Welding on 55 Gal Drum

   / Welding on 55 Gal Drum #1  

dieselscout80

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2007
Messages
2,306
Location
South Carolina
Tractor
New Holland TC45DA
I want to weld some skids on my 55 gallon drum for diesel fuel. The skids would allow me to put a drain in the bottom so the drain, pipe and valve wouldn’t get damaged.

However, if I weld on the bottom rim will it leak afterwards?
 
   / Welding on 55 Gal Drum #2  
Will the drum be used upright or on it's side normally? If it's on it's side, I would bend some flat bar and plug weld it to the thin material and tack it pretty good to the rims. Put all your runner supports and tow points on the heavier material. The plug welds will keep you from blowing out the thinner stuff and seal any pinholes. Don't drill too big of plug holes. I just did something similar to this on the Bobcat muffler, it had a couple of holes and that seemed the best way to patch them.
 
   / Welding on 55 Gal Drum
  • Thread Starter
#3  
It will be vertical always unless there’s an oops and hopefully that won’t happen.
 
   / Welding on 55 Gal Drum
  • Thread Starter
#4  
Will the drum be used upright or on its side normally? If it's on its side, I would bend some flat bar and plug weld it to the thin material and tack it pretty good to the rims. Put all your runner supports and tow points on the heavier material. The plug welds will keep you from blowing out the thinner stuff and seal any pinholes. Don't drill too big of plug holes. I just did something similar to this on the Bobcat muffler, it had a couple of holes and that seemed the best way to patch them.
I hadn’t thought about plug welding.

Thanks
 
   / Welding on 55 Gal Drum #5  
I haven't welded on one. However, I'd probably choose to stay away from the rim if at all possible. Otherwise you could be chasing your tail trying to get it sealed.

It might be OK, or it might not be OK.

You could weld angle iron pieces to the side of the barrel, or chunks of bar steel to the bottom away from the rim.
 
   / Welding on 55 Gal Drum #6  
Anything flammable in the drum from before or is it new? You don't want to end up on the news from lighting an arc with flammable vapors there...
 

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