Uses for plastic 55 gal barrels

Compost bin

I cut the top of one off and use it to brine hams in.

Primary fermemter for wine. LOTS of wine.....

Alright Sally!! Send me a bottle - I don't have enough grapes yet....

Lol. Maybe they are Disposable burn barrells. LOL.

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I'll bet that "plastic" burn barrell is a trick to watch

Try asking at car washes. They often get their soaps and waxes in plastic barrels

During an 11-day power outage a couple of years ago, I ended up using one for a bath tub - the top 1/3 had been cut-off years before and was used to feed wet hay in to a heavey horse and the bottom 2/3 used as a water barrel. That bottom piece came in downright handy as a bathtub when things got desperate.

A neighbor of ours has them set out all over her pasture next to young trees that she's planted. When it's dry, she can fill up the barrels and use drip irrigation to keep the trees going.

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Make cattle mineral feeders out of them. Cut a hole in the side on one end that's big enough to let a cow get part of her head in to eat minerals that's far enough above the end to keep the mineral from falling out. Cut a hole big enough for a rope to go thru on the opposite end on the other side from the 1st hole big enough to get a rope thru and hang it in a tree.

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back home in hawaii Ive seen them used for housing Cocks. cut a triangle 1 foot high by 1 foot wide at the bottom

If you can find the black ones, fill them with used oil of any description, and it will make a fine solar collector.

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So what do you do with the collected solar?

I make beehive stands with 'em. Cut the plastic drum in halves, evenly. Make a cross out of two pieces of 2X4's, about 23 " long, preferably treated, insert, and nail, that into the open end to keep it from sqeezing close. I place, and fasten, a piece of aluminum plate over the closed end and place the hive body on that. Or if no metal available, place two strips of treated 1 X 2 or so, fasten 'em to the barrel evenly apart and place the hive body on those.

I place my plastic drum stands on pieces of steel or aluminum plate lying on the ground and that makes for a clean and grass free area around the hive bodies. Just run the lawn mower over the edge of the metal. Mice can't climb up the plastic and coons will have difficulty attacking the hives, as there is no material for toe/claw gripping to climb.

I saw a TV doc some time back, of a rafting trip by some young guys on some slow moving river in the wilds of Alaska. The trip started far inland and wound it's way eventually to the sea. The raft was floated using 55 gal plastic drums and they seemed to have held up well.
As an aside,the story was not about the durability or ingenious uses for plastic drums however, but was more a human interest adventure doc. Towards the end of the trip the guys were barely speaking to each other due to " cabin fever ". Kinda stretches the limits of tolerance being locked together in a small space for a long stretch.

I wonder if females would have fared better at gettin' along?

The " plastic " material used for plastic drums comes from petroleum, as in crude oil. Melt them down and pour the goo into your gas tank .

I had in mind to use copper tubing to make a heat exchanger to run water through to preheat your well water coming into your water heater. There are many other applications using the same principle.

That sounds like a good idea. I might have to give that a try.

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Why not just pipe in pipe out and use water instead of oil?

I cut the tops out and bury them on end for stock wateres
I build a rebar grill to keep thing from falling in and dangle a piece of rope for the tiny stuff to get out with. I leave about 6 inch above the ground for a rim. Being buryed keeps them cool in summer warm in winter If you can surrond them with foam inulation on the sides it has even more of an effect!In winter when they start to freeze Ill add a floating foam lid with a drinking hole.

Animal feeders
Animal waterers
Animal shelters
Concrete forms
Storage

They cut really well with a sawsal or skillsaw.

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SugarMtnFarm.com -- Pastured Pigs, Poultry, Sheep, Dogs and Kids

I used to make and sell feeders kinda like these but cut out of food grade barrels. One barrel makes two feeders. Sorry, can't find my photos of the actual product.

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The oil holds the heat longer and won't freeze in the winter. Also, you don't have to worry so much about what was originally in the barrel if the water isn't actually in contact with the barrel.

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Only the paranoid survive.

I carry a gun because a cop is too heavy.

Dispatches From The Conservative Underground

What do you use to cut the plastic drums?

I've used:
Hand saw
Sawsal
Skillsaw
strong knife

Skillsaw with someone else turning the barrel is the fastest.

Work safely.

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SugarMtnFarm.com -- Pastured Pigs, Poultry, Sheep, Dogs and Kids