# Burn barrel tech



## cast iron (Oct 4, 2004)

We got rid of our old burn barrel awhile ago as it was pretty well rusted out and falling apart. Never put much thought into its design such that it was. Yes, they are legal out here, no, I don't burn garbage in it.

I would like to make another burn barrel starting with a 55 gallon drum off local CL, as I miss the old burn barrel. Seems like we have an almost endless supply of small branches and other small type items (not garbage/plastic) that are a PIA to put on the large burn pile. Often these type of items sit on the burn pile waiting for it to get big enough to light off and by that time they are a rain soaked mess to deal with. 

In addition, we end up with a boatload of paper that needs to be destroyed for privacy protection. I have been running this stuff through the shredder and then trying to use it in the woodstoves, but it just makes a big mess dealing with all those little shards of paper. The garbage/recycle people in the nearest town will not accept shredded paper as I guess it jambs up their equipment. 

I tried just burning the full sheets of paper in the woodstoves but that just builds up the ash pile in the stove more quickly, and requires careful feeding of said paper to keep the fire burning properly. I'd like to bypass the shredder phase and burn this paper in the burn barrel. 

I'd like to set this new barrel up a little differently with regard to airflow, grating, drainage, and screening. One of the most effective barrel designs I've seen had a ~4" air flow hole near the bottom and the guy used a leaf blower to set the fire off, or give it some more life after adding a heavy load of fuel.

I am a little concerned about the top screening to keep embers from escaping as much as possible. I have been using a piece of chicken wire on the old barrel, but as you know that has pretty large openings. I'm concerned that burning this paper will likely result in 'fly-aways'. Not really an ember but more like little pieces of burning paper. This may not be a real concern as we have campfires out here with no screening and of course burn piles with no screening, but then again I don't dump half a stack of papers on the campfire either. It may be that the removable cover is only used during paper burning, as it would limit the length of branches to the internal height of the barrel.

I have some window screen around here and was thinking about attaching that to a piece of chicken wire to give it some support and structure, but I don't know if window screen can stand the heat? I also wonder about building a grate that would set up off the bottom of the barrel to allow for airflow under the fire and ash to fall through to the bottom. I could make it out of some expanded metal I have around here.

What kind of burn barrel do you have? Anything you particularly like or dislike about it? If you were designing a new barrel would you change anything about it?

Thanks


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## chickenslayer (Apr 20, 2010)

I just have an old 55 gal drum that I shot a bunch of holes in siting on bricks, works like a charm.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

I use a piece of hardware cloth to screen the top. It can be bent to fold over the edges of the barrel. Works fine. 3" square holes in the bottom in a couple places for draft and to let rainwater out. Can't see putting much more effort into a burn barrel than that, since they burn out with use. 

People in suburbia just don't understand how many dead branches fall in the country. The choices are a slash pile which can be a fire hazard, chipping, which wastes time and gas, or burning. All are better than filling a landfill with stuff that will eventually go back to CO2 in nature anyway (as would paper if we gave it a chance).


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## fancy1 (Dec 15, 2010)

We just used a pick axe to punch a few breather holes in ours. Our local hardware store sells the burn barrel "screens", heavier hardware cloth. We usually buy one every two or three barrels, as the screens seem to far outlast the barrels!
If it's burnable, it gets burned. That included papers, junk mail etc. Of course we do recycle newspapers but personal papers go to the barrel. It works for us and it gets lit about once a week. 
Now the burn pile is normally a once a year thing, with trimmings, branches etc.


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## uncle Will in In. (May 11, 2002)

To make a burn barrel that gets rid of every bit of the stuff and leaves a minimum of ash, just lay the barrel on its side on top of a couple cement blocks. It doesn't rain in it causing a pile of soggy trash in the bottom that never gets dry. If something doesn't get completely burned the first time, the next fire will get it all. I hang a piece of hardware cloth over the open end by making a hole and using a piece of wire to tie it at the top of the open end. Keeps ***** and cats out. I stack 3 bricks in the bottom of the open to keep the ashes inside the barrel.


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## beowoulf90 (Jan 13, 2004)

I took a 275 gal fuel oil tank and cut it in half vertically. Then put a bunch of holes in the bottom and some on the side for air.. The first half lasted about 5 years and I just started to use the 2nd half about a month ago.. They work fine, you just have to make sure that the fire can get air and that it drains any rain/water..


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

Best way I know is to cut nice holes near the bottom and nice holes near the top. You want plenty of air. Then just cover the whole thing with a piece of tin. The tin will keep the debris in and the heat so it all burns away to nothing. Plus you don't have to stand there watching it the whole time. It's already safe.


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

chickenslayer said:


> I just have an old 55 gal drum that I shot a bunch of holes in siting on bricks, works like a charm.


Ours is set up pretty much the same way.


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## ROCKIN R FARM (Mar 29, 2010)

I've never gotten to fancy with a burn barrel just punch some drain holes and some air holes every so often around it . I was wondering though could you use your shredded paper as mulch around garden plants or newly planted trees ?


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## Beeman (Dec 29, 2002)

Last burn barrel was a metal 55gal drum. I cut a hole at the bottom in the side to clean out the ashes. I knocked a few holes in the side above that hole and ran a couple of pieces of rebar thru to support a metal grate. I used an old commercial bread rack on top for a fire screen. You could leaf blow thru the bottom hole and also scoop out the ashes. Water ran right out the bottom so it didn't fill with water. Barrels are just too thin for long term though and eventually it rusted thru. I have an old tractor wheel we burn in now until i come up with something new.
We don't burn much brush, just make piles for the birds and rabbits in the woods.


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## AverageJo (Sep 24, 2010)

We use our shredded paper in our chickens' nest boxes! After that, it gets composted with the rest of the poo. We do have a burn barrel, but it's nothing technical at all, just holes in the drum. Hope you find the answer you're looking for.


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## Rod Torgeson (Oct 11, 2004)

Wayne.....you might want to read what the department of ecology for the state of Washington says about burn barrels since your location is western WA.

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/air/outdoor_woodsmoke/burn_barrel.htm

Hope this helps.

Rod<---in Appleton, WA


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

Rod Torgeson said:


> Wayne.....you might want to read what the department of ecology for the state of Washington says about burn barrels since your location is western WA.
> 
> http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/air/outdoor_woodsmoke/burn_barrel.htm
> 
> ...


Horse hockey.

Typical stuff from people who don't know the top end of a tree from the bottom.

It IS possible to keep dead branches around, but if you have rabid skunks and other pests infesting your piles of brush, that kinda seems more of a problem than irritating the eyes of a city bred bureaucrat.


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## foxtrapper (Dec 23, 2003)

You want to make a burn barrel work real well, put a blower on it.

Look at the images and info on this link, and roughly duplicate it yourself. I know where some of these are in use, and they work well.

http://www.elastec.com/portableincinerators/drugterminator/


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## Wolf mom (Mar 8, 2005)

my burn barrel is one of those 55 gal drum stoves with the legs off, upended & sitting on cinder blocks. Door is now the lid & the vent in the side works great. The back, where the pipe went, is now the bottom to remove ashes. 

My former one rusted out, partly by not being up on blocks. And I think being used one too many times for target practice. :grin:


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## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

Ours is the regular 55 gallon barrel, but I saw one once made with two clothes dryer drums welded one atop the other. Talk about holes for vents, and they are pretty thick material.


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## Molly Mckee (Jul 8, 2006)

Wayne02 said:


> We got rid of our old burn barrel awhile ago as it was pretty well rusted out and falling apart. Never put much thought into its design such that it was.__Yes, they are legal out here, no, I don't burn garbage in it.
> 
> I would like to make another burn barrel starting with a 55 gallon drum off local CL, as I miss the old burn barrel. Seems like we have an almost endless supply of small branches and other small type items (not garbage/plastic) that are a PIA to put on the large burn pile. Often these type of items sit on the burn pile waiting for it to get big enough to light off and by that time they are a rain soaked mess to deal with.
> 
> ...


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## taylorlambert (Jul 4, 2010)

One good thing about the washer drums is that they are porcelin/ceramic coated and wil llast a long time. I put a blower i nthe bottom of one such double drum burner like that for a customer and it works great.


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