Grills and Smokers

@"Al (The Lochstar) Heurung" said: Mike and Jimmy... what plans did y'all use for your UDS? I am looking to build one after the madness of Moondance Jam and Training camp, and have seen about 80 plans... just curious which ones you followed.

I can help ya out. Look at that thread that Jimmy linked to. But I can save you a lot of work and get you a drum that is reconditioned, bearing blasted and heated up to red hot. If you have  away to get it home from Mankato I can bring it with me. Drum costs 26 bucks last time I got one. If you want I can pretty much put it together for ya. It's not tough. 

@"Mike Olson" said:

@"Al (The Lochstar) Heurung" said: Mike and Jimmy... what plans did y'all use for your UDS? I am looking to build one after the madness of Moondance Jam and Training camp, and have seen about 80 plans... just curious which ones you followed.

I can help ya out. Look at that thread that Jimmy linked to. But I can save you a lot of work and get you a drum that is reconditioned, bearing blasted and heated up to red hot. If you have  away to get it home from Mankato I can bring it with me. Drum costs 26 bucks last time I got one. If you want I can pretty much put it together for ya. It's not tough. 

1 think I would do is have 2-1" nipples with caps and 1-3/4" ball valve for fine tuning.  I made 2 drums identical,  but for some reason they dont burn the same.  1 will have no issues cranking out the heat,  the other has to have a lot more air to get to temp.  also I think I would just go ahead and build some sort of deflector about 6 inches above the top of the coal basket to limit the radiant heat and the occasional charring that comes with it.

It's tough to beat the twofer, when done cookin' & drinkin', just hit the flush & voila!  B)

@"JimmyinSD" said: nice work!  i have plans for my own portable unit down the road... it will start with a horse trailer,  or possibly a toy hauler/camper.   

We started out with a smaller trailer that we were going to modify, but ran across this dually on craigslist that this dropped perfectly into.  We were able to weld the fire box straight to the trailer.

Loch what be you driving this year to Mankato?

From what I've learned with doing bbq is that you can get great results from many various pieces of equipment. It comes down to knowing "your" equipment. Time, techniques, and seasonings all help with the finished product. Different sizes of smokers just help you manage your bbq with the size of your party and the different cuts of meat you need to prepare.

Just my 2¢.

@Purplemachine just hit the nail on the head with that one.

@"Mike Olson" said:

@"Max" said:

@"Mike Olson" said:

@"Max" said:

@"Mike Olson" said:

@"Max" said: Call me a snob, but I like having a sturdy, solid grill/smoker. The UDS-style is awesome, especially for portability. I wanted to go wood-pellet for this one. I'll eventually build a UDS, but today is not that day. :-)

Oh I hear you. I was finishing up the purchase of a primo XL two weekends ago but I got pissed at the salesman taking too much time and I walked out. 

Where were you looking? I had the same experience at Warners Stellian when I bought my Primo XL.

HAHAHAHAHAHA  Yep you nailed it. Warners Stellian. 

No joke. It took me two hours to buy it. I literally walked in, said "I want to purchase the Primo XL with these accessories"; it was over an hour and forty-five minutes later that I was able to take my pregnant wife to a late lunch. Are you in the cities? Have you been to Quetopia? That place is great.

I am in Edina... Went to the Warners Stellian by the Original Pancake House here in Edina..... Yeah my wife was with me.... She was not happy because we also had my 4yr old with who loves to climb on absolutely everything. 

Haven't been to Quetopia yet but I have been to Que Fanatic which is pretty good.