Anyone here have a UDS? (ugly drum smoker)

[ka0tyk]

Gonna go to el monte to pick up a food grade barrel and do the regular bolts into the sides to hold grates and the vents on top/bottom. Is it worth it to do a ball valve to get precise temp control? I'm gonna do caster wheels on the bottom so I can wheel it around, I'm hoping some regular ol HF wheels will work and not melt. 250* doesnt seem terribly hot to melt something that far away.

Any tips? I saw some people making a diffuser over the charcoal basket, seemed like a good idea.

 

[TeamGreene]

Yes I built one in 2012 and use it weekly. They are a great way to get into a smoker for relatively cheap. I have mine sitting on bricks and don't have a diffuser between the basket and the grate. The ball valve is a great way to regulate air/temp I have one on one of the four stub outs around the bottom the other three have caps that I can take off if needed.

 

[HavasuHank]

There are quite a few members with UDS.

Cole Trickle has one, so he'll probably chime in soon. [emoji106]

 

[ka0tyk]

Yes I built one in 2012 and use it weekly. They are a great way to get into a smoker for relatively cheap. I have mine sitting on bricks and don't have a diffuser between the basket and the grate. The ball valve is a great way to regulate air/temp I have one on one of the four stub outs around the bottom the other three have caps that I can take off if needed.

Haha I like the exhaust tip for the exhaust. Do you have a way to control the exhaust flow? Or do you just control via the intake/ball valves? New to smoking, bro in law gave me some tips regarding charcoal, little bit of wood as to not "over smoke" and you dont really even need wood for the last half of cooking. Sometimes wrapping the meat in foil, letting things rest in a cooler to let the juice get sucked back in it, etc.

I plan on getting the thermometer in the side and grabbing a little wifi/bluetooth thermometer to stick in the meat. Gotta grab a chimney as well.

 

[Cole Trickle]

I would build a wood platform to put the castors on.

I build one with a fancy tube and ball valve and one with just threaded pieces and caps (4)

One doesn't work any better than the other and just half flow won't matter.

 

[TeamGreene]

Haha I like the exhaust tip for the exhaust. Do you have a way to control the exhaust flow? Or do you just control via the intake/ball valves? New to smoking, bro in law gave me some tips regarding charcoal, little bit of wood as to not "over smoke" and you dont really even need wood for the last half of cooking. Sometimes wrapping the meat in foil, letting things rest in a cooler to let the juice get sucked back in it, etc.

I plan on getting the thermometer in the side and grabbing a little wifi/bluetooth thermometer to stick in the meat. Gotta grab a chimney as well.

I mainly use the intake to control and if I need to I can put some foil over the exhaust and poke holes in it. I use the Minion method for coals and wood. That is where you line the exterior of the coal basket with raw coal and smoking chunks then put lit coals in the center and as the lit coals die out the raw are ignited which can keep temp stable for hours depending on the amount of coal used.

I have the igrill2 with and ambient temp probe. I've been having problems with the meat probes not reading properly.

 

[TeamGreene]

Check this site out http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum a lot of good info and people willing to help out with great advice. Also I read Aaron Franklins book which is also filled with great info.

My first offset gets delivered today :cool

 

[RogerThat99]

A guy at Camp Far West (Hud) uses this thermostat / fan to control temp. You set it and it fans air in as needed to maintain the temp. :thumbsup

 

[Ibeplumbing]

I have one with the big poppa smokers kit. Does everything I want it to do. Honestly I've bought several others and always gone back to the drum. I have a diffuser, makes a big difference in top temp. I can't get it over 300 with the diffuser in and seems easier to hold temp lower with it in. Without it, temps seem to move around a little more, not much. But I can run it really high compared to when it's in. I usually run it with it in.

 

[Havasteve]

I think the Weber lids and grates fit UDS barrels.

Line the bottom with bricks for good thermal inertia. Even the sides of the bottom.

A grate in the middle with some rock for flame defusing.

Don't use a water pan unless you like that creosote flavor.

 

[236eaglexp]

I built this one. Works great, my only complaint is sometimes it's too much smoke for my taste.

 

[DCBEXTREME24HP]

I have a brinkmann trailmaster offset smoker. Finally got the hang of maintaining temps, when to add more wood at the right time, small intake and exhaust adjustments.

I did an 8lb pork shoulder over the weekend and it came out amazing. I use 100% oak once i get the fire going with natural charcoal.

Here's a website that has all sorts of upgrades for smokers. I bought the tuning plates and i can maintain a 20* temp differential from the firebox side to the exhaust side. Without it, my box side would be 300* and exhaust at 200*.

I also made my own coal basket out of expanded metal and angle iron.

http://www.bbqsmokermods.com/category-s/1818.htm

 

[teded]

built this a few years ago, it's not rocket science, it's a smoker.

 

[ka0tyk]

View attachment 485344 built this a few years ago, it's not rocket science, it's a smoker.

have you seen a bbq competition? its science, magic, and a little bit of voodoo.

 

[ka0tyk]

well thanks for bails for hooking me up with a drum its time to get this party started. got a few bits from home depot. i took the picture before i swapped out to larger apple wood bits, rather than those little chips.

a shiney new drum. again thank you Bails.

first burn. the drum had food grade petroleum jelly in it, which is a bit of a sticky situation. i decided to just burn it all out rather than attempt to wipe it all out clean first.

i still have to burn the top exterior off, i dunno why the inside coating all burned off but the outside still has a 4" strip around the top. same with the bottom. i saw temps upwards of 1000* inside the barrel with my little harbor freight laser thermometer.

and after i hit it up with a quick wire wheel

so far tonight ive drilled holes for the grate holders, installed the thermometer, and added wheels to the bottom of it so i can wheel it around. grabbed some paint but was too cold by the time i finished up tonight to spray. more action during the week soon.

 

[HitIt]

Keep the pics coming. I think pretty much all of us like build pics of anything

 

[lebel409]

I have an old stainless steel pool filter canister...was gonna make a smoker, but got a Kamada about 26 tall and 19 wide.
Free...PM

 

[screaming pete]

there are lots of ways to skin the UDS smoker. most people run them to hot while cooking. anything over 265 will bun sugars in your rubs and blacken your meats.. Kingford Blue bag are on sale at the Home stores 2x18lb bags for 10$ stock up. Big Popa Smokers web site has a kit for building a drum but your well on your way. ive seen some great uds i'd like to do a 110 gal one. sp

 

[SHOCKtheMONKEY]

Kingford Blue bag are on sale at the Home stores 2x18lb bags for 10$ stock up.

On sale 'till June first!

Looking forward to speaking with your daughter when she returns to work. :thumbsup

 

[screaming pete]

On sale 'till June first!

Looking forward to speaking with your daughter when she returns to work. :thumbsup

I let here know. she will be in friday
thanks

 

[SHOCKtheMONKEY]

Uh oh, I heard Wednesday:eek

 

[ka0tyk]

here goes nothing... no meat yet just a dry run to see how well it works.

holding 250* steady

 

[SHOCKtheMONKEY]

Looks good :thumbsup

 

[FROGMAN524]

Where did you get that thing OP?

 

[teded]

prime rib, smoked, sliced for sandwiches

 

[ka0tyk]

Here goes nothing... 6lb butt rubbed with mustard and then dry rubbed. Already smells yummy.

picked up 2 of these, one for meat temp, one for ambient temp. (not plugged in yet)

 

[Havasteve]

[/QUOTE]

Your UDS came out great. I love the back saver air throttle.

How did that probe setup work for you. I'm ready for a new set myself and wonder how the range was.

Some day I need to figure a way to monitor my smoker from the bar down the street.

 

[ka0tyk]

hit 160's. time to crutch. roughly 2 hours of smoke.

 

[ka0tyk]

Your UDS came out great. I love the back saver air throttle.

How did that probe setup work for you. I'm ready for a new set myself and wonder how the range was.

Some day I need to figure a way to monitor my smoker from the bar down the street.

so far the mini igrill's have been working great... however the range leaves a little bit to be desired. it says bluetooth but im guessing with its size and battery its a low range bluetooth. I cant get more than 20-25 feet away from it or else the app loses signal and starts beeping. perhaps going with a regular wifi/radio unit would be better like the maverick. i hear great things about the et-73 and the et-733 setups they have. having a dual probe for meat temp and ambient temp (dont trust those mechanical gauges, they're not very accurate).

 

[ka0tyk]

well... i gave it a good try. Not GREAT but it did turn out. I think I tossed on a bit too much rub and I gotta get my temps dialed in. I had a probe for ambient temp on the side of the meat, and I think I should put it directly under the meat, the bottom of it was burned. Also I used a little too much wood, it wasnt bitter tasting but its more of a "wow, thats smoked pork!" taste.

Gonna do another one sunday and see how that turns out.

Started at 9:30am, its now 9:30am... full 12 hours and the UDS is *STILL* holding 200*. Haha that thing is a beast!

 

[Havasteve]

well... i gave it a good try. Not GREAT but it did turn out. I think I tossed on a bit too much rub and I gotta get my temps dialed in. I had a probe for ambient temp on the side of the meat, and I think I should put it directly under the meat, the bottom of it was burned. Also I used a little too much wood, it wasnt bitter tasting but its more of a "wow, thats smoked pork!" taste.

Gonna do another one sunday and see how that turns out.

Started at 9:30am, its now 9:30am... full 12 hours and the UDS is *STILL* holding 200*. Haha that thing is a beast!

There's convective heat and radiant heat. The radiant heat from the fire is what is burning the bottom of your meat. Eliminate the radiant heat by making a barrier between the fire and your meat by setting a grate above the fire and loading it with heavy river rock to temperate and absorb and store heat.

I don't recommend using a water pan to temperate heat. Any water in the combustion process will create creosote and sour your pit.

UDS's lack the mass to store heat and results in varying temps. I recommend lining the bottom and sides of the drum with bricks. The bicks will absorb the heat that would otherwise escape. This will greatly reduce the possibility of over smoking your meat and greatly reduce the amount of wood you need to burn. It's all about thermal inertia.

Also. Ive seen where others have made an insulated fire blanket that fits onto the webber lid.

That's my .02

 

[ka0tyk]

time for chicken

see you all in about an hour. gonna start basting/mopping with a chicken stock and rub mixture.

cooking at 300*, and in the last 30 minutes ill open the gates and kick to full blast to crisp up the skin. if you cook low and slow your skin gets all gloopy.

 

[ka0tyk]

i really need to put a handle on this thing. im using some HF welding gloves to open the lid. heh.

 

[ka0tyk]

into the oven on high heat to crispy up the skin. bird hit 165 already.

 

[ka0tyk]

out of the oven, skin crisped up a bit at high temp.

 

[Cole Trickle]

Free uds smoker in corona.

Comes with everything but the charcoal basket.

Could use a cleaning and a burn I haven't used it in awhile

Come get it.