smokers drum barrel smoker ?

SavinaRed

SavinaRed

In one of the threads someone posted a link which I can't find for a under $300 shipped smoker that will hold 8 racks of ribs hanging from 2 racks. Its the shape of a drum that stands upright and I think uses 8lbs of coal for 7 hours cooking at 250-275*. 
 
Get an oildrum (i.e from frying oil, food aditives etc) an make your one UDS, the cheap ones are often hard to regulate and full of leaks. Making your won is not necessarily cheapest.. But If you do it right it's 10x better. .
 
SavinaRed said:
In one of the threads someone posted a link which I can't find for a under $300 shipped smoker that will hold 8 racks of ribs hanging from 2 racks. Its the shape of a drum that stands upright and I think uses 8lbs of coal for 7 hours cooking at 250-275*. 
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I have built a drum smoker and it is my main man when it comes to bbq. I can tell you 3 things definitively...

1. I have only ever done 4 racks of ribs but that was only on the top rack in a file sort of method where they are in a rack that holds them up on their side.
2. if you are getting a drum smoker, the most popular choice is a 55 gal drum like I have. WIth that said, the fire is directly under the food and the distance between the two is crucial for low and slow. If you have several racks of ribs hanging vertical, the bottms will be very close to the heat and be overdone compared to the other half of the rack.
3. The ribs I cook end up so tender and moist that if I was to hang them during the cook they would fall into the fire so I do not suggest that as a method personally.
 
Now, in regards to fuel for the smoker, I have a big charcoal basket that will hold 20+ lbs. I can run my smoker for over 24 hours on a full load without ever touching it once (look into a bbq guru digi-q). I have a smaller basket that will hold around 10 lbs and that is good for 8-10 hours depending on the temp I run at which is always between 235-250.
 
Below are a few pictures for reference, let me know if you have any questions.
 
My bigger charcoal basket
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My oh so fancy smoker lol
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some recent grub
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Nice chief.

 
Where'd ya get the coal basket? If ya made it, where'd ya get the wire mesh?

 
Still lovin the hand truck/ratchet strap action. Genius!
 
I made the charcoal basket out of some expanded steel that I got from Home Depot. The bottom of it is a Weber 18.5 inch replacement grill grate that I also picked up at the same time. I just formed the expanded steel around the grate and secured it with some wire...also from home depot lol. On the bottom I just got some long bolts and washers to make the little legs so that it will be up off the bottom to allow air to get to all the coals. I think everything was less than $20-30 and it is still holding up perfect after many many cooks.
 
For the dolly, I couldn't do without it. I also took a couple pieces of 1X1 and made a V shape for the barrel to rest on because the lip on the bottom of the dolly was too short. I screwed it together at the back. I was originally worried the ratchet strap would burn/melt but so far so good, the pit doesn't really get too hot.
 
SavinaRed said:
That is the one, I'll get it when I get my tax refund this February.
 
If I was half way mechanically inclined I would try to make one lol.
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That one is nice but pretty expensive I think. I only have about $100 or so in mine including having to buy a hole-saw bit. It was really easy to do so long as you can measure, have a drill and know what you want it to look like.
 
The Hot Pepper said:
If you can source a drum THIS is a great kit. No welding needed.
 
https://www.bigpoppasmokers.com/big-poppa-s-engineered-drum-smoker-kit
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I would 2nd the Big Poppa kit suggestion. On a side note, he is Sterling Ball (owner of Ernie Ball - guitar strings and Music Man guitars). He's also got a cool barrrel forum at www.drumsmoking.com. You will still need a barrel, but used UDS 55 gals can be had for $50-$100. I plan to put one together this spring. One issue with the pitbarrel one mentioned above is size (30 gals compared to standard 55). Unless you know a smaller size it ok for you, go big!
 
I'm with the chief if yer handy can be made for a song post on Craig's list for drum I found mine by calling packers a suppliers in my area found one that transported plastic pieces told the foreman what I wanted it for just gave me one for free and some Q haha. But love the Ernie Ball kit very nice!!
I'm just the do it yourself kind and have a barn filled with parts Yyyeeeeeehhhhhhaaaaaaaa!!
Nothing beats free
 
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