Three Questions Before my Build

Greatscott!

New member
As I mentioned in another thread, a contractor friend of mine snagged me a food grade drum in excellent condition. I've got a leave from work coming up in a couple weeks so building my drum will be something to fill the time. :) But I've got a few random questions:

1. My drum's lid has two bungs: a 1" and a 2.25". Both have caps but until I get it sandblasted I'm not even sure if they're metal, plastic, or what under the paint. Should I consider taking those out and replacing with black iron conduit caps?

2. On the BP Engineered kit, is the upper U-bolt position (for grilling /searing) at a good height for temporarily placing a second cooking grate or lowering the main one for turkeys and etc? Or would it be advisable to install a second set of carriage bolts, say, 4-6 inches below the main ones? From what I can tell on the construction video, the upper U bolts might be rather low to the fire for smoking.

3. Here's the tricky one: how do different folks thread a digital thermometer probe cable into the drum? You can always go through the lid vents but seems like a pain when opening and closing to account for the cable. I'd love to install a port into the wall of the drum, but hate to break the air seal. I know there are silicone grommets but of course the probes I use are too big. I'm playing with the idea of tapping a 3/4" black pipe nipple into the rear of the drum and then drilling a hole through a high-temp silicone plug or cork that would fit snugly. Any other ideas?

Thanks much!
 

southga

New member
WRT to routing cables. I just drilled a hole. I have an ET732 & and an ET72. The hole is just big enough to allow me to route all three cables into the drum. I don't believe that small a hole will draw enough air to make any significant difference. Also, it near the top of drum rather than near the bottom where air is drawn it. If you are concerned about the small air leak, you could always use a small bit of foil to plug the remaining gap during a cook.
 

BossHawg

New member
I use strip magnets to cover my holes. The strip maghnets are the same ones used for business cards or refridge magnets. You can find free strip magnets at any real estate office or local business. the strips magnets can be cut to size and a little cut slit can accomodate the wire lead for the thermometer. The magnets do not melt.
 

Greatscott!

New member
Great ideas, thanks all. I found something on the BBQ Brethren that was pretty interesting for a thermometer port as well:

Found in electrical conduit section:

Halex 1/2 clamp connector Home Depot 90661 $2.05ea
Halex 1/2"lock nut Home Depot 26190 bag of 6 $.73
Halex/Rigid 3/4-1/2 reducers (washers for thermo clamps)Home Depot26820

Combined they result in this:

http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/7498/thermo.jpg

I bought a couple sets for under seven bucks to check them out. The rubber insets have a narrow passage I'm sure wouldn't allow much airflow at all, but won't close all the way and pinch a probe cable.

I'm also tempted to just cut the hole and seal with magnet strip when unused.

Any thoughts about the 2nd grate height?
 

ajstrider

New member
I see the OP got the thermometer figures out, but for everyone else... the little electrical adapter that Greatscott recommended is what I use too, it is a NM/SE cable connector found in the electrical section at Lowes. It has a rubber inner gasket that seems to hold up to heat fine. I get the 3/4" variety which works out pretty well with a 1" hole saw. I also purchase some 3/4" conduit nuts to lock it onto the grill. The most expensive part of this is the 1" hole saw. These connectors seem to be very popular for thermometer wires, not sure who was the first to use them but it was a pretty good idea. The opening to put your wires through is pretty small so there is not a lot of leakage to worry about.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_108490-1552...=3389324&Ntt=nmse&pl=1&currentURL=&facetInfo=

http://www.lowes.com/pd_75450-15527...&Ntt=conduit+nuts&pl=1&currentURL=&facetInfo=
 

Kevinish

Moderator
The top ubolt position might be a little low for smoking. It's useful for putting a water pan or a baffle on though. I would recommend ordering a second grill and some hardware to put it just below the top grill.

I usually don't worry about getting a perfect air tight seal on my drum, doesn't seam to make much difference for me. I usually just drape the probes over the top or through a hole.
 

Greatscott!

New member
The top ubolt position might be a little low for smoking. It's useful for putting a water pan or a baffle on though. I would recommend ordering a second grill and some hardware to put it just below the top grill.

I usually don't worry about getting a perfect air tight seal on my drum, doesn't seam to make much difference for me. I usually just drape the probes over the top or through a hole.

Thanks Kevinish and all! I've got some time off work coming up and plan to put some time into my build. :D
 

Greatscott!

New member
I see the OP got the thermometer figures out, but for everyone else... the little electrical adapter that Greatscott recommended is what I use too, it is a NM/SE cable connector found in the electrical section at Lowes. It has a rubber inner gasket that seems to hold up to heat fine. I get the 3/4" variety which works out pretty well with a 1" hole saw. I also purchase some 3/4" conduit nuts to lock it onto the grill. The most expensive part of this is the 1" hole saw. These connectors seem to be very popular for thermometer wires, not sure who was the first to use them but it was a pretty good idea. The opening to put your wires through is pretty small so there is not a lot of leakage to worry about.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_108490-15527-49093_0__?productId=3389324&Ntt=nmse&pl=1¤tURL=&facetInfo=

http://www.lowes.com/pd_75450-15527...100175&Ntt=conduit+nuts&pl=1¤tURL=&facetInfo=


One interesting thing to point out: The rubber gasket inside the pipe has a fairly narrow opening. That's fine for most thermometer probes to pass through, but if you're like me and use a Maverick therm which has a thicker diameter at the base of the dual probe to measure ambient oven temps, maybe a quarter inch or so, but too wide to pass through the gasket.

Solution? I took a thin blade and cut down the wall of the gasket so it can be opened like a neck brace and wrapped around a term cable rather than being fed through the original opening. The gasket fits snugly enough inside the conduit it's held shut when in place.
 
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