A 16" pizza pan, 3/8" round rod holding up a weber charcoal grate, expanded sheet metal welded to the bottom of grate, 1/2" round rod for t-handles
dimensions: 12" tall (3" spacers, with the pan and grate included the sheet metal was less 9", sorry don't have exact width of cut); the handles are 15" tall
I will have 3 1" inlets for my air intakes. 2 will always be open with the option of being plugged and one with an elbow that will have a ball value 18" above to regulate They were free and I can weld so that's what I did
I will be using a dome lid (22.5" Char-Boil, it was cheaper than the Weber) and my barrel was larger in diameter so I added a lip to to house the lid. The lip is 1/2" inch above the top of the barrel and is held in place with tact welds around the edge. When the barrel is burned out I will add a bead line of high temperature silicone around the gap that is still present
The lip was still larger in diameter than the inside of my dome lid, I took a crescent wrench worked my way around the top and persuaded it inwards toward the middle of the barrel, which worked and now I have a close tight fit for my dome lid
I wanted the option of having adjustable shelves, so again freebies, closet shelving racks. From the top of my lip, it is 2" down, that is where I placed the top of the adjustable rack system. I will run at least 2 grill grates, one at 2" and the other at 8", with other possibilities. Also with having the shelving units run down my barrel, I also have the option of having a diffuser plate or water pan
The Char-Boil came with an already fabricated hinge system that fit the contour of both the lid and barrel, decided to use it but had to make some modifications for it to work
Kind of hard to see, for the piece attached to the dome lid, a 1" spacer was added (square tubing), and then welded to the arm which was then welded to the lid. Disregard those bad welds, the lid metal was very thin and had some burn outs which then I tried to patch. As far as the bottom piece, it was welded at the top where it met the top of the barrel and then a spacer added to the bottom, such a piece of extra round rod I had
The lid opens and closes with ease. It will be much easier than lifting a lid completely off and then trying to find a place to put it.
The next step in my process will be to burn the barrel out at least 2-3 times just to be sure. The barrel does have a visible liner and held some type of oil, not exactly sure what type though. Of course the firebox, grill grate(s) and lid will not be included in the burn but I had planned on completing my build process before I did my burn to get the metal that I added nice and clean as well. After the burn, I plan on painting it not sure if I want to include a design of my Louisville Cardinals or just so nice and easy with black. I shall keep the UDSNation informed as I continue my new hobby