55 Gal drums

[dickenscpa]

I've got access to 55 gal barrels from my company. The only problem is they used to have hydraulic fluid in them. I was wanting something for water storage but I'm leery that I could clean these out properly.

Unsafe? Leave alone?

Brad

[Lumber_Jack]

If it were me I would just buy an unused food grade barrel. I just bought a used oil drum and I cut the head off and burnt the oil out. I can't imagine how you would sufficiently clean one with the head still on.

[dickenscpa]

That was pretty much my thinking, but "free" was pulling awful hard! LOL!

[bigwakes]

Someone on another thread said the Coke factory in Nashville sells syrup barrels for $7. It's not worth it to take a chance. If you get them for free start selling them on CL to fund buying food grade barrels.

[MacGyver]

While they're not exactly cheap, new barrels aren't but about $70 in either poly or steel.

[Lumber_Jack]

While they're not exactly cheap, new barrels aren't but about $70 in either poly or steel.

...And should last forever

[MacGyver]

I know a guy who does passive heating with some. They've got a greenhouse that's maybe 8x10 on the back side of their house. At the suggestion of their architect they put 4 or 5 barrels to collect rainwater up against one of the walls. The greenhouse has a window into their unfinished basement that they open during the winter. Those barrels collect enough heat during the day that you can feel the heat coming in the window at night. I don't know how much it reduces their heating bill, but their basement sure is a lot more comfortable.

[Jamie Jackson]

We picked up some 55 gallon food grade barrels from Volunteer Drum in Knoxville a few years back. At the time they were $30.00 each...But new, unused, & foodgrade.

I wouldn't use drum/barrels for water or food storage that contained any kind of chemicals...it's just too much risk imho.

Good Luck.

Edited January 25, 2012 by pragmaticpreparedness
spelling, of course...

[Lumber_Jack]

We picked up some 55 gallon food grade barrels from Volunteer Drum in Knoxville a few years back. At the time they were $30.00 each...But new, unused, & foodgrade.

I wouldn't use drum/barrels for water or food storage that contained any kind of chemicals...it's just too much risk imho.

Good Luck.

I was wondering what their prices were like. Thanks for sharing

[mav]

I can tell you what I would do. In the interest of disclosure, I have worked as a chemist for around 15 years and I have a lot of experience with a very large number of chemicals, so my perspective might be a little different from everybody else's.

Are the drums open top or closed top? If they are closed top, I wouldn't fool with them. They are too hard to clean. If it is open top, I would check the MSDS to see what type of hydraulic fluid you are dealing with. A lot of them are based on heavy paraffinc petroleum oils, which have a very low toxicity. If it is a hydrocarbon fluid, you may have some difficulty cleaning out the oil since it is insoluble. The oil will have to be emulsified. You could try using something like dishwashing detergent with a lot of hand scrubbing and multiple cleanings and rinses.

Other types of hydraulic fluid I have seen contain glycols, such as diethylene glycol. DEG is a lot more toxic to various organs than the heavy petroleum oils, but it is miscible with water so cleaning wouldn't be as difficult. However, you would want to make sure it was very clean. You don't want to ingest any large amount of certain glycols.

Assuming the drums were open top plastic, I wouldn't have any concerns cleaning the drum. However, if someone doesn't share the same level of comfort as I do, then by all means do not use them. You should always err on the side of caution. If it is the latter, then buy a new one or at least a good reconditioned drum, which is a lot cheaper. Note: it would still be a good idea to really clean a reconditioned drum.

[Lumber_Jack]

Mav,

You mention plastic, is it different for steel? What about burning the fluid and then clean the carbon? I'm no chemist obviously, just curious.

[mav]

If you can buy a new 55 gallon drum for $30, then I would jump all over that. I am going to relay the information to our purchasing agent and have him check prices tomorrow. That seems awfully cheap, but it could be a totally different type of drum. It will be good to check anyway. Thanks for posting. To give you an idea on what we pay, buying full truckloads of reconditioned OTP 55 gallon drums is around the mid $20s. New OTP are around the mid $30s.

[Lumber_Jack]

If you can buy a new 55 gallon drum for $30, then I would jump all over that. I am going to relay the information to our purchasing agent and have him check prices tomorrow. That seems awfully cheap, but it could be a totally different type of drum. It will be good to check anyway. Thanks for posting. To give you an idea on what we pay, buying full truckloads of reconditioned OTP 55 gallon drums is around the mid $20s. New OTP are around the mid $30s.

Yeah I was thinking it would cost $50-75 for just one new barrel, buy maybe not.

[mav]

Mav,

You mention plastic, is it different for steel? What about burning the fluid and then clean the carbon? I'm no chemist obviously, just curious.

I don't really know. I think it would be easier and safer to just emulsify out the oil, whether it was in plastic or steel. I say safer because heating to decomposition, which fire will do, certain chemicals can give off some stuff you don't really want to inhale. Personally, I wouldn't try burning of the chemical, even if it is something like a petroleum oil.

[Lumber_Jack]

I don't really know. I think it would be easier and safer to just emulsify out the oil, whether it was in plastic or steel. I say safer because heating to decomposition, which fire will do, certain chemicals can give off some stuff you don't really want to inhale. Personally, I wouldn't try burning of the chemical, even if it is something like a petroleum oil.

Too late

Haha, I set the barrel on fire and walked away, as to not breath the smoke. But I have no intentions to store food or water in that barrel, just get rid of the oil. Plus I was in the boonies, no where near a residence.

[mav]

Too late

Haha, I set the barrel on fire and walked away, as to not breath the smoke. But I have no intentions to store food or water in that barrel, just get rid of the oil. Plus I was in the boonies, no where near a residence.

I am gonna report you to Al Gore, you rotten ecoterrorist.

[Lumber_Jack]

I am gonna report you to Al Gore, you rotten ecoterrorist.

I enjoy 60 degrees in January. Just doing my part

[MacGyver]

I am gonna report you to Al Gore, you rotten ecoterrorist.

As long as he's not running a buffet, I wouldn't worry about him showing up.

[dickenscpa]

These are closed top and way too much trouble. I didn't realize new barrels were that cheap. The $7 barrels from Coke seem to be a steal.

Thanks for all the info guys. I appreciate it.

Brad

[broylz]

check out LexingtonContainerCompany.com if you dont mind the drive.

[gun sane]

I was wondering what their prices were like. Thanks for sharing

We bought a 55 gal. drum from Volunteer a couple of weeks ago for around $38. It's a good buy.

Edited March 18, 2012 by gun sane

[Dolomite_supafly]

There is a guy on Craigslist that sells food grade 55 gallon plastic drums for $10 each. He also sells 12 gallon barrels with handles for $7. Everything he has is food safe. I have bought seveal of each from him and he is a great guy to deal with.

http://knoxville.craigslist.org/grd/2892790039.html

I am going to use the 12 gallon barrels for fuel storage. They are larger than any other while still being small enough to move around.

Go GREEN Save the Money on Water Bills I have several 55gallon barrels for sale that can be used as Rain Barrels, Feeders, Roosters, ect. These barrels had FOOD BASE product in them *NO CHEMICALS*

If interested or have questions please contact me at 865*332*4014 If no one answers please leave a voice mail and ill return your call

Premium Food Grade Barrels. New. Only used one time!!!

Dolomite

[Jamie Jackson]

There is a guy on Craigslist that sells food grade 55 gallon plastic drums for $10 each. He also sells 12 gallon barrels with handles for $7. Everything he has is food safe. I have bought seveal of each from him and he is a great guy to deal with.

http://knoxville.cra...2892790039.html

I am going to use the 12 gallon barrels for fuel storage. They are larger than any other while still being small enough to move around.

Dolomite

Thank you Sir!

I planed to double my rain barrel catchment and you've just made it affordable to do so.