Total noob looking for advice on barrel cleaning and burning

[hugeepicfail]

This is my very first post, i have been doing some reading and have found a few good instructions but still looking for something. I have access to a lot of 55 gallon drums from my work but they are oil barrels ( i work in an auto shop) i got 5 for free and 3 of the 5 have already have one side open or top already removed. Some are a little old and have started to develop surface rust, i was curious if i could use a wire brush to remove the rust then wash the piss out of it with a mix of dish soap and stout de greaser a few times then burn it 2 or 3 times. Would this be sufficient? I've never built a smoker before and im very much excited about this i love bbq. Thanks for your time and advice in advance..

 

[timberjet]

Short answer is yes. The main thing is to drill your intake holes before you do the burn out for good air flow. 2 pallets is perfect for the burn out and pallet wood burns clean. It does not matter what was in the drum as you will be taking it down to bare metal with the burn anyway. I used a barrel that had candle wax in it when I built mine. 

 

[timberjet]

If you can find a drum with the removable lid you will be better off unless you already have a weber kettle lid laying around. The stock lid with the 2 inch and 1 inch bung holes is perfect. If not you can cut the lid off down the side a couple of inches and use a sleeve inside the drum for it to sit down on. By the way welcome. When you get a chance swing by roll call so we can give you a proper howdy do. If you have any more questions fire away.

 

[hugeepicfail]

I went and made one at roll call i got that email after i posted this lol my apologies. Yea i think i can snag one with both lids still on and it would have the bungs in it thanks.

 

[bmaddox]

As @timberjet  said, try to get one with a removable lid instead of a sealed drum. It will safe you some effort. I burned mine out twice using 3 pallets each time.