Ok, got my drum last night...any last minute pointers?

[rickw]

Buy a WSM, non issue

 

[stubborn]

Thanks for the link, Dave.

IF I read this right (after flunking college chem once and dropping it before I flunked it the second time

), the main products produced are carbon monoxide (not too good for breathing, but ingesting?), carbon dioxide (have a Coke, anyone?), and water. Some concern of formaldehyde, but nothing firm. Somebody please speak up if you read it differently. Chemistry isn't my thing.

The kicker for me is the last sentence: "however, sensory irritation is lower than that produced by wood". Don't we smoke with wood? I assume this refers to breathing the fumes. If so, it seems like the question is whether any particles in the fumes are deposited on the food, and if ingesting those particles is harmful. You got me...

I still lean towards the idea that we are sressing way too much over these liners. Some time in the last couple of weeks I have read a post (not sure which forum) about a company making UDSs out of food-grade barrels, with the liners intact. I'll see if I can find that quote and dig into the company some.

Thanks again for the link, and if anybody reads the info differently, please speak up. Like I said, chemistry is definitely not my strong point.

 

[hdsmoke]

All i know is that it almost looked to funky for me to want to cook in it! Harmful or not, that rough orange crap just didnt look like something i want to cook my food in with a fire going in there. I am sure i do more to damage my health on my own than smoking in a barrel will do though. So, i havent done anything else with the barrel> I was mad about the liner and it has been sitting there since then. I am going to fill that mother up with oak and burn it again and see what happens...can you melt the things? Cause its gonna get hot! The only barrels i can find with a lid are food grade right now...or else i would have went with non food-grade. I'll keep you all posted on the 2nd burn out. Nothing to loose except a little firewood.

 

[ddave]

There is a company down the road from me that does just that. I asked him about it and he said "Haven't had any problems yet." This seems to be the pat answer in these situations as if the problems from inhaling or ingesting harmful substances ALWAYS show up right away and there are never any cumulative long term effects. Just because someone is selling them doesn't mean that they are safe. Maybe they are. I don't know for sure and no one has convinced me yet.

The summary of the article is certainly not clear and I didn't feel like paying the $32 for the full text. Maybe I will to see if it offers any more clarification.

It amounts to "maybe or maybe not" to me.

My point really was if YOU think it's safe for you and your family and friends, then that's your choice. But if you are not absolutely sure, you shouldn't recomend it to someone else nor compare them to someone who, in your words, feels a need for the belt-and-suspenders with a crash helmet just to walk across the room because they are concerned about it.

Dave

 

[stubborn]

I s'pose the "belts-and-suspenders" comment could be construed as being a bit over the top. Nothing personal.

Call it pent-up disgust with our society's safety-conscious ways getting in the way of progress. If our forefathers had been so hung up on safety, maps of the world would still show "here there be monsters". Would Columbus have ever sailed on his missions? Would Franklin ever have flown his kite in a storm? Would Yeager ever have broken the sound barrier? Some risk is inherent in living and learning.

Do you by chance have a name for that company selling those UDSs with the lining?

 

[ddave]

Ponci's Welding in Orland CA. At least they were about a year ago.

Great fab shop by the way with very reasonable prices.

I got all my expanded metal cut from them for the UDS and also all the metal that I used for the baffle and tuning plates in my SnP.

With all of the varied backgrounds of the members here I would think that someone somewhere MUST know someone with a chemistry background that can give the definitive answer to the liner question. I've tried to find MSDS info for it but can only find it in it's liquid form. I haven't given up yet though.

If I ever find it, I'll be sure and post it.

Dave

 

[hdsmoke]

Ok, i lost ambition after the first burn out and wire wheel...it still had some lining left in it. Did another burn on Sunday afternoon...burnt 4 pallets in it, and it has been sitting there since. But i looked in it last night, and cn still see the lining. Unreal. Thats 7 full size oak pallets. How can this stuff hold up to it...now i dont know what to do. Hit it with the wire wheel again and call it good or renew my search for another barrel.

I think i can find an unlined drum...but i think it had acetone in it. Will a burn out be enough to use this or should i shy away from it too?

 

[countryboy19]

If it had acetone in it, its already evaporated and gone most likely. IMHO you would be perfectly fine using that drum. Just be very, very cautious when cutting into it. Acetone is extremely flammable; it is one of the most flammable alcohols there is so be sure all the vapors are evacuated from the barrel first.

 

[hdsmoke]

Ok, thanks. I went ahead and got another barrel. Its an open top, and the insides all rusty...so no danger cutting into it. I'll give it a good burn now and move on.

 

[ddave]

Burn it, wire wheel it down to bare metal and you're good to go.

Honestly, once you get it to bare metal, the hard part is over.

Dave

 

[hdsmoke]

Yeah, i never did see bare metal in the one with the dang liner...except where i almost blew up my angle grinder pushing it down into one spot...that stuff is unreal.

Should i wire wheel it before the burn to knock the rust off, after, or both? Or doesnt it matter?

I feel like i am greatly overthinking something this easy!

 

[donnylove]

I would burn it first. Then wire wheel to bare metal and immediately spray the inside with a coating of Pam or something similar to stop new rust from forming on the bare metal.

My first drum had the red liner in it, but it had also been sitting out in the elements for many years, so the liner came off. Still, it wasn't easy and I'd never go that route again!

Looking forward to pics of your build!

 

[buffalosmoke]

I was lucky...my liner came off pretty easy. I did two good n hot burns....then hit it with the power washer. What ever liner was left, I hit with an acetylene turbo torch.

I'd try burning your first. The wire wheel it...and hit with some oil as mentioned before. Used some peanut oil that I used to fry a turkey on mine....smelled really good on the seasoning burn!

Good luck....