# Double Barrel Build



## smokinnh (Jun 24, 2013)

Well, I had a successful trip to Vermont over the weekend to get my barrels.


I left after work on Friday and drove up to my mothers house in Jericho, VT and spent the weekend doing odd jobs for her and helped get the boat ready for the season.  After a disappointing night watching the Bruins on Saturday, I arose Sunday with visions of TBS in my mind! I was on the road at 9:00 on my way to pick up the trailer at UHAUL in Burlington. Took way too long there but got on the road for Middlebury a little after 10:00.


Now, I am going to have give a shout out to Vermont Soap. http://vermontsoap.com/  They were great and worked with me so that I could pick the barrels on Sunday. They are normally closed on the weekends but Jeremiah said he had to come in to check the batches anyway so he agreed to meet me at the factory at 11. Thanks a lot Jeremiah! He started asking what I was going to do with them so I explained the design and that I was trying to duplicate my dad's design. Dad passed away in 2010 and I am kind of doing this as a way to reconnect I guess. So anyway, got all 6 loaded up (my sister is going to make one as well) paid the man $30 and I was off to deliver 3 of them to my sister in Danvers, MA.


I must have missed a turn somewhere because I ended up out in the boonies going down a couple single track roads and then up over Brandon Mountain Gap. I love an adventure don't you!

http://s431.photobucket.com/user/KeeneState83/media/Smoker Build/photo1.jpg.html

I got out to stretch the legs and enjoy the cool air for a minute and snapped this picture. I thought the trailer license plate was appropriate considering I am hauling barrels for a smoker.


It was absolutely beautiful and made me start thinking I might want to move back to VT. I need to look into job options. I followed the White River most of the way until I hit interstate 89 and then the fun was over and the work began. I finally got to my sisters around 3, unloaded the barrels grabbed a sausage that she had just finished grilling and an adult beverage and headed home. I was hot, cranky, and ready to be out of the truck. Pulled into my driveway at just after 5:00, and unloaded the truck/trailer. I was greeted by my neighbor walking over with another frosty beverage which I GLADLY accepted.


So it was a long day in the truck, and HOT to boot, it was about 95 when I got home. Total distance traveled was 285 miles and took me about 6 hours of drive time with 2 hours of misc stops, but, I got my barrels!!!


http://s431.photobucket.com/user/KeeneState83/media/Smoker Build/photo2.jpg.html


Food Grade, and Kosher! All three held organic coconut oil so I'm good to go. I'm trying to decide if I am going to take all the paint off now and repaint in the high temp paint before I start cutting them up and assembling them. Suggestions?

Well I'll keep you posted as I start getting this thing rolling, I will be working as fast as my bank account will allow!
Cheers!


----------



## themule69 (Jun 24, 2013)

Remove all of the paint and use high temp. Wait to paint untill you have finished the build.

Happy smoken.

DAvid


----------



## smokinnh (Jun 24, 2013)

I've been going back and forth on how to remove the paint. I have an angle grinder that I could put a wire brush on to take it off, or I've also heard about people burning the paint off. What would be the best method?


----------



## daveomak (Jun 24, 2013)

Probably burning out the barrel would be a good choice.....   It needs a good burn out sooner or later to remove any volatile compounds that may be harmful when heated...  Then power wire brush inside and out....  paint and season with a food grade oil on the inside like a spray that comes in a can.....  For a removable lid, below is one method.....

                           ....click on pics to enlarge.......

                 













UDS mods (2).jpg



__ daveomak
__ Jun 24, 2013






Or something similar...  A piece of sheet metal can be bolted to the bottom section of the drum to raise the drum wall height and then the lid installed on that raised portion, for more room in the smoker....

Dave


----------



## smokinnh (Jun 24, 2013)

DaveOmak, thanks for the reply. I get what your drawing is getting at but that would make my build difficult. I do not want to cut the ends off.http://s130.photobucket.com/user/jswordy/media/FAIRLANEBUFFEDassembly032.jpg.htmlThis picture is the design I am doing using the Vogelzang barrel stove kit, not an UDS. I wish I had one of those propane weed burners...I bet that would work great!!


----------



## dirtsailor2003 (Jun 24, 2013)

SmokinNH said:


> DaveOmak, thanks for the reply. I get what your drawing is getting at but that would make my build difficult. I do not want to cut the ends off.
> 
> http://s130.photobucket.com/user/jswordy/media/FAIRLANEBUFFEDassembly032.jpg.html
> 
> This picture is the design I am doing using the Vogelzang barrel stove kit, not an UDS. I wish I had one of those propane weed burners...I bet that would work great!!


Nifty looking smoker! The propane weed burners work great if you are going to burn the paint off. I just took a barrel to my powder coat shop. $75 to sand blast the interior and exterior and then powder coat the outside. To just sand blast would have been $25.  Harbor freight has good prices on the weed burners.


----------



## daveomak (Jun 24, 2013)

LOL......  There you go.... Talk about not knowing what is going on !!!!    Looks  like I'm on a south bound train trying to head north....


----------



## smokinnh (Jun 24, 2013)

Haha, no problem. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something! I am no expert by any means!


----------



## smokinnh (Jun 24, 2013)

Dirtsailor, is that price for just one barrel? I haven't even thought to look into that but it makes a lot of sense! You must have had it powder coated post build right?


----------



## dirtsailor2003 (Jun 25, 2013)

SmokinNH said:


> Dirtsailor, is that price for just one barrel? I haven't even thought to look into that but it makes a lot of sense! You must have had it powder coated post build right?


Yes just one barrel. I have all the holes drilled for the parts I will attaching to the drum but I have not done any assembly. . They're a $100/hr shop so I guess it only takes about 15 minutes for them to blast a drum.  I had it coated prior to assembly because the parts are already finished.


----------



## smokinnh (Jun 27, 2013)

dirtsailor2003 said:


> Yes just one barrel. I have all the holes drilled for the parts I will attaching to the drum but I have not done any assembly. . They're a $100/hr shop so I guess it only takes about 15 minutes for them to blast a drum.  I had it coated prior to assembly because the parts are already finished.


Interesting, I will have to look into it. I got talking to a buddy last night and I guess he has a friend that owns a body shop. I might be able to get in there to sand blast the barrels after I get them all cut up. Then I should be good to go. What Kind of smoker are you making? UDS?


----------



## dirtsailor2003 (Jun 27, 2013)

SmokinNH said:


> Interesting, I will have to look into it. I got talking to a buddy last night and I guess he has a friend that owns a body shop. I might be able to get in there to sand blast the barrels after I get them all cut up. Then I should be good to go. What Kind of smoker are you making? UDS?



Yes a UDS. I also built a Mini-WSM and I currently am restoring my Grandfathers Casa Q smoker.


----------



## smokinnh (Jul 2, 2013)

Well the rain finally cooperated for a little bit up here and I was able to get the top barrel cut open and the lid cut out too.Just in case anyone doubted me...http://s431.photobucket.com/user/KeeneState83/media/Smoker Build/photo1-1.jpg.htmlCertified Organic Coconut Oil, and Kosher! One problem i am currently trying to solve is the plastic bung caps you can see in this pic. There is a scrap yard on my way home, I am going to try to stop by one of these days and see if they might have some steel one I can snag, I would gladly trade them! I need both the 2" and 3/4".Anyway, I sat down and marked up the barrel and put painters tape on it to give myself a line to follow. I cut the opening to be 32" wide, and 18" tall along the circumference of the barrel (1/4 of the total circumference)Here is the sketch i drew to give you a better idea.http://s431.photobucket.com/user/KeeneState83/media/Smoker Build/SmokerTopBarel.jpg.htmlAnd onto the barrel...http://s431.photobucket.com/user/KeeneState83/media/Smoker Build/image.jpeg.htmlNote the high tech stand used for the cutting process! Then took the 4.5" grinder with cutting blade to it! It cut real nice much easier than I was expecting to be honest...http://s431.photobucket.com/user/KeeneState83/media/Smoker Build/image1.jpeg.htmlAll after this was to lay the cutout section onto another one of the barrels and add 3/4" all the way around for a good overlap. (3/4" was the width of the painters tape I was using, made it really easy!) Cut out the lid and put it on...http://s431.photobucket.com/user/KeeneState83/media/Smoker Build/image4.jpeg.htmlIt might need a little tweaking here and there to get it to fit right but it should be good in the end. One question I have for everyone, the piece that i cut out for the opening I am obviously going to use for the diffuser in the cooking chamber. My question is...should I leave it as is or cut out holes or slots. I think I will keep it tight against the side of the barrel that the fire will be under to hopefully keeps temps more consistent throughout. This is what I'm talking about, should I keep this like it is or perferate it?! http://s431.photobucket.com/user/KeeneState83/media/Smoker Build/image3.jpeg.html


----------



## themule69 (Jul 2, 2013)

Looking good so far. I don't understand your defuser question. What will you use for the door if you use it for a defusser?

Happy smoken.

David


----------



## smokinnh (Jul 2, 2013)

I got three barrels. The piece that I cut out of the top barrel is the one I am talking about. The third barrel I used to cut out a piece that is 3/4" larger all the way around the opening so that it will seal up nicely.

http://s431.photobucket.com/user/KeeneState83/media/image.jpg.html

Does that help?


----------



## fwismoker (Jul 2, 2013)

themule69 said:


> Looking good so far. I don't understand your defuser question. What will you use for the door if you use it for a defusser?
> 
> Happy smoken.
> 
> David


David i think since he has 3 barrels that he's using 1 of them to cut a door sized piece out and using that one for a heat diffuser for the cooking chamber....makes sense


----------



## smokinnh (Jul 2, 2013)

FWIsmoker said:


> themule69 said:
> 
> 
> > Looking good so far. I don't understand your defuser question. What will you use for the door if you use it for a defusser?
> ...



Correct you are sir. Anyone have any opinion on what I should do with the heat diffuser? Should I leave it solid or cut out holes or slots?


----------



## themule69 (Jul 2, 2013)

SmokinNH said:


> Correct you are sir. Anyone have any opinion on what I should do with the heat diffuser? Should I leave it solid or cut out holes or slots?


I think both the holes or slots would work fine.


----------



## themule69 (Jul 2, 2013)

Ok scratch my last post of holes or slots.Us feldons calculator as if you are just making a reverse flow. Then use the firebox to cook chamber # devide by 2. then use that amount of opening on both ends. Your stack will be in the center. So you should have pretty constant temp from side to side.

Happy smoken.

David


----------



## smokinnh (Jul 10, 2013)

You have a link for the calculator? I understand the concept but why would I use the reverse flow section if that is not what I am building? I was hoping to see some examples of what guys (or gals) that have used for this build and what works best...I'm still waiting on parts to come in. I ordered the barrel stove and double barrel adapter from HD and the 6" baffle collars from amazon due to the price difference. The stuff from amazon has come but not from HD. I'm a Gov. employee and my first day of this furlough is this friday to make a three day weekend. Hoping it comes in so I can do some work on it. BTW...no matter your party this whole sequestration/furlough thing sucks. Taking money from the people that actually do the work to support the warfighter...


----------



## themule69 (Jul 10, 2013)

*NO POLITICS HERE!!!!!!!!!!*


----------



## smokinnh (Jul 11, 2013)

themule69 said:


> *NO POLITICS HERE!!!!!!!!!!*


I apologize, just complaining about getting furloughed.....


----------



## smokinnh (Jul 21, 2013)

Ok, so I know it has been awhile. but...I have good news! I made some more progress today! I got all the parts in and started on the bottom barrel. 

Started out with the fire box door...First I cut out the door. I used a jigsaw with a metal blade for most of it, but used the angle grinder with cutoff wheel for the bottom due to how close it was to the edge of the barrel. I wasn't able to get that close to the edge with the jig saw.













IMG_0406.jpg



__ smokinnh
__ Jul 21, 2013






Got the door in place...no screws yet...













IMG_0402.jpg



__ smokinnh
__ Jul 21, 2013






Door open...













IMG_0404.jpg



__ smokinnh
__ Jul 21, 2013






At this point I moved onto the legs. The set right next to the firebox door opening was easy, the one on the other side...no so easy. I had to call over a friend because there was no way I was able to reach the bolts on the far end while squeezing myself through the hole and hold it on the outside. (side note: after I got the whole thing together I came to the realization that it would have been much easier if I had cut out the holes for the vent pipes BEFORE putting the legs on, gives you much easier access...)













IMG_0408.jpg



__ smokinnh
__ Jul 21, 2013


















IMG_0410.jpg



__ smokinnh
__ Jul 21, 2013






Yes, I build my smoker with flip flops on! Don't Judge me!!!

Well got the bottom barrel mostly together, here it sits as of now.













IMG_0412.JPG



__ smokinnh
__ Jul 21, 2013






I am planning on doing some more tomorrow, so I'll try to post again as soon as possible. By the way, this is my dry build, I'm planning on building it once just to make sure it all fits together real nice, and then disassembling it, sanding, painting, and reassembling. I know its a lot of work, but I decided when I started this thing I wanted to to it the RIGHT way (like Mike Holmes says 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






). I have a habit of doing stuff "good enough" and that is not what I wanted to on this build...so stay tuned!

Cheers! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Tom


----------



## ribwizzard (Jul 22, 2013)

Ive always wanted to play around with one of these to see what they can do. Its such as simple design, but everything looks to be in place for it to work well. I wouldnt get to carried away trying to modify it from the standard design until you cooked on it. I would think the heat would be fairly even as long as your fire was centered in the bottom drum.

Question though, ..how come you didnt plan your cut for the door to also eliminate the plastic fill cap?


----------



## black (Jul 22, 2013)

*-*


----------



## smokinnh (Jul 22, 2013)

Ribwizzard said:


> Ive always wanted to play around with one of these to see what they can do. Its such as simple design, but everything looks to be in place for it to work well. I wouldnt get to carried away trying to modify it from the standard design until you cooked on it. I would think the heat would be fairly even as long as your fire was centered in the bottom drum.
> 
> Question though, ..how come you didnt plan your cut for the door to also eliminate the plastic fill cap?


These are great, my dad built one before he passed and I've used that one a bunch. So, I've had some experience cooking on them so I am trying to incorporate some things I wish his had. It is really hard to get the fire in the middle of the bottom drum, it tends to be mostly right by the firebox door. That is why I put a damper on both the vent pipes connecting the fire box to the cooking chamber. It will make more sense when I get further in...

As for the plastic fill cap...in the instructions for the barrel stove kit it actually tells you to leave the 2" hole so that if you need more air flow you can unscrew it. Also, there are two holes on the drum and the door isn't large enough to cover both, so one needs to stay. I am working on getting metal bung caps from someone on here or a scrap yard, so they won't be plastic for long!

I didn't get to work on it today, a buddy of mine called me up and asked if i wanted to go fishing...I had to think about that for about 3 seconds. We jumped on the quads and headed out to the pond! Maybe I'll do some more tomorrow...its vacation, I'm winging it!!

Cheers! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Tom


----------



## smokinnh (Jul 22, 2013)

Black said:


> "Cut out holes or slots",
> 
> If it was me I'd do this, I would go with holes, I would use a little bit and start with making 1/4 of total of the vent/input pipes,
> 
> ...


Interesting idea...so I have two 6" vent pipes going from the FB to the CC for a total of 56.52 sq in. So your suggestion is to drill enough holes to equal about 14.13 sq in? I just wanted to make sure I followed what you were saying. Why the 1/4 volume? Looking to learn here!!!

Cheers 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Tom


----------



## ribwizzard (Jul 22, 2013)

Well, of all the builds listed on this site available for people with limited access to welders and fab tools. I feel this is the best design out there. I always thought if I were to build one, Id think about skirting from the bottom to the bottom of the cooking chamber door with wood to help hold the heat in. Of course, leave the end with the firebox door open,


----------



## black (Jul 22, 2013)




----------



## themule69 (Jul 22, 2013)

Nice build so far.







I got the small popcorn so you better work fast

Happy smoken.

David


----------



## daveomak (Jul 22, 2013)

NH, evening.....  Well, I'd start with about 2-3 X's the area of the firebox air inlet....   If the air can come in.... it needs a place to go out....   then have the step drill handy....  

Dave


----------



## smokinnh (Jul 24, 2013)

Thanks for all the input guys!

Black, I agree, it is MUCH easier to add more holes than remove them.

I had hoped to get a little more done but, well life got in the way. Monday I got a call from a buddy asking if I wanted to go out on the quads and do some fishing, how could I say no!? Then got home and showered and got a call from another friend asking if I wanted to go to the Red Sox game that night cause he had free tickets, again, how could I say no?! Was a great game against the Rays, even though they lost. I love going to Fenway! I even made it on TV!!













IMG_0443.jpg



__ smokinnh
__ Jul 24, 2013






I'm the guy in the blue Red Sox jersey and hat! My 5 seconds of fame!

So got home real late from the game with plans to get up and work on the smoker some time Tuesday...well...a coworker of mine called on Tuesday morning. Tuesday is his furlough day and he wanted to go fishing...so, grabbed my poles and off we went. Didn't get much, just a couple small LMB. Here he is with his first catch...













IMG_0440.jpg



__ smokinnh
__ Jul 24, 2013






So Tuesday was shot too, so now we are onto Wednesday and I have to leave today to go up to the New England Forest Rally (NEFR). It will be my first year at NEFR and I am volunteering on the sweep team. That means we run the stages after all the cars have don't their timed run and clear the stage, including but not limited to pulling cars out of the woods.

If any of you are around Maine this weekend you should check it out! It is a great time, especially if you like motorsports! Here is the link to the event page. You can find the spectator guide on there if any of you decide to come.

http://www.newenglandforestrally.com

I know this wasn't a real update on the build, but wanted to keep everyone in the loop. I will be gone till Sunday and have to go back to work Tuesday, so maybe I'll get some more done on Monday...we'll see.


----------



## ribwizzard (Jul 24, 2013)

So what did you do between getting home from the game and going fishing the next day..huh...

got to work on that time management and stop whittling the days away.

I know, I'm a

[ATTACH=full]619447[/ATTACH]


----------



## smokinnh (Jul 24, 2013)

haha, well, got home from the game around 0100 due to some confusion negotiating the T (Boston's subway). I was still pretty wound up so I didn't go to bed/fall asleep on the couch till around 0230-0300...needless to say I slept in pretty late! pretty much woke up got ready and headed out to go fishing...soooo....I'd say that was pretty good time management!


----------

