Question for those who know barrels

You want this one:

FOOD GRADE 55 gal STEEL SMOKER BARRELS
- open-head with removable Lid and Retaining Snap-lock Ring -- ... asking $35
- heavier guage steel barrel in Excellent Condition -- Clean Inside and Out -- NO SMELL
 
I agree with Bludawg but there is probably a liner that will need to be removed.
I had mine sand blasted by a friend. Wire wheel works with some elbow grease.
 
I don't think "food grade" gaurantees no liner. Sometimes the liner is what makes it "food grade".
Best bet is to contact the poster and ask for a "raw" barrel.
Ed
 
The fact that they have barrels called "smoker barrels' probably means they are unlined. To be sure, just call them and ask.

Hover your mouse over the second to last pic and you will see the one I am referring to.
 
Its really the heavier gauge steel that you want. Usually the DOT rated drums are a good choice. Sometimes there just is no escaping work unless you pay someone to remove the liner or buy it that way.
My opinion is to make sure it is of the heavier gauge. Liner or no liner is secondary.
 
J'ville Grill said:
It doesn't have to be FOOD GRADE. If it is FOOD GRADE then it will most likely have the liner.
Click to expand...

What ^^^ he said.

Food grade drums for UDS is the biggest myth out there right now.

You DO NOT want food grade drums to build an UDS. Anyone that suggests such is mistaken. (Sorry all, but this has to be straightened out)

What makes a standard steel drum "food grade" is the food safe lining in the drum.

For a UDS you want that liner removed as it is not designed to withstand regular heat of 200+.

If you remove the liner, you now have a standard steel (non food grade) drum.

So just start with a steel drum with no liner and you are way ahead of the game.
 
Enkidu said:
The fact that they have barrels called "smoker barrels' probably means they are unlined. To be sure, just call them and ask.

Hover your mouse over the second to last pic and you will see the one I am referring to.
Click to expand...

FYI, when I called Apex here in Los Angeles, they also have a refurbished drum that they refer to as a smoker barrel (and it is also $35) and they verified that it is unlined and has been sand-blasted. I am guessing that a simple call to the drum company in KC will verify whether or not their smoker barrel is similarly unlined.
 
The open top one they show open looks to me that it has a tan liner in it. Easier to get rid of than the red ones, but still a bit of a pia.
 
I took a magnifying glass to the pics of the smoker barrels and IMO they appear to be lined.
You will never know unless you see for yourself.

Around here a new or "reconditioned" unlined open 55 gallon drum with lid and lock band run $35-50.

Locally, Stock Pot Soups will usually give away food grade drums, and I've seen both open and closed ones that were lined and unlined, some contained Olive or Canola oils, or lined open drums that held tomato puree in bladders.
At our shop, bearing grease comes packed in a bladder in lined open drums, and a local paint distributor routinely gives away smooth side open unlined drums packed with paint pigments in bladders.
 
I kind of thought the tan coloring indicated a liner. Any KC Que'ers have a line on barrels. I was hoping to avoid an hour to an hour and a half drive to get one but so far that is what I am finding.
 
swinn said:
I kind of thought the tan coloring indicated a liner. Any KC Que'ers have a line on barrels. I was hoping to avoid an hour to an hour and a half drive to get one but so far that is what I am finding.
Click to expand...

I would be interested as well....
 
Also keep in mind that many places like this don't know what a liner is and can't give you the correct answer even if they are staring right at the drum in question. Been quite a few reports here about people being told that a drum was unlined only to find out when looking at it in person that is indeed lined.
 
Ya i called the guy today and he swore they were unlined and people make smokers out of them all the time. So i don't trust him already since i see the tan liner. How about a barrel that held bio degradable soap. Might have a longer in those.

Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2
 
I've been making UDS's for several years now...I've made over 20 of them and I've always used "food grade" barrels from a local bakery cause that way I know what has been in them and that they are lined.
When I get them, I cook the liner out, then have them sandblasted inside and out.

It may take a little more work, but I would rather start out with a "food grade" barrel with a liner than go with a "reconditioned raw" barrel and wonder what has been stored in that barrel previously...
That's my 2¢
 
Smoke & Beers said:
I've been making UDS's for several years now...I've made over 20 of them and I've always used "food grade" barrels from a local bakery cause that way I know what has been in them and that they are lined.
When I get them, I cook the liner out, then have them sandblasted inside and out.

It may take a little more work, but I would rather start out with a "food grade" barrel with a liner than go with a "reconditioned raw" barrel and wonder what has been stored in that barrel previously...
That's my 2¢
Click to expand...

Reconditioned??

Heck, we just grab the empty steel barrels, burn them out and cook with them.

With 5 UDS builds over the past several years, never had a problem.

Food grade (lined barrels) we give away.
Far too much work for lazy arses like us.

US law requires barrels that held hazardous chemicals to be disposed of at a licensed facility, and they are not permitted to be reused or resold.

So 90% (or more) of the bare steel drums you find, either had a bladder in them that held the product, or they held oil.

Our favorite to use is oil drums.
Oil drums (hydraulic, diesel, etc) are unlined plain steel drums, cause oil don't rust metal or corrode it.
 
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