First try at a UDS

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tuxbobble

Newbie
Original poster
SMF Premier Member
Feb 28, 2017
24
10
New Jersey
I lurked for a long time before I signed up, and figured now it's time to put my own experience up here and thank everyone for laying the groundwork out.

1)Start with a 55 gallon barrel that has hopefully not been used to contain all sorts of nasty stuff.


2) Sand down outside and inside to bare metal as much as possible


3) Drill holes for intake, exhaust, and grill grate bolts/brackets. Be indecisive and choose to wait on drilling out a thermometer hole or any hardware holes for lid or side handles.

Props to Youtuber Daddy Cooks for the tip on using dish soap when drilling through metal.  Also, make sure you wear shorts so shards of metal can hit your legs and sting for a while.


4) Test fit hardware as you go to get a good fit.


5) Burn out anything that's left after sanding.  Wipe it down again after this.


6) Fail to take photos of putting your charcoal basket together because you don't want to get your phone bloody after not wearing gloves during the process.


7) Prime (not pictured) and paint the lid and body with high temperature engine enamel.  Tape inside the drilled out holes first. You don't want paint inside.


8) Shiny


9) After it cures (read the label) re-attach all hardware. Since you were lazy and didn't make a separate thermometer hole, put it through one of the lower grate holes since you're only testing with the top grate.


I did the last steps after work one night which only left me a couple of hours to throw something on, so I just put some kielbasa on the top rack to see how stable the temperature would be.  The heavens were angry that day, my friends. Like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli.  It started raining immediately after I got the lid on, so I left it smoking for a little over an hour before it cleared up.  Given the heavy rain, the top grate stayed between 210-280 for that hour, and I had rushed and not let the temps settle before proceeding due to timing.

Still, the kielbasa looked and tasted amazing, and I'll probably try running a longer smoke (ribs, pulled pork, or brisket) at some point this weekend.  I'm excited for the big upgrade from my ECB, even though we've had a few good years together.

Sorry about the picture/documentation quality.  Wanted to get it posted, but this was all done on weekends, spread out over a long while because of other commitments.  Glad to finally be done with this one.  Already eyeing the second drum I bought at the same time, since now I feel a lot more confident in the process.

Side note--if anyone has any recommendations of good wheels to throw on the bottom of one of these drums, I'd appreciate it.  They'd need to be heat resistant obviously, and be able to roll in a driveway without damaging it.  Not sure what to look for aside from a drum dolly, but I'd rather not spend too much.  In the meantime I'm carrying it around and just dropping it on some bricks to avoid the heat exposure to the driveway.
 
Nice build....    Enjoy the great foods it puts out....   
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Nice build!! Now get smoking some food.
When you light your basket for a cook give it some time before you put food on. It will insure you have a clean burning fire.
For charcoal I liked burning Stubbs charcoal, I thought it burned a little cleaner.

On the other 2, 3/4" nipples on the bottom I just screwed a PVC gate valve on them and never had any heat problems with them.

Below is a picture of my UDS. I no longer have it but I gave it to my Son inlaw a couple years ago and he cooks on it about 3-4 times a week.
Also shows the PVC valve on the left side.

 
Good tips. I have 3 in/3 out pipes. 2 of each I'm just using as on/off using caps, and the other of each is a valve for now. That may change over time.

I did a really quick test last night by putting some kielbasa on for an hour. The temps ranged from 210-280, with one intake closed. I definitely rushed things because of heavy rain that came in right before I poured lit coals onto the unlit basket. Hopefully with a little extra prep time, the coal will be further along and will also be a little more stable by the time the food goes on.

Do you guys have better success/consistency with briquettes or have you had an easy enough time dialing in lump for temperature consistency?
 

Quick preview of the results so as not to leave anyone hanging. The picture didn't come out as good as it looked in person. Might have been able to take it off a little earlier if not for the heavy rain. Like I said, this was a small temperature test, but hopefully the main event will come over the weekend.

Another thing it made me realize is I'm going to need to put a canopy over it or something so i can keep this going in the rain/snow...
 
Thanks Dave. It seemed pretty tight but I'll take a closer look when I use it tomorrow. Any tips on improving the seal if it's not airtight aside from the exhaust pipes?
 
Clamps or a gasket...  See how much it is bowed...  any air leak at all will allow for air infiltration and temp swings...  Most folks cook at 250 ish so they won't notice it...  it's when you try and smoke at 120-140 for the first few hours to get good smoke penetration that leaks show up in temp fluctuations... 
 
Thanks Dave. I'll have to see what I can come up with. The other night it was dark/rainy so it was hard to see but today I'm noticing a pretty significant air leak. It seems like the lid may be bowed slightly so I may need to figure out a way to clamp it on opposing sides.

Like you mentioned many others do, I'm cooking in the 225-275 range so hopefully it won't be a big issue with a little swing--so far it's still way better than what I'm used to from my lightly modified ECB.

I'll keep you posted on the results today too. I just put on a rack of spares and a while after that a rack of baby backs, plus I'll be tossing a whole chicken on there as well in a little while.

Never did a chicken on the ECB so it's a first try, but hopefully I'll learn from today.
 
When you get the air leak sealed, you should notice a reduction in fuel usage and greatly improved temp control...  

Remember to make adjustments to the air intake and WAIT ...  Takes awhile for the fuel to slow down or speed up burning until equilibrium is reached...  meaning...   amount of fuel burning vs. oxygen being supplied so the temp can stabilize...
 
I haven't sealed the leak yet but it seems to me like the only major swings I've had have come in big spikes when I've popped the lid off to add other meats. Unfortunately today I'm doing 3 differently timed cooks in the one drum, trying to get them to come off close to the same time.

6 hour spare ribs, 5 hour baby backs, and 3 hour whole chicken...

I had the temp settled in the 270 range (a bit high for what I'd like, but in range, and I'm trying not to over adjust on the first long cook). When I've added the other meats though, popping the lid causes it to Spike to about 300 briefly.

Not sure there's much I can do about that, but closing up that air leak should at least help it stabilize faster after a big swing.

I'll let you all know how it comes out. Chicken just came off and it looks amazing, but I'm letting it rest for a few minutes now before I cut into it...
 
Before you open your lid, close off your intakes on the bottom. Then when your done open your intakes back up that will help with spikes.
You should be able to find a lid clamp for your drum that would seal things up. Also make sure your intake nipples aren't leaking.
 
Intake nipples are definitely leaking slightly. I had bought some oven safe sealant that I was going to use on my ECB to attach rope gasket but never did, so I'll probably use that around the nipples since it should be high temp safe.

As for the gasket I'll have to look for one. I'm sure someone on these forms will have posted something.

I'll definitely try shutting the intakes when popping the lid. I think I also need to be faster about my setup when the lid is off to limit the spikes as well.

Chicken on the smoker came out great. Skin could have been a little more crisp but since I didn't want the temp too high, it still exceeded my expectations. The ribs done 3-2-1 and 2-2-1 were delicious, but when I took them out of the foil and they caused a flare up (with the lid off) the temp at one point hit 400 and caused their undersides to burn a bit. Otherwise, the ribs came out great, but I think I can prevent this by closing the intakes and moving a bit more quickly. They were still delicious and I only had to sacrifice a tiny bit underneath, so it was a good learning experience.

Didn't get a shot of the chicken before cutting it up, but I did get the ribs.


Oh, and I had a ton of fuel left at the end also, which is really nice since it means one basket will last quite a while.

I might not get another shot for a few days but next Friday night or Saturday morning I'm hoping to get another run in, so maybe I can seal up the intakes a bit better and use the intake trick to stabilize the temperature a little better.

Thanks again everyone!
 
One more thing. Do folks typically paint their pipe caps and nipples? I noted a bit of rust starting to form even after just a couple of sessions

I can paint them easily enough, but wasn't sure if people advise against painting the part that goes inside the drum, or the interior of the pipe. Also it makes me worry a bit about my ball valves since I doubt I can easily paint them, but maybe they won't be a problem.
 
Is http://www.bubbasbarrels.com/lever-lock-ring-55g-drums the best option available to help seal up the lid?

I saw one on websites that people said wouldn't fit their 55gallon drum, or isn't easy to open/close, etc. I have some rope gasket for a stove/oven that I've used on my ECB but it seems like it would be too large for the UDS lid and I'm not sure it would make a perfect seal either.

I might try another big smoke overnight Friday-Saturday to see if it goes any better without opening and closing the lid (aside from probably wrapping for the crutch).

Thanks again for all the tips/suggestions.
 
This is very similar to what I had for my ECB, but the rope I have seems too thick. I'll probably use it ad hoc without the silicone temporarily and see if things get better, and make it permanent if it seals nicely

I was mostly worried about the seal where id need to cut it since it won't be an exact fit at length. I never cut it for my ECB which always left a small gap. I assume if I cut it there will still be a small gap, although possibly.much smaller.

I'll look to see if I can get something smaller to fit on the drum also, since the Gap is significantly smaller.

Thanks!
 
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