New UDS build

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I'm in the process of building my own (typo's uds build) and I drilled my grate holes last night.  The heights I decided to go with are 7" from the top, 11.5" from the top and 18" from the bottom.  The 11.5" is weird I know, but I have a lot of ridges in my drum and this puts the holes on the peak of the ridges.  The top two racks are for food and the bottom for a diffuser that I might add at a later date.

I have no experience, so take from this what you will, but I have decided against the water pan because I've read more against it then for it.

Good luck and can't wait to see how it turns out.
 
Water pan...no

Heat diffuser....yes

You can use something as cheap as a perforated pizza pan or a charcoal grate out of a 22" Old Smokey. Or build this one...can't remember who built this on here, not taking credit for the idea, just sharing..

 
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I am new and definitely not an expert. However, I have been smoking on a UDS for a few years and I agree with timberjet about the water pan. I was concerned and thought I needed one but turned out I didn't. I definitely have found the heat diffuser to be way more important. I have two racks but the bottom one really got too hot for my liking. My design for the heat diffuser was incredibly sophisticated, I grabbed a cookie sheet. Been meaning to find something better but apparently I tend to put things off and this has been working pretty nicely.
 
If you have a wire wheel grinder or one for your drill just get it as good as you can and then scrub it out with soap and water. I would season it right away so you don't get rust on the inside. Or at least wipe it down with veg. oil right after it dries to keep that from happening. It will start to get rust in minutes.
 
You might want to try scrubbing it with steel wool and soapy water then burn it again. I burned mine out twice and it still took a bunch of time with a grinder and sander to get it ready for paint.
 
Does anyone know how to build the pipes going up? I think I need a 90 degree elbow to connect to the bottom. Then connect that to a pipe. Is the pipe conduit pipe or something else? Once that is connected I would connect the ball valve to the top instead of the bottom like this new pic. 

 
I used a 90" elbow and 8" pipe. Lowes or HD should sell different length steel pipes that are threaded on both ends so you can get what ever length you want.

That picture looks like zinc or galvanized fittings. I have used plain black steel for mine to avoid any potential off gassing (I know the odds are slim but why risk it)
 
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