Where to buy food grade 55 gal steel drums?

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BigDave
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Re: Where to buy food grade 55 gal steel drums?

Postby BigDave » Thu Feb 02, 2012 2:52 pm

Hmmmm, greasy cooker from previous cook and "sanitary" don't belong in the same thought process. Get a regular steel drum & burn it out. 500,000 btu weed burner will take care of just about any chemical or critter known to man! Folks make pits out of oilfield pipe and/or propane tanks everyday.

Where to git em...check craigslist. Always some on there.
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Re: Where to buy food grade 55 gal steel drums?

Postby el patron » Tue Feb 07, 2012 3:19 pm

just thought id post a pic of where im at in the process..

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/426800_354877101197361_100000252222166_1414002_1154255664_n.jpg

still lacking some work, but i think its gonna turn out great ! cant wait for the first smoke !
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Re: Where to buy food grade 55 gal steel drums?

Postby Grillatarian » Tue Feb 07, 2012 9:54 pm

bigrascal wrote:I have bought many from dallas drum...of course not in the houston area.
$ 35.00 all day . brand new drums no toxins of any kind. just f.y.i :D


Thanks for the tip on new steel drums in the Dallas area. I contacted their customer service and their response was :
"We do sell new 55 gallon drums. Depending on what type you need the prices range from $41-$58. We have them in stock."

Still, used gnarly drums that you have to burn out go for around $20-25 at most places, so getting a new one that you don't have to do a ton of prep work on would be worth it. I have burnt/scoured/scrubbed out 6 drums....and it does get old. Some clean up easy, some not so easy.

Is a shiny new drum worth $50, yes indeedy! As opposed to wire wheels, safety glasses, ear plugs, dust masks, not to mention the time and sweat. Not only that, chances are that it will actually be round and easy to seal! :salut:
"I don't always smoke meat, but when I do...I use a drum. Stay hungry my friends!"
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Re: Where to buy food grade 55 gal steel drums?

Postby el patron » Wed Feb 08, 2012 11:13 am

i think i know the answer to this, but do i really need to buy 2 different thermometers?
one for the drum and another probe type for the meat?

how do yall operate with your drum?
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Re: Where to buy food grade 55 gal steel drums?

Postby ecto1 » Wed Feb 08, 2012 1:24 pm

el patron wrote:i think i know the answer to this, but do i really need to buy 2 different thermometers?
one for the drum and another probe type for the meat?

how do yall operate with your drum?



I run one on the drum and have a probe thermometer i use to check meat.
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Re: Where to buy food grade 55 gal steel drums?

Postby el patron » Wed Feb 08, 2012 2:43 pm

i figured..
one so you know when your smoker is up to temp, and another for checking the meat...MO MONEY !
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Re: Where to buy food grade 55 gal steel drums?

Postby Grillatarian » Wed Feb 08, 2012 10:49 pm

el patron wrote:i figured..
one so you know when your smoker is up to temp, and another for checking the meat...MO MONEY !


I've only had one three incher(stem) located about an inch below the cooking grate. Checked it against a TruTemp gauge that sat upright on the grate where the meat rides and it showed less than 10 degree difference from my main gauge reading and less than 5 degree from edge to center of grate. (I do use a homemade flavorizer/diffuser 'dish' that hangs about 5 inches below the grate)

After several runs on various meats I have a pretty good rule of thumb for cook time/temp on my UDS...so I seldom use a temp probe except for the end of the cook as a safety check.
For thick cuts like brisket or pork shoulder I cook it 1hr per lb. at 225.
For St.L Ribs I run 2hr-1hr-1hr at 250.
Beer Can Chicken - 1hr/lb at 250

My creative son uses a very long stem (9") temp gauge that goes almost the center of the drum, sits about 4" below it. When nearing the end of the cook he takes that same gauge and pulls it out of the side port and slips it right down through the drum's exhaust port and into the brisket. :D

Been cooking with the drum about 7 months now and honestly, I don't worry about temp like I used to. My smoker is more like an oven that I work to get into a controlled burn and then just cook by time/temp. For long cooks I may (if I'm at home) cruise out every 2-3 hours to get some whiffage and verify that the dogs haven't messed with it. :lol:
"I don't always smoke meat, but when I do...I use a drum. Stay hungry my friends!"
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Re: Where to buy food grade 55 gal steel drums?

Postby jbtx » Thu Feb 09, 2012 9:18 am

I bought 3 drums for $30 at a place called Hill Country Insulation in Liberty Hill, TX yesterday. $10 / ea. ain't bad. They are located on Highway 29 about a mile west of the junction. The barrels contained non flammable stuff used to make foam insulation so that makes them safer in my opinion cause you aint gotta worry about blowin' nothin' up when you cut it. They have drums with and without lids and plastic ones also.
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Re: Where to buy food grade 55 gal steel drums?

Postby el patron » Wed Feb 22, 2012 10:30 am

thought id post a few pics on where i was in the build..
yeah..slowly but surely !


http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/426800_354877101197361_100000252222166_1414002_1154255664_n.jpg

this charcoal basket i found at salvation army..i have no idea what it used to go with, but thought it would be perfect for the uds. its built in 3 seperate rings to make it taller or shorter..i put a couple screws in it to keep it all together as one peice. also drilled out some holes in the bottom. and it already had 2" feet on it. lucky find !!
https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment?ui=2&ik=50acd2e13b&view=att&th=135a588f589c433b&attid=0.1&disp=inline&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P85ZWza853Kfmq7GkSl_oLq&sadet=1329924211747&sads=qyXaGsuK6TE5Qbv8nfOH_aag0FY&sadssc=1

this handle i found at goodwill is actually a toilet paper rod..i figure if it gets too hot to handle, then ill either wrap it with leather or unscrew the handle and replace it with wood or maybe even one of my deer antlers..might be kind cool..
https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment?ui=2&ik=50acd2e13b&view=att&th=135a587ff5a95705&attid=0.1&disp=inline&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P85ZWza853Kfmq7GkSl_oLq&sadet=1329924243867&sads=vYer9vXsz_gTG-uS7cQQc50Wtxw
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Re: Where to buy food grade 55 gal steel drums?

Postby N224DW » Fri Aug 24, 2012 10:23 pm

I have been researching the UDS option for a new BBQ smoker and came across this thread........

Does anyone in the Houston area know where to get a 55 gal drum that is brand New and does Not have the epoxy lining in it? Trying to find one on the internet has been a bit of a pain with too many dead ends.....
--Ugly Drum Smoker w/ John Deere Theme--
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Re: Where to buy food grade 55 gal steel drums?

Postby N224DW » Mon Aug 27, 2012 1:23 pm

N224DW wrote:I have been researching the UDS option for a new BBQ smoker and came across this thread........

Does anyone in the Houston area know where to get a 55 gal drum that is brand New and does Not have the epoxy lining in it? Trying to find one on the internet has been a bit of a pain with too many dead ends.....


wooops, nevermind, found a location! :bounce:
--Ugly Drum Smoker w/ John Deere Theme--
--Brinkmann Smoke 'N Grill--


Smoke 'M Low, Smoke 'M Slow!

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