55 Gallon Barrels $10-20 in the GVRD

[gregzz4]

For those of you that haven't found this guy on craigslist...
He told me he gets them from a guy who makes chocolate, so they are food-grade. They just need a good rinse/wash.
He has more than one add, but this is the one I used. He contacted me through e-mail first thing in the morning.
He has a day job, so you have to live with after-work transactions.

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/pml/grd/2735199094.html

I have no interest in this guy's sales, just want you all to find what I had to search for (actually my Wife found it for me :wink: )

I bought a blue 55 Gallon plastic barrel today for $15. This one is approx 23" in diameter by 34" tall. Outside is very clean, just some handling dirt or whatever, but not dirty by any means. It probably got dirtier coming home in the back of my truck :biggrin:
There is a label that states it contained 'Super-improved Polydextrose'. I did some research on this and it is a sugar ( and sometimes protein ) additive in foods.
You can do your own research from here on that.
The locking lid was tied off with one of those little inspection tabs that you have to break away before you can pull the top off. This lets us know that nobody else has been inside it. Upon opening the lid I found maybe a cup of the fluid inside. I will report back if I have trouble cleaning it out.
The seller has 3 types for sale. His prices are based on demand/season so now is the better time to buy as they sell for more in the summer due to rainfall.
He has;
-the blue one I bought, with the lock-down lid, and has 2 bungs
-blue with solid top and 2 bungs
-white with solid top and 2 bungs

I chose the removable lid to wash it out well yet keep it sealed and inspect it whenever.
He is near Coquitlam Center and is nice to deal with, especially considering the money he's collecting per sale.
Good luck

[Delphinus]

Man that is a smokin' deal. Wish I was closer. It's on my to-do list to pick up a 55gal, I just about ordered one today but by the time you factor in the lid, a dolly and shipping, the total was up to near $200. OUCH!!!! So $15, dang, I'd get .. 2 or 3 !!!!

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Yup barrels are cheap around here.

[gregzz4]

OMG, you have to be kidding me. $200? I thought $78 was way too much. You can't find any near you?
I wish I could help you out with my truck :car:
To all the rest of you...
I will help you buy one of these, but it will cost you gas money for my guzzling truck.
Costs about $15 round-trip from my place in Burnaby to Richmond and back.

Now that I think about it, it probably cost me $20 in gas to pick up the barrel.
Anyway, still better than $78 from Russel Foods.
The offer is there if anyone doesn't have a large enough vehicle.
Pay my fuel (and maybe a couple of beers :drinking:)

[smokinreefer]

-the blue one I bought, with the lock-down lid, and has 2 bungs

is the lock down lid water tight?

the ad says the openings are threaded, so it would be nice to be able to plumb this inline with a sump. know what i mean?

[gregzz4]

Not knowing how you would 'inline' this with your sump...
The whole lid itself is locked down with the steel 'ring' and stands up to transport, so it's tight.
The lid itself has 2 'bungs'. One is 2" FPT and the other is "3/4 FPT.
The larger one is the industrial style that requires a 'wrench' or 2 long-handled screwdrivers locked together in a cross to open and close it.
The smaller one requires a slip-wrench to open and close.
The lid can be drilled and pumbed with bulkheads. I'd suggest these Uniseals as they are great for irregular surfaces and PVC just gets forced into them

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/products/pumps-and-plumbing/plumbing-sumps-drill-bits-overflows-uniseals/bulkhead-tank-adapters/uniseal-bulkhead-alternative

Hope that answers your question, but I'm here for awhile if you have more :mrgreen:

[gregzz4]

And the lid has a seal to the drum

[gregzz4]

I'm rushing and not completing my thoughts...
I bought the Uniseals from Bulk Reef to put into this style of drum.
I plan on having one down low for draining into a bucket or running a hose, and the other up hi in case I over-fill it with RO/DI.
That upper will go to a drain.

[dsaundry]

Yup, I picked up one in Aldergrove last night, food grade and great for ato systems as well.

[Myka]

Wtf is a bung? :lol:

These sound like better barrels than I have found. I get mine at Early's Garden Center where they have been used for food-grade oils (like canola or flax). If they have been sitting in the sun that oil is baked in there and can be quite a pain in the butt to remove! These barrels you're talking about are pre-drilled? That's awesome!!!! I wish Burnaby was closer! :lol:

I bought the Uniseals [...] and the other up hi in case I over-fill it with RO/DI. That upper will go to a drain.

Good idea! I overfill barrels, tubs, washing machine...etc, etc, etc all the time! I haven't had water on the floor for about 10 days now so I am WELL overdue. I started putting the waste line into a 5 gallon bucket that I set in the bathtub so I can't make a mess. Then I pack the 5 gallon pail to the washing machine. It's a pain in the butt, but I hate wasting water almost as much as I hate cleaning up wet floors.

[mike31154]

I got a few of these locally from a garden center, but still not at that good of a price. Anyhow, if you can get the bung plugs with the lid or barrel, check them out. In many cases you can drill out the bung plug and some of them are threaded so if drilled carefully, you'll have a nice threaded hole to put a valve into. Then, provided the bung plug also has the seal with it, you can lay the barrel on its side. This way you don't need to drill extra holes & add bulkheads, seals etc. You do lose some capacity with it on it's side and of course get or DIY some sort of stand for it, but that's the way I use one of them to collect RODI waste water.

[Delphinus]

OMG, you have to be kidding me. $200? I thought $78 was way too much. You can't find any near you?

Not that I've been able to find yet. :( I have been looking though! Rona has 50gal bins but they're like the blue boxes / black boxes the city uses for recycling and garbage pickup, they're square and to move them you have to tip them back onto their wheels. That doesn't work well if they're full of water and I'm not sure if they're watertight anyways with that axle down on the bottom.

In all fairness the one I came close to ordering was about $80 from uline.ca. It was the dolly at $60 that was the luxurious touch that maybe one could do without. The lid too is around $30.

http://www.uline.ca/Product/Detail/H-1047GR/Trash-Cans-&-Tilt-Trucks/55-Gallon-Gray-Rubbermaid-Round-Brute-Container?model=H-1047GR&RootChecked=yes

I've checked other online suppliers (usplastic.com & a few others) but the pricing is all pretty much inline with each other.

I wish I knew someone in the L.M. well enough to ask for the huge favour of just picking one of these up for me and holding it until I came through on my island camping trip but seeing as that's the summer that's kind of too big a favour to ask anyhow. :lol: Oh well, some more deals will pop up a bit closer sooner or later. Or I'll get the gumption to suck it up and pay full retail. One or the other. :lol:

cheers

[Myka]

Omg, I just Googled "bung"...apparently it IS a real word! :laugh: My barrels have a 2" bung in the lid which I found useless because I chucked the lids out! Technicall mine don't have lids because the barrels were solid and I had to use a jigsaw to cut the tops off.

[mike31154]

Wtf is a bung? :lol:

Good idea! I overfill barrels, tubs, washing machine...etc, etc, etc all the time! I haven't had water on the floor for about 10 days now so I am WELL overdue. I started putting the waste line into a 5 gallon bucket that I set in the bathtub so I can't make a mess. Then I pack the 5 gallon pail to the washing machine. It's a pain in the butt, but I hate wasting water almost as much as I hate cleaning up wet floors.

Bung is the hole(s) in the lid or barrel. Usually two in each lid. There's a screw in cap, or bung plug that threads into the threaded holes.

And yeah, mini floods tend to happen to me as well. I now only make RODI when I'm home and use the timer on my kitchen stove as a reminder to go downstairs & check how things are filling up. Started making some water this morning & almost forgot to turn on the timer, doh, so even that's not foolproof when you get absentminded.

Chuckle, looks like you figured the bung thing out before I got done posting...

[mike31154]

Not that I've been able to find yet. :( I have been looking though!

It was the dolly at $60 that was the luxurious touch that maybe one could do without. The lid too is around $30.

I've checked other online suppliers (usplastic.com & a few others) but the pricing is all pretty much inline with each other.

:lol: Oh well, some more deals will pop up a bit closer sooner or later. Or I'll get the gumption to suck it up and pay full retail. One or the other. :lol:

cheers

In a city the size of cowtown there's got to be a source for these things at a reasonable cost! I haven't tried here, but if you know anyone in the grocery business, like a superstore with bulk olives & such, they will often have food safe barrels, since much of the bulk stuff is delivered in them. DIY Beer & wine making businesses will often have these barrels as well. You just need a connection I guess, since selling these barrels is obviously becoming lucrative due to increased demand in the rainbarrel market. The guy in GVRD has obviously cornered a source and kudos to him for selling them at such a killer price.

If you're a bit handy you should be able to DIY a dolly with some casters from a hardware store and a bit of lumber.

[gregzz4]

http://www.princessauto.com/pal/product/2440006/Carts-%26-Dollies/Barrel-Dolly

I bought one of these last year for stacking our window-mount A/C units for storage through the winter. Just makes it easy to move them around.
The dolly was only $25, give or take.

The uniseal bulkheads are making me nervous. Thats a lot of water to hold back with a press-fit seal.
Think I'll do some research about mounting one down low.

[gregzz4]

I wish I knew someone in the L.M. well enough to ask for the huge favour of just picking one of these up for me and holding it until I came through on my island camping trip but seeing as that's the summer that's kind of too big a favour to ask anyhow.
cheers

No need...just contact Dan through craigslist. I'm sure he will still have some next summer as he told me his summer prices are higher due to demand.
Just go by his place on your way through as he's only about 15mins off the freeway on the west side of the Port Mann Bridge

BTW, if I had enough space, I'd store one for you :biggrin:

[Myka]

Thanks for the definition Mike! I really had no idea that "bung" was a word. Now I understand what Beavis & Butthead were talking about when they called each other "bungholes". ;)

[mike31154]

Also brings to mind the saying 'bunged up'. But it's probably best not to elaborate too much on that!! Not sure bung is actually an appropriate term for the plastic barrels since the caps are threaded & if I'm not mistaken a true bung is a friction fit such as in traditional wooden kegs or wine barrels, hammered in & forcibly removed. Egad, I think I'm opening a bungless can of worms here! Faintly recall some old joke about a constipated elephant & a poor little guy who decided to remove the 'bung'.