# 55 Gal Drum for UDS



## nokatch (Mar 24, 2009)

Does anyone know of a place in Houston where I can get a 55 gallon steel drum suitable for making a UDS? I sent an email out to a couple places but never got a response back. Any tips would also be appreciated as this will be my first one.

Thanks!


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## TomCat (Jan 6, 2006)

I've got one you can have. What part of Houston are you located.


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## Fishin' Frank (Jul 15, 2009)

There is a place just east of Mt. Belvieu... about 1 -2 miles east of the intersection at I-10 and Hiway 146 on the north side feeder road... This guy/business has 55 gal. drums that are used in his honey business... The name might be Hoyt Honey??????


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## nokatch (Mar 24, 2009)

TomCat... PM sent

Mont Belvieu is a little farther out than I would like to go but I may consider it if I have no options. Thanks


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## TomCat (Jan 6, 2006)

*uds*

I'm in Northwest Houston. If you come tomorrow I'll throw in some expanded metal.


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## bjones2571 (May 2, 2007)

The Honey place is called Honey Solutions, Located just east of 146 on the westbound side of I-10. There is nothing else over there, and he has stacks of barrels, so you cant miss it.

I have barrels, but am looking for expanded metal. Anyone have suggestions? Also, I dont weld, anyone know of a shop that could build a fire basket for me?


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## JJGold1 (May 6, 2010)

bjones2571 said:


> The Honey place is called Honey Solutions, Located just east of 146 on the westbound side of I-10. There is nothing else over there, and he has stacks of barrels, so you cant miss it.
> 
> I have barrels, but am looking for expanded metal. Anyone have suggestions? Also, I dont weld, anyone know of a shop that could build a fire basket for me?


Are those barrels lined? I hate the thought of trying to burn/grind that liner out.


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## bjones2571 (May 2, 2007)

JJGold said:


> Are those barrels lined? I hate the thought of trying to burn/grind that liner out.


Yes, they are "food-safe" barrels so they are lined.


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## Pescados Locos Tony (Feb 6, 2007)

Burbank Barrel and Drum. You can buy them new and unlined, or already burned out


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## ITRIED (Sep 11, 2005)

Guess Burbank doesnt respond to emails also.. Guess I will call them and see what they have.. What can I expect for a new or used unlined barrel?


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## txslamonice (Aug 6, 2011)

Evans Farms Feed in Santa Fe off of highway 6 sells them, Thats where I got mine from.


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## ITRIED (Sep 11, 2005)

Ok thanks! Are they lined or unlined?


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## txslamonice (Aug 6, 2011)

They were lined, but I did two hot burns in them and it ate it off, no problems what so ever.


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## rugger (Jul 17, 2009)

If anyone has an extra one they'd like to get rid of for a price, please let me know!


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## ghbyram (Oct 27, 2006)

FYI ... I made a quick call to Burbank and was quoted $68 for a new unlined open head 55 gal steel drum.


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## ghbyram (Oct 27, 2006)

*update on burbank drum*

I've pretty much finished my UDS using a Burbank drum so thought I'd add my experience so far with their drum to this thread for others who might land on it. I'll start a thread on my build after seasoning and first cook which should be this weekend. It looks kick ***.

1. There is a white gasket in the lid which will need to be peeled off and adhesive cleaned. Mine was easy.

2. The drum has only a rust preventative coating on the inside. The guy at Burbank recommended burning it out and said it should burn out no problem. I was reasonably confident that the coating was adequately burned off the main inside body of the drum. In addition the burnout pretty much took care of all external paint except towards the very bottom of the sides and on the actual bottom of the drum. I wasn't so confident that the rust preventative coating was well burnt from the lid. My burnout approach for the lid was to offset it over the top during burn out and rotate every once in a while. I didn't lay it on there when the fire was really roaring as I didn't want to warp the lid and lose a great seal. So why wasn't I confident the coating was burned off the lid? the outside paint was still solid indicating to me it didn't get THAT hot and also because the inside of the lid just looked smoky vs. the drum sides which I could clearly see bare metal. Also, after a soapy washout the inside of the lid did not rust after sitting for a few days (the inside drum walls did). Given I wasn't confident with how burned out it was - I went ahead and got the whole thing sand blasted. If I do this again, step 1 will be sand blasting. Despite being careful to not overheat, the lid ended up warping a little - which ****** me off because it sealed air tight before burn out.

3. This drum has a big mouth - A weber kettle lid, is not a clean fit on this drum. If a clean fit is a priority, then look elsewhere. If willing and prepared to mod - this drum should work. The lid sits on the rim and is not secure - a good bump and it will slide off or in the drum. The mod I liked the most was cutting the top band off of the bottom of my Weber and dropping in the drum. I went ahead and pulled the handle off the front of my weber bottom and dropped it in the drum to check fit -- the bottom of the weber was very close to just dropping fully in the drum. So seal and stability are suspect. I'm still assessing options but since I want to smoke Turkey for thanksgiving I'll need to figure something out soon so I can practice with it before the big bird day.


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## esc (Dec 18, 2009)

Please post pics. Building a UDS is inching to the top of my to-do-list.

Again, anyone have a barrel they will sell? If not, I'll be heading to Burbank.


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## rrp (Oct 24, 2009)

*Question*

What makes it food safe to not food safe?

what is good for making a smoker?


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## manintheboat (Jun 1, 2004)

I will be building this one in a few days:

https://www.bigpoppasmokers.com/store/drum-smoker-kit-parts

I got a barrel from Burbank. Really nice people. Paid $68 for a new barrel. Having it sand blasted tomorrow.

I am going to set a smallish fire in it this weekend to burn out the rust proofing and will paint, assemble and season the inside and after that be ready to roll.


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## manintheboat (Jun 1, 2004)

ghbyram said:


> 2. The drum has only a rust preventative coating on the inside. The guy at Burbank recommended burning it out and said it should burn out no problem. I was reasonably confident that the coating was adequately burned off the main inside body of the drum. In addition the burnout pretty much took care of all external paint except towards the very bottom of the sides and on the actual bottom of the drum. I wasn't so confident that the rust preventative coating was well burnt from the lid. My burnout approach for the lid was to offset it over the top during burn out and rotate every once in a while. I didn't lay it on there when the fire was really roaring as I didn't want to warp the lid and lose a great seal. So why wasn't I confident the coating was burned off the lid? the outside paint was still solid indicating to me it didn't get THAT hot and also because the inside of the lid just looked smoky vs. the drum sides which I could clearly see bare metal. Also, after a soapy washout the inside of the lid did not rust after sitting for a few days (the inside drum walls did). Given I wasn't confident with how burned out it was - I went ahead and got the whole thing sand blasted. If I do this again, step 1 will be sand blasting. Despite being careful to not overheat, the lid ended up warping a little - which ****** me off because it sealed air tight before burn out.


did you not get the unlined drum or do all of their drums have a lining? I specifically ordered mine unlined. I never peeked inside before I sent it off to the sandblaster.


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## ghbyram (Oct 27, 2006)

I got the unlined but even that has the rust preventative coating on the inside. If you told Burbank what you were using it for, I'm sure that is what you got. Where are you getting yours sandblasted?

RRP - ideally you just want bare steel on the inside. Consider what any sort of toxic fumes might be given off by some chemical lining in the drum. Probably will have a bad taste to the food and probably toxins you don't want in your food.


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## esc (Dec 18, 2009)

Can this coating be burned off by pear burner/torch or simply burning some coals?

If not, how much is it to get it sandblasted?


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## JJGold1 (May 6, 2010)

Here is a guy in Pasedena selling 55 gal drums with lids for $25. They have liners but if your going to get it sand blasted anyways it wouldn't matter.

http://houston.craigslist.org/grd/3285869765.html


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## rrp (Oct 24, 2009)

Does anyone know of anyone in or near College Station that has a drum or two?


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## manintheboat (Jun 1, 2004)

ghbyram said:


> I got the unlined but even that has the rust preventative coating on the inside. If you told Burbank what you were using it for, I'm sure that is what you got. Where are you getting yours sandblasted?
> 
> RRP - ideally you just want bare steel on the inside. Consider what any sort of toxic fumes might be given off by some chemical lining in the drum. Probably will have a bad taste to the food and probably toxins you don't want in your food.


Gartner Coatings in Pearland, TX. They are doing it for $55 plus tax. I have heard of people getting better deals elsewhere in the country, but I really did not feel like shopping around too much (lazy mode). They are sandblasting the barrel inside and out so I will not need to worry about a high temp burn. I will do a test burn to get any impurities out before seasoning with shortning or lard.

One thing about Gartner. They are really nice, helpful people. They normally have a minimum $250 order. They were nice enough to let me slide on this one. The might be slow or were able to squeeze it in somehow.


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## ghbyram (Oct 27, 2006)

esc said:


> Can this coating be burned off by pear burner/torch or simply burning some coals?
> 
> If not, how much is it to get it sandblasted?


Most things I've read recommend a roaring fire to really burn the thing out good. Some folks use a weed burner and that seems to work too ... apparently those get pretty hot. I've never used one.

If it has a true liner, a serious and lengthy fire plus wire wheel grinding seem to be typically needed. The burning releases horrible fumes and the grinding a huge mess. No thanks. Some folks just sand blast. I'd probably still burn out and then wash out a lined barrel after sandblasting though. I paid $40 to have mine blasted inside and out.

Be careful burning out the lid as it can warp.



rrp said:


> Does anyone know of anyone in or near College Station that has a drum or two?


After this question, I'm thinking you are not going to like my UDS at all. :cheers: I'll post pics this weekend.



manintheboat said:


> Gartner Coatings in Pearland, TX. They are doing it for $55 plus tax. I have heard of people getting better deals elsewhere in the country, but I really did not feel like shopping around too much (lazy mode). They are sandblasting the barrel inside and out so I will not need to worry about a high temp burn. I will do a test burn to get any impurities out before seasoning with shortning or lard.
> 
> One thing about Gartner. They are really nice, helpful people. They normally have a minimum $250 order. They were nice enough to let me slide on this one. The might be slow or were able to squeeze it in somehow.


Took mine to Cy Fair Coatings off Telge towards Tomball -- which I found by searching this site. Nice folks as well and paid $40 cash out the door. Felt like a douche pulling up with my little barrel -- the scale of stuff they typically do was clearly much much larger. Ate lunch in my truck while they did it. Would use them again.


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## JJGold1 (May 6, 2010)

If you don't have anyone close to purchase a 55 gal drum you can buy 1 on eBay for $69 delivered! http://www.ebay.com/itm/Steel-Metal...225?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cffaa34d9


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## Old River Rat (Dec 29, 2007)

might be a little late, but i got my from texas feed stop in mont belvieu, it wasn't lined...i had it sandblasted and been cooking with it for over a year. it is a 60 gallon drum though...only difference is its a little taller.


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## SwampRat (Jul 30, 2004)

How about some pics fellas...


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## wbay2crowded (Jul 13, 2007)

Check with Dow Chemical. They may wanna part with some of their old used Benzene barrels.


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## nokatch (Mar 24, 2009)

A little late... But here are the pictures of the UDS I built with the barrel that I got courtesy of TomCat. Also included is the first pork shoulder I smoked. I finished this in early October and have since smoked several other pork shoulders, some sausage, and a Thanksgiving turkey. Thanks again Tom!


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## cubera (Mar 9, 2005)

I to got a drum from Tom Cat.
Here are the results.
I think my conventional pit will be gathering rust.


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## ITRIED (Sep 11, 2005)

blue one is 55gallon and grey is 85 gallon with double racks.. i love both my uds!


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## monkeyman1 (Dec 30, 2007)

ITRIED said:


> blue one is 55gallon and grey is 85 gallon with double racks.. i love both my uds!


sweet.


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## monkeyman1 (Dec 30, 2007)

*Big Poppa*

could probably scrounge up the parts for less than $129.99, but the big poppa parts are good for the price. cooks so well, i doubt i'll ever spend big bucks on another smoker again.


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## ITRIED (Sep 11, 2005)

yea only thing i purchased was casters, paint, exhaust tip.. had everything else..


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## redspeck (Jul 3, 2012)

*My Smoker*

My Smoker


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## redspeck (Jul 3, 2012)

monkeyman1 said:


> could probably scrounge up the parts for less than $129.99, but the big poppa parts are good for the price. cooks so well, i doubt i'll ever spend big bucks on another smoker again.


Nice!


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