55-gal Drums on CL

C

ctaylor81

I've seen these used the 55-gal plastic drums posted on CL for some time now and figured they would be great to make a decent water station with. I inquired with the guy recently on what exactly they were used for. He asked what I wanted to use the drum for, and when I told him aquarium water, he only recommended using the drums that had some type of cooking oil in them. I believe the other drums had soap in them. They obviously clean them up, but I'm sure there is still some residue left over.

Will vinegar or bleach work to make these drums usable? Is it worth the trouble?

They are cheap for the size ($20), so just curious if anyone else has used these, and if so, did you have any ill effects?

Thanks
 
I bought mine from a guy in South Ft Worth - his were $10 a barrel, already cleaned out, and had tomato paste, Panda Express Oyster Sauce, and tomato puree. I bought those since they were only food based, and washed them with bleach, dawn, and regular water. they have been working fine ever since, but the only design change I am going to make is on the return to the barrel, I cut a hole in the lid for the pipe - but this makes it difficult to move the lid to add salt in. So I plan to cut another hold in the barrel so that the drain is at the bottom of the barrel, and the return is at the top of the barrel. Hope that makes sense.

I would avoid the ethyl alcohol and ethylene ones. (and the industrial soap detergent ones for that matter)
 
do not get the oil or soap drums. You need to get the ones that had food grade materials in them. even the ones with tomato paste are not going to be that great. Search my posts in group buys. I use to get the 55 gallon drums that had aloe vera in them which was used for health drinks.
 
These are actually the guys I talked to. They say they are food grade, but guess that can be misleading...

http://www.usabarrels.com/
 
I have been using some that used to hold Dr Pepper syrup. The sweet smell took forever to go away, but the barrels have been very useful.
 
My top-off container smells like mango syrup [smilie=smile.gif] I soaked it in vinegar after I got it (previously used to mix saltwater) just to be sure. The smell is still there, and nothing has been negatively affected
 
@Marc wrote:
I have been using some that used to hold Dr Pepper syrup. The sweet smell took forever to go away said:
That is what I use


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