AZ Barbeque.com
Smokers, Grills, Pitts & More => BDS & UDS Smokers => Topic started by: Quiggs on February 22, 2009, 08:15:13 pm
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Well after seeing Jay's as well as Big Mista's awesome results with drum smokers I decided to try my hand at building one. Trial and error was the the theme for the weekend, but overall pretty happy with results.
Burning out free drum.
(http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e318/quiggsfile/SANY0708.jpg)
Found a grate from old BBQ to use as bottom of firebox, used old angle iron as frame and picked up some expanded metal for the sides.
(http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e318/quiggsfile/SANY0710.jpg)
Added wire handle and 3" spacers on bottom.
(http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e318/quiggsfile/SANY0725.jpg)
Fits nice in barrel.
(http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e318/quiggsfile/SANY0715.jpg)
After a few beers, I decided to trim Weber lid to fit into barrel ring. Metal shears cut it with no problem... but wear safety glasses as ceramic coating flies as you cut.
(http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e318/quiggsfile/SANY0720.jpg)
(http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e318/quiggsfile/SANY0726.jpg)
Cut out middle and set lid into rim and brazed it together.
(http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e318/quiggsfile/SANY0723.jpg)
Added air intake (as well as two more 1" nipples on other side with caps for extra air if needed).
(http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e318/quiggsfile/SANY0727.jpg)
Test fire.
(http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e318/quiggsfile/SANY0728.jpg)
Test chicken.
(http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e318/quiggsfile/SANY0729.jpg)
So far I'm into this project $34.00 and still need a paint job. I fired it up with all three 1" vents open and it climbed to 450 degrees. Shut down two and used ball valve to settle in at 275-290 with no problem as I cooked the chicken. Only screw up was my decision to "burn off" the paint of the barrel lid rim and it warped badley. Hard to get it sealed so I may try that part again.
Painted picture to follow........
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Wow, nice job. Can't wait to see the finished product..
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Looks good. How long did it take?
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Probably have 8 hours in it so far. Other than the lid things went very fast.
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This is where I wish I was a bit more handy with tools. $34.00, what a bargain!
I'm about $150.00 into mine. Purchasing the barrel new and having someone build the basket for me ( thought both of these prices went down when I purchased the 2nd sets) as well as new 22.5" grate. That idea you have for the lid is a good one as well. I bent the lid rim straight out, it almost fit. Then I did purchase a grinder and worked the rim of the barrel so that I get a decent fit with the Weber lid.
I built two this weekend and could not find any male ball valves at Lowes or HD, so this weekend I just used 4 rubber magnets. Held 225 in both barrels just great. I will use the 2 rack / Weber lid one for Chicken and Ribs and the two new "flat tops" for Brisket and Pork.
I added bolts at about 14 inches from the top ( 6 inches below bottom grate) where I'm considering some type of modification like a WSM water bowl or porcelain heat sheild. But I'll experiement with that after the Tempe competition.
You'll enjoy yours for sure.
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So you cut the rim off of the barrel lid and brazed the weber lid to it...correct. I have been thinking of doing this so its great to see that it works well!!
Great looking UDS!
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Good job, Dave! That bad boy can handle our PC meats at Stagecoach!
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So you cut the rim off of the barrel lid and brazed the weber lid to it...correct. I have been thinking of doing this so its great to see that it works well!!
Great looking UDS!
I had to grind (sanding disc) the porcelain off of the weber lid on the inside to get to bare metal. Only went back 1/4 inch so no big deal. Brazed very well but I only tacked it every 6" or so, so not sure if I need to seal it all the way around yet. It kept 250 to 280 for three hours with just the one ball valve open. I only loaded the firebox 1/3 full for first try, going to practice more to see how things do.
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Well I had some time this weekend to put some finishing touches on the new barrel project. A bit of paint plus a freebie hand cart that I shortened and used leftover piece to make a middle handle. Bolting it to barrel after I raise barrel a couple of inches to keep it clear of the ground. Also made an ash poker that fit nicely into cart pipe.
(http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e318/quiggsfile/SANY0745.jpg)
(http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e318/quiggsfile/SANY0748.jpg)
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OK eeeet is done! Decided barrel was a bit plain so added a few ghost (cheap) flames and raised it off the ground a few inches to keep the groud safe.
(http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e318/quiggsfile/SANY0752.jpg)
(http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e318/quiggsfile/SANY0749.jpg)
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Wow, looks great. Congrats. Can't wait to see it in action..
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Looks good! My daughter is planning on painting ours with green flames much like yours!
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OK tried some beer can chicken with awesome results!! Did discover that opening lid for very long can ramp up the temps very quickly!! Did one with no-salt "dizzy dust" and second one with "shakin the tree dust" Both very moist and tender. Temps stayed at 300 when single vent wide open, 270 if I choked it down a bit. Happy with result so far!!
(http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e318/quiggsfile/SANY0754.jpg)
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Dude, that is sweet! :)
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Need to get someone to braze/weld my lid like that. Looks like it works well! Congrats!
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Need to get someone to braze/weld my lid like that. Looks like it works well! Congrats!
I only tacked it every six inches and the rest could leak air, but it does not seem to effect temp control so I am leaving it alone.
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I was thinking of getting a torch and some brazing rod to give it a shot. The welding shop i went to wanted $50 to weld the lids together and that was after i prep them. :o :o
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Some fireplace rope gasket should fill the void??
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The brazing rod is what I used, you will need an acetylene/oxygen torch instead of one of the small can units you can solder copper with. Reason is you want to heat a small area or everything will warp. I only did 1/4" spots and it worked great. Make sure to grind Weber coating off in that area, I did it with a dremel tool.
As for Dave's idea of fireplace gasket material, it would do fine but it would have to be squished in the crack on top as no void is under lid. So far the small amount it leaks does not seem to make temp control and issue, now if it were very windy it might be another story. I had 5-10 mile breeze and it kept temp very well.
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Man after cooking at Rio, a 5 -10 mile winds is like a fart. My temps in the drum were bouncing around from those 30 mile plus winds and the 30 degree weather.
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Yeah a bit worried about that, I have always brought a wind break I made by cutting some 1/4 plywood into 4'x4' sections and hinged back together, then we just put it behind our WSM's in a "V" and it stands up all by it's lonesome. Might need a second one now eh!?!
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Where did you get the thermometer with that long of a probe?
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Where did you get the thermometer with that long of a probe?
Walmart, their meant for the deep fat turkey fryers but seem to work great in my WSM and now the drum. It matches the remote themometer we use also. I drilled hole for it just below top grate (so it does not hit any meats) and inserted a special rivet I use for work that is hollow and about 1" long, that keeps it level.
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Great evaluation of cooker last weekend at Stagecoach. First time I fully loaded the charcoal basket and filled it with the three PC briskets we had to cook. Temp was 300 when we dropped meat in and it dropped down to 100 instantly. Took us 40 minutes of tweaking before we were compfortable leaving it for the night at 200ish. In the morning it was up to 240 and stayed that way until we pulled everything out around noon.
As we served the PC food I happened to glance over and realized it was still going strong at 3:30 pm! That was 16 hours after we lit it!!
We used the new Kingsford Comp charcoal and I loved how little ash we had leftover.
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We have been practicing with ours this last month and will continue to do so as we are taking 5 of them to Boulder City on Memorial Day. It's pretty exciting to see how well they perform. I just recieved my stoker system so it's time to see how that aids me in keeping a constant temp and not messing with teh ball valves...
Did you have any issues at all with your at Stagecoach?
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We have been practicing with ours this last month and will continue to do so as we are taking 5 of them to Boulder City on Memorial Day. It's pretty exciting to see how well they perform. I just recieved my stoker system so it's time to see how that aids me in keeping a constant temp and not messing with teh ball valves...
Did you have any issues at all with your at Stagecoach?
Any reason why your taking 5? I've done the last two comps on 3 and for Boulder City, I'm going to drop that to two. Pretty sure I can get the long cooks on 1 and the short cooks on the other.
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For now each Team Member will be assigned their own meat to tend to. We may cut it by one and only bring 4, but we may need to learn the hard way on this one. Also, each UDS only has 1 cooking grate....How many do yours have?
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For now each Team Member will be assigned their own meat to tend to. We may cut it by one and only bring 4, but we may need to learn the hard way on this one. Also, each UDS only has 1 cooking grate....How many do yours have?
Mine has two grates.
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For now each Team Member will be assigned their own meat to tend to. We may cut it by one and only bring 4, but we may need to learn the hard way on this one. Also, each UDS only has 1 cooking grate....How many do yours have?
I was using 2 flat tops, 1 for brisket, 1 for pork each had 1 grate. For my ribs and chicken I had my original UDS which has a weber kettle lid and two grates. 3 UDS for a total of 4 grates / racks
What I found out over the two competitions and in practice runs at home is these typically cook the briskets faster, though the shoe leather I produced at Hesperia just would never cook but I think there were a combination of things that led to this, 32 degress, 40 mile an hour winds, 4000 ft elevation, etc.
But my pork got done there early, so I had one entire UDS just smoking with nothing on it, in Hesperia and one with nothing on it at Tempe as my Briskets were done early.
So, my original one which has some flaws in my work is going to retire to the back yard. The two flat tops are now going to get Weber Kettle Lids and another rack roughly 6 inches above the first one.
I chose not to use the ball valve on these two as rubber magnets work fine. I stop at the local Papa John's and grab a handfull on a regular basis.
One cooker per person, per meat sounds like a solid plan since you have the headcount to support it.
The less barrells I have to load up after its over the better and ash clean up can be a B!t@h as well. OR just leave it in like I did the first time and then add the cost of a new Rhino Liner to your UDS cost.. ;D
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I seem to remember your Rhino Liner experience posted here somewhere. I will remember that....
I am keeping my fingers crossed for great weather at Boulder as we are not taking the travel trailer....it could get very interesting.
I also agree with the thought things seem to finish early in the UDS's. I don;t know what it is but my standard cooking time seems to be shortened by as much as a third or so in the UDS on brisket. I do know that unlike my big ole offset where if I get too much heat in there I can open one of the lids and drop the temp, the UDS that thing will eat air like a banshee and pretty soon my smoldering coals are a raging bonfire! This might promote a somewhat quicker cooking time to some degree.
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Last year at Boulder we got Hail, Rain and sun. So your guess is as good as mine. ;D
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Well I know you will have your trailer there so I can come hide out with you ;D
I already told my other Team members they had to leave their skirts and dresses at home for this one. ;)
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I also agree with the thought things seem to finish early in the UDS's. I don;t know what it is but my standard cooking time seems to be shortened by as much as a third or so in the UDS on brisket. I do know that unlike my big ole offset where if I get too much heat in there I can open one of the lids and drop the temp, the UDS that thing will eat air like a banshee and pretty soon my smoldering coals are a raging bonfire! This might promote a somewhat quicker cooking time to some degree.
I don't read too much into it anymore, I've simplified it. Direct heat cooks faster than indirect heat. There is no barrier between the meat and the fire.
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Last year at Boulder we got Hail, Rain and sun. So your guess is as good as mine. ;D
And porta potty's!
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Hopefully they won't be right next to us like last year. I got to know everyones habits by the end of the contest.
Marty had the greastest line "5 beer habit with a four beer bladder" ;D
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We could have used your spot as a polling place!! "Single ply or two ply sir?"
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I have built a very simular UDS. I was wondering what type of charcoal you are using and what temp does your smoker settle into. Oh yeah, good looking finished UDS.
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On my UDS Kingsford if King...lump is ok if you know you will have NO wind at all.
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Kid..
That Kingsford is no problem to keep at low temps in the UDS? I tried the Comp Kingsford and it burned in there like lava...I had to take it out after an hour of 350 to 400 temps and hardly any air introduction.
I will try the regular in there if it's easier to regulate.
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Yes I had the same issue....KCOMP works if you never open the lid start to finish and have no wind at all...much like lump. With regular K I have never had an issue with temps...just seems to run along at about 240 all day even if I open the lid on occasion.
(http://xs539.xs.to/xs539/09225/a3261.jpg)
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At indio we had the same high temp problem with the "Comp K'', but I had left top off at the start. It lasted fooooorrrreeevvveeerrrrr though with the cooker stil going hours after we were serving PC food.