
Thanks in advance!

Thanks for the info folks. :-D

Thirdeye, how many 3/4" intakes does your rig have? I assume the wiggle rod is to clean out ash during a cook?
I could easily replace one of the intakes with a coupler and plug for straight access.

Bruce, good point on the 5 gallon bucket. I don't think the one I have is galvanized. It is an old paint bucket, well red oxide primer actually, and is painted inside and out.
I don't think anyone would use galvanized on a paint bucket then paint the outside.
I'll remove some of the paint before I spend much time to be sure.
Then, I think a good burn out would leave a nice, clean starting point.

Thirdeye,
I just went to your site. Wow! Lots of great info on there! Now I have another cooking site added to my favorites!

Had some free time yesterday so I got some work done on the air intakes.
1" ID thick walled aluminum tubing has the same OD as iron pipe.
Cut the tubing to length, threaded, polished and assembled everything. The pipe fittings will get painted the same color as the drum. Might be a Chicago Bears themed drum. We'll see when the time comes.
scrounged around some more and found some handles. Ran them through the blaster and gave them a coat of metallic silver. Didn't get a pic of the after. Not sure if I'll put any handles on the drum or just use one for the lid. I also have some horse shoes, so I could do a PBC style handle.
I have sourced 2 drums, both free, but neither have the removable lid.
I think I'm going to hold out for one with the removable lid.

Thanks guys!
I've looked the bucket over carefully. The unpainted bottom and spots on the inside where there is no residual paint have a thin coat of surface rust. A few spots that I've cleaned off are shiny metal, no signs of galvanizing.
I'll do a bit more cleaning on it and post a couple of pics.

mcbrew13 said:

Looks like you have a solid plan but....

My homemade can has gone through several iterations. Started with (5) 3/4" nipples on the bottom. Went up to two 1" vertical black pipe extensions and elbows at the bottom. Then I bought two Gateways for comps... Love the speed and draw on these. So I put two 2" vertical pipes on my homemade can (like the GDS). I run a Weber lid on top (added 2nd daisy wheel). This did require some welding. All of these worked but I like the current version the best.

For a basket, I would use expanded metal. Add bolts, nuts and washers on the bottom to act as legs. Need the basket off the bottom.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the input!
You mentioned that you like the speed of your current setup.
I'm curious, how did the (2) 1" intakes do for holding temp long term?
Again, my current plan is (2) 1" ball valves and a third capped off per thirdeye's recommendation for the wigglestick.
If I can maintain ~250*-275* for 10 hours or so, I would be very happy.
I'm not opposed to the expanded metal fire basket, but the challenge of building the drum with all free/repurposed materials is part of my goal.
I've got the time to wait for the materials to find me and a couple other smokers, so I'm not going smokeless!

Doog said:

Old steel milk crate for a basket. Just add 3/4" expanded metal on the inside.

Click to expand...

I do have a few of those laying around....

Big fan of the Weber cubes myself.
Thanks for the tips!

Finally some more progress.
Again, one of the challenges I gave myself was to make this a nearly free cooker.
I had some scrap metal accumulated that I didn't have a plan for.
A buddy saw it and asked about it. Told him to take it and oh by the way, you wouldn't know where I could find a 55 gallon drum with a removable lid, would you?
It'll be here Monday.
I need to get to work on my fire basket!

The shiznit's getting real!
I think I have everything now for the build except for high temp paint and sealant including material to build possibly 3 styles of fire baskets.
Think I'm going with a 14" round expanded metal design.
Total budget to date $0.
Hopefully I'll get some time this weekend to get some work done on it.