HOW TO MAKE A BURN BARREL--- THE SECRET TO BURNING CLEANER!

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I'm pushing 80 years old. I made burn barrels as a teenager. I used a5 pound seldgehammer and an old piece of steel to cut out the top. I just banged the hell out of it till it fell out. Then I used 12 guage with any old buckshot from 15 to 25 yards out on it till it looked right.

You don't need a drill to make those holes. When I make a burn barrel, I make a few rows of X cuts with the angle grinder, then knock in the middle with a ball peen hammer. The edges folded inward prevent burning stuff from escaping, pretty well. Cheers.

I take the 22 rifle out makes great vent holes

Whenever you get a barrel with unknown flammable fluids in it. Fill it with 10-20 gallons of water before start cutting on it. Spin it around and the vapors should be contained. I always suggest putting a few gallons in and washing it out before filling with more water to make inert and a little bit of any kind of oil on that step bit will make it last much longer

Great tips, we use burning barrels at the cottage in NW Ontario. We need a new one(every few years). One thought occurred to me while watching was if you can find a barrel with a removable top it could cover the bins when not in use. I find that rain compacts the residue and makes dumping difficult. Thought the paving stone idea was good. Set on 3 or 4 Bricks . Thanks!

The match test is always a fun Test! 🔥 🔥 🔥

Good video. I use a pick axe for the holes. You don't need to swing to hard and it makes 4 holes in the bottom and 6 on the sides in about 1 minute.

To eliminate smoke and fumes, make a 3 inch hole in the side just above the bottom,and use a shop vac hose blowing air in. Use a 3 foot pipe between the barrel and plastic hose to keep it from melting. Take a propane roofing torch and direct the flame horizontally above the barrel. this is like an after burner and with the jet of air blowing in the bottom, it will burn clean. B careful it gets hot and blows ash out. works great

Thanks for the video, I'm going to put my barrel up on bricks in the bare dirt like you did. BTW, I set my field on fire with a burn barrel (in February and I'm in Michigan). Scared the piss out of me how fast the flame front advanced. I called our town fire department and they were able to extinguish the fire in a few minutes, thankfully before it got close to the neighbor's houses.

I really apprec8ate your comments about 6000 as ft of garden the master addition and 170 chickens and mostly the board about your tools being disorganized in milk crates..i struggle with similar all the time.

Thanks bro, making mine today since I have so many downed branches from the ice storm. Can't wait.

Texas had an ice storm a couple weeks ago and I lost the top quarter of several trees as well as many branches that were taken down when the tops collapsed. I've spent days cutting usable wood for my nephew's fireplace, but have lots of smaller twigs, limbs and pine needles to burn. I spent a year prior to the ice storm debating between a wood chipper/shredder and a burn barrel, the wood chippers that could handle the trees and pine needles were way out of my budget. I also didn't want something that might need gas or electricity in case neither are available. I've just spent over an hour looking at various YT videos how to create the burn barrel, wasn't even sure about the drill bit needed to drill through steel. I came across your video which kind of went through a checklist of things to do, like where to burn, which I'd already decided on the safest place, plus the concrete pavers to set it up on a dirt area, and to have access to my hose. I grew up in N. Idaho and spent many years in WA state and you never leave fires unattended...where I live in TX, people create all kinds of fires and just walk away and leave them burning...which totally freaks me out. Anyway, your video was actually the most helpful and informative for a novice. Really appreciate it. Thanks so much.

that wire mesh that the plasters put on the wall in a home works real well for a mesh top to contain ashes and sparks. And you can get at least 2 our of one piece.

"Rain two straight days" when it wants to it can rain here a week or two straight hard out. Here in New Zealand these 55 gallon drums we call them drums not barrel are about $15 NZ each but they do burn up the rubbish as we say here just the same.- blessings South Island New Zealand.

Good video. I am looking on YouTube for burn barrel / incinerator ideas. I have gone through 3 barrels in our 30 years here at our Texas Homestead. I looked up burn barrels on google and there were many for a bunch of money. In the past we just pick up a couple of $5 barrels locally and punch holes in them.

i did a match test once when i was a kid. Right before grade 7. The result of that test was third degree burns all up my hand and forearm. I failed that test.

Whe you have to make a "smelltest" on unknown substances never hold your Head directly over the source and breathe. Hold your nose aside and use your hand to wave a little amount of the fumes towards you. This minimizes the risk when the substance is agressive. Also dont forget to wear goggles and chemical resistant garment and gloves. There are many substances that are clear and don't smell but are very dangerous to health and safety. Please check in advance what might have been in the container before.😁

I cut the top off my burn barrel with a air hammer with a chisel bit takes about 1 min to cut it off on the inside leaving the rolled edge intact. Then I cut a 4" hole on the side 1 inch up the bottom . Works great.

Says right on top 5w-40. Smell test is still good. Don't know who had previously. But who's to know what or when you're burning trash, looks like your closest neighbor is over the next mountain range lol. Best words to hear in a shop, "found it".