Statts' Not-So-Ugly Drum Smoker

Haha, thought I might get a comment about the butane stove. The charcoal chimney has quite a gap from the bottom to the first bit of charcoal, so I can't see it getting any hotter than having a pot sitting on the stove. Anyway, we'll see how it goes

Look, I don't think it's SUPER important to have a food grade drum, but they were easy for me to get my hands on, cheaply, so I did. If it were me and I had no option of food grade, I'd be looking for the least nasty contents possible. Motor oil would be an ok option. Just stay away from nasty solvents and stuff, and give it a REALLY good hot burn off.

Yep, repainted the same satin black as the drum.

The 25mm inlet on the front is handy for getting temperatures up quickly, but it's not essential.

 

haha I had to ask, those starter chimneys get pretty warm, I've got a stupidly dodgy DIY one that I made out of one of those large coffee tins, the holes at the bottom fit the nozzle for my heat gun, so once they've started glowing on the bottom I slip the heat gun nozzle in and I have a vortex of heat and flames for a while, works really well.

I've decided I'll go ahead with the oil drum, I'll go to the guy that said he had some this afternoon on my way home, 20 bucks each with lids/without. So I'll see what he's got and do a few good burns.

~~~

Editing. I went and got a drum Wednesday afternoon, On the lookout for a cheap weber and I'll do some cutting/cleaning/burning over the weekend.

 

would that inlet have been bettererer with a ball valve on it?

 

My guess is that it's wide open (cap off) when he starts firing and then closed (cap on) once the burn is going nicely, and the two ball valves at the back allow fine control

Plus it would probably also look nasty

 

Correct on all accounts. Wanted the extra flow for heating up, and didnt want another riser up the side of the drum, or a ball valve sticking out the side gashing peoples' ankles open.

 

Cooked any food yet?

I've done a bit more work on mine, I'll start a thread

 

have considered buying something to start.....also considered buying something already made

hmmm, decisions

 

There is a "big poppa smoker" kit avaliable which is really nice

 

Nevermind! Managed to get one that fits without any modification.

(was asking about lid fitment)

 

So, first non-ribs related cook yesterday, made some pulled pork smoked over heatbeads and apple wood. Had a 2.4kg piece of pork scotch/collar butt/Boston butt which I put on at 8:30am. Hit the stall at around 165°F a bit later than I would have liked, so I wrapped to get it through and pulled it out of the smoker at 8pm with an internal temp of 202°F.

Pork pulled beautifully and tasted fantastic, very happy with the results. Served on toasted brioche rolls with Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce and my own recipe apple slaw.

Apologies for potato quality photos.

 

Deliciousness right there.

Happy with how well it held temperature? Any adjustments required?

How much charcoal did you need for that cook?

 

Using heat beads made it MUCH easier to control. It basically sat on 225-230°F all day long. Any adjustment I made was reactionary (from opening lid to check progress etc) and had I just left it, it would have been all good. I used 2x 4kg bags and had 1/4-1/2 left around the outside at the end, so that's something to learn from.

All in all, you can't beat a good long cook to learn about your smoker and how it reacts to things.

 

I tried to use my camping stove to light a heat beads chimney as I had run out of fire-lighters. Never Again! No, not because it exploded, because the gas burner freaking melted where the starter is so no more igniter!

 

That's true. Thanks for your thread it's inspired me to pull my finger out.

http://i.imgur.com/eFzekzn.jpg

That's all I've got so far. Waiting for pay to go in so I can buy the appropriate fittings, then just making a basket and seasoning. Hoping to have t up and running asap so I can use it for Kung fury viewing party

Absolutely stoked when I got the lid for 5 bucks and realised it fits snug without any adapting needed.

 

Great work! Yeah the non-Weber kettle lids seem to fit better on open-headed drums, which is nice.

 

Looks damm delicious mate

 

how about a drum that was filled with ether ?

 

Click to view full size!

I've always been warned against the cutting of drums that have been used for flammable liquids. Maybe some advice from Copie as I believe he's in the fuel industry.

 

It will be fine if you have aired it out.

Using Ether for the Sex dungeon?

 

Awesome build mate!!

Those valves i see in your photos, how much control did you have over temp with them? Small movements with big changes or relevant changes per valve movement?

Love the shelves, and plans for temp gauges?