55gal drum cleaning help needed.

   / 55gal drum cleaning help needed. #11  
This is sort of off topic, but I just saw brand new 55 gallon poly drums at Sam's yesterday for $27.50. Pretty cheap if you can't find a used one.
 
   / 55gal drum cleaning help needed. #12  
If it is clean oil inside the drum and the inside is clean (look around the inside with a small pen light), I would just put the diesel in it and drive on. The oil won't hurt anything and will add to the lubricity of the fuel a bit and burn just fine. If it is not an absolutely clean drum inside, I would not use it if I were you.
 
   / 55gal drum cleaning help needed.
  • Thread Starter
#13  
Thanks again for all of the feedback!

I washed it out this weekend with diesel fuel and it looks brand new on the inside.

I ordered a Manual Hand Pump from Northern tool that should be here later this week. I think I should be set. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
   / 55gal drum cleaning help needed. #14  
Brandon,

How do you plan to fill the drum? Do you have a way to haul it to the nearest station or are you going to have diesel delivered to you?
 
   / 55gal drum cleaning help needed. #15  
Bnixon:

Just a thought....make sure that the material in the drum is as advertised......if you clean and then dump it out you could have a real problem with well water and or the EPA if you get my drift......burning brush is a great way to get rid of excess fuel.....
 
   / 55gal drum cleaning help needed.
  • Thread Starter
#16  
Hey Chris,

I will just load it on my utility trailer and fill it at the gas station.

I will probably build a platform to set the drum on that can be lifted with my FEL. Till then I will do it like my grandfather use to do....put the cap on real tight and turn it on its side and roll it off. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
 
   / 55gal drum cleaning help needed. #17  
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( turn it on its side and roll it off )</font>

I've done that, too, but I think it's easier to set it upright in the FEL bucket (you can get close of half the bottom of the barrel into the bucket) and put a chain around it to pick it up and move it around. Of course after I got some pallet forks and found a very small pallet, that made it even easier.
 
   / 55gal drum cleaning help needed. #18  
I do the same but just leave the drum in the back of the pickup. Since its a farm truck who cares if it has an ugly drum in the back anyway...
Some might say its improves the look of my truck..


Also its handy to have the drum top up high. With my 4x4 F250 the pump is just above the tractor fill cap so a 10' hose makes fillups quite easy.

At $1 / gallon for off road and $1.45 for on road its worth the trouble when you buy 55 gallons in one go.

Fred
 
   / 55gal drum cleaning help needed. #19  
If you MUST roll a barrel of liquid off of a truck, PLEASE place a dismounted tire on the ground where the barrel will land to mimimize the hydraulic shock to the contents and barrel.
The shock load on a 55 gallon drum of oil falling 2 feet can be devistating to the barrel seams.
 
   / 55gal drum cleaning help needed. #20  
We stand the drum up in the truck for the trip to the oil depot. When we get home, we gently lay it over in the truck. We raise the bucket on the FEL to the height of the tailgate and roll the drum into the bucket, strap it in with tie down straps, and head over to the raised platform. The platform is a good sized wooden deck (about 5' x 6') about 5' off the ground. We raise the bucket up to that level, roll the drum onto the platform, and block it in place with a couple of 4x4's.

I have the drum plumbed with a vent setup with a ball valve in one bung hole and the hose plumbing with a ball valve in the other bung hole. We roll it so the vent points up and the hose valve is at the bottom. I re-attach the filter and hose assembly and we're good to go.

I am going to make a couple of improvements to the plumbing. Right now, we unscrew the vent from the 2" drum hole when we get to the oil depot to fill it, and use the pipe threads to unscrew and re-screw the filter to the hose valve. I don't like making and breaking the pipe threads that often, so I'm going to install unions on both joints. That will also stop the samll amount of fuel that leaks when I turn the filter unside down as I screw it back on.

Just got my third drum full in 7 weeks; we've been using it to fill the big rental loader as well as my little TC18, and also to start burn piles until the dry weather forced a burn ban. Once we get past this clearing stage (almost done), I expect my usage will drop considerably.
 

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