Homemade smoker charcoal grill
Saturday April 30, 2005
dodger99 (dodger991) Writes:
"Last summer a friend asked if I wanted a 50 gallon drum to make into a smoke/grill. Considering that it was free I couldn't say no. So we proceeded to cut out an opening, put some grates in there for the food and charcoal. Needless to say it was a halfa$$ed attempt at making a grill.
The only cutting we did was in the 'front'. We cut out a roughly 2'X1' rectangle for the door. The drum does have a hole, looks like it was for a cap or some such thing, not very big, bout 3" round, on the 'top'.
Do any of you builders out there have any ideas as to what changes should/need to be made to improve on this?? I have a brisket that I'm starting to jones to cook, any help would be appreciated."
Comments
when you look at the 55gal drum and it’s standing on end, drill four holes in a square or rectangular pattern(8in high x 12in long)Now if you can, rent a small angle grinder with a cutting wheel from somewhere and make your cuts. remember, the metal is thin so be careful, and the sparks will fly! I usd an oxy-aceteline torch to cut mine and it came out ugly. Now you want to do this in the middle of the drum, but towards the bottom “ring”. once you’ve done that,try to get some small thin walled peices of pipe and place inside the can, or something to support what you’ll put your coals on. you will need to do the same for the top. If the top of your drum is removeable, I would’nt reccommed using that as your lid. IF you can find a traditional weber grill(for free) get it-you’ll need the lid from that to use as your lid. The diameter of that drum should be wide enough to accept the rack that weber makes(23in across) use small peices of metal to fasten to the top of the drum, and place your weber grill top there and it’s ready. How do you attach the pipes and such? I used a drill with a hex head 5/16 driver to drill in self drilling/self tapping screws. the distance between the coals and the grill should be around 18in. This will allow your juice from the meat to drip freely without worry of the flames burning your meat. Built mine last year and it works great. HOWEVER I will warn you that after the fire is lit, you will see it spiral sometimes and it does take 1/2 a bag of kingsford to fire up, but hey, it’s good eating!!! good luck and use the force!
Sounds like your grill is a 55 gal drum laying on its side with a 2×1ft hatch door. If that’s true, you should probably weld or bolt on some 1 or 2 in. flat metal around the edges of that door to make your grill safer and sealed. You apparently already have the grates, but if they’re just thrown in you’ll probably want to drill some bolt holes and put some nut/bolts to hold the grates steady. You’ll need a draft and vent so your fire doesn’t smother itself. But that existing hole should suffice for a draft, so all you need are vents. Usually two 2 or 3 in. holes in the top side will give excellent venting and control. So the drum with the door, the existing hole for drafting, two vent holes in the top (people put pipes or other cylinders like coffee cans in the holes for controlling the flame, seal the vents off to retard the flame, not the draft hole) some bolts with nuts to hold the grates, a door seal using 1to2in. flat metal, a door handle, and you should be ready to cook.
If the barrel is brand new (relatively, that is), the easy hillbilly way is to remove the ends and you have a hollow tube. Use the top end as the lid. Mount bolts several inches down from the top to hold your cooking grate. Mount bolts an inch or so from the top to hold that lid. Put a handle on the lid or just drill some bowling ball finger holes in it for easy removal, (using rods or tongs to remove the hot lid). Cut a vent hole in the lid which you can cover with a can to control venting. Mount bolts several inches up from the bottom to hold the charcoal grate (pan, if you’re smart). Cut a couple or three draft holes in the bottom edge and you have a quickie smoker/grill that is relatively painless. For some upper hillbilly class attach some coathangers (”S” hook style) to the cooking and charcoal grates for easy removal.
So saith the Mindwrencher.