cousinconley
Knows what a fatty is.
- Joined
- Sep 13, 2011
- Location
- Verdigris, OK
This summer, I purchased an old rusty custom smoker off Craigslist. So far I have been labeling it as a UDS...however it was never a 55 gallon drum in its past life. From the floor to the top of the chimney, it is roughly 6 foot tall. I believe it was made from a steel pipe of some sort. The cooking chamber is roughly 20 inches in diameter. I thew away the old grate that came with it. It was rusted through.
Here are the before pics:
Here is a close-up of the chimney with damper:
Here is the door for adding wood/charcoal. It opens below the bottom grate. Whenever I have opened it to add coal, it has never lost heat.
Now this is a door I fabricated for the bottom intake. Its made from the lid of a gas grill wood box. Later I discovered it still lets too much air in so I added a solid plate behind it attached with a screw and wingnut. It too is made from the same wood box. I used a pipe strap to hold the door shut at varying levels of tightness based on how far you wedge it in under the latch.
Here is a pic of the intake door open. I fashioned the end into a hinge to swing on the original hinge that was welded in place.
At this point I decided it was time to remove the old paint and rust. I bought a cheap angle grinder and went to work.
After 4 hours of grinding away, this was the results:
I purchased some high temp rustoleum black enamel paint and a small paint roller...no spraying. I put on 3 coats if I remember correctly.
Here is a back shot with a chimney cap I purchased and also painted:
The wheels were bad. So I purchased some heavy duty wheels that were identical to the originals.
After the wheels were added, I purchased a thermometer and spent 15 minutes drilling through the 3/8 inch steel. Earlier when I was grinding, I ground out the inside pretty could and swept it out.
Before I seasoned it, I proceeded to burn it out for extra measure. There was rust on the bottom inside that was in sheets. It was that or build up of something. After heating it I was able to get that rust out. Once clean, I seasoned it with Pam and chunks of hickory.
Later when I was ready to cook on it...I had to purchase rebar to clip on the top rack to lay the grate on. I could never could find a ready made grate to fit. I am currently waiting for some expanded metal to arrive on order. The was already rebar welded in place for the bottom rack/grate.
Here is a pick with both grates in place:
Here are the before pics:
Here is a close-up of the chimney with damper:
Here is the door for adding wood/charcoal. It opens below the bottom grate. Whenever I have opened it to add coal, it has never lost heat.
Now this is a door I fabricated for the bottom intake. Its made from the lid of a gas grill wood box. Later I discovered it still lets too much air in so I added a solid plate behind it attached with a screw and wingnut. It too is made from the same wood box. I used a pipe strap to hold the door shut at varying levels of tightness based on how far you wedge it in under the latch.
Here is a pic of the intake door open. I fashioned the end into a hinge to swing on the original hinge that was welded in place.
At this point I decided it was time to remove the old paint and rust. I bought a cheap angle grinder and went to work.
After 4 hours of grinding away, this was the results:
I purchased some high temp rustoleum black enamel paint and a small paint roller...no spraying. I put on 3 coats if I remember correctly.
Here is a back shot with a chimney cap I purchased and also painted:
The wheels were bad. So I purchased some heavy duty wheels that were identical to the originals.
After the wheels were added, I purchased a thermometer and spent 15 minutes drilling through the 3/8 inch steel. Earlier when I was grinding, I ground out the inside pretty could and swept it out.
Before I seasoned it, I proceeded to burn it out for extra measure. There was rust on the bottom inside that was in sheets. It was that or build up of something. After heating it I was able to get that rust out. Once clean, I seasoned it with Pam and chunks of hickory.
Later when I was ready to cook on it...I had to purchase rebar to clip on the top rack to lay the grate on. I could never could find a ready made grate to fit. I am currently waiting for some expanded metal to arrive on order. The was already rebar welded in place for the bottom rack/grate.
Here is a pick with both grates in place:
