My First UDS Build

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You can put valves on all of them.  

I had thought about doing that.
 

Found a small portable sandblaster a friend had stashed back in the corner of his shop. The outside cleaned up good but the inside will have to be done by hand 
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 Looks like this will be the most time consuming  part of the entire build. 
 
Like I said.. im in......

There really is no need to valve the 1".. waste of money.
2 3/4" valves
2 1" nipples with caps.

If you need a good 350* for a controlled time.. 2 valves is fine..

more than plenty air for any "smoking" requirements...
 
Talk about a day! Said the other day I was going to get out and grab the hardware for my build but one thing lead to another and didn't get around to it until today.

After five different stops my parts list amounted to:

2 - Black BBQ & Stove Paint 1200* - 15.75 AutoZone

1 - 22.5 Weber Cooking grate - 17.49 Wal-Mart

1 - 1" x 2" Nipple & 1" Cap - 2.39 (first cut of the build was too big 
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) Atwoods

2 - Expanded Metal Sheets 1/2x12x24 - 13.99 Handy Hardware

1 - Roll Tie Wire - 4.99 Handy Hardware

10 ea. - 1/4" Bolt, Nut & 1" Washer - 3.60 Handy Hardware

8 - 3/4" Conduit Locknut - 2.76 Lumber Yard

2 - 3/4" x 12 Black Pipe - 4.72 Lumber Yard

1 - Brass 3/4" Ball Valve - 12.38 Lumber Yard

4 - 3/4" x 1.5" Black Nipple - 3.96 Lumber Yard

3 - 3/4" Black Metal Cap - 4.47 Lumber Yard

1 - 3/4" Black 90* Elbow - 1.29 Lumber Yard 

2 - U-Bolts - 2.59 (can't recall the size) Lumber Yard

49 pc -  Assorted nuts, bolts & washers - 19.45 (all stainless steel) Lumber Yard

Cost for today: $116.13

1 - 55 gal Drum - 17.50

TOTAL: 133.63
 
that expanded metal is pricey pricey. I got 9 sheets from a jobsite that was gonna get trashed.. 8X4 SHEETS.... what a find it was!
 
As promised....more pictures

First cut out of the box which was an 1 1/4" instead of just 1"


Didn't find the fully threaded 3/4" nipples but in the end these work just fine tightening up to the middle strip and adding a conduit locknut to the inside of the drum for a bit of added strength.


Added a bit of teflon sealer with never seize properties to the caps which hopefully will help in them not rusting and becoming hard to take off by hand


 
Still more photos...

Yes, used 2 3/4" x 12" sections of pipe with a coupling. Believe it or not it was actually cheaper than buying the full 24" section plus increased the height a bit more...wth is up with that price? Notice placement of the u-bolt...this drew the pipe sections and ball valve against the drum which made it impressively snug and supported to prevent any movement what so ever.


Inside view of the u-bolt and the conduit nut


Last is the big daddy 1" intake which I placed directly across from my ball valve intake. Figure between the valve and the 1" I should be able to hit higher temps without using the other 2 3/4" intakes

 
time will tell.. the great thing about the UDS... its a build to your liking... your region and weather.. and what do you plan to smoke... thanks for posting pics.. keep em coming
 
 
that expanded metal is pricey pricey. I got 9 sheets from a jobsite that was gonna get trashed.. 8X4 SHEETS.... what a find it was!
Yes sir it is. I checked all over town looking for this and finally resigned to the fact I would have to travel out of town to get this or have a friend bring it in with them when they came in. We finally found it at the same store I checked with twice to be sure they didn't have any in stock. 
 
either way EMT.. $140.. for a custom smoker that you built.... once you fire that thing up... it will be all WORTH it... the newest family member just got built :) just wait til you cook on it :) GREATNESS!
 
 
either way EMT.. $140.. for a custom smoker that you built.... once you fire that thing up... it will be all WORTH it... the newest family member just got built :) just wait til you cook on it :) GREATNESS!
You got that right.  A cheap smoker that cooks like a 20,000 dollar smoker.
 
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So your going to try 2- 1 inch vents?
No Farmer, I was aiming toward all 3/4" intakes, just set my cutter up wrong and didn't double check it before I drilled and cut a 1 1/4" hole instead. The way I adapted was I placed my 3/4" valve intake across from the 1" intake. Not sure if this was the thing to do or if I should have set a 3/4' across from my main intake or not. Time will tell if what I'm thinking is correct or not.
 
 
either way EMT.. $140.. for a custom smoker that you built.... once you fire that thing up... it will be all WORTH it... the newest family member just got built :) just wait til you cook on it :) GREATNESS!
Webow, I'm not even finished with it and I was looking around the house for something I could dump a bed of coals in just to see it do its stuff. I'm just wanting to play with that "custom" smoker. I'd like to try an over grown yard bird for turkey day if its cleaned and all ready to go.
 
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