101 uses for an old oil drum

Shirley · Post: # 26672Post **Shirley** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 10:51 am

We've just collected 6 of these via Freecycle....

Intention is to create water butts and a barbecue... so...

that's two uses for an old oil drum... can you think of any more??

1. Waterbutt
2. Barbecue

Shirley · Post: # 26673Post **Shirley** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 10:52 am

3. make a steel drum - anyone done this???

Cheezy · Post: # 26681Post **Cheezy** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 11:50 am

4. We bought a piglet that had been made out of old oil drums!

Shirley · Post: # 26688Post **Shirley** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 12:06 pm

a piglet out of old oil drums... do you have a photo cheezy???

Cheezy · Post: # 26927Post **Cheezy** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 9:46 pm

Here goes I'm a piccy virgin on this site so fingers crossed. I've followed Muddy's excellent guide....

Here's the cute little blighter

and again

He's moved from the shade of the herbs for his photo.

He suffers a liitle from rust in the places where the varnish thats on him is n't covering, nothing that a bit of WD40 doesn't cure, and there is nothing like a well greased pig

He's made in Africa from old drums, a bloody good bit of welding required as well.

Edit
Thanks to Muddy's sticky it worked first time, I however when I was chooseing the size didn't realise that it would be this large I apologise , I will choose a smaller size next time!.

Shirley · Post: # 26932Post **Shirley** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 10:05 pm

aww cheezy he's gorgeous... lovely pics too!!! Thanks for sharing

Wombat · Post: # 27209Post **Wombat** » Fri Jul 21, 2006 2:13 pm

Shirlz2005 wrote:3. make a steel drum - anyone done this???

Never done it myself Shirl, but i saw it done on a Documentary on TV and it required a huge amount of skill!

5. composter
6. potato grower
7. Smoker
8. land leveller
9. Savonius rotor
10. steam kettle for steam bending set up
11. place to hide corpses (ala Snowtown South Aus!)

Nev

Shirley · Post: # 27228Post **Shirley** » Fri Jul 21, 2006 8:32 pm

lol at number 11 !!!

and.. what's a savonius rotor????

12: incinerator

Wombat · Post: # 27261Post **Wombat** » Sat Jul 22, 2006 3:43 am

G'Day Shirlz,

If you gut a drum in half lengthways and then mount the halves on a spindle vertically and use the spindle to drive something such as a generator - it is a savonius rotor or vertical shaft wind mill.

Invented yonks ago by a Danish(?) engineer and big in the '70s for alterative power. I've seen a number installed and doing things but never built one myself. Their advantage (apart from cheapness and easy availability is to be able to catch the wind from any direction.

Muddy or Martin could n doubt provide more detail......

Nev

Shirley · Post: # 27271Post **Shirley** » Sat Jul 22, 2006 7:00 am

Cheers for that Nev...

Going to look into that now - sounds like something that would be quite useful here. Would love a real wind turbine but funds are not forthcoming for that at the moment.

Wombat · Post: # 27304Post **Wombat** » Sat Jul 22, 2006 11:43 am

No worries shirl, they are suited to low speed high torque applications like pumps or compressors but with gearing it could run a generator, thinking about it!

Nev

Muddypause · Sat Jul 22, 2006 1:02 pm

Put 'Savonius' into Google or Wikipedia and you'll find loads of references and images. The most common uses for a version of the Savonius rotor seem to be as an eye-catching advertising sign outside a garage or a tyre bay - a vertical, spinning sign with 'Tyres' on one side and 'Cheap' on the other in flourescent lettering. Or those little spinning vents that you see on top of some vans are Savonius rotors.

A variation on a theme is the Darrieus rotor, which looks very skinney by comparison, but uses an aerofoil shape to its fins (like the cross section of an aircraft wing), and can be much more efficient and much lighter.

13. For keeping oil in.

bazil · Post: # 29412Post **bazil** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 10:19 pm

14. turn it into a large voodoo doll of a petroleum company and stick things into it with glee