New drums are here

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timb

Newbie
Original poster
Jun 23, 2010
11
10
My steel drums just arrived today!  Unfortunately, I'm going to be out of town until next week, so don't expect much progress.  My plan is to put a hot plate or heating element in the larger 30 gallon one with the meat, and connect that with a dryer hose (like I've said before, I'm not a welder) to the smaller 10 gallon one where I'll have another heating element with wood chunks for smoke.  Hopefully, I can have enough separation between the two so I can cold smoke once the summer is over too.

A few questions I have:

I got them unlined but apparently they still have some anti-rust coating.  Do I need to do a burn to clean them out?

The lids have a rubber gasket.  Do I need to remove these or can they stand up to heat less than 250 degrees?

Any ideas on length of tube for hot/cold smoking?  Short, long, adjustable?

Will I need a fan to push smoke into the larger chamber or will natural convection be enough?

I'm sure more issues will come up as I start building.  I appreciate any and all help or advice the community is willing to dish out.

Thanks,

Tim

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I agree, those look almost to good to use. Maybe, just Maybe you should mail them to one of us so we can check them out for you and make sure they are totally safe.

Nice find and I look forward to seeing the build.
 
I got them over at www.newpig.com .

I had to get new ones because my girlfriend was scared of even the smallest chance of contamination from a recycled drum.  Instead of fighting it, I just bent over and shelled out the money for these.  Sometimes it's easier that way...

But at least I could get any size I want with any lid configuration.
 
Yeah, from what people say around here, it sounds like that food grade plastic liner can be a real pain to remove.  It's 10 bucks cheaper without it anyways.

I know a lot of folks get used drums locally wherever they are, but is there some preferred online vendor to order from?  For that matter, is there some collective forum on this site with recommendations for sourcing of materials in general?  Is the equipment forum the proper place to ask about vendors?

Thanks,

Tim
 
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