Ugly Drum Smoker

el luchador · Jan 22, 2018

Hinds15 said:
Any down sides to using the drum upside down. My Weber lid fit the bottom a little snug but it fits. Drum is unlined and was used once for coconut oil

mine is upside down and it makes it a heck of a lot easier to clean.also, when the lid rusts I can just replace a lid instead of a whole drum.

potential downside -its only happened once- i was cooking direct and I guess the food was not directly over the coals. the fat dripped down and I saw some coming out the bottom of the drum.

Hinds15 · Jan 22, 2018

I was thinking about it not sealing good because the plastic/foam gasket needs to come out. Lowes has some silicone door and window gasket that's good up to 400 degrees. A strip or 2 of that may help seal it up or just some good old high temp rtv.

el luchador · Jan 22, 2018

Hinds15 said:
I was thinking about it not sealing good because the plastic/foam gasket needs to come out. Lowes has some silicone door and window gasket that's good up to 400 degrees. A strip or 2 of that may help seal it up or just some good old high temp rtv.

do you mean sealed from air getting in, or from liquid getting out.

I havent had a problem with air. I can close all my vents and the fire dies in short order.

Hinds15 · Jan 22, 2018

Just the grease from food. I have some weber legs left from another build and wondering if I can make them work.

Edit: just the axle and wheels

el luchador · Jan 23, 2018

Hinds15 said:
Just the grease from food. I have some weber legs left from another build and wondering if I can make them work.

Edit: just the axle and wheels

the silicone should work.

Czarbecue · Jan 23, 2018

Hinds15 said:
I have some weber legs left from another build and wondering if I can make them work.

Edit: just the axle and wheels

I know my 110 gallon build is a lot heavier but that looks like a coat hanger on top of a drum :heh:

Hinds15 · Jan 23, 2018

It's feels sturdy enough to me. Will probably be adding some angle iron like the hunsaker.

el luchador · Jan 23, 2018

oh yeah.

Had the macro damper printed for my heater meter. this thing is massive. Im not even sure how Im going to attach it to the uds as it has a 3" outlet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgzM0iZ-IUM

Blue Kettle · Jan 23, 2018

Why is it you seldom see food grade 30 gallon drums? I want to do build a UDS but I really think 55 gallon might be overkill for my situation.

el luchador · Jan 23, 2018

Why do you say the 55 gallon may be overkill?

Blue Kettle · Jan 24, 2018

el luchador said:
Why do you say the 55 gallon may be overkill?

Space constraints in terms of where to store it, lack of need for additional cooking capacity over the smaller drum.

Czarbecue · Jan 24, 2018

Blue Kettle said:
Why is it you seldom see food grade 30 gallon drums? I want to do build a UDS but I really think 55 gallon might be overkill for my situation.

Grainger sells unlined drums for $129. Stainless steel for over $700. Unless you’re talking about Craigslist...

Nuco59 · Jan 24, 2018

30 gallon drums are not a common. 30 gallon drums with an open head- less so.

Do the 55 - it's really not that much bigger. They are easier to find, cheaper to buy and you don't have to use the extra grate space if you don't want to.

Don't do "food grade" - go "unlined". If it has a phenolic liner, you'll need 2 or 3 good fires plus some heavy steel brush work OR a friend with a sand blaster to get it all gone.

el luchador · Jan 24, 2018

Blue Kettle said:
Space constraints in terms of where to store it, lack of need for additional cooking capacity over the smaller drum.

I understand that.
Think about this. The uds cousin the pbc I understand is 30 gallons. They have to hang the larger meats.

The 22" diameter is just about enough to lay the larger cuts of brisket or ribs.
Get the 30 but you may have to hang, fold or bend some longer pieces of meat

Blue Kettle · Jan 24, 2018

el luchador said:
I understand that.
Think about this. The uds cousin the pbc I understand is 30 gallons. They have to hang the larger meats.

The 22" diameter is just about enough to lay the larger cuts of brisket or ribs.
Get the 30 but you may have to hang, fold or bend some longer pieces of meat

That's a good point. Actually, more I think about it maybe the space constraint wouldn't be that bad. I've already got a 22" kettle out on the patio and this would be a similar footprint.

Blue Kettle · Jan 24, 2018

Nuco59 said:
30 gallon drums are not a common. 30 gallon drums with an open head- less so.

Do the 55 - it's really not that much bigger. They are easier to find, cheaper to buy and you don't have to use the extra grate space if you don't want to.

Don't do "food grade" - go "unlined". If it has a phenolic liner, you'll need 2 or 3 good fires plus some heavy steel brush work OR a friend with a sand blaster to get it all gone.

Is a propane weed burner not sufficient to get the job done of removing all of that at once? (Plus some wire brush after the fact to remove the remnants?)

el luchador · Jan 24, 2018

Blue Kettle said:
That's a good point. Actually, more I think about it maybe the space constraint wouldn't be that bad. I've already got a 22" kettle out on the patio and this would be a similar footprint.

plus, you can grill on the uds and get rid of the kettle if you wanted to

OR, you could just smoke on the kettle and forego the uds altogether. only thing is you wont get the fat dripping flavor(my favorite) but the kettle still puts out some GREAT Q

Hinds15 · Jan 24, 2018

Blue Kettle said:
Is a propane weed burner not sufficient to get the job done of removing all of that at once? (Plus some wire brush after the fact to remove the remnants?)

Curious about this also. My drum had coconut oil in it and is unlined. I know a lot of people say it has rust inhibitor but to the touch it feels like metal and even sanding a small part its only metal.

I want to leave the paint that's on the outside too but that seems to be a questionable thing for UDS builds also.

DRMSMKER · Jan 24, 2018

The rust inhibitor is a coating or film that can be washed out with soap/water and a rag. its not the same has the thick solid liners in some barrels. Then you wipe down with vegi oil or pam and season.

Hinds15 · Jan 24, 2018

Ah so most likely mine wouldn't have had it since the coconut oil would have kept the drum from rusting?

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