Rocky wrote:
> *Danny Gaulden’s Big Drum Smoker Review - KCBS BBQ Forum Blog - 12-06-2005*
>
>
>
> The BDS is a 16 gauge drum that is approximately 38 in. tall and 23 1/4
> in. wide. It has a high heat resistant paint and the color is black. It
> comes standard with one cooking grate that is 22 1/2 in. wide, a good
> thermometer, and a heavy duty charcoal ring that measures 6 in. deep and
> at least 13 in. in diameter. The ring is mounted on a grate that fits
> into the bottom of the pit and easily holds 12 lbs. or more of charcoal.
> The distance from the charcoal ring to the bottom of the the drum is
> about 2 1/4-2 1/2 in. for ash build-up. Distance from the bottom of the
> charcoal ring to the cooking grate is about 24 in. The lid is very
> tight fitting, plenty heavy, and has eight 1/2 in. vent holes precisely
> cut at even intervals. The bottom of the drum has three 7/8 in. air
> intakes with a plug for each one to regulate the draft. Pit weights
> about 72 lbs and comes in a shrink wrap. Lid is super secured. There
> was no damage (dings or dents) to my pit which was delivered by Fed-X.
> Pit can be easily transported from place to place by one person.
>
>
>
> Within 15 minutes of the first cook, I knew this pit was a winner. The
> smell was absolutely what I look for in a first class cooker and NEVER
> have I achived this quality for the price and cooking capacity. I call
> it that ol' time "Grandpaw smell"... when many years ago men cooked meat
> over hardwood coals and the smoke from the wood and the drippings from
> the meat fell down into the fire, creating an aroma that was
> unforgetable. It was a lot of work. Not saying that some folks don't
> do this today, but they are a dying breed. This pit accomplishes this
> ol' time flavor with little effort due to the fact that the cooking
> grate is located about 24 inches from the bottom of the charcoal ring
> which allows direct cooking over the coals, plus the well thought out
> design from Mr. Richmond. There's a lot more to what he has created
> than just cutting a hole in the bottom and top of a barrel and calling
> it a good cooker.
>
>
>
> When loaded with 10-12 lbs. of charcoal, I was able to cook long cooking
> meats (brisket, butts, etc.) without refueling the fire, which could be
> a pain to some (taking off the cooking grate to add charcoal, wood
> etc.). With three or four good size chunks of wood (fist size or
> larger), I used three pecan "mini" logs about 2- 2 1/2 in. in diameter
> and 6 in. long, the smoke never ran out. I was skeptical about this
> aspect, but it kept on smokin. After the meat came off and the fire
> diminished, the only thing left was a couple of the pecan logs that were
> nearly burned up, but not completely. So the smoke keeps going for a
> long cook when done properly with no additional wood needed. The pit
> was still up to cooking temperature after my cook was done. I got about
> a 10 hour burn, or longer, on 10-12 lbs. of charcoal with wood chucks at
> an ambient temperature of 48-50 degrees. Summer time heat will bring
> longer cooks, if that's important to you. One thing you need to
> remember when cooking this method...the meat will cook quicker due to
> the DIRECT and convection heat combined. This method of cooking does not
> reduce flavor...This is a good thing. I know how so many folks get hung
> up on super long cooking times, and I ain't gonna get into that. That
> theory holds true in certain cooking situations, but it is not a
> constant.
>
>
>
> Performance: This smoker created a good even heat over the entire
> cooking grate...not perfect, but close. Never cooked on a pit yet that
> the heat was perfect. The fire and heat control was a breeze. Easiest
> I've ever seen. It held steady for hours with an adjustment of putting
> in one or two plugs out of the three into the air intakes. You can go
> off and leave this smoker for hours once you do a few cooks on it and
> figure out how to use the plugs (or sleep at a cook off). Mr. Richmond
> sends the "how to" manual with the smoker and it is very easy to read
> and understand, plus accurate. Just read it. Easy as can be. If ones
> wishes to add a second cooking shelf, that is easily done. Since there
> are 9 inches from the cooking shelf to the lid, one could add a second
> shelf at 4 1/2 in. above the main shelf. This would give you a distance
> of 4 1/2 in. between each cooking shelf and the lid. This would work
> fine for chichen halves, briskets, sausage, ribs, and other items that
> aren't too tall. However, if you are smoking tall items like butts,
> turkeys, beer can chicken, or using rib racks, either take out the
> second shelf and use the main one, or for high capacity cooking (12 beer
> can chickens, four turkeys, etc.) place the top cooking shelf eight
> inchs above the main cooking shelf and use a Weber 22 1/2 in. kettle
> grill lid for the main lid. This will give you a lot of distance from
> the top cooking shelf to the lid and about 32 in. from the bottom of the
> fire box. An extra cooking shelf (22 1/2 in.) can be ordered from
> Amazon.com for $16.99.
>
>
>
> As the cooker comes with one cooking grate, it is a serious machine.
> You can cook a 10-12 lb. brisket and 2 pork butts, or 4 big butts, or 2
> big briskets, or 8 slabs of ribs using the Cookshack rib holder, or 6
> beer butt chickens. Figuring the most bang for your bucks...or should I
> say food...(briskets and butts) one can easily feed 20-25 people. Add
> the second cooking shelf and you can feed more people than I want in my
> house on one given day. If this smoker isn't big enough for you, the man
> makes a Jumbo cooker that holds about 2 1/2 to 3 times the meat the BDS
> does. It sell for 525 American Dollars. If you want a stainless steel
> one, that's avaliable also. I can't tell you how much fun I've had
> cooking on this smoker. I keep coming back to it day after day and it
> has become my favorite out of many. It is a joy to have in my back
> yard.
>
>
>
> I've talked to a lot of pit makers and distributors in my 30 years of
> being in the BBQ business. This I can tell you for sure... Rocky
> Richmond is serious about his smokers and is a man of the highest
> integrity. He believes in his product and will do his best to see that
> you are a satisfied customer. Good luck with your smokers, Rocky. What
> a deal.
>
>
>
> Danny
>
>
>
Thanks for the detailed review Rocky, guess I'll go out an buy me a drum
for say $7, 2 grills at home depot for about $30 smacks, an a few
dollars for nuts and bolts, then I'll be cooking as good as everyone
else that paid hundreds for your cooker.

Warmest Regards,
Piedmont