UDS build question

[tjoff]

I am thinkg of building a UDS.  When I am looking for a barrel should I be looking at Open Head or closed head barrels?  If closed head how do you get the lid off?

 

[meateater]

Open top without liner is the way to go.

 

[adiochiro3]

If closed, you can use the equivalent of a giant can opener.  My buddy who gave me two drums also had the opener (kind of like a shear/brake press deal).  Cut that lid out in nothing flat.  Most shops that deal with drums probably have those openers because they need to crush the drums before disposal/recycling to prove they are empty.

 

[tom37]

I agree, open top is the way to go if you can get it. Saltbranch has a good method to remove the top if you are going to use a kettle lid and want to use the old lid for an ash pan. I use a grinder with a flap disc on the outside of the lid lip if I want to reuse the flat lid as my smoker lid.

And for the extra bucks, no liner is probably well worth the money.

Good Luck

 

[pit 4 brains]

If you end up with a closed drum, make sure it does not have anything flammable in it. Then you can use an air chisel and cut it out. I own my chisel but you can rent/borrow from auto parts stores or rental centers.

Once you get it cut out, there will be some grinding to do to remove the sharp edge left on the inside.  You can use the bungs for your intake sockets as they are threaded and easy to weld onto a hole.

 

[ak1]

Ideally, you want to get an unlined open top barrel. If that fails, it would probably be easiest to get a closed top, because most of those, I think, have no liner.