16 Unexpected Off-Grid Uses for 55-Gallon Drums - Ask a Prepper
The ice storm that took our power out for two days taught me a very hard lesson. I had shelves of gear in that garage, some of it barely used, and yet the first thing I dragged outside was a beat-up steel drum I’d bought years earlier for eleven dollars at a farm auction.
That barrel became our stove by the second evening, sitting in the shop with a length of pipe running out the window while my wife and I played cards in our coats. Meanwhile, a good portion of the equipment I’d spent real money on sat there doing absolutely nothing for us.
What worries me now is how close I came to buying the wrong barrels entirely. A drum that once held a chlorinated solvent keeps leaching that chemical into whatever touches it, so a bargain barrel can poison a garden bed or sicken a herd years after you congratulated yourself on the price.
So keep in mind that not all barrels are created equal.
Know Your Drums
Barrels fall into two camps …