UDS / Homemade Barrel Cookers

Did you make the drumstick holder in the pic and if not where can I buy one?

Great job on the smoker!!!

Here is a little something that I have finally completed.



Posting the picture was harder than building the drum smoker!! The smoker works great. I have put a coat of black high temperature paint on since this picture was taken. Additionally, I have completed a couple of cook sessions too.

Here it is in operation this afternoon:




TexaQ

Lookin' good. You are making me jealous..

Looks good TexasQ. I should be starting on mine within the next few weeks. Just waiting on my income tax refund. I already have my drum, but I'm going to buy a 22.5" Weber Kettle and I'll use the lid on my UDS too.

I would have liked a Weber style lid, but the barrel has sides that curve in to the center; plus I already had the lid. It is a nice tight fit; it just looks like a hat. These are quite cheap to build and work amazingly well.

TexaQ

With my drum, I have to cut out the lid inside the rim so I need a lid. I wanted to get a kettle anyway, and actually have a project planned for it too - so I'll actually be getting 2 new toys in one shot

Bringing my drum home from work today but my weekend is all booked up, so it looks like I'll be working on this project a little at a time at night. Hope to post some pictures as I go along. Not really gonna be in a real hurry with it since it will probably be over a week before I even get to do a burn in it.

Kenny,
I have got to warn you that once you start cooking on the drum your other cooking equipment might begin to gather dust. I used my to drum to cook some chuck roasts this past weekend. I cooked for almost nine hours and only made only one adjustment to the damper during the cook. The temperature stayed between 225°F and 240°F, How is that for set it and forget it? The ease of operation is really amazing and flavor of the food is great. I have started using the drum soley for low and slow style cooking.

TexaQ wrote:

Kenny,
I have got to warn you that once you start cooking on the drum your other cooking equipment might begin to gather dust. I used my to drum to cook some chuck roasts this past weekend. I cooked for almost nine hours and only made only one adjustment to the damper during the cook. The temperature stayed between 225°F and 240°F, How is that for set it and forget it? The ease of operation is really amazing and flavor of the food is great. I have started using the drum soley for low and slow style cooking.

TexaQ, I have a feeling that will be the case. I assume that's your drum pics posted on the BBQ Brethren forum? Not regestered there, but I've been lurking on that thread for info.

The main thing I'm looking for is something that will be a little less "hands on" for long cooks such as brisket & butts. I love my CG, but those long cooks leave me exhausted staying up all night with a few little short naps here & there. Very demanding, which isn't always bad but I don't often have the time to be constantly tending the fire nowdays.

My drum doesn't have the removable lid so I had to cut out the top. I was thinking about getting a Weber kettle anyway for weeknight cooks, so I picked up a One Touch Gold this week and the lid fits my drum like it was made for it I'll probably get started on construction tomorrow or Saturday, but my weekend is booked solid so I really don't see myself having much time to devote to it. I figure I probably won't finish it until sometime next week due to very little daylight when I get home from work.

Kenny,
There is some very good information on drums on the BBQ Brethren thread. Also there are some very creative builds. I tried to keep my drum very simple. No risers or fancy intakes. I want to try a packer brisket on the drum this weekend. I plan to start it, get it stabilized and go to sleep. I'll see what it does. I have full confidence that it can run unattended for the 6 to 7 hours I'll be asleep. I cooked a couple of 7# Boston Butts a weekend ago in the drum in about nine hours. I had not done a long cook on the drum before, but I only made maybe three adjustments during that time. I would expect about twelve hours on the CG to achieve the same result.

I also like my CG very much. I will be working on some CG mods this weekend.

TexaQ,

My plan is to keep my drum pretty simple too, as long as it functions the way I want it to. My thought here is that this type of cooker can be more fuel efficient than the CG, and would allow me to get some rest or accomplish other things on those long cooks.

From everything I've read here and on the BBQ Bretheren thread, I don't think I'll be disappointed.

Stopped my buddys fabrication shop last night. We stamped out an expanded steel charcoal basket. I'll weld it durung lunch and try toget soime pics up

wlfpkrcn wrote:

Stopped my buddys fabrication shop last night. We stamped out an expanded steel charcoal basket. I'll weld it durung lunch and try toget soime pics up

Must be nice

I was hoping to have mine done by now. Had some bad weather the other day, and really busy with other things. Looks like I'm gonna finish it Saturday. I bought a 16" grate for $4 at Academy and I'm making a ring of expanded metal to attach to it for the charcoal basket. I'm going to try out a 16" terra cotta saucer (the kind you put under the large terra cotta flower pots) as an ash pan and I can just sit the charcoal basket on top of it.

BTW, I gotta give props to Gaudet - he pm'd me the other night to let me know he had a Weber kettle lid he no longer needed and was going out in the trash. Turns out he lives about a 15 minute drive from me, so I passed by his house last night & picked it up for use on my drum. Nice to put a face to the typing Good guy, and I appreciate the lid!

Kenny 13 wrote:

Must be nice


BTW, I gotta give props to Gaudet - he pm'd me the other night to let me know he had a Weber kettle lid he no longer needed and was going out in the trash. Turns out he lives about a 15 minute drive from me, so I passed by his house last night & picked it up for use on my drum. Nice to put a face to the typing Good guy, and I appreciate the lid!

It was...We did in 10 minutes what would have taken me an hour+ to do. Plus it looks great.

Good score! I need to find a lid for mine. The realtor had the landscapers toss mine out

I have it welded together. I'll get pics up soon. Don't critcize the welds too much. I haven't welded in over a year and Expanded steel is not easy to weld... The bright side is I have a functional charcoal basket

Edit- Just scored a Weber Kettle for $25 off craigslist. Now I have the rest of my parts