any ideas on insulating a uds

[deerjackie]

i got a 55 gal drum i made a smoker out of and i want to insulate it. any ideas?hot water heater blanket? thanks. dj

 

[ddave]

Hot water heater blanket sounds like it would work.

Dave

 

[deerjackie]

i will figure something out or build a tall out/smoke house.lol i aint kidding neither. wife said no more deer meat to be eaten so i am grinding everything and making summer sausage out of it. i kill lots of deer and going to get this perfected. got 7 lbs deer and 1.5 lbs beef fat thawing in fridge now. too dry last time,forgot the beef fat. thanks yall.dj

 

[mballi3011]

There's a product made by 3m and it's made for wrapping duct work for a cooking hoods and it is really heavy and about 1 1/2" thick. It would hold the temp just fine and it's covered with a foil type jacket so you could just wrapp it rite to the drum.

 

[ddave]

Don't know exactly how cold it gets where you are but I think they're good uninsulated into the teens. I did a brisket on mine last weekend. Overnight low was 23° with some breeze. It used a more fuel than normal but I had no problem keeping the temps up.

Dave

 

[jlafrenz]

I have been looking for some ideas to insulate my UDS as I notice that it varies a bit with the temperature. I want to continue smoking during the colder months and maintain a constant temp. I have seen a few wind brakes that may be good ideas. I also read where some were using mineral wool. I though perhaps using a wool blanket would possibly work. What do you guys think?

http://www.harborfreight.com/60-inch-x-80-inch-wool-blanket-92625.html

 

[redneck69]

i picked up a welding blanket that i fold in half and toss over my off set barrel smoker, works pretty descent.  your idea about building a wind block will work also..take a 4'x8' sheet and cut it into 2 4'x4' pieces and get a couple heavy duty hinges and mount them together.  that way you can take it down and store it when not in use. 

 

[jlafrenz]

I may try the wind block. I just noticed that the wool blanket has some polyester in it. Not sure if that is a good idea wrapped up against a hot smoker.

 

[bama bbq]

I eamiled Harry Soo about this last year.  He said he used to use a water heater blanket but uses a welder's blanket now.

 

[jlafrenz]

I may try the wind block. I just noticed that the wool blanket has some polyester in it. Not sure if that is a good idea wrapped up against a hot smoker.

I looked at both and the ones I found are fiberglass. I have seen a few post stating that this is not ideal around food. I would agree. I think the welding blanket (made of fiberglass) would be the lesser of two evils. I may have to do some more looking to see if I can find one that isn't made of fiberglass. I looked at fire blankets, but they are about twice the price.

 

[redneck69]

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/75388/smoker-wind-break