Q
Q_Egg
Guest
Hhmmmmm .... but no logo ! Gas ~ $120., overnight at my daughter's place $0. son-in-law smokes (NO, ... not Q), future cooks ...priceless !
Everything welded could be bolted together. Not as pretty, but just as functional for those who cannot weld.Bigmista said:The drive would probably cost you more than the smoker.
Noah, there is welding involved. The charcoal pan, the ash pan, the grate brackets, the handles (something I added on to make it easier to move), the door, and the lid has to be cut. My lid fits into the barrel instead of sitting on top. It's harder to take off, but it doesn't leak either.
Here are the sketches I took to the welder:
thirdeye said:Yep, no welding at all, well the transport ring that holds the lid tight when hauling has a couple of welds, but that is a stock item on drums.
I did weld up a prototype shelf for my polders, plugs and wiggle rod. Now I'm thinking about a larger, curved one matching the contour of the drum, maybe 1/3 of the way around?? I'm thinking maybe removable. Any ideers?
~thirdeye~
Kevin said:Redwood shelf for the asthetics?
EDIT: I think you said you have access to stainless expanded metal? That would look kind of cool too!
Bigmista said:I'm really happy with the handles in mine. Much easier to move around.
Build it yourself. It really is straight forward and very easy. All ya need is the drum, drill w/bits, nuts, bolts and grates... Took me maybe 2 hours to build my drum pit and that included beer breaks! The other thing I did that really improved the burn time for my barrel was to take a spare Weber Smokey Mountain charcoal ring that I had and wired it to the charcoal grate. Works great with long burn times...Q_Egg said:.... I searched and found only one site (which I guess might be the 'original') @ bigdrumsmokers.com. Shipping will probably kill me (from NC), but I worry about lots of dumb mistakes if I try to have one fabricated here in my small town. Is this pretty straightforward, or do I just bite the bullet and go for one of these? If so, and since I do not typically cook for even medium size groups, is there a huge advantage for the two grate version or do I just pick one of the single grate 'base models' ? Finally, can these cook with wood or is there a fundamental design diiference for the stick burners?
Sorry to depart a bit, but you guys should certainly be a good source for me on this BDS topic.
I can get a new 17H drum from SLC for $52. plus shipping (probably another $25.).
Regards,