First foray into BBQ - UDS Build! (With pics!)

[engvall]

Hi guys,

After acquiring the BBQ bug last summer after a trip to Austin, I've been wanting to build a UDS for quite some time.

The weather has been absolutely rubbish lately - but last weekend, we finally had a decent day without rain!

http://imgur.com/a/OgC8d#6Lna1Zg

Cheers,
Tobias

[Tyrone1Wils]

Looks like a good build there.

Is that a ProQ charcoal basket? if so how does it hold up in a UDS?

[engvall]

Looks like a good build there.

Is that a ProQ charcoal basket? if so how does it hold up in a UDS?

It is, and it's a bit rubbish to be honest. It's a bit too big for my drum, and it feels kind of flimsy.

[robgunby]

Good work! Looks lovely. I have a question though, why the upward extensions on your air intakes? Is there a benefit to them?

Fire basket - I would suggest getting something taller. Mine has a salvaged washing machine drum in it, works a treat.

[engvall]

Good work! Looks lovely. I have a question though, why the upward extensions on your air intakes? Is there a benefit to them?

It looks cooler.

[engvall]

Fire basket - I would suggest getting something taller. Mine has a salvaged washing machine drum in it, works a treat.

Yeah, the problem is that we have a very, very narrow drum. All the washing machine drums I've been able to find have been around the same width as the pro-q charcoal basket.

[robgunby]

Good enough reason for the piping. It does indeed look a lot cooler than mine

Is it smaller than 55 gallon / 22" across? My wm drum only *just* fits in the smoker past the bolts for the grate - they scrape the side on the way down - but it works a treat. Holds enough fuel for way more than 30 hours burn and cost a fiver.

[Tyrone1Wils]

Good enough reason for the piping. It does indeed look a lot cooler than mine

Is it smaller than 55 gallon / 22" across? My wm drum only *just* fits in the smoker past the bolts for the grate - they scrape the side on the way down - but it works a treat. Holds enough fuel for way more than 30 hours burn and cost a fiver.

Sorry to hijack the thread a bit, but do you have any pictures of how your WM drum is set up? As i also have one too and just looking to see if it could be set up better.

[robgunby]

I don't have any to hand, but I can take some and post them if my forthcoming description and pics of the drum pre-work doesn't help you (many diff types of drum out there).

Let me preface this by saying that I basically did mine the wrong way up and wish I'd done it a different way - more on that later.

The drum came to me with the axle still firmly attached.




The rivets were impossible to remove, so I had to take an angle grinder with a metal cutting disc to the other side, inside the drum, where I could cut right through them.



With that done, my approach was to cut some 1" holes in the bottom with a holesaw to allow ash to fall through and allow extra airflow from below, and attach some 2.5" bolts to the bottom as feet, finally add a chain to the top so I can lift it in and out using my axe as a hook.

All well and good, except I should have built it the other way up (thanks Simon aka Captain Hindsight!). If I had used the open end as the bottom, I could have attached a small barbecue grill (I have four lying around) using "liquid metal" or even just some twisted wire, and this would have been my ash dropping, airflow enhancing bottom. Then I would have cut the other end clean off with the angle grinder.

As well as the advantage of not wearing out 2 holesaws (I couldnt get SS rated holesaws for love nor money, but now my local shop stocks them!), I wouldn't have that lip round the top which catches meat drippings and is generally quite disgusting and a pita to get clean.

With that said, I'm still really glad I went with the wm drum firebasket. Bloke in the shop wanted a fiver for it which was fair to say he spent ten minutes dismantling all the plastic crap off it for me. Works excellently as a firebin on a cold night and is a high capacity firebox for the smoker.

[CyderPig]

Hi
Rob failed to mention a very important point!!!
If cutting the bottom off the drum, make sure to cut 1/4in vertical cuts every 2ins or so all the way around the drum and fold the flanges made by these over into the drum and hammer flush to the inside.
Getting cut by sharp SS is no fun!!!!!
Handles need to be fitted to the drum, this is easily done by unfolding a SS coat hanger and using a length of this shaped like a horseshoe with hooks fashioned at the ends to go through holes in the side of the drum.
Hope this helps
Si