UDS (Pit Barrel) vs. WSM?

[Smokesignalsfromtx]

Just search for the Unknown BBQ hinge, looks like that's what he has on there. Great little device, and a good price.

Your correct Dave! Got it from unknownbbq.com

 

[jham0077]

Holy Smokes! They make a UDS hinge! A little pricey but if I keep coming up empty handed on my Weber lid search, I'm getting one of those.

 

[THoey1963]

Ordered my hinge last week. I need to find plans and someone who welds to make me those table attachments.

 

[Fwismoker]

I can make a fire basket to sit on the 2nd level of my Wsm and sear with it ! I could even make it a nest and have a hook and all

Sure seems like a lot of work when you can just get a kit and has a bottle opener! :laugh: Moving grates around seems like a lot of hassle....plus you gotta drill more holes to equal the eight 3/4" holes for more airflow, then you have to hassel with opening and closing them vs just using a slider.

Save yourself the trouble Jennifer and just get a kit, open a bottle of pop or beer with the opener and sit back and relax with a great cooker that does it all!

 

[Ag76]

OK I've read thread after thread on the subject to try and decide what my smoker will be. I like the idea of building a UDS just not sure about time and the ability to find a drum. I like weber products and really like the look of the WSMs. I've decided either will work for me....... I will not buy a WSM new so for me it'll be either 18.5 or 22 WSM that I find on Craigslist OR, a UDS if I find time and a drum before I find a WSM.
But if I do get a WSM, I'm gonna pimp it out like Smokesignalsfromtx, that's awesome! :clap2:

You might try Bubba's Barrels for a drum and/or a Big Poppa's UDS kit if you decide on the UDS over the WSM:

http://www.bubbasbarrels.com/catalog/stainless-steel-barrels-and-drums-0

http://www.bubbasbarrels.com/catalog/big-poppa-smokers

 

[bbqgeekess]

If later you wish it was a PBC, buy some horseshoes and tack them on, drill some holes and stick rebar through them, and remove the water pan so the fat drips on the coals and gives your meat that magical flavor found only in a PBC. :bow:

Giggle--hilarious and so gimp at the same time!

 

[bbqgeekess]

Your correct Dave! Got it from unknownbbq.com

Cool!Thank you!

 

[bbqgeekess]

Sure seems like a lot of work when you can just get a kit and has a bottle opener! :laugh: Moving grates around seems like a lot of hassle....plus you gotta drill more holes to equal the eight 3/4" holes for more airflow, then you have to hassel with opening and closing them vs just using a slider.

Save yourself the trouble Jennifer and just get a kit, open a bottle of pop or beer with the opener and sit back and relax with a great cooker that does it all!

Haha.. such a salesman! I feel like I just watched a commercial!

 

[16Adams]

It's pretty damn awesome to find a group of people that are as passionate and protective of their choice of cookers as I imagine they are about their choice of pets. That tells me that as upside down as this world can get, this is a place to come to right the ship. Or to at least get the ship in the right fark'n ocean.

 

[Smokesignalsfromtx]

It's pretty damn awesome to find a group of people that are as passionate and protective of their choice of cookers as I imagine they are about their choice of pets. That tells me that as upside down as this world can get, this is a place to come to right the ship. Or to at least get the ship in the right fark'n ocean.

WELL SAID!!

now if everyone would just listen and get a WSM we would all be at peace! :bolt:


Ok Dave, quit playn! LET ME IN!!!

 

[DerbyCityQ]

 

[Southern Home Boy]

Dang... eight pages in three days... probably not a record, but impressive nonetheless...

I'm impatient and didn't want to wade through every single post, so I'm sure I'm repeating what several people have already said. But I'll go ahead and toss my $.02 opinion into the mix for giggles.

Building a UDS is so freakin' easy and inexpensive and creates such a worry-free cooker that I can't imagine why anyone would spend the money on either a PBS OR a WSM.

The ONLY - IMHO - drawback to a UDS is grillestate. Even with a domed lid of some kind, you just can't put more than two grates in one effectively and to work on the lower grate, you have to take the upper grate completely out.

Now, you can use an 85 gal. salvage drum to increase your grill size from 22.5" up to 26" per grate, but then the accessories become more expensive and your production cost goes up diminishing the benefit of making it yourself.

When I grow up and become rich, I'll go the insulated cabinet smoker route (Spicewine, Backwoods, Humphrey's or Vault) but until then, it's my UDS for all things smokey.

 

[pjtexas1]

I grew up in the country. I love drums. We used to burn our trash in a drum and throw aerosol cans in the fire and watch them explode.:boxing:

I can fondly remember burning nearly the whole back yard one summer. The farkin hose would only reach so far.:doh: Every now and then when the weather is really cold I think I can still feel that woopin my dad gave me.

 

[Fwismoker]

The ONLY - IMHO - drawback to a UDS is grillestate. Even with a domed lid of some kind, you just can't put more than two grates in one effectively and to work on the lower grate, you have to take the upper grate completely out.

Now, you can use an 85 gal. salvage drum to increase your grill size from 22.5" up to 26" per grate, but then the accessories become more expensive and your production cost goes up diminishing the benefit of making it yourself.

When I grow up and become rich, I'll go the insulated cabinet smoker route (Spicewine, Backwoods, Humphrey's or Vault) but until then, it's my UDS for all things smokey.

I'd take a couple drums for more cooking space over a cabinet...just because you can cook over a fire and i like the way that tastes and you get more direct heat for the maillard reaction.

Now if I did do a vertical cabinet give me something like a Lonestarz stick burner vertical with the lid on the FB for grilling/searing.

If you're gonna have a smoker might as well have the ability to easily grill for reverse sear cooks ....tastes much better.

 

[Bob C Cue]

Have not seen that one before. Very funny!

 

[bbqgeekess]

Building a UDS is so freakin' easy and inexpensive and creates such a worry-free cooker that I can't imagine why anyone would spend the money on either a PBS OR a WSM.

Worry free cooker? I should create a poll and ask all the UDS owners if they ever worried about their cooker rusting I owned a UDS, (gave it to my brother).. I worried about it rusting.. there is tons of rust on it now.

Do I worry about anything with WSM? not really.. except when it rains it gets inside unless you remember to cover it after it is cooled down heh. But at least it'll never rust

 

[Fwismoker]

Properly paint your cooker and if you keep it out of the elements it'll stay fine. Not everyone can powder coat their drums but it sure is nice!

 

[AClarke44]

You might try Bubba's Barrels for a drum and/or a Big Poppa's UDS kit if you decide on the UDS over the WSM:

http://www.bubbasbarrels.com/catalog/stainless-steel-barrels-and-drums-0

http://www.bubbasbarrels.com/catalog/big-poppa-smokers

I've seen those before and thought about it. My biggest issue at the moment with a UDS is having the time to build it. My other issue in general is I'm cheap. I don't wanna spend more than about $100-120 max. I know I can get a drum and all the parts for that price or less but again time is an issue right now. As far as a WSM, I missed out on a nice 18.5 WSM by only hours that I could have gotten for $100. :wacko:
Whatever I end up with I know I'll be happy.

 

[Southern Home Boy]

Worry free cooker? I should create a poll and ask all the UDS owners if they ever worried about their cooker rusting I owned a UDS, (gave it to my brother).. I worried about it rusting.. there is tons of rust on it now.

Do I worry about anything with WSM? not really.. except when it rains it gets inside unless you remember to cover it after it is cooled down heh. But at least it'll never rust

I hear ya. Porcelain coatings are nice. They're easy to clean, stay pretty for long periods of time, yada, yada, yada. :blah:

For me - and I speak only for myself - it's not worth the cost differential.

I still have the first drum I ever built more than five years ago. Rust? Some. But all it takes is a wire brush on a drill and thirty minutes, then another 20 to repaint with hi-temp paint and it's good to go for another two seasons. Don't like the color? Change it. Easy, peasy. Don't want to repaint or has too much rust to mess with? Ok. Cannibalize the old and build a new one for the cost of a new barrel (free if you know where to look).

I could literally build ten UDSs for the cost of one WSM.

I'm not saying you're wrong. I know there's a certain swagger that comes with having pretty gear on your patio/deck. I just work too hard for my money to spend it on something I can do myself for way less.

 

[Bob C Cue]

Thought for the day: