unusual uses for 55 gal drums (plastic or metal)

David, we have no idea where you are. Trying your local craigslist or kijiji might be more productive.

But if you scrounge up a great find, we want to hear about it!

I made a composter out of a white, food grade drum. First, I cut out a generous sized loading gate and attached hinges and a locking mechanism.  Then, I fastened a thin metal plate top and bottom, centered. I drilled a 2" hole top and bottom and ran a 2" metal pipe through so I had about 2' of pipe out each end. I used cinder blocks to get it up off the ground. I also ran a couple of pieces of all thread parallel to the pipe to help break up chunks. Lastly, I drilled 3/8ths inch holes all over to allow for air.
I can stuff that thing full of of fresh cut grass and give it a good spin every day. I'll have some good compost in about 2 weeks. Usually I keep it stuffed for a month or so before letting it go to for compost. The old clippings helps the new clippings convert faster.
It's been sitting in the sun for about a decade. Still works like a champ!

I got a bunch of white barrels pretty cheap.  I cut the top and bottoms out of them and used them as tree protectors.  With a hot wire wrapped around them they kept the goats well at bay.  The wire was tied to my main fence to keep them from blowing over.  Other colors may get too hot.

I have since removed most of them, mostly by cutting them down the side.  Now I use PVC conduit posts with hot wire.  A bit more expensive but more aesthetically pleasing.

Don't know if it  was already mentioned, I am looking for some metal barrels to make Savonius wind turbines for low level power generation. My property has a constant wind, sometimes high, but never still. I have felt it still maybe 2 or 3 times. My base wind is about 5 mph, and goes up from there.

They are neat low tech. They have have relatively low efficiency but high reliability. (Oooh, looking for a link I found something  I hadn't heard:  Heat your House with a Mechanical Windmill I'm gonna have to read that one!)

Some strategic cutting and a couple of old oven shelves and you can make a pretty nifty lidded BBQ from a metal drum.

I was thinking along the lines of the kiddies' slide - cut the top and bottom off and link several barrels together and you have a rubbish/compost/laundry shute.

Casey Halone wrote:I have thought of a few but would love to hear more.
cutting the top and bottom off and one cut down the side, using as roofing for a green house, as it would allow a good deal of light but still provide shade. at least the white ones seem to.
a playslide for the kiddos.

Hmm roofing. I had not thought of that one, but I looked at the typical circumference of those big plastic 55 gallon barrel, and it's just over 6ft. (72.25 to 73.8 inches ( 183.5 to 187.5 cm). Assuming you could warm them and lay them flat, you could create a roof for a pretty big kennel. (It's almost impossible to lay them completely flat because they get a bit smaller and constricted at the top and the bottom, but  removing the top an the bottom would still leave you with a nice flat surface to work with.
If you cut the top and the bottom generously, you would have 2 very sturdy drinking pools for ducks, or if covered, nice dust baths for your chickens (add sand, ashes, DE and you ae good to go!)
2 years ago, I found 2 bright yellow ones that I cut lengthwise to make 4 shallow planters for herbs on my dark red deck. It looks pretty, besides being cool and not costing me anything (Try to find a planter that big that won't cost an arm and a leg!)

Abe Connally wrote:cheap beehive: http://www.velacreations.com/bees.html

I was interested in that one but they must have removed it.
I would think that the shape of the barrel and the lack of ventilation might be a problem as condensation could be deadly for bees.
How would you clean it?

Here's an example of a Savonious wind turbine using 55 gallon drums.

Mike Barkley wrote:

That looks incredible, Mike. It's really impressive. the contraption looks great! I don't know anything about wind turbines, but getting that kind of speed at 20-22 MPH should generate a lot of electricity. Later in the video, these are decoupled and they do not go as fast. Would it be possible to add the power of all of them?

I came across this idea of Matt's last week for mobile wood storage racks:

wood storage drums

source

Yes, they could easily be added together.

I have an empty food-grade plastic drum that I plan to turn into a bass drum for protest marches, etc. I think I need to cut a 16" ring, smooth the edges with a roundover bit in the router, then stretch a skin of some kind over both ends. I've heard that canvas, soaked in boiled linseed oil and thinner, then stretched while still wet, will make a serviceable (and cheap) drum skin. Some kind of steel ring with lugs would be best for stretching, but I'm not sure of the specifics. Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

I betcha nobody has done this:

Nancy Troutman wrote:Slice them in half long ways.   We use them as canoes when we were kids.  It is amazing we survived our childhood in hindsight.

Look what popped up in my similar threads today: https://permies.com/t/106418/permaculture-upcycling/Plastic-barrel-canoe - pretty awesome!

Feed containers.

These (I suspect) are old wooden whisky barrels, but similar idea could work with other materials. I thought it was a kiddies play train (another possibility) but these are being used as a planter at the train station at Kyle of Localshe.

David Jenkins wrote:I need some 55 gall barrels where can I get some 4062400890

Anyone near Wichita, KS - there is a place on south Hydraulic near 63rd that sells food grade barrels.  They have 55 gal and 30 gal, both plastic and metal.  Couldn't tell you the prices.

If you put about a dozen 55 gal drums on a heavy metal platform and winch it up 20ft, you will have enough weight to make a gravity battery useful.  The engineering involved in that statement will cost far more than equivalent chemical batteries though.

Two ideas I don't know whether I've seen elsewhere or earlier in this thread:
1. for black soldier flies...choose a barrel with a removable lid or rig another loose lid like a scrap of metal, and have a hole in one spot on the bottom along the edge.  Tip the barrel at just the right angle, something like 45 degrees, so that the hole is at the lowest point, add your feed and get them going on it. The hole drains the liquid, and the angle allows the mature grubs to crawl up the bottom of the slope and drop out into a collecting  bucket.  Totally simple compared to so many designs out there!
2. make barrel silage!  Take a clean barrel without lid and pack it full of grass clippings from mowing. Try to have a mowing project so that your barrel will be trampled tightly full in two days or less.  When it's chock full then tie and duct tape a couple layers of heavy plastic over the end and leave it in the shade.  To feed it, open it up and the very top layer will be moldy, compost that, and everything underneath will be aromatically fermented!  Picky animals sometimes won't eat it till it's dried out in the sun and wind first. Grass is meat once removed!  I've even read of plans to do this with things like dry grain straw, chopped up, with urine added to it as it's packed....the nitrogen enables the stuff to ferment down and become more nutritious!

 

I cut them into 3 pieces, so I get 2 tubs and a ring. Put drainage holes around the bottom of the tubs, but about 2cm up the side, rather than on the bottom. This allows for a small water reservoir.
To begin with I use the tubs as compost bins, household scraps and donkey manure layered up. I use a piece of plywood wood and a brick for a lid. Once it's full, leave it for a couple of months then add some top soil and plant anything that isn't a root vegetable in it. Once that is done you can either tip out the compost or use it another time. I put the rings on the garden and fill them with rotted manure, the first year grow potatoes or yacon, you can the follow with another crop or simply lift the ring off and spread the compost around. I find the half barrels are too deep and too heavy. Though I do have a couple of halves for water troughs.