55 Gallon Drums

55 gallon drum garden hose spooler

2010-06-12T08:15:00.000-07:00

Gone are the days when 55 gallon drums were only to be found in factories and warehouses to store and transport liquids and fluids. Nowadays, with the enormous thrust in environmental awareness, everyone tries to reduce, reuse and recycle almost everything both from the point of view of saving money and from the point of view of being socially responsible. Using creativity and a little bit of effort, we will discuss how to build a garden hose spooler using a 55 gallon drum.

Garden hoses are usually unwieldy because of their enormous lengths. Garden hose spoolers that are available in the market today however are generally too small for any practical use. This is especially true if you have long hose lengths. Not to worry. Here is a simple step by step method which you can alter per your requirements and build a cheap garden hose spooler using a 55 gallon drum that is empty and is currently serving no purpose.

First get a 55 gallon drum. Either buy it for cheap or get it for free. Next, build an angle iron frame by welding three pieces of angle iron to form a flat bottomed U shape. One frame will be for one end of the drum and another frame will be for the other end of the drum. Next weld two pieces of angle iron to form a V shape such that the open end of the V is dimensionally equal to the open end of the U. Now weld the V to the U, one for each end. Attach two rollers to each V, one roller for each leg of the V. Repeat the same for the other V. The 55 gallon drum will rest on these rollers, allowing it to turn freely. Now attach a crank handle to one end of the drum, either the end with the bung which is preferred or the other end which used to be the bottom of the drum. Now you have a spool on to which the garden hose can be spooled on to. Use the handle to re-coil the garden hose after use.

You have thus used a 55 gallon drum effectively to build a nice simple gadget that can be used in your yard and garden without spending too much money and by using an old 55 gallon drum.

55 gallon plastic drums

2009-07-18T15:21:00.000-07:00

55 gallon plastic drums have a special use in industry. They are especially suited for the storage and transportation of water, oils and certain water soluble materials. But more importantly, 55 gallon plastic drums are specifically used to store and transport corrosive substances such as hazardous alkaline and acidic materials that cannot be stored in metal drums.

Alkaline materials such as caustic soda solutions, acidic materials such as nitric acid solution, etc can be safely stored and transported in 55 gallon plastic drums. To reduce costs, companies generally look for reconditioned 55 gallon plastic drums for this purpose. Reconditioned 55 gallon plastic drums are those that have been thoroughly cleaned inside and outside and have been tested to ensure that there are no air leaks. Leaking drums that contain hazardous material are an absolute violation of environmental and safety laws and must not be used under any circumstances.

Reconditioned 55 gallon plastic drums are generally made of high density polyethylene, but othe thermoplastic materials have been in existence. When purchasing reconditioned containers, always rely on reputable companies that have had a track record of quality. This is because if the cleaning process is not thorough and the remnant material reacts chemically with fresh material that is introduced, then hazardous situations can arise leading to injury and possibly even death; such as risk must be averted at all costs.

Build a 55 gallon drum tools rack

2009-06-27T07:56:00.000-07:00

Here is an example of how you can use a 55 gallon drum to form a framework along the sides of which you can organize your tools in your garage. 55 gallon drums form a nice structurally sound framework that forms a nice backdrop to organize tools some of which can get to be quite bulky and heavy. Generally people tend to purchase particle boards with holes in them and hang it up on their garage walls. While this works and is a good way to organize, this forms a linear system whereas organizing with a 55 gallon drum forms a curvilinear system.

Either purchase or acquire a 55 gallon drum for free from a store or organization. Then drill holes in the outside of the drum using a power drill. Holes can be fairly small; let us say a quarter of an inch. Spacing of the holes both circumferentially and longitudinally depends upon the size of the tools that you have. Next purchase some tool hooks that are usually available in hardware stores and are normally very inexpensive. Place the hooks on to the holes. Your tools will hang on these hooks. Place the entire 55 gallon drum on to a turn table such as a cheap lazy susan. This will allow for easy accessibility to all tools mounted around the circumference of the 55 gallon drum.

You have now built a tools rack using a 55 gallon drum that will allow for easy and neat organization of work tools in your garage or shop and all this for about a fraction of the price of a tools chest or organizer.

Build a 55 gallon drum shoe rack

2009-06-18T13:09:00.000-07:00

While you may think that a 55 gallon drum has uses only in factories to store and transport chemicals and other liquids, you may be pleasantly surprised to find that there could be other more mundane uses around the house that a 55 gallon drum may find use for. In this post, we will describe how to build a shoe rack out of a 55 gallon drum and put it in your garage where all of the older shoes that you may barely have space to store in your house can be nicely organized and be easily accessible.

To start off you need a 55 gallon drum. You can either purchase this or get it for free from a variety of sources including local hardware stores or pet stores or pool supply stores or other warehouses. Cut the top off. Next you need a cordless drill with a 7/16 drill and sixteen 3/8 bolts that are four inches long with nuts. Now mark eight points on the top circumference each being forty five degrees apart. Now draw vertical lines along the length of the 55 gallon drum body. Now along these vertical lines, mark one inch from the open end and again fourteen inches from the first mark. You should now have a total of sixteen points marked on the outer body of the drum.

Next drill 7/16 diameter holes on the marked points. Now insert the bolts from one side, preferably the outer side of the drum and screw in the nuts from the other side, preferably the inner side. Now you have sixteen stations on to which one shoe or sandal can be hung, giving a total of eight pairs of shoes or sandals that can be organized, taking two pieces to form a pair. Now you may want to cover the open top with an opaque piece of decorative plastic sheeting or simply turn the 55 gallon drum upside down. If you choose the former method, you can simply place the 55 gallon drum on a lazy susan turntable that you can get from a local store and now the shoe rack is turn capable allowing for easy access to your shoes.

There you have it. You have now fabricated an easily accessible shoe rack that you can place in your garage and organize your shoes effectively for cheap.

Build a 55 gallon drum grill

2009-06-16T13:27:00.000-07:00

There are lots of people that are interested in knowing how to build a grill out of a 55 gallon drum. These are not necessarily folks that do not want to spend any money, but I believe are folks that are interested in building things themselves for the fun and thrill of it and so they get curious as to how to build a barbecue grill out of a 55 gallon drum. Of course, the method can be quite simple as you simply take a 55 gallon metal drum, cut a quarter out of it to form the top and attach a handle to it by way of a bent rod and weld it to the quarter that you cut out. Now attach two hinges – one to the quarter that you cut out and the other to the remaining bulk 55 gallon drum.

Now weld up two open U-shaped pieces out of angle iron and then weld it or bolt it to the 55 gallon barrel to form the stand. Get two sturdy stainless steel wire meshes and these will form the grill surfaces. One surface will hold the charcoal and the other surface will hold the food to be grilled. Place them inside the 55 gallon drum. The last step required in the fabrication is the drilling out of a couple of holes at the bottom and sides, so air can get in to aid in combustion and there you have a grill made out of a 55 gallon drum.

Some words of caution. Ensure that the 55 gallon drum that you use is rated for food storage. Stainless steel 55 gallon drums are the best. Do not use drums that have been carrying toxic chemicals. After fabricating your grill, ensure that you prep the surfaces by painting them all with lard or other greasy food oils and run the grill on dry mode for a couple times to prepare it for subsequent actual grilling. And that is all there is to it. Of course, all of the safety precautions need to be taken during the fabrication process.

As you can see, in this article about how to build a grill out of a 55 gallon drum, the cost of hardware used is really very low, and the thrill of building one is very high, the time to build is not that much and then you wonder how come the price of full size grills is so high.

55 gallon drum heaters

2009-06-13T09:03:00.000-07:00

The most common application of 55 gallon drums is in the storage and transportation of liquids. While for the most part, these liquids are stored, transported and subsequently used as is by pumping out of the drum using a 55 gallon drum pump or similar aspirating device, there is a need sometimes to keep the liquid inside a 55 gallon drum warm as in the need to maintain a certain viscosity or to prevent the material from freezing, etc. In such instances, the use of a 55 gallon drum heater is extremely well warranted. In this brief post, we will discuss such 55 gallon drum heaters.

There are basically two families of 55 gallon drum heaters. The first family is for use in metal drums and the second family is for use with plastic and fiber drums. The former family generally put out about fifteen hundred watts of power and the latter generally puts out about three to four hundred watts of power. The former has thermostat controls that generally run from fifty to about four hundred degrees Fahrenheit and the latter has thermostat controls that generally run from fifty to a hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit. Within these two families, there are two kinds of 55 gallon drum heaters. One forms a family of band heaters which have a band that is anywhere from three to six inches wide and the second forms a family of complete wrap around heaters that basically cover the entire drum. Obviously the second family provides more insulation than the first family.

Drum heaters are generally sheathed with silicone cloth that is reinforced with fiberglass and they are generally conformal in nature, meaning that they conform to the contour of the surface being wrapped against. And these heaters are usually provided with a sufficiently long chord that can be plugged into any standard electrical outlet. While drum heaters can be used to maintain the viscosity of various liquids and slurries and prevent freezing of materials such as greases, resins, syrups and other products, care must be exerted to avoid use of these heaters on drums containing hazardous materials that can be flammable to avoid the risk of fire. Additional care needs to exerted to ensure that the drum top bung is opened so that the drum does not get into an over-pressure condition. Drum heaters should always be mounted so the heating takes place below the liquid content level to prevent overheating.

Thus while drum heaters provide a useful purpose, safety precautions should always be followed to reduce the risk of accidents and danger.

55 gallon drum recycling

2009-06-12T06:11:00.000-07:00

55 gallon drums are very common nowadays in the storage and transport of various industrial products and chemicals as well as in the storage and transport of consumer foods such as tomato juice concentrates and such. As a result there is a large quantity of these 55 gallon drums in circulation throughout industry. Being environmentally sensitive nowadays, everyone strives to recycle and reuse all items and fifty five gallon barrels and drums are no exception. In this article, we will explore some basic steps that one needs to take to ensure safe reuse and recycling of 55 gallon drums.

The first step in recycling is to identify where a specific used 55 gallon drum can be re-deployed. For example, a drum that has been used for transporting a liquid, that has started leaking from its sides can be re-used to store and transport bigger size solids such as absorbent pads or industrial rags after cutting the top off and replacing with a re-closeable lid.

If a liquid carrying drum is no longer needed to carry the same liquid, but can be used to store and transport a different liquid, then it is imperative that the drum be thoroughly washed off the previous material. This is usually done by a triple rinsing method. When using this alternative, it is advisable to ensure that the former material and the latter material will not react with each other. This is because no matter how thoroughly you have conducted the cleaning process, there is a chance that some residue still remains and you do want to eliminate all possibilities of cross contamination and inter reaction.

Generally it is preferred to let 55 gallon drums slated for recycling and reuse be assigned to progressively lower levels of materials carried. An example will make this clear. If a certain metal drum was used to receive flammable isopropyl alcohol used in a certain industrial cleaning line and after the drum is empty, it is assigned for re-use for a different material, then after triple rinsing, it can be used to store and transport spent water based coolant from machining machines. Once this use has been accomplished and the spent coolant has been transported, the top can be cut off and then sent for use to store metal chips and shavings from machine shops. Thus the 55 gallon drum has been progressively carrying materials that pose lesser risks every time it has been assigned for recycling.

55 gallon drum materials

2009-06-11T12:31:00.000-07:00

55 gallon drums are utilized throughout modern industry for storage and transport of various materials including solids and liquids. Because of the wide variety of materials used in these 55 gallon barrels, the materials involved are quite varied. In this brief article, we will discuss materials related to 55 gallon drums both from the standpoint of materials of construction as well as relationships to materials stored and transported.

Standard 55 gallon drums made of steel are utilized to store and transport industrial oils, coolant materials, water based solvents, isopropyl alcohol and such. When materials transported are corrosive such as caustic soda, for example, such steel drums are inadequate. Corrosive liquids are usually handled by 55 gallon plastic drums. Acids such as nitric acid fall under the same category. Solid powders and pellets such as those used in injection molding can be handled with an open head steel drum.

When it comes to high purity requirements such as food grade materials, stainless steel drums are the preferred choice. Stainless steel is corrosion resistant and hence acids in foods will not attack it. Additionally, it will not rust and so will protect the foods from contamination. 55 gallon plastic drums are generally made of polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride and even nylons. The general rule of thumb is that the material being handled should not be reactive with the material of construction of the container. Certain flammable materials such as isopropyl alcohol, acetone and methyl ethyl ketone are generally transported in standard metal steel drums without problems. When in doubt, consult a chemist or the drum manufacturer regarding the compatibility of a specific drum material with the specific material being handled.

55 gallon drum dimensions

2009-06-10T06:44:00.000-07:00

A 55 gallon drum is the most common container used in industries everywhere in the United States and in many other countries. 55 gallon drums are most commonly used to store as well as transport liquids such as industrial oils, solvents, chemicals as well as liquid foods such as tomato juice concentrates, apple juice extracts and so on. Seldom is a fifty five gallon drum used to transport solids such as powders unless the standard opening is not to be used and the drum top is to be opened up and either discarded or re-used. Thus storage and transport of solids such as powders is usually accomplished with an open head drum. It must be noted that many hazardous waste materials are also stored and transported in 55 gallon drums.

Being so commonly seen in industry, one generally wonders about the standardization of 55 gallon drum dimensions. Generally, a fifty five gallon drum has a nominal capacity of 44 British Imperial gallons, 200 liters or 55 U.S. gallons. The diameter is usually 22.5 inches and is 33.5 inches tall. In metric units, these translate to 572 mm in diameter and 850 mm in height. These linear dimensions translate to a volume capacity of 218.4 liters. Generally, these 55 gallon drums are equipped with a standard 2 inch opening ad a three-quarter-inch opening placed diametrically opposite to each other, both with standard NPT. It might be of interest to note that crude oil barrels are based upon a measurement of 42 U.S. gallons which ends up being thirteen gallons short of the standard 55 gallon measure.

Standardization of drum sizes is important because this allows for the fitting of standard liquid extraction devices such as drum pumps and standard blending devices such as mixers, etc to be mounted directly on to the drums as well the use of standardized pallet racking systems for safe storage and retrieval. Reinforcement rings are also provided generally about a third of the way from either end. These also form a nice locating point when using a fork lift with an attachment.

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2009-06-09T11:49:00.000-07:00

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