UDS meet Android! (pics)

[murdog]

Backstory:

• Hometown with mediocre Q - check
• Bachelor party in KC, discover real Q - check
• NASCAR in Talladega, experience tailgating Q - check
• Vacation in Kauai, see Q done in a barrel @ "Chicken in the Barrel" - check
• Hit internet, google for plans, find UDS and entire community @ Brethen - check!

Whacky realization that a weber lid on a barrel sure looks like the android robot, bounce the idea off a few fellow geeks - buy in. Project go!

Completed UDS:



Here is the build out:

As many people have found, the barrel can be the hardest item to track down. Finding a local supplier with cheap unlined barrels did not exist. No luck on Craigs list, found a listing buried on kijiji - looked up on google maps- barrels on the side of the road! (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=calgar...,,0,12.83&z=14) - turns out they are food grade (pineapple juice) with a tan liner.

Had grown tired of searching for the "ideal" barrel and heck an excuse to sit out back burn chit and drink - I'm in. Put out the call to see if anyone knows where to get free pallets, brother in law points me to:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll...30.74,,1,10.66 - man I love google street view.

So Barrel @ home and weber kettle knockoff found on Kijiji:





First step deal with the liner - read lots of horror stories, turned out to be not too difficult - actually quite enjoyed the process.

Cut out the intakes to help with the air flow:







Here is a good shot of the liner:



Hit it with the torch:



You can see from just holding it in one spot on the outside, the effect it has on the inside





Run the torch over the rest of the barrel:









The torch alone would have been sufficient to kill the liner, however I picked up these 5 pallets and needed an excuse for a good fire:



Gotta love the cold, nice toasty fire to keep warm and beer stays frosty cold without a cooler:





You can see the liner has taken a beating, easily comes off with the wire brush:





Barrel post burn:



I am no longer praising the weather for keeping my beer cold, now cursing the frozen hoses when I go to pressure wash. End up just hitting it by hand with a bucket, rag and tide:



You can see the residue of the paint/liner that would not burn off and how easily it wipes off:









Bottom of the barrel - can see how much hotter the intakes are, ended up using the torch to burn off the remaining spots:



This is the barrel after just washing it out by hand:





Pretty clean already - but a few small areas with residue left, hit those spots further with the torch:



Started the angle grinder, can see the bare metal now:





Here is the clean barrel after the wire brush. The city recycle bin was the perfect height for supporting the barrel and allowing easy access to the inside:





Decided to season the barrel right away to prevent any rusting while gathering up materials / planning the rest of the build out. Knew there was a reason I kept a mason jar full of bacon fat on hand:





Next up needed to create a rim for the kettle lid to sit on, also the android robot needs a fairly wide gap for the "mouth" so went quite wide with the rim (3" wide flat 1/8" steel) - wasn't sure how easily it would bend. Found some great suggestions on the site for using c-clamps and doing it around the bottom of the barrel:











Man the 3" was some strong stuff, after clamping in place and hitting with the torch it still bent back quite a bit when I removed:



However it was enough to let me work it into the barrel without warping it out of shape:







Was lucky enough to find a coworker who let me borrow his MIG welder. Took me a while to get the hang of it, originally tried to fill the gap between the barrel lip and the flat steel however the rounded rim was really easy to blow thru. Again turned to this site and found the magic solution "JB Weld" - so tack welded the rest of the rim in place and used the JB Weld putty to make a nice smooth transition. Here is the RIM tack welded in place:



Next step, transform the lid into the android head. Decided the antennae would be super awesome if they double as exhaust. So cut holes and used 6" long 3/4" nipples with a reducer down to 1/2" and plugs:





Was originally planning to keep the handle, but liked the look better without so off it came, white high heat spray paint for the eyes:



Needed circular eyes, wax paper with a few strips of painters tape and a circle cutter did the trick:

[murdog]

Peeling off painters tape:



Head in place, starting to take shape!



Consulted the forum for inspiration on hinges, again solid information was easily found - had to tweak it a bit to work with the wide rim:








Next up arms. Biggest challenge is the robot has domed end caps, tracked down some steel weld on caps locally at a plumbing supply store. Combined that with 4" ABS pipe, some more black pipe and arms were born:









On one side, drilled into the barrel and screwed in the pipe to allow access for temp probes, needed to weld as well to sturdy them up:





Feet up next - used same ABS, with a toilet flange to make it easy to bolt to bottom of barrel. Bolted casters to the side - allows them to be hidden from view but still functional. Good thing too, barrel getting pretty heavy.






Feet on! Now 5 feet tall from floor to top of antennae!



Here is a close up of the JB weld putty while still "wet":



Painting time, used Engine Enamel spray paint:



Loved the looks I got from people walking by seeing this in the shed, guess the neighbours were not too surprised after all the fire, grinding and hammering :)



Loaded up the basket with charcoal and brought it to 300 for a few hours to cure the engine enamel:





Here he is setup @ the office, arm caps are removable, left side can hold Q tools, right side is going to hold the electronics… we are going to set it up to be powered by an android phone of course! Temp probes, fan, camera, remote access… hmmm gonna be fun!



Planning on first cook this weekend, can't wait!

Hope you enjoyed - and my thanks go out to this forum - has been and will continue to be a wealth of information!

[Skidder]

Speechless I am.

[Phubar]

Awesome build thread!

[whitelightnin92]

WOW! Don't know what else I can say.

[cholloway]

I'm impressed! All I can say is...
who would paint their engine THAT shade of green???

[Diva Q]

Freaking awesome.

[Dr_KY]

Alright that's too dam cool !!!!!!!!!!

[mtbchip]

Originally Posted by cholloway

I'm impressed! All I can say is...
who would paint their engine THAT shade of green???

AMC Gremlin owners

Fantastic build btw

[lemur]

Thats awesome.....but 2 questions....where is the U in UDS on that build?....and can you Poynt me to a Blackberry compatible android app fer Qing???...only mod I would do to your peice of art is a bottle opener nose...lol

[New Pal Frank]

Very Very nice.

[Rich Parker]

Very cool! Maybe too pretty to cook on. :D

[BigBobBQ]

I love it, the brethren never cease to amaze me with your builds.

[WvSmoke]

That is definitely very unique. The diversity and creativity found on this site never ceases to amaze me.

[SmokinAussie]

Simply