This is my only burn barrel…
…2/3 of a barrel, anyway, and I scavenged it a few years ago from the county dump. Oil drum burn barrels don’t last forever and they’re like gold around here: I can’t believe how hard they are to find in a place where so many people burn trash. Sweartogod I could make a fortune on a truckload of old oil drums.
Be that as it may, this one still works but it’s past its halfway mark and I’ve been thinking of how to arrange an alternative. Landlady once had a plan for a permanent trash furnace made of concrete blocks and that might work; I know just how I’d build it but I don’t have the materials. What I do have is a bunch of scrap hardware cloth and some old stock fencing, so this afternoon I cobbled together this…
…and I have doubts as to its longevity. But trying and failing won’t cost anything of great value, and at least it’s lighter than an oil drum which will make dumping it easier.
Cool. We make tomato-growing cages out of fencing that way, without the hardware cloth. Work great.
Pick it up and move it. all that is left is the ash. We had then rust out at the middle ring most often. Course the fact we used them as targets did not help. Looks like a decent solution that will let the water out that is the death of those barrels.
I suspect that the burn cage you’ve made will last a little longer than you think it will Joel and for the sake of your wallet, I hope it does. You’re right about oil drums being as scarce as hen’s teeth. Nobody is throwing them away anymore. If you want one, you’ll have to pay through the nose.
A little over three years ago, I picked up a brand new 45-gallon barrel at Tractor Supply for a little less than thirty bucks. Now, I can’t find any that are less than a hundred bucks. Refurbished ones are going for a hundred and a quarter or more.
They are available for less than that, TK421a:
https://www.thecarycompany.com/containers/drums/reconditioned/steel?capacity=1449
@ matismf, good point. Now all I have to do is pay for shipping or drive a day and a half to pick one up at the nearest outlet. 🙂
It apparently depends on where you live. Around this area they can be had by the boatload for $20 apiece.
https://bend.craigslist.org/mat/d/55-gal-new-burn-barrels-and-cut-ones/7076642872.html
https://bend.craigslist.org/for/d/55-galllon-burn-barrels-drums-brand-new/7081378230.html
https://bend.craigslist.org/for/d/madras-burn-barrel/7083699743.html
And for a couple of bucks more you can get food grade.
https://bend.craigslist.org/grd/d/powell-butte-food-grade-steel-barrels/7088694648.html
Here is just one of the many listings in my area.
https://bend.craigslist.org/grd/d/grain-barrels-burn-barrels-for-goats-4h/7078044201.html