Barrels for incineration should not be sent to rural farms or abandoned urban areas. This is a useful way to remove wood clippings, bushes, or other combustible debris. The problem with burning barrels is that the smoke and stench can bother neighbors. Build a keg like ours to ensure efficient, reliable and minimal combustion to combat ailments before they arise.
Our cremation barrel is designed to add plenty of fresh air to the fire by using the rising heat of the fire to draw air into the base. To do this, we made a hole in the bottom of the drum. Drilling holes in a shotgun barrel is nothing new, but we tried different sizes and counts and found the best one. It might sound like a lot, but 54 holes creates a raging hell that doesn't smoke much and leaves minimal ash.
If you plan to use a barrel for burning, it's important to understand local laws regarding open flames. The use of this barrel is considered an open fire because the fire, despite being in a metal barrel, does not carry the combustion gases up the chimney but instead releases the combustion gases directly into the air. If in doubt, contact your local fire department. And whenever you have an open fire, it's a good idea to have a fire extinguisher, hose, or bucket of water handy.
What do you need?* You can find batteries on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or at your local landfill. Try to find a drum with an open end, otherwise you'll have to cut off one end yourself.
Create your burnt barrel with the burnt barrelTo start a fire, tear off a piece of cardboard or take some newspaper and drop it on the bottom of the barrel. Add dry wood chips and then press the clean wood. If you are burning a sprig that is still green, you must start a hot fire before you start mixing the sprigs, otherwise the fire could ignite and produce smoke.
As the fire heats up, air is drawn in quickly, creating a large flame that consumes almost all of the available fuel.Bradley Ford
You can start a fire with a whistle torch scattered in the holes below. Once lit, the flame and rising heat quickly purge the air and the fire grows rapidly. The air flowing in from the bottom of the barrel acts like a jet, igniting the fire and creating a hot and powerful flame that burns any combustible material and leaves very little ash.
This burned barrel was about 1/3 full with scrap wood and all that was left was this little pile of ash.Bradley Ford
securityMake sure you don't use a flaming keg near flammable materials. When using on grass, note that the heat from the fire will quickly dry the grass, which can then catch fire and spread the fire quickly. Do not leave a fire unattended and keep a fire extinguisher, hose or bucket of water nearby.
Bradley Ford Experimental Editor Brad Ford has spent most of his life using tools to repair, assemble, or build objects.
