UDS?

Thisfool · Joined: 19 Mar 2012 Posts: 24

ok supper new to BBQ only been doing it for about two years and now i really want to get into it more.

at my work we regularly make empty 55gallon drums. So i finally brought one home with big plans and ideas to make an indirect heat smoker.

Well that was until i learned what an UDS is.

ive goggled the heck out of them youtubed them and looked all in the thesmokering. and i got me a few questions still

any advice is greatly appreciated no matter how technical or how obvious something may seem all advice is welcomed.

1. dose a UDS have to be a charcoal smoker? can i use wood chunks?

2. from every UDS i have seen there dosent seem to be any way to add charcoal or wood. how do i do that with out removing my product from the smoker?

3. How do i keep a Fire going for long enough to cook a brisket, pork butt or whole turkey?

4 the bottom and top of my barrel are rather thin, it was just a bog standard sealed oil drum, does the bottom get hot enough to burn through the metal?

sorry if the questions seem redundant but those are the largest questions i have.

any opinions or answers to my questions along with any tips to building it or things to watch out for will be greatly appreciated.

i will be starting the build soon and ill be sure to take many pics and write up about it for all of those who are interested to watch.

GF · Posted: Fri Mar 23 12 10:01 am Post subject:

Thisfool, Two words will answer all you questions....charcoal basket. Very Happy

Most people make a basket to hold the charcoal and add wood chunks for flavor.
You raise it up 3"or so off the bottom for airflow so it wont burn though, and you shouldn't need to refill it at all during a cook.
Any more questions, ask away. Very Happy

Good luck with your build.

GreenSmoker · Posted: Fri Mar 23 12 2:16 pm Post subject: Re: UDS?

GreenSmoker · Posted: Fri Mar 23 12 2:29 pm Post subject:

Heres 1

http://www.thesmokering.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=53055&highlight=uds+basket
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Thisfool · Joined: 19 Mar 2012 Posts: 24

wow that was fast i thought i was going to have to wait atleast a day or two to get a reply thanks guys.

ok well it seems all my questions have been awnserd. thanky you guys so much

now i just got to find the materials to make the basket.

Thisfool · Joined: 19 Mar 2012 Posts: 24

ok one more question my drum has an ID of 22.25" and ive been looking at the 22" Weber and the specs say the grill is 25" am i reading something wrong is that measurement not the actual grill size.

in short will the 22" weber grill fit in my 22.25" drum

SoEzzy · Posted: Mon Mar 26 12 9:01 am Post subject:

There are Webers in 14", 18", 22.5" and 26" there are also the giant Weber Rancher cookers I think they are about 40".

A standard Weber kettle is in the 22.5" and the racks will fit in a 55 gallon UDS.

The other good thing from the 22.5" Kettle is that the charcoal grate makes a good charcoal basket, when surrounded by #9 expanded metal, I think the charcoal grate is 17 or 17.5", and it can be wrapped, (with an generous overlap), in 60".

If you wrap the charcoal grate in expanded metal and you don't just fasten in as the base, you gain the foot, below the grate and the charcoal basket above the grate, sort of a 'twofa' deal!
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Thisfool · Joined: 19 Mar 2012 Posts: 24

awsome sounds good thanks much.

Peck · Posted: Mon Mar 26 12 5:01 pm Post subject:

Jarhead · Posted: Mon Mar 26 12 6:32 pm Post subject:

@Peck, whichever grate you get multiply by 3.14 and add 3 inches.
ie 18" fire grate = 56.5" + 3" to go around and give you some overlap.
Mine are 12" wide (tall) with 3 x 3" bolts to bring it off the bottom of the drum by about 2-1/2".
I have no expanded metal below the grate.
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bud-wie-ser · Posted: Mon Mar 26 12 6:46 pm Post subject:

You will want to have 2-3" below your charcoal grate for good airflow and to have room for the ash to accumulate. You can either create this space with the expanded metal or by adding legs under the grate. Some people like to use bolts for legs.
I like my baskets to be about 8" deep above the grate, so a strip of expanded metal 11" x 60" would give you the basket and legs.
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SoEzzy · Posted: Mon Mar 26 12 8:12 pm Post subject:

I use either 10" or 8" deep, and put the grate 2 - 2.5" up, this is good enough for plenty of air movement underneath, and 5.5 - 7.5" x 17" diameter for the charcoal basket, this also keep the fire high enough so the bottom of the drum gets hot not burning hot.
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MGeslock · Posted: Tue Mar 27 12 12:23 am Post subject:

http://youtu.be/6c5hZAejROc
Here is a quick slide show that shows the steps in lighting a UDS. They are very simple to use and produce great results.

Thisfool · Joined: 19 Mar 2012 Posts: 24

ok so im nearly done with my first UDS build and already i want to do another one since i already have a tone of ideas of better ways to do things and what not

we only ever get closed head drums where i work this means a lot of extra work for me or hunting down a lid from an old kettle grill

so here is the questions where do i get a open head drum from for cheap.

k.a.m. · Posted: Tue Mar 27 12 10:18 am Post subject:

Thisfool, try craigs list for your area or a google search for your area. Be prepared for a high price as open top drum and reasonable price rarely come in the same sentence.
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Phret Bender · Posted: Wed Mar 28 12 1:50 am Post subject:

If you buy your expanded metal from a metal mfg. outlet see if they can bend it in a circle the same diameter as the firebox grate. If you use 3/4" #9 expanded metal you will have a devil of a time forming it to the circular size of the grate if you get it flat. I picked up two fire grates and installed them at 90° to each other. Left 3.5" beneath the grates for "legs". It works super!

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Thisfool · Joined: 19 Mar 2012 Posts: 24

Phret Bender · Posted: Fri Mar 30 12 2:51 pm Post subject:

You'll struggle! I hammered, stepped on, kicked, swore and used "J-bolts" to try and get it bent properly. It is well worth it when you finish, and there will be a few cuts/scrapes even when wearing leather welding gloves.
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smootz · Posted: Fri Mar 30 12 4:48 pm Post subject:

mwells · Posted: Fri Mar 30 12 4:53 pm Post subject:

My suggestion for the charcoal basket is hog rings. You can work your way around the circle. And as stated above, heavy leather gloves. Expanded metal is sharp. So sharp that you can some of those cuts where you see the blood first before you even realize you have cut yourself. And that metal is dirty. I haven't had a cut yet that didn't get a little infected. But so far my jaw hasn't locked up.
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