Steel barrel uses - need ideas

[2LaneCruzer]

My neighbor told me about a guy he worked with who used to go through a burn barrel drum in less than a year. He happened to see a stainless steel drum at a yard sale one day and picked it up for $5. It was a Dupont drum with a number stenciled on it. Luckily, he called Dupont before cutting the lid off the drum. He gave them the number and was told in no uncertain terms NOT to open it! Dupont sent a truck, and two men in hazmat suits picked it up. He asked what had been in the drum but all the guys would say is, it would have been very very bad had he opened it!

Yeah, he was out $5 but sure had an interesting story to tell!

The fact that it was stainless steel should have been a clue. High grade stainless is pretty expensive (as compared to the low grade stuff used for decoration, like on your dishwasher). To make a barrel out of it should raise some suspicions. They use high grade stainless to hold chlorine products, and things incredibly poisonous and corrosive like hydrogen sulfide.

FWIW, and engineer once told me you can tell high grade stainless because a magnet won't stick to it.

 

[ponytug]

Just in the FWIW/FYI category, because I find stainless steels so confusing.

Some forms of stainless steel are magnetic, some are not, and some can be depending on how they are processed (work hardened / annealed).

Is Stainless Steel Magnetic? | Metal Supermarkets

There is a misconception that all stainless steels are not magnetic. In fact, some types and grades of stainless steels are magnetic.

www.metalsupermarkets.com

The following variants of stainless steel lack magnetic properties:​

• Austenitic steel grades 301 and 304 are not magnetic but can become partially magnetic with cold forming.
• Austenitic steel grades 302HQ, 303, 310, 316, 321 253MA, 904L.

These days, I find lots of "stainless" without a clear alloy definition.
Stainless alloys explained

All the best,

Peter