# Does your drum have a water pan?



## donnylove (Jan 23, 2010)

I primarily smoke with 55-gallon and 85-gallon drum smokers that I built.  Lately I've been wondering if it would be worthwhile to add a water pan to my drums.  Has anyone implemented a water pan on their UDS/VDS? Regardless, what are your thoughts on the advantages and disadvantages?

Thanks!


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## travcoman45 (Jan 23, 2010)

Can't think it needs it.  Mine usually has a puddle in the bottom of it anyway, so much so that I drilled a drain hole in the bottom an put a pan under it.  Tends ta be a moist enviroment on its own.  If ya wan't some additional heat retention, add in a few bricks.  Otherwise I don't see the need fer it.  Just my two coppers on it though.


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## mballi3011 (Jan 23, 2010)

I have seen and heard of people having water accumulate in the bottom os there smoker but I have never seen a water oan in a UDS either.


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## rickw (Jan 23, 2010)

I tried a water pan in a UDS, it pretty much ruins one of it's best features and that is being a fuel miser. When running the water pan you will use up a lot more fuel than with out it.


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## ddave (Jan 23, 2010)

I think Tip and Rick pretty much summed it up. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





I didn't put a drain hole in mine but after a long smoke with a good load of meat, there is quite a bit of condensate in the drum the next morning.

On occasion when I spritz or mop (which is rare anymore on the bigger cuts like butts or briskets) I am stunned at how much moisture is on the meat already.  

Dave


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## rbranstner (Jan 23, 2010)

Mine also has tons of moisture in it after smoking. I need to put a hole in the bottom of my UDS.


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## grizandizz (Jan 23, 2010)

I just seasoned my drum last Sunday and the following morning it was still hot and very moist inside, I will not be adding a water pan.

Donnie, your drum looks great can post any other pictures of it?


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## grizandizz (Jan 23, 2010)

I just seasoned my drum last Sunday and the following morning it was still hot and very moist inside, I will not be adding a water pan.

Donny, your drum looks great can post any other pictures of it?


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## donnylove (Jan 23, 2010)

Thanks for the compliment. I don't have a lot of other pics of the 55-gallon drum in action, but here are some pictures of the features:


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## trig (Jan 23, 2010)

My drum is moist days after I use it.  No need for water, and I started cooking fatties to 175° and have yet to have one that wasn't hella moist.  I'm still incredibly happy I decided to cheap out and build a drum smoker.

Edit, looks like you bought your drum brand new?


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## donnylove (Jan 23, 2010)

I did buy this drum new.  There isn't an affordable source for used or reconditioned drums here in Billings, but I was able to get a brand new one for a pretty reasonable price .  .  .


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## ddave (Jan 23, 2010)

Great looking drum, donnylove. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Man that charcoal basket is HUGE!  You ought to be able to smoke all weekend on one load of fuel in that baby! 

Dave


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## grizandizz (Jan 23, 2010)

Nice UDS!

Let me take a guess, is your ash tray a pizza pan from Walmart?
If so I have the same one, works great, holds 10lbs of charcoal/wood ash!!

Can I ask where you found those side handles?
I haven't been able to find a handle that works good on the radius.
Thanks!!


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## donnylove (Jan 23, 2010)

Pizza pan is correct, though I don't remember where I bought it.  Pretty sure the handles came from Home Depot, though it might have been Ace Hardware.


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## grizandizz (Jan 23, 2010)

Thanks, I looked at HD so I will check out ACE.
Did you buy your Kingsford lid new, if so where?
All I am missing is a lid and haven't been able to track down a donor Weber lid.


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## ddave (Jan 23, 2010)

I'm pretty sure you'll find those handles at ACE.  I think they are regular gate handles.  I used to have a pair on my UDS.  Stick one end in a vise and give a little push and they'll fit fine on a curved surface. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Dave


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## BandCollector (Jan 23, 2010)

Water pan is unnecessary.........UDS does a great job without one.


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## donnylove (Jan 23, 2010)

Dave is right.  I did exactly that with the handles in the vice.

I bought the Kingsford charcoal grill at a garage sale for $5.  Welded a steel band inside the lip of the drum to provide an edge for the lid to sit on and it seats very well.


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## donnylove (Jan 23, 2010)

And for the record, my drums have served me very well without a water pan, but I've also read several times where certain BBQ "experts" like how steam helps the cooking process for certain meats.  Doesn't a WSM basically operate as a drum with a water pan? So I was curious if anyone else had gone that route with their drum.


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## grizandizz (Jan 23, 2010)

Thanks guys, I'll give Ace a try.

Donny, did that original paint on your new drum hold up well through hot smokes?

I'd like to buy a new barrel for my next build, burning and grinding that red liner sucked and I used this monster wire wheel!
That thing will tear you up quicker than a bobcat!


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## donnylove (Jan 23, 2010)

The paint on the new drum was a little scuffed up, so I went ahead and gave it and the lid a fresh coat.  All I've ever used is the cheapest paint that Wal-Mart offers and it's always held up fine, even with temperature spikes as high as 450 on occasion.


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## donnylove (Jan 23, 2010)

Here's a pic I left out that shows the welded lip . . .


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## meateater (Jan 23, 2010)

Alright I'm the odd one here, I use a water pan. Mostly to collect all the fat from the meat and keep the drum somewhat clean.


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## donnylove (Jan 23, 2010)

I figured someone must.  Has your drum always had a water pan? Have you cooked with one that didn't? I'd be interested in a comparison . . .


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## meateater (Jan 24, 2010)

I had a ECB before the UDS and tried it without the water pan and didnt like the flare ups and sour smoke from the fat drippings or just the opposite with poultry dripping moisture on the coals. My fire runs consistent and effecient. This is just what works for me, ford , chevy, dodge, they all get you from point a to b.


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## craiger (Jan 24, 2010)

That uds should be entered in a car show!


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## meateater (Jan 24, 2010)

It wont pass the smog check!


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## ddave (Jan 24, 2010)

Do you put water in it or just use it as a catch pan?  I know some folks put a pan on a lower rack just to catch drippings.  I saw another post, I think it was from Bassman who put a foil pan full of vegetables underneat a brisket during a smoke.  I'm going to have to try that.  Probably not the healthiest meal I'll ever eat but I bet it will be one of the tastiest. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





There are times when the vaporized fat flavor gets to be a little too much for me too. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	











  I've placed a steel plate on top of the charcoal basket a time or two as an experiment.  It did increase the fuel consumption quite a bit but seems to smooth out the temp spikes when removing the lid.

Dave


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## grizandizz (Jan 24, 2010)

Wow Dave, I hadn't thought of that. Did you need to open your intake more to compensate for the plate or leave it the same?
I'm smoking tomorrow, don't have any steel on hand but might try doubling up some HD foil instead. What do you think?


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## rickw (Jan 24, 2010)

This is the exact reason I don't use the drum anymore. The taste got to be a bit overbearing at times. That was my reasoning in getting the WSM. The WSM being a water smoker doesn't suffer from this and is very fuel efficient to boot.


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## ddave (Jan 24, 2010)

I had to run the intakes open quite a bit more to keep the same temp as without the plate.  And it used A LOT more fuel.  The plate was a piece of 1/8" steel that was 10" wide and about 14" long.  I just laid it on top of my 13.5" diameter fire basket.

My drum normally runs at 240° with both caps on and the valve 1/3 to 1/2 open.  With the plate on, it took one cap off and the valve about 1/3 open to maintain 240ish.  My drum has a real tendency to creep up in temp when I am lifting the lid a lot like to foil, unfoil, or glazing ribs in the last hour.  With the plate in place, the temp was much easier to control I think because having the plate in there cut down on the HUGE updraft of hot air rising and sucking in oxygen to take its place when the lid is removed.  It's not so bad in the winter but in the summer it really helps a lot.

Dave


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## meateater (Jan 24, 2010)

Yes I put water in it or the brine from poultry, dont know if it helps, probably does a bit. Yup the fat is not a smoke flavor to me, I like to stick to wood. The water pan does help out with these problems for me. The flat plate would still burn fat in my opinion, probably prolonger the burn as it wouldnt hit the fire direct. Again these are just my own opinion, smoke on brothers.


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## grizandizz (Jan 24, 2010)

Ah gotcha, I was hoping it wasn't going to use more fuel. That one thing I love about the UDS.

Maybe I just use it when smoking something I need to tend to a lot, like when spritzing or foiling.
I'm doing beer can chickens tomorrow so I probably don't need it since I don't spritz those. 
Thanks for the info Obi Won!


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## meateater (Jan 24, 2010)

This is a great post, keep adding.


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## ddave (Jan 24, 2010)

I don't really worry about it for poultry.  I usually do poutry at 325+ anyway.  If the drum wants to run at 350° that's okay with me. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





I used the plate for a butt smoke awhile back.  That's where I really noticed the increased fuel usage.  Probably wouldn't use it for an overnight brisket smoke but for butts or ribs, it's not too bad.

Dave


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## ddave (Jan 24, 2010)

It seemed to sizzle more than actually burn and smoke.  In fact at one point towards the end of the double butt smoke, the temp got away from me just a little as I forgot I had an extra cap off. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  It sounded like a dang deep fryer in the bottom of the drum.  The accumulated fat was going to town but I didn't see the white smoke I see sometimes at the end of a long smoke when the charcoal starts getting full of grease.

Dave


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## grizandizz (Jan 24, 2010)

DDave, have you tried the bricks to retain/stabilize heat as Tip stated earlier.
Would that not serve a similar purpose as the steel plate and not compromise the fuel efficiency? 
I have a buttload of granite river stones, maybe I'll try that.


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## rickw (Jan 24, 2010)

Couldn't you try a pan full of sand covered with foil? That's one mod folks use with the WSM.


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## grizandizz (Jan 24, 2010)

Hover it above the fuel basket Rick?
Foil is to keep the sand sanitary correct?


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## ddave (Jan 24, 2010)

Well, the issue with the drum is not retaining heat, it has more to do with smoothing out the heat spikes.  My drum has no problem whatsoever recovering when I open the lid to do something.  The trouble I have with it is it wants to recover too much and overshoots where it was before the lid was lifted.  

The cause of that is the huge influx of oxygen it gets when the lid is removed.  To compensate for that, I sometimes close the intakes for 3 minutes before I lift the lid and leave them closed for 3 minutes after I'm done and put the lid back on.  That helps some but if I'm opening it up every 15 minutes like when I'm glazing ribs, it just seems to want to keep creeping up in temp.  

This is where the plate helps because it disrupts the airflow that feeds the fire with fresh oxygen.  I think the bricks or tile would have the same effect on fuel consumption if they are place between the charcoal basket and the food.

Dave


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## meateater (Jan 24, 2010)

Heres my link to my photobucket. I have some build pics that might help out.:)

http://s47.photobucket.com/albums/f180/ozzy702/


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## rickw (Jan 24, 2010)

Yes, that would be most optimal for use as a heat sink. You would be foiling to keep the mess out of the sand and to make clean up a breeze. I'm going to try it on the WSM went it warms up a bit and the bag of sand I have thaws out.


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## grizandizz (Jan 24, 2010)

OK, besides working the intake we just need to get in and get out quick.
I wonder if the pan of sand Rick mentioned would help with a big blast of air if the pan was wide enough to cut down the airflow? 
I like the steel plate just not the additional fuel usage.
This was the whole selling point of the UDS to the wife (baby if I build this we will save tons of $ in fuel!)


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## rickw (Jan 24, 2010)

Ya can't argue that fact the UDS is one heck of a cooker. It's super easy on fuel and I would have kept it if it weren't for the drippings hitting the coals and embarking the burnt fat flavor on the meat.


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## ddave (Jan 24, 2010)

I haven't tried it (yet 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 ) but I would think that either a piece of foil or a very lightweight foil pan on a lower rack might catch the drippings and keep them out of the coals but not have enough mass to really impact fuel usage.  

May be worth a try if your goal is to eliminate the burnt fat flavor.  I think the higher up from the basket you go, the less impact you will have on fuel consumption.

Dave


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## grizandizz (Jan 24, 2010)

I hear ya Rick, but isn't that the same taste you get from grilling or is it more pungent because it is a long cook?

I grilled 1" rib-eyes tonight on my Weber and that smell and taste of juices dropping on the coals is to die for! Granted it isn't a multi hour cook. Thoughts?


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## grizandizz (Jan 24, 2010)

Do you really taste a burnt fat taste also on long smokes?
I love the fat but then again I didn't get to look like this eating sprouts!
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	




I'll try foil and let you know!
Thanks


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## rickw (Jan 24, 2010)

I really noticed the difference when I got my Horizon offset. I was happy with the UDS up to that point but never had another cooker to compare it with. When I started to cook on the Horizon (using all wood) not only did I notice a difference but the rest of the family did as well. They all liked the flavor from the offset better saying meat from the drum had a much stronger taste to it, I agree.


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## hemi (Jan 24, 2010)

That is the reason that I built an offset reverse flow this time.  I like smoked meat AND grilled meat both but the taste and smell of the grease burning just stinks.[to me anyhow] I made a high enough dam in the joining of the smoke box and chamber that I ain't gonna be bothered by it. and if you notice it the picture below I built in a 2degree slope on the 
cooking chamber. The reason for two stacks is that I changed it to a reverse flow AFTER I finished it and ain't seen the need to remove the other one. Besides , every redneck needs a doolie !..
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





   Hemi..


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