There were sparks flying high this weekend
as my husband made a new burn barrel for us.
Our Helpful Neighbor Rick was right by his side,
There's not much these two are unable to do if given enough time and equipment.
Guy fun on a cold and rainy weekend.
We recycle about 90% of our trash, in fact, we dropped trash pickup.
I have tubs on mounted brackets in the garage for glass, plastic,
tin and aluminum cans.
We then drive it to the center where it is further broken down into
glass: clear, brown and green
plastics: clear, translucent or colored
newspaper, magazines, etc.
The only things I can't recycle are lids and paper (packaging/paper towels, etc)
We burn the paper; however, our barrel needed replacing.
He purchased 1/8 inch plate steel,
this is going to be more like a dumpster that can incinerate.
I need to keep the scavengers out so it must be sturdy and lockable.
Lizzy the Cat supervises the activities- given her extensive welding experience.
They cut with the chop saw as well as the metal cutting band saw.
Helpful Neighbor, Rick, grinds parts to smooth out the pieces.
The X4000 begins to take shape
Inside welds- yes Helpful Neighbor does fit inside!
Working on the clean out trap which also functions as a damper
to draw air through the bottom and out the top for better burning.
Micro Brew beer must provide some very essential
vitamins and minerals to enhance fabrication abilities.
Lock/Catch on the clean out trap/damper
Clean out trap opened.
They had me in mind when making the lid.
The steel is very heavy- about 30 lbs - so he made a slider with catches.
This will allow us to open the top for draw
plus easy for me to throw trash in as the week progresses.
The handle remains cool, even if the fire is raging.
He fashioned this out of a welding hammer.
The lid is almost ready.
The catch makes certain it can't fall off when sliding open.
They carry it out for test run.
You can see why I need a new barrel, the side is out of this one.
The fire is lit- three trash bags of trash that have accumulated begin to burn.
Smokin!
You can see the fire through the open clean out door.
It's very, very hot.
Not too bad on this cold, rainy night.
We still need to paint it and put some bracing on the top so it won't bend when hot.
Cost of materials
$130 for the steel
$70 misc items-
$200 TOTAL
(he made use of items we already had so this cost is an estimate)
Trash Pickup $200 every year as of 2012
Life of this barrel - a long time, perhaps decades!
Inspiration.
They celebrate their victory
(in moderation)
The happy hubby- his goal accomplished.
The Helpful Neighbor
(Making a funny face for the camera)
Oh how happy to be trash free now!
Linking to Homestead Revival Barn Hop
8 comments:
It looks like a lot of thought went into that burn barrel. Good job!
Wow, that's a fancy burn barrel! Ours looks like your old one haha. Cool photos with the sparks flying!
That is the most awesome burn barrel I have ever seen! It should last for decades!! :)
Thumbs UP on the burn barrel project!!
Have you thought of selling these for us country folks who burn trash?
We kicked it around a bit but it's so heavy that the shipping wouldn't be worth it. It would be nice to do that locally though.
That is so nice and I need one,trash price in here is very high and I get a $35.00 dollar fee every two months almost because I forget to pay on the fifth and I pay on the 25 ,so I need to know where can I get a burning barrel I only generate one trash bag every week my trash can doesn't get full at all
That was very good building the burn barrel very in genius . Don't have tools to make that however. Where do you get to buy a burning barrel OR ma e you can make and sell see how that works for you as well .
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