First UDS Build

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iceman61

Newbie
Original poster
Mar 20, 2011
12
10
West TN
I know this question has been beaten in the ground but I keep finding conflicting information. My barrel is 36" tall. How far down do I drill the holes to install the grate? I'm planning on drilling the air supply holes 2" from the bottom. It seems like every place Ive checked is in agreement on that on.
 
With the lid open:

Height: 48.5 inches - this thing is 4 1/2' tall without the dome lid?

Width R-L: 23 inches - this is fairly straight forward, (dia.)

Depth: 24 inches - pretty much a gray area to me.

So am I to assume without the dome lid the WSM is 4 1/2' to the top grate & then 24" down to the bottom? That would leave 2 1/2" feet from the bottom to the ground. There has got to be something here I'm not understanding about the dimensions. I don't know anyone that has the WSM & they don't sell it locally.
 
From what Ive read on different sites, ppl are putting their grate at different levels, mainly it seems most are anywhere from 6" to 9" from the top but most are saying that an average barrel is 34" tall. Mine is 36. I have also seen that some ppl recommend a distance of 24" between the cooking grate and the bottom of the barrel. I just want to make sure that I don't get it too low but I do want to get it as low as I can and still be safe without burning the meat. Hopefully some can help me.
 
Are you using the flat lid or weber dome lid ?
i just put mine 8" down from top (using flat lid)
I think most put them at 7". I wanted to make sure i had room
to smoked anything i wanted
 
Are you using the flat lid or weber dome lid ?
i just put mine 8" down from top (using flat lid)
I think most put them at 7". I wanted to make sure i had room
to smoked anything i wanted
For the time being, I plan on just using the flat lid. Like you, I'm wanting to get the most room I can since I would like to make sure I have enough room for a turkey. Im wondering, if you put your's 8" down, how tall is your barrel? Mine is 36" tall and I was thinking of possibly stretching mine down to the 9" mark, but I don't want to get it too far down. At 9" down for the food grate, I would then have 27" above the bottom of the UDS.

 
 
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