Blue Rain Barrels $35

[briz]

My sister in law found these for me at Americas Food Basket in Hyde Park. Not sure if they carry them at the other AFB stores in the area.

$35 tempted me to brave the pre-Thanksgiving crowd, but there were plenty, so I imagine they will still be there this weekend. I think they are 55 Gallon sized but they were not labeled and I don't have anything else to compare it to.

They are food grade, but do have a strong plasticy smell and probably need to be washed out thoroughly.

 

[Hetzer]

Are those the ones that EBT users fill and send home, then the contents get sold at a profit? I had always thought that was an exaggeration.

 

[OmahaOutdoors]

Would need something for scale to get an idea of how big it is. If it is a 55 gallon one, that was definitely a good deal.

 

[Bullet Bill]

Damn I thought the title was referring to AR-15 barrels for black Friday!

 

[briz]

I measured the barrel and it is just about 3' tall and the diameter is 2'. I compared it to my 30 gallon trash barrel and it's significantly bigger, so I'm fairly confident it is 55 gallon. The smell is really strong though. Has anyone else purchased these kinds of barrels and did they have a strong plastic or chemical smell to them?

 

[edmxz2002]

Damn I thought the title was referring to AR-15 barrels for black Friday!

Me too

 

[Hetzer]

Me too

Me too.

I was thinking "blue rain" barrels instead of blue "rain barrels"

 

[garandman]

I measured the barrel and it is just about 3' tall and the diameter is 2'. I compared it to my 30 gallon trash barrel and it's significantly bigger, so I'm fairly confident it is 55 gallon. The smell is really strong though. Has anyone else purchased these kinds of barrels and did they have a strong plastic or chemical smell to them?

That's 9.4 cu ft. There are about 7.5 gallons / cu ft. So that's more than 55 gal - more like 60-70.

 

[Another_David]

Interesting. I've been looking for one for a rain barrel.

Based on the dimensions and the flared foot it looks like 57 gal, like these http://www.thecarycompany.com/containers/drums.html#30L1

I suspect they're "reconditioned" meaning they had something in them before and then were cleaned (or not) and resold to AFB. It might be the cleaner or the previous contents that your smelling. Either way, I wouldn't store drinking water or food in them without know what was in them before.

This company claims to take food barrels and steam clean them then resell. Unfortunately they're in KY and the shipping would probably be prohibitively expensive, even for a group buy.

http://www.lexingtoncontainercompany.com/Poly-Drums.html

 

[briz]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm going to take some time to clean it thoroughly and see if the smell goes away. In the meantime, I'm going to hold off on considering it for a potential drinking water source.

 

[Lip]

My sister in law found these for me at Americas Food Basket in Hyde Park. Not sure if they carry them at the other AFB stores in the area.

$35 tempted me to brave the pre-Thanksgiving crowd, but there were plenty, so I imagine they will still be there this weekend. I think they are 55 Gallon sized but they were not labeled and I don't have anything else to compare it to.

They are food grade, but do have a strong plasticy smell and probably need to be washed out thoroughly.
View attachment 151830

Pm cobalt blue steel he can get a lot for free.

 

[CobaltBlueSteel]

My sister in law found these for me at Americas Food Basket in Hyde Park. Not sure if they carry them at the other AFB stores in the area.

$35 tempted me to brave the pre-Thanksgiving crowd, but there were plenty, so I imagine they will still be there this weekend. I think they are 55 Gallon sized but they were not labeled and I don't have anything else to compare it to.

They are food grade, but do have a strong plasticy smell and probably need to be washed out thoroughly.

Just be sure it has a recycle #2 symbol for HDPE on the barrel and lid (if you're storing potable water in there) and the gasket inside the lid is intact and not dried out and falling apart (if you want it air tight). I'd be concerned about the smell, not sure I'd store water in there considering not knowing the chain of custody.

Pm cobalt blue steel he can get a lot for free.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhh...

 

[Lip]

Just be sure it has a recycle #2 symbol for HDPE on the barrel and lid (if you're storing potable water in there) and the gasket inside the lid is intact and not dried out and falling apart (if you want it air tight). I'd be concerned about the smell, not sure I'd store water in there considering not knowing the chain of custody.




Shhhhhhhhhhhhh...

Lols happy turkey day! Tripping on tryptophan.

 

[Mountain]

Me too.

I was thinking "blue rain" barrels instead of blue "rain barrels"

I'll take a Bartlein barrel for $35, lol.

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

Interesting. I've been looking for one for a rain barrel.

Based on the dimensions and the flared foot it looks like 57 gal, like these http://www.thecarycompany.com/containers/drums.html#30L1

I suspect they're "reconditioned" meaning they had something in them before and then were cleaned (or not) and resold to AFB. It might be the cleaner or the previous contents that your smelling. Either way, I wouldn't store drinking water or food in them without know what was in them before.

This company claims to take food barrels and steam clean them then resell. Unfortunately they're in KY and the shipping would probably be prohibitively expensive, even for a group buy.

http://www.lexingtoncontainercompany.com/Poly-Drums.html

These guys^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ are 30 mins drive from me and I need to get my butt up there with a trailer.
I'll be plumbing 10-15 of them together catching water from the garden shed roof to water new plants until they're established, then usually nature takes over for the season.