UDS in the works

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smokin emt

Newbie
Original poster


Been reading and researching UDS  builds for almost a week now so here I go. Picked up two drums today, a closed end and open lid. One had 15W/40 oil and the other had frozen carrot juice concentrate.
 
Of course the open lid drum has that red liner in it has you can see. Not exactly sure what that means except that its a pain to remove. Figured I would start burning it today since I have more than enough stuff outside to get rid of.

Also I read someplace that the Weber 22.5" dome would fit the 55 gallon drum without any modifications. Can someone tell me if this is true before I call Weber and order one.

Plan on posting as I go on this project to this thread so if anyone has any ideas, suggestion, or comments feel free to add them.

So far total cost is $17.50
 
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Howdy Smoking Emt.. yes the lid of a weber will fit (most cases. .. might need some tweekin to get a snug fit) best bet look at craislist or garage sales for a used weber. Cause you can recycle the grills.. the lid. And some hardware into the uds. Cheaper route..

Cant wait to see some pics of the post. I cant see the two pics you posted aboce.. but it might be on my end... my phone been giving me problem's all week.


WELCOME TO SMF... btw!
 
Pics worked for me.  Post your build, glad to help if I can.
 
I'd use the open top for sure.  If you're planning on 2 racks you'll want the dome lid but if you're just going to use 1 then the flat lid is fine. Personally i like the flat lid but i can use a kettle lid if i go 2 racks.   Regardless if the dome lid fits perfect you can make it fit, you can also weld a dome lid to the drum lid....that's what Chad "chiefUSN" did and  i'll do eventually to a spare lid.  You should look up his build sometime, he has it on you tube i think also. 

Hey Webo that's what they call operator error in my neck of the woods! ;)
 
I'd use the open top for sure.  If you're planning on 2 racks you'll want the dome lid but if you're just going to use 1 then the flat lid is fine. Personally i like the flat lid but i can use a kettle lid if i go 2 racks.   Regardless if the dome lid fits perfect you can make it fit, you can also weld a dome lid to the drum lid....that's what Chad "chiefUSN" did and  i'll do eventually to a spare lid.  You should look up his build sometime, he has it on you tube i think also. 

Hey Webo that's what they call operator error in my neck of the woods! ;)
What he said Smokin EMT..

Cept the operator error part.. ;)
 
I am planning on using 2 racks in this smoker. Appears I'm going to have to do a lid mod for a dome tho. There's a few options I've seen that will achieve the desired effect and at a cross road of how or which mod I want to use. I'm open for the easiest and best sealed option. Any idea? I've read to cut the bottom section lip of the kettle off and attach to the drum, a section of flat metal cut and fitted, or the lip of the dome flattened out and the locking ring of the drum used to form and seal the dome.
 
Going today to buy the hardware and paint for my build. Question for now before I buy the parts for the intake is...do I buy 3/4" or 1" piping? I plan on (maybe, depending on the feedback) to have 2-24" pipes coming up the sides opposite of each other with ball valves as my main intakes then 2 smaller intake tubes at the bottom of the 2-3" mark of the drum. This way I can control 1 or 2 valves most times and when I need a higher temp I can remove a cap or two. What is the thought on the pipe size and am I headed in the right direction for the intake idea?
 
I have 2   3/4 ball valves and 2   1" capped.

I went with 2 bigger intakes to get high temp faster to do chickens.
 
What the Farm said. I had 3 3/4" but changed the set up primarily because farmers could get a higher temp when needed.
Sounds like Webo and farmer had some good advice!    I concur )))
There is the man... with out ol Keith. ... I would still have a propane vertical...

I've started a new thread to this topic at http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/151646/my-first-uds-build. Any more post will be to that thread and I hope everyone follows along with me there. 
and Emt.. I will follow for sure!
 
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