Oil drum arch questions

[dadtkm]

The drum is about 24 inches wide , so my fire box will be 24 x 24. My question is how deep , bottom of pan to grate ? Question #2 slope for the ramp got any ideas ? been kicking this around for a while , need to get started soon for this season . Any help or ideas will be greatly appreciated .

Thanks ,
Tim

[Agent914]

What size metal oil drum do you have 55 gallon, 150 gallon or a 275 gallon oil tank or a different size? I use 55 gallon but I did not “block” the inside of barrel for a couple of reasons because I wanted a longer burn and was going to use and scrap wood the I found.

As far as the distance between the grate and the bottom of my pans it is about 14 inches is good but I can always put some bricks underneath the grate to trim off a couple of inches.

My most recent 55 barrel evaporator has a standard northern metal door and 2 large steaming trays perpendicular to the barrels axis. I was careful when I cut to keep the pans holes symmetrical and level, also I maintained a 3’ metal rib between the pans to minimize any exhaust leaks.

This year I added high temperature insulation the “outside” of the barrel which is held in place by flashing metal and sheet metal screws. The theory here is to keep as much heat inside of the barrel for as long as possible. I also added a ¼” thick steel plate as a sliding damper located about 2” under the last pan to direct the more into the bottom of the pans versus escaping up the pipe or out the sides of the barrel.

[dadtkm]

I have a 275 gal. fuel oil drum , thanks for the info

Tim

[psparr]

6314heres a picture of my oil tank arch. My fire box is about 24 inches deep and about 18 to the pan. I did extend mine to 6' though. Fired it for the first time Saturday and it boiled great. I'll post some other pictures too.

[psparr]

631563166317

Hope these help.