plastic 55 gallon barrels

[Rob41]

anyone out there know where i can find 55 gallon plastic food grade barrels for free or cheap?

[mathprofdk]

I was able to find some in the area on Craigslist. I'm in the Chicago area, so there were a few options.

[happy thoughts]

You probably won't find any for free. A good place to check might be food processing plants or bottlers. Maybe in Rochester? I picked one up down south about 5 years ago for around $10. From what I've seen around this forum lately, a good rate seems to be around $20. I use mine as a rain barrel. After all these years, it still smells like olives so you might want to give any you find a good sniff test and plan on using it next year after a good cleaning and a long airing.

[PapaSmiff]

In my area, there are two people selling them on Craigs List. They are selling for about $20 to $25 each.

[Etown Maple Syrup]

I know a man who has a wife who works at a water treatment plant. They use none hazardous chemicals that come in the blue 55 gallon plastic drums with two bungs to add things to the water we drink. Once the drums are washed out, they work great for sap storage. If that is what you are looking to do. Yes, they are free.5322

[spencer11]

i just go 2 from my friends uncle for $10 each. they usually ar earound $20-$25 though. now i have a question on the bungs- the ones on mine are threded and mesure about 2.5" across. i cant find 2.5" pvc that is threded. i got some 2 inch stuff but it is to small and i think 3" would be to big. what do other people use? any ideas how i could attach pvc to it? (sorry if it seems like im hijacking your thread! im not trying to!)
thanks

spencer

[SevenCreeksSap]

i just go 2 from my friends uncle for $10 each. they usually ar earound $20-$25 though. now i have a question on the bungs- the ones on mine are threded and mesure about 2.5" across. i cant find 2.5" pvc that is threded. i got some 2 inch stuff but it is to small and i think 3" would be to big. what do other people use? any ideas how i could attach pvc to it? (sorry if it seems like im hijacking your thread! im not trying to!)
thanks

spencer

Get a pvc/cpvc threaded with one smooth end adapter. I made it work, got one valve from 2 1/2 down to a 3/4 valve. Its about 2 feet long with adapters. Use thread tape.

I think this is along the same thread. Rob41's next post would be how to thread the bungs.

[spencer11]

i am planning on laying the drum sideways on the back of my atv to collect. and have s short straight peice coming out of the bung then an elbow then a 2" to 4" adapter to dum the sap into. think it will work? the problem i have is connecting the 2" pipe to the bung, which seems like it 2.5". if you can get pic of your that would be awesome. thanks

spencer

[SevenCreeksSap]

Could work but at close to 8 lb/gal your looking at close to 400 lb with half a tank sloshing around. sounds like a rollover hazard to me.

In keeping with the post someone on here led me to these for 20 each south of Cleveland. if Rob41 is in western NY and wants that guys info PM me. I'll find it somewhere.

[spencer11]

that looks like it would work. i dont plan on filling it all the way up. i would make 2 trips, since i go by my bulk tank on the way. my atv is also only 2wd so i could uce some extra weight. thanks for the pic! where did you get the smooth adapters? i have a hardware store right down the road where i got the 2" pvc today. i think they might have it.

spencer

[moeh1]

Any change you could install a bulkhead fitting into the existing piece that scres into the bunghole? :confused:That would save alot of adapters.

[spencer11]

maybe. would i install it into the bung hole or just through the plastic? i only have one bung hole screw in cover per barrel. so 2 covers with 2 drums.

spencer

[SeanD]

I did exactly what you are planning. I removed the bung and slid a bulkhead fitting through the opening. I wasn't sure which size would work so I ordered a couple from Grainger then when they came in to the store I just got the food-grade one that fit well. If I can remember which part it was, I'll let you know. Take the ID of your hole and use that as the relative size you need. A little smaller is ok because the rubber gasket on the fitting seals it up. I did have to cut the lip of bung hole flange on the outside of the barrel with a utility knife to get the bulkhead fitting to sit properly.

It was a little bit of a pain trying to figure out which one I needed, but in the end, one fitting did the trick. Then I just stuck threaded pvc fitting on from there.

God luck,
Sean

[SeanD]

Actually, here's a link to the one I bought:

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/search.shtml?searchQuery=1mkh9&op=search&Ntt=1mkh9&N=0&sst=subset

Sean

[spencer11]

thanks sean. i was wondering how you get it to sit right in the bung? would i have to cut a hole in the top so i can put a wrench or grap the other side of the bulkhead fitting? im gonna see if i can get one today after school. ill let you know how it work when i get one.

spencer

[bowtie]

spencer if you are going to put the drum on your atv maybe think about a yard cart and mount the drum in that, just build a saddle for it so it does not roll around. i have a 210 gallon pickup tank in the back of my polaris ranger it it works fine i just go slow. a couple days ago i came off my hill with 160 gallons in it!!

[moeh1]

Appears like they call the barrel threads/pipe threads fittings as "buttress adapters". Here is one example
http://www.bascousa.com/container-and-ibc-components-and-accessories/adapters-and-fittings.html

[SeanD]

Buttress adapters! Oh man, the power of words! When I was first trying to figure out how to turn my barrels into collection tanks I figured there had to be something like this, but all kinds of people I tried describing it to - even at Grainger, thought I had five heads. I just did a search for "buttress adapters" on the Grainger site and sure enough - there they are. That's awesome! Thanks for sharing that, moeh1.

Spencer, when I have to do this again, I'm going to use these adapters, not a bulkhead fitting. If you do go with the bulkhead fitting, you will have to cut a hole in the barrel to reach around to tighten the fitting from the inside. That was actually fine for my situation because I had to cut a hole anyway.

I laid my barrel on it's side and put a 2 gallon bucket on it. I traced the bottom of the bucket and cut a hole for the bucket to fit snugly into - no need for caulking. You can use a utility knife to tweak the opening. Then I drilled about a dozen 1/2" holes in the bottom of the bucket. I put a cone prefilter in there and hold it in place with spring clips. Now I can pour my collection buckets into the tank at full speed and filter the sap at the same time. The hole also comes in really handy for cleaning the barrel at the end of the season. The lid for the bucket makes the whole thing weather tight.

Sean

[spencer11]

im gonna get the butress adapters and use those. they should work great.

spencer

[West Mountain Maple]

You can get bungs with a 3/4" pipe thread tap hole in them that you can drill out and put a pvc fitting in, here is some --
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Barrel-Bungs-Plastic-or-Metal-Fine-or-Course-Thread-/200701876239?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ebac3980f#ht_500wt_1040

[spencer11]

i was just looking at the butress fittings and i dont know what kind my drums are. i mesured the bung opening in the drums i have and it is 120 mm. none of the drum fittings are 120 mm. when it says the fitting opening does it mean the inside of the fitting opening and not what it screws into? i need a fast response!! any help is welcome.

spencer

[bix]

Rob41, how far are you from Elmira, New York? I know a guy that sells them for $12 each. You can call me for more info @ 15705293350.