Has any one ever made or used a "ugly drum smoker" ??


 
D

dean

TVWBB Pro
I saw a video on you tube and started reading about these. You can make one for about 50 bucks but most I have seen come in at about 100 dollars. They do not have a water pan! They seem to cook awesome bbq however. I was wondering if I could just take out my water pan in my wsm like a drum smoker? Some guys spend around 200 dollars to build these, but that is not the norm. I like my wsm because it wont rust and I can take it apart. The wsm has a door to add smoke wood or charcoal, uds does not. I can see some one wanting a drum smoker because of the cheap up front cost, but I think the wsm is a better deal as it will last forever.
 
Dean a WSM & an UDS are variations of the same type of smoker. They are both vertical smokers where temp can be regulated by restricting airflow.
Yes the WSM ,if you use the top grate only ,will function as an UDS. I have used on chicken where I want a little "CHAR" flavor.
If you use as a UDS first time cook something cheap, the flavor is a little different than plain smoking, I like it my wife doesn't.
 
I'm planning on making one this spring. Going to add an access door to make the second rack and fire basket accessible. If it turns out as nice as it looks in my head then it will be one sweet looking smoker. Nobody better call it ugly.
2 barrels $50.00
latches, hinges and handles $50.00
Racks $30.00 if I can't scrounge some old ones.
Paint about $20.00
I have all the miscellaneous hardware, rivets,bolts and rope gasket required and will scrounge up the expanded metal for the fire basket.
Use of my buddies welder and paint sprayer will cost me a case of beer(just because I'm nice that way) and a dinner, since he would have been coming over anyways I'm not counting this expense.
Haven't decided what I'm doing for legs yet so I'm coming in at around $150.
 
Brother was one and has used in KCBS comps.. has been most decent for pork butts. Most anything else not as well.

Maybe the direct heat on briskets, ribs, etc. is not as effective. Also using the wrong fuel/wood can impart some off flavors...

Possibly using a pan between heat and food may help some.. or just get a Canjun Bandit and be done with it.
 
I've made a couple, and while they're good cookers, they're not without their own set of issues due to cooking directly over the coals. Not only can the "fat in the fire" flavor be overwhelming, you can actually put out the coals if you cook too much meat at one time, and you need to go easy on any basting. I only recommend using a second grate for chicken or ribs, and that's a lot easier if you use a heat diffusor.

Made right though, they're cheap and easy to make. My first one had a door, but it was more trouble than anything, and it didn't cook as good, anyway. (I figure if Weber has a problem getting doors up to satisfaction, it's certainly not worth the trouble when making your own drum since there's no reason to add charcoal or wood, anyway.) My second one had just one slider vent, so was VERY responsive to vent changes. (All you low-n-slow wsm "dry panners" would really envy how fast I could dial in temps on that thing.
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Anyway, whatever the reasons are that I prefer my little wsm over the uds, suffice it to say that I presently don't even have one put together....and I got tired of spray painting. Oh yeah, if you want to see what the "fat in the fire" flavor is like, just trim a little off the fat caps and toss on the coals periodically on your next cook.
 
I have a UDS and love it. I hardly ever use my WSM anymore. I have never had an issue with temp while using it. No need for a water pan since the gap between the meat and the coals is a lot bigger than in a WSM. I like the flavor the grease hitting the coals give off. To some people they don't care for it.
 
Yes it did. Thats the worst part about building a drum. If you have to pay double without a liner do it. I bought a weed burner from Harbor Freight and used that to burn it out. I live in a pretty populated area with a next door neighbor that we don't see eye to eye with so I was a little nervous about smoking out the neighborhood but it wasn't a problem. Once the drum started smoking I would just heat up a different area. When I finished burning it out I ran an orbital sander to do the finishing touches.
 
Just picked one up from Garth, gonna try it out tomorrow, doing a dry run today just burning and smoking to season in the barrel. Garth uses food grade barrels for his smokers, wife got me the Super Deluxe Raider model for an early Fathers Day gift (Love Her) that's me standing with the barrel and my 83 Silverado on his website opening page. :cool:
http://www.smokerbarrels.com/home.html
 
we're planning to make around 5 of them last time I counted. From what I read (it's been over a year), it's a good idea to take the lid from your 22.5" kettle.... it'll work on some barrels but not others.

I also want to make a big drum grill.... there was one at a friend's welding shop (rest in pieces) I used to like looking at.

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You know Clint, if you're going to take the time to do one, why not do five! Once you get started, you get a rhythm and the subsequent four will be finished in a heartbeat!
Pix as you go!
I used to get bored during the sermon at Mass and would design grills in my mind. There was a heating place down the street that seemed to always all sorts of tanks. A big propane pig could make one amazing grill, at least in my distracted minds eye it could. Still have an idea.......
 
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From what I have researched.... a UDS has the upper cooking grate approximately 24" above the coal basket. That seems to be the ticket & getting them vented properly.
Ditch the water pan... stack the WSM, adjust grate as necessary & you have pretty much the same thing - only better because the WSM is so much more versatile.
The 22.5 might not need a stacker (I don't have one, so am not sure about that).
 
Check this out - another use for the ugly drums (& comal or discada!)

(friend posted this from a Mexican vacation)

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I have a Pit Barrel Cooker which is pretty much like an UDS but it is made out of a 30 gallon barrel instead of the typical 55 gallon one. It cooks great chicken and ribs which is the only thing I've cooked on it other than burgers one time which they came out good as well. I like the PBC because it is a pretty much a set it and forget it cooker where I don't have to monitor temps. I've not used my WSM's since I got the PBC.

Wayne
 
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