Ugly Drum Smoker

Just got back from HD. My Home Depot here had about 5 on the shelf. Also got some 6" stainless bolts, washers and nuts. Fire basket will be about 5" off the bottom of the barrel.

Any suggestions for where to locate the air inlets in relationship to the fire basket?
 
I agree, it is confusing. One guy says 3 bottom vents, one guy says 5, one guy says 3" from bottom, another says 6", one idea is for a 12" dia fire box, another is 20"...... Then there are sections where for a couple of pages, all the posts relate to cooking and not building.

I started a spreadsheet, with a row for each dimension, then as I read through the posts, I just entered the dimensions. After a while, certain numbers started appearing more frequently, so those are what I'm using.

As a very new guy, I once suggested that a separate "build" sticky thread be started, and was told in no uncertain terms to READ, READ, READ. I learned my lesson, I won't make THAT comment again, BUT, some of those stickys don't get many posts these days.

I ordered the Arron Franklin book yesterday, hopefully that will answer some questions.






.
 
And I should have been a little more specific, I really just meant 'in general'.

Like should the inlets be below the firebox, near the bottom, top, above, etc? That kind of 'suggestion'.

Thx for the thread funugy

- And thanks again - cause that's a great UDS build thread!
 
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FYI - a mic ultra can fits in the large bung.... Lol
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I centered my inlet holes about two inches from bottom of drum to keep them from becoming obstructed by any falling ash. The bottom of the fire grate is then about two inches above that, four inches off the bottom to allow good airflow.
 
I have built up my UDS and everything is looking okay. Except I couldn't find a two inch pipe for the bung hole vent that wasn't galvanized. Is this an issue? There won't be flame on it, just a lot of hot air.
 
Not a problem, but if you want you can soak the pipe in vinegar/water 50/50 to get ride of the galvanizing. Wipe with a rag.
 
So, after a month or so of reading this thread, and learning as much as possible about building my UDS, I've finally got it done and ready for some meat. Did the seasoning/experimenting burn last night, and hope to try out a spatchcocked chicken and a couple of fatties when I have more time this weekend.
I went with the basic KISS method for the first one, with a shelf, some wheels added, and the Weber lid.
My wife said I had to at least paint it up nicer than a plain barrel, and I've seen a lot of sports team paint jobs on here, but, I'm not much of a sports fan, so I went with a Breaking Bad theme.
Here's some progress pics, the food pron to come later:
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The drum, and donor Weber($25! It's in great shape, so they will share the lid and grill until I find one in worse shape for the parts)
IMG_20150703_204957479.jpg
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The burn out.
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The inside, and basket.
IMG_20150710_204357397.jpg
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IMG_20150710_204448716.jpg
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Ready to test out!
 
FYI: Good source for food grade drums

Hey all, I got lucky last year when I started to make my first UDS and found a good source of Food Grade drums. Stores that make their own soap use a food grade oil as a base. The drums are extremely clean, dent free or nearly dent free with a removable lid and ring clamp.

I have found 2 stores in St. Louis, one on the Hill and one in downtown Kirkwood. They both produce 1 per month and advertise once in a while on Craig's List. $30 each. I just picked up 2, one for me and one for a friend, and they still had 6 more. :clap:

Smoke free or die!
 
Nice looking "T" build. Need pics of the exhaust. Is there a build thread that I can find? I don't get to spend much time here anymore and miss a bunch of stuff.

How does it hold temp compared to your UDS?
 
funugy said:
Nice looking "T" build. Need pics of the exhaust. Is there a build thread that I can find? I don't get to spend much time here anymore and miss a bunch of stuff.

How does it hold temp compared to your UDS?
Click to expand...

Holds Temps well but uses almost double the charcoal as my Reg UDS.
Exhaust is 3" Auto exhaust pipe 12" H.

 
OK. I read thru 405 pages of this thread, constructed a UDS with 3 1" intakes with 3/4in nipples and one ball valve on an 18" riser. I have 4 3/4in outlet vents on top. Burned out the barrel (which was unlined but i didn't know what was in it.....the lining was silver and got some light surface rust just sitting out overnight), seasoned it with spray vegetable oil. It burned hot (450-500) for 7 hours and had a hard black coating on the inside after it was done....no residue on a finger swipe.

Hooray, i thought. Yesterday I put on a fatty and 10 chicken thighs to break it in. To make a long story short, they came out terrible. Waaaay to smoky. I used a half basket of charcoal with 3 fist sized chunks of hickory and a few smaller slivers. Started about 15 briquets in the chimney and then dumped them on the firebox. The UDS held a steady 250 the entire time with one of the intake caps on. I waited for the smoke to die down before putting the meat on, but it never got to the point I would consider TBS. Once I put the meat on, the smoke got very thick for a while. I checked the meat at 2hrs, and never opened the lid until that point. At 2.5 hrs I pulled everything as both the chicken and the fatty were near 180 degrees. The chicken was good without the skin, and the fatty was good with the bacon removed. The skin and bacon were so smoky we couldn't eat it.

It's obvious I have a problem with smoke control, but how do I fix it? I've come up with several possible fixes but I'm not sure which apply, and I don't want to make more work for myself.

Add 2 more 3/4" outlets to the lid

Wait until there's nothing but TBS before I put the meat on

Use less wood

Scrub the barrel back to bare metal and reseason

???
 
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