Finally finished my UDS!

[thunderdome]

how hard is it to add more heat? Do you have to take meat and rack off?

Do you just use a chimney, and pour more pre-lit charcoal in?

What abotu lump coal (mesquite), not briquettes like Kingsford

 

[ddave]

Didn't Rick already answer that??

You don't need to refuel. You load the basket full, put a few lit briquettes on top and your good to go for 14 or 16 hours if need be.

You can use lump but because of the irregular size of some lump chunks the temp may wander more.

Dave

 

[thunderdome]

I dont use charcoal...never have. So no, unanswered. Will the Lump coal in that basket hold heat as long and IF NOT, how much of a pain is it to add more lump and get the temp back to being set.

I dont use a basket or a bowl when I cook, therefore I have questions about it...bottom line i guess is: would this type of project not be up my alley if I use wood and lump only?

 

[rickw]

Yes; you can use lump . I have got 10+ hours out of 10lbs of Royal Oak lump. So it seems you can expect a burn rate of some where around 1 hour per pound of when running lump.

Building a UDS is fairly simple.

 

[thunderdome]

Found 2 drums here at work. I'm looking forward to this

 

[waysideranch]

i like it. wish mine was finished! looks great.

 

[grizandizz]

I have access to 55 gal food grade drums and have always wanted to build one but I'm not sure what layout on the inside looks like.

Does anybody have a picture or drawing (section view) so know what I need to fabricate? I haven't even seen one in person. haha, lame huh!

Do I just use a Weber grate for the cooking surface?

Thanks in advance!

 

[solaryellow]

Hopefully this will help Griz.

I have two grates although I rarely use both. The bottom one is 24" from the bottom of the charcoal grate (not the top of the charcoal basket).

For the thermometer I drilled out the center of a 1" long 3/8" bolt to the same diameter as the thermometer stem and slide the thermometer out to remove the charcoal basket and then push it back in when the basket is back in. I am using a 8" candy thermometer and it is working well for me. I also have a 12" long turkey fryer thermometer but really haven't use it.

 

[grizandizz]

Outstanding yellow, that's exactly what I'm looking for!

Love the bolts at the bottom for air flow. You don't need vent holes at the bottom of the drum for air?

Is it common not to have a water pan in a drum smoker?

Thanks man!

 

[solaryellow]

I have a single 2" hole in the bottom for an intake. Truth be told, it rarely gets opened more than 1/8" - 1/4". I have a 3/4" ball valve waiting for the next drum build I do.

I do not use a water pan and haven't in the few months since I built the drum. It is my understanding that the 24" of separation between the bottom cooking grate and the charcoal grate negates the need for one.

Edit: Forgot the pic

 

[grizandizz]

Very cool man.
Is that elbow at the bottom welded on or threaded on?
The ash that falls to the bottom of the barrel, do you just tip the smoker over to empty it out?

 

[solaryellow]

Threaded and then locked in with 2" conduit nuts on each side of the drum. To safeguard against leaks I used RTV to seal up around the elbow where it threads into the drum.

I use a shovel to scoop out the ash.

 

[grizandizz]

Gracias, I will send you a pic when I pick up my barrel!

 

[trig]

I completely forgot about this thread.

I have got the drum seasoned well, and for anyone waiting to build one, I have to say; it's really the easy thing in the world to use. It had a learning curve of about 1-2 smokes, and I'm set. I but random things in there and people think I'm a pro or something!

So far I've made about 4 fatties (jap and cheese only so far), and probably a million sausage links (already cooked, but man they're awesome in there). This sunday will be my first ever pulled pork so hopefully it comes out good as well.


As far as the guys asking about making it...

It was fairly simple. This was my prototype to see if it really worked like everyone says it does, so now I'm looking for a really good condition barrel. Mine has some bumps and scratches, and I'm a pretty picky guy, so I went with this one to try it while saving money. You can't see it in the pictures, but I used pliers and tin-snips to cut the holes for the valves, and then I covered them up with some pretty crappy welds, haha. It only took a couple of hours to finish it all once I had everything I needed.

 

[silverwolf636]

That looks sweet. Now I'm goin to have to build a vertical. lol
--ray--

 

[beer-b-q]

Looks Great... Nice Job...