Pellet Fired UDS Build

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I was considering adding a mailbox so I could use my AMNPS, but I found this awesome ammo box instead! I think it was themule69, who posted his uds with a ammo box, that gave me the idea, so a big Thank You to him! This thing works great! It produces more than enough smoke even with a a huge hole still in the side. I hope to get it sandblasted this week, then throw on some paint and it should be ready to go! Thanks for looking!








 
 
I was considering adding a mailbox so I could use my AMNPS, but I found this awesome ammo box instead! I think it was themule69, who posted his uds with a ammo box, that gave me the idea, so a big Thank You to him! This thing works great! It produces more than enough smoke even with a a huge hole still in the side. I hope to get it sandblasted this week, then throw on some paint and it should be ready to go! Thanks for looking!








Great looking mod! Now its time to cold smoke some bacon and cheese!
 
Sorry about the lack of updates guys, I've had a busy winter 
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. I finally got my barrel and ammo box sandblasted and painted. It cost me $80 but I think it was well worth it! I painted the drum dolly. Now I'm ready to assemble. I hope to have more updates soon!







 
I got the hole drilled for the temperature probe. I cut off all the screws and filed them down. Then I gave it a good spray with Pam. So after all that I plugged it in, filled the pellet hopper, hit the power button and ........ nothing! I took the controller off and there was a wire that had come loose! I hooked it back up, hit the power button again and it worked. I put it on 180 to see what it would do. It certainly puts off more smoke than my Traeger! I ran it at 350 for a couple of hours to season it. 







The next morning I threw a pork butt on, I decided I would make some Redneck Tacos!


Rubbed and refrigerated overnight!



I should have taken more pics, but I totally forgot! I did manage to snap one just before I attacked the final product!


Redneck Taco = Tennessee Hoe Cake, topped with pulled pork, covered with mustard slaw, then slathered in BBQ sauce! Delicious! 
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I'm not done with this project just yet. So be sure and check for updates, and as always Thanks for looking! 
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How accurate does it hold temps?
I don't have a thermometer in it yet, so all I have to go by is what the numbers on the pellet hopper says. When set at 225, It cycles high then cools down, and when it augers the pellets in the temp goes high again. But overall it hung around 215 - 240 the whole cook. It produces a lot more ash than my Traeger, not really sure why that is.
 
Ned,
I ordered the same hopper from Smokedaddy:sausage: and making a UDS is my long range plan. Short range is putting it threw the bottom of my boxy ECB. Then build a smoke generator.
After reading your thread I'm not sure I'll need it except for cold smoking.:sausage:
 
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I was considering adding a mailbox so I could use my AMNPS, but I found this awesome ammo box instead! I think it was themule69, who posted his uds with a ammo box, that gave me the idea, so a big Thank You to him! This thing works great! It produces more than enough smoke even with a a huge hole still in the side. I hope to get it sandblasted this week, then throw on some paint and it should be ready to go! Thanks for looking!








Now that you have the pellet hopper hooked up how's that cold smoke box working out for your meat smokes. I was talking to Dennis at Smoke Daddy and he was telling me that if I put a smoke generator on it I'm going to need to use a back draft kind because the hopper has a fan on it. I've ordered the blue aquarium pump that they use for their smoke generators for about $30 on Amazon. I got one that was $15 but it wasn't powerful enough so I sent it back for the good one like in the SD videos. It's coming tomorrow too.

I'm going to put it threw the bottom of my ECB 2 door box smoker and the smoke generator for now. The long range plan is to use a Stainless Steel barrel and attempt to put a door on the side so I can access the lower rack(s) without having to go threw the top. I will insulate it with the green egg felt so there is no spots for it to leak the precious smoke and heat. 

Here's smoke in your eye,
 
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Hey Pork Dork, I've been having trouble keeping the AMNPS lit while the pellet hopper is running, probably because of the fan. I did not take that into consideration. It works fine for cold smokes though. I hope to do some cheese soon!
 
If it still doesn't get enough smoke I would drill into the elbow of the cold smoke generator where it makes the right angle turn towards the drum and put a fish pump hose into it. Maybe that will get the smoke out of the generator for ya.
 
It looks like the smoke gen has a galvanized steel pipe. I would get the black steel instead of galvanized. I've herd bad things about mixing galvanized and heat.
 
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The aquarium pump sounds like a good idea. I went to a lot of trouble making sure I bought all stainless steel nuts and bolts, but I never even thought about the pipe being galvanized. I will defiantly replace it. Thanks!
 
The pork was very good, smoke flavor was there, but subtle. I think that is to be expected with pellet grills though. Traeger pellets seem to be fickle, sometimes I get pretty decent smoke flavor with them and sometimes its practically non existent. I think I'm gonna switch to BBQr's Delight or Lumberjack.
 
Ned,

If it were me I'd fix my smoke gen before I switched to a different brand of pellet. You don't need stainless pipes there black steel is way cheaper and doesn't have the problems that the galvanized does. Be sure to get a strong enough aquarium pump. Mine is the Laguna aeration kit for ponds on amazon for around $30. That's the one Smoke Daddy uses with all their smoke gens. That's where I'm going to get creative with my smoke. I read somewhere that corn cobs produce a sweet smoke.
Here's smoke in your eye,
 
 
That thing is going to freaking rock!  I'm pretty damn exited!  Don't know why.  Just am.  You're gonna love it when you get this thing going.  I love my Smoke Daddy in my fridge.  The burner works great!  I haven't had a jam up or nothing.  I did have a hot rod failure when I got it, but Dennis fixed me right up with a new one.  Great customer service!  Turns out they had a bad batch of hot rods.  Anyways, I have had no issues with my unit and I have done 14-15 hour long smokes with it, overnight and unattended.  Plus, it produces great BBQ.  Great smoke ring, great flavor and at lower smoker temps(225-250), a good deal of thin blue smoke.  I do still supplement with an AMNPS, but probably wouldn't have to.  I did have to tweak the interval timer to keep temps down in the fridge because it is insulated so well.  You might have the same issue, or maybe not being it is not insulated.  You will find out.  I use Lumber Jack pellets exclusively, typically 100% hickory.  I found they produce the best smoke quality and flavor.  I get them from a grill dealer in Kewaunee, WI and he gives me a SMOKIN' deal on them, like, 13 bucks for 20 lbs.  That's a crazy good deal!  And, they are produced in northern Wisconsin, so they are semi-local to me.   If you have any questions, PM me.  I'm sure I could help you out.  There is a learning curve, a very SHORT learning curve.

Good luck, I'll be waiting for this one to fire up.  Done yet?
I pay $20 for 40 pounds :)  love my SD in my fridge also.  runs flawlessly.  thinking about doing this too.
 
Thats very cool smoker, first one i've seen that is made with pellet burner. I guess its still possible to use it also with lump or briquettes.
 
did u put any type of gasket on your lid? also did you seal up around the hopper auger arm at all?
 
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