I did a upright smoker on the cheap 20-25 years ago. The lid from my Weber grill fit a 55 gal drum perfectly and the grills fit inside. I simply cut both ends from the barrel and welded three pieces of rebar extending down from the bottom about 6" for legs. I ran two pieces of all thread across the barrel about 1/3 of the way up from the bottom for the large water pan to sit on. The lower grill sets on the water pan. From that grill I measured up 1/2 of the way to the top and installed three small L brackets for the second grill to sit on. Three more L brackets on top for the top grill. Four barn door pulls were added horizonally about 1/2 way up for two men to lift the full smoker with gloves. A thermometer was cut in near the top.
The fire box is a 30 gal barrel cut off about 5" on the bung hole end with 3 rebar legs extending down about 4". I fitted a piece of perforated metal inside of the fire box with 4 small bolts extending down about 1 1/4" to hold the fire up a little from the bottom for the draft to be more even.
Simply build your charcoal/wood fire in the firebox. Fill your water pan and place your meat/poultry on any or all of the racks. When the fire is ready simply lift the barrel onto it. Replace the lid and head for the cooler and lawn chair.
Last edited by croldfort; 03/01/10.
