Beginning to think about a drum smoker; have questions

[T Bounds]

Friends,

I have an 18" wsm and love it to pieces. And I have figured out how to make q for crowds numbering 90. I'm now getting adventurous and want to think about quantities of things that exceed my wsm. I could get another wsm, but that's out of my price range. I could make some kind of alteration to my performer, but I don't want to risk any damage to that baby. A drum smoker looks like my best bet for additional space at a low cost, albeit some work.

It looks pretty straight forward to make one, but I have a question about the "bottom" of the drum and a couple others. Do you cut off the bottom to have easy access to the charcoal? What do you use to keep the charcoal basket elevated for air flow? If you use a heat diffuser of any kind, do you have to reach over from the top of the drum to get it out, grease and all? If you have two (or three) grates is it the same, reaching over the top? I see lots of people using pipes and ball valves for air flow control; is that the best or easiest way?

Thanks for any answers that come my way and any other suggestions. I'd suppose I'm 3 or 4 months away from having a drum smoker if I start today, and that's not happening! So this is a medium time project, but one I'm seriously considering. Imagine the wings, ribs, butts, chickens, etc. I could do with my wsm and a drum smoker! Thanks again.

 

[Dave Russell]

T, no door is needed. It's just a lot of trouble and very hard to keep the fit tight. I know that because I put one on the first one I made. The second one I made had a slider vent on one side, but I'd probably simply use three holes around the base if I had it to do again. One very simple design is to simply use magnets to cover vent holes. For my charcoal basket, I bolted carriage bolts to a kettle charcoal grate and used expanded metal for the ring to sit on that. If I was to make another one, I'd use a hook to reach in and pick up the fire basket by a handle, all bolted to a pan to catch the ash. I always used a kettle lid for my UDS lid, but really think I would prefer a simple drum with a removable end for a lid. A chimney is the way to go in my opinion for better draft, as opposed to holes around the lid like the BDS. There's all kinds of ideas on the diffusers. I just used a foiled Brinkman charcoal pan. The UDS cooks obviously much more efficient and faster without any though. Hard to cook on more than one level without a diffuser, though, and temps can really get away fast with the lid off.

Good luck with it or save up for a BIG BULLET. I got a deal on a used one, but let me tell you about my buddy that had TWO drums he'd cook on and finally bought a big bullet. He loves it and wants another one. Yes, they cost a bit, but they're not gonna rust out like a drum eventually will. MUCH easier to cook on more than one level as well, and if someone tells you that you gotta have fat in the fire, telling they're blowing smoke. Yes, you want to use a diffuser set-up if you make one, at least for most things.

 

[J Reyes]

Friends,

I have an 18" wsm and love it to pieces. And I have figured out how to make q for crowds numbering 90. I'm now getting adventurous and want to think about quantities of things that exceed my wsm. I could get another wsm, but that's out of my price range. I could make some kind of alteration to my performer, but I don't want to risk any damage to that baby. A drum smoker looks like my best bet for additional space at a low cost, albeit some work.

It looks pretty straight forward to make one, but I have a question about the "bottom" of the drum and a couple others. Do you cut off the bottom to have easy access to the charcoal? What do you use to keep the charcoal basket elevated for air flow? If you use a heat diffuser of any kind, do you have to reach over from the top of the drum to get it out, grease and all? If you have two (or three) grates is it the same, reaching over the top? I see lots of people using pipes and ball valves for air flow control; is that the best or easiest way?

Thanks for any answers that come my way and any other suggestions. I'd suppose I'm 3 or 4 months away from having a drum smoker if I start today, and that's not happening! So this is a medium time project, but one I'm seriously considering. Imagine the wings, ribs, butts, chickens, etc. I could do with my wsm and a drum smoker! Thanks again.

The bbq-brethern website has extension info on home made drum smokers.

 

[Jon Des.]

If you can cook for 90 on your WSM and kettle, I can't imagine why you'd need more room. Which isn't to say that I don't covet a 26. You might want to check out the 22" WSM and start checking Craigslist. If you figure it will outlast several UDS, it's a pretty good investment.

 

[Dave Russell]

You might want to check out the 22" WSM and start checking Craigslist. If you figure it will outlast several UDS, it's a pretty good investment.

Exactly what I was thinking in my above post, and I sure don't miss having to get the high temp spray paint back out. And that reminds me. I also had a bad problem with greasy condensation running down the sides of mine since my kettle lid fit over the edge, as opposed to sitting inside on the lip like the wsm. Of course, so many wsm owners hate that because of precipitation leaking in, but the Weber design is best. You can always flip the middle section upside down, like I do with my 18.5, or put it in a more protected spot, like I've done with my 22.5. Bottom line though, the guys at Weber are pretty smart. I'll take cooking on a big WSM over anyone's drum design I've seen yet.

 

[Tony R]

What Dave R... said

Go for it make your UDS... I sold mine to get a WSM and I miss my drum smoker. I spent about 80 dollars to make mine and used my 22.5 weber top.

 

[Brian Moriarty]

I make Big Drum Smoker (BDS) clones. Check out the website: http://www.bigdrumsmokers.com/smokers.htm

The 85 gallon drum is 39" H and has two 26.75" cook grates

The two 55 gallon drums are 39" H and also have two 22" cook grates

The 30 gallon open drum is 29" H with two 18" cook grates

The 15 gallon is 27" H with two 14" cook grates

All the pits with the exception of the 30 gallon drum have both the drum lids and Weber kettle lids. To utilize the 22" kettle lids, I sacrifice the top 1.5-2" of the bowl from a rustbucket kettle and make a "flange" that is removable.

The lids of my 26.75 and a Smokey Joe fit perfectly with no modification, the 30 gallon pit was an open drum with no lid, so the flange is tack welded and a Bar-B-Kettle was used.

Even though they all have a 2 cook grate capacity, I never use both grates. Always cook direct, flip my meats and foil the heavy meats when they reach the desired internal temp. I use expanded metal on Weber charcoal grate platforms, use smaller expando rings for shorter cooks, No ball valves or pipe nipples/caps- I use ground magnets and conduit bung plugs to regulate draft, and feel they perform better with the flat drum lids. Inexpensive to make and an excellent cooker to use.

What are you waiting for?