Poly drums
& barrels.
Drums move in multiples of four. Tell us closed-head or open-top and whether it needs to be food grade.
Reclaimed HDPE drums from 15 to 55 gallon, closed-head and open-top, food grade and industrial. A washed food-grade 55 gallon open-top runs $28–$45; closed-head industrial is $18–$32. They are the right answer when you need volume split into movable units, or when a forklift is not available — and the wrong answer, per gallon, when a tote would fit.
The same reclaim logic, smaller
A 55 gallon HDPE drum is about 20 lb of polymer built to survive a loaded drop test. It arrives at a plant once, gets emptied, and in most of the country goes into a compactor. We take them by the truckload off the same routes that bring us totes, grade them on the same pad, and wash the food-grade ones on the same line.
Per unit the carbon saving is smaller than a tote — roughly 14 lb of CO₂e against a new drum — but the volumes are enormous. Drums are the single largest line by unit count in our intake.
Formats we carry
| Format | Detail |
|---|---|
| 55 gal closed-head | 22.5" dia × 34.5" · 2" + 3/4" NPS bungs · 20 lb tare |
| 55 gal open-top | 23" dia × 34" · lever-lock ring · gasketed lid · 22 lb tare |
| 30 gal closed-head | 19" dia × 29" · 13 lb tare |
| 30 gal open-top | 19.5" dia × 28" · 14 lb tare |
| 15 gal open-top | 14.5" dia × 24" · 8 lb tare |
| Pallet quantity | 4 standing per 48 × 40 pallet |
| Truckload | ≈240 drums, double stacked |
Common second lives
- Rain barrels. Food-grade open-top, bulkhead spigot, screened inlet, overflow. The most requested build we do.
- Fermenters and brine vessels. Food grade only, and prior contents matter — ask for syrup or brine history, never detergent.
- Feed and grain bins. Open-top with a sealing lid keeps rodents out far better than a bag or a bin.
- Compost and worm bins. Industrial grade is fine; drill it and forget it.
- Dock floats and ballast. Closed-head, sealed, strapped. Check local rules on encapsulation.
- Spill and waste collection. Industrial, with a known compatible prior content.
Drums vs. totes, per gallon
At our bands a 275 gallon technical tote is roughly 40–53 cents per gallon of capacity. Drums are roughly 50–82 cents. Add that a tote moves in one forklift pick and five drums move in five lifts by hand, and the maths is clear whenever you have a forklift. See the tote vs. drum comparison for the handling-cost side, which is usually larger than the purchase difference.
Price bands
- 55 gal open-top, food
- $28 – $45
- 55 gal closed-head, food
- $24 – $40
- 55 gal, industrial
- $18 – $32
- 30 gal, any
- $16 – $28
- 15 gal, any
- $9 – $18
- Spigot kit, fitted
- $14
Minimums
No minimum on will-call. Four-drum multiples for LTL so they palletise cleanly and do not arrive crushed.
Freight mathsDrum questions
Closed-head or open-top — which do I want?
Closed-head (tight-head) drums have two small bungs in the top and are the right choice for liquids you pump or pour: they are stronger, they seal properly, and they are what UN ratings usually apply to. Open-top drums have a removable lid and a lever ring, and they are what you want for anything you need to reach into — solids, feed, compost, fermentation, or a rain barrel you will have to clean.
Are 55 gallon drums cheaper per gallon than totes?
No, and it is not close. A 275 gallon tote at $140 is about 51 cents a gallon of capacity. Five 55 gallon drums to hold the same volume cost roughly $125 and give you five lids to open, five things to move by hand, and no forklift pockets. Drums win only when you need the volume split, when a tote will not fit, or when one person has to move it without equipment.
Can I make a rain barrel from one of these?
Yes — a food-grade open-top 55 gallon drum is the classic build. Fit a brass spigot low on the side with a bulkhead fitting, cut an inlet in the lid and screen it, add an overflow near the top, and keep it out of direct sun or paint it. One barrel holds about a third of an inch of runoff from a 250 sq ft roof, which is less than people expect — gang two or three, or step up to a tote.
Do you deliver drums, or is it pickup only?
Both. Drums palletise four to a pallet standing up, and ship LTL economically in multiples of four. Below four units, will-call pickup at the yard is usually cheaper than the freight.
Every drum format, with dimensions and quantities
| Format | Dimensions | Tare | Gross, water | Per pallet | Price band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55 gal closed-head | 22.5 in dia × 34.5 in | 20 lb | ≈479 lb | 4 standing | $18 – $40 |
| 55 gal open-top | 23 in dia × 34 in | 22 lb | ≈481 lb | 4 standing | $24 – $45 |
| 35 gal closed-head | 20 in dia × 30 in | 15 lb | ≈307 lb | 4 standing | $17 – $30 |
| 30 gal closed-head | 19 in dia × 29 in | 13 lb | ≈263 lb | 6 standing | $16 – $28 |
| 30 gal open-top | 19.5 in dia × 28 in | 14 lb | ≈264 lb | 6 standing | $18 – $30 |
| 20 gal open-top | 16 in dia × 26 in | 10 lb | ≈177 lb | 8 standing | $12 – $22 |
| 15 gal open-top | 14.5 in dia × 24 in | 8 lb | ≈133 lb | 9 standing | $9 – $18 |
- Closed-head bungs
- 2 in NPS plus 3/4 in NPS, standard
- Open-top closure
- Lever-lock steel ring with gasketed lid
- Truckload, 55 gal
- ≈240 drums double stacked
- Minimum for LTL
- 4 drums — one pallet layer
- Will-call minimum
- None
- Food-grade premium
- ≈$6 – $14 per drum
- Spigot kit fitted
- $14
The choice that decides everything else
Closed-head, also called tight-head
Two small bungs in the top, no removable lid. Stronger, seals properly, and what UN ratings usually apply to. Correct for any liquid you pump or pour, for anything that must not be opened casually, and for anything shipping under regulation.
Wrong for anything you need to reach inside — you cannot clean a closed-head drum properly without a spray lance, and you cannot get solids out at all.
Open-top
Removable lid on a lever-lock ring. Correct for solids, feed, compost, fermentation, anything you will scoop from, and any rain barrel you will eventually have to clean out.
Wrong for transport of liquids under regulation, and weaker in a drop. The lid gasket is also a wear item; budget to replace it.
| Application | Format | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Liquid you pump or pour | 55 gal closed-head | Match to product |
| Rain barrel | 55 gal open-top | Food grade, for the garden-produce question |
| Fermenter or brine vessel | 55 or 30 gal open-top | Food grade, syrup or brine history only |
| Feed or grain storage | 30 or 55 gal open-top | Food grade — rodent-proof and sealable |
| Compost or worm bin | 55 gal open-top | Industrial; drill it and forget it |
| Spill or waste collection | 55 gal open-top | Industrial, with a known compatible prior content |
| Dock float or ballast | 55 gal closed-head, sealed | Industrial; check local encapsulation rules |
| Decanting from a tote | 30 or 55 gal, either | Match to product |
| Fuel storage | Neither | Not in poly — fire code before compatibility |
Drums against totes, including the cost nobody counts
| Vessel | Price | Capacity | Per gallon |
|---|---|---|---|
| 275 gal technical tote | $120 | 264 gal | $0.45 |
| 275 gal Grade A tote | $190 | 264 gal | $0.72 |
| 275 gal food grade tote | $280 | 264 gal | $1.06 |
| 55 gal industrial drum | $25 | 55 gal | $0.45 |
| 55 gal food-grade drum | $35 | 55 gal | $0.64 |
| 30 gal drum | $22 | 30 gal | $0.73 |
| 15 gal drum | $13 | 15 gal | $0.87 |
| New purpose-built poly tank | — | — | $2.10 – $3.40 |
At food grade, drums are actually cheaper per gallon than totes — the only place the purchase arithmetic flips, because a food-grade tote carries a documentation premium that a drum does not. If your whole requirement is food grade and under 300 gallons, drums may genuinely be the right purchase.
The handling cost
Receiving 275 gallons as one tote is a single forklift pick — forty seconds. As five drums it is five pick-and-place operations with a dolly or drum grab, realistically six to ten minutes, each with a manual-handling risk.
At weekly movement over a year that is roughly seven hours against half an hour. At a loaded labour rate of $38 an hour you have spent around $250 moving drums you did not need to buy, which exceeds the tote cost. Add ten openings to check and seal against two.
Where drums genuinely win
- No material-handling equipment. A filled tote is 2,330 lb and needs a forklift. A filled drum is 480 lb and needs a dolly and a reasonably fit person. No forklift means the tote is not an option at any price.
- The volume must be split. Five products, five customers, five sites or five dates. If the split is inherent to the job, buy it split.
- A pallet will not fit. Basements, upper floors without a goods lift, pickup beds, narrow doorways, boats.
- You want the option to move one unit single-handed at 2 a.m. without starting a forklift. That is worth something, and it is why plenty of operations keep drums alongside their totes.
The rain barrel, done properly
Our most-requested drum build, and the five components that separate one that works from one that breeds mosquitoes.
- Start with a food-grade open-top 55 gallon drum. Food grade because you will water edible plants with it, and open-top because you will need to get inside to clean it. $28 – $45.
- Fit a brass spigot low on the side with a bulkhead fitting. Not through the lid, and not a plastic spigot — brass through a proper bulkhead, two inches up from the base so sediment stays below the outlet. $14 fitted.
- Cut and screen the inlet. In the lid, with 1 mm mesh sealed rather than draped. Mosquitoes, not debris, are the reason the mesh has to be fine and fixed.
- Add a screened overflow near the top. It will overflow in the first good storm after it fills. Where that water goes is a decision you should make rather than discover, and the overflow must be screened too — an unscreened 2-inch overflow breeds thousands of mosquitoes in a week.
- Keep it out of the sun. Paint it, sleeve it or site it on a north wall. UV embrittles the HDPE and sunlight grows algae inside.
One 55 gallon barrel holds about a third of an inch of runoff from a 250 sq ft roof, which is considerably less than people expect. Yield is roof plan area × rainfall inches × 0.623 × 0.9 — so a 250 sq ft shed roof in a 1-inch storm gives about 140 gallons, which fills two and a half barrels. Gang three, or step up to a tote.
Detailed questions
Are your drums UN rated?
Some arrive with markings, mostly closed-head units, and the same caveat applies as to totes: the design marking is permanent and the periodic test compliance is not. For regulated transport you need a current test record, which a reclaimed drum will generally not have. For storage on your own site the marking is irrelevant.
Can you supply drums with the lid ring and gasket replaced?
Yes. New gasket is standard on food-grade open-tops; a new lever-lock ring is $9 and worth it on anything that will be opened frequently, because a tired ring will not seat the lid evenly and the drum will not seal.
What is the heaviest thing I should put in a 55 gallon drum?
By weight, a drum of water at 480 lb is already at the limit of what one person should be moving with a dolly. By density, poly drums handle specific gravity up to about 1.5 comfortably — a drum of corn syrup at SG 1.38 is 660 lb and genuinely needs equipment. Above that, use smaller drums rather than stronger ones.
Do drums stack?
Palletised and strapped, two pallets high when empty. Loose and unstrapped, no — a drum stack without a pallet and strapping is a hazard, and open-top lids are not designed to carry load. Filled drums should be single-tier on their pallet.
Can I cut a drum in half for a planter?
Yes, and have it cut on a heated-blade jig rather than with a saw. A sawn edge in HDPE is a stress raiser with a rough surface that crazes and cracks from the cut line, and it cuts the hands of whoever reaches into it. We cut drums at $38 including edge finishing.
How many drums make a worthwhile order?
Four for LTL, because that is one pallet layer and they arrive undamaged. Below four, will-call is almost always cheaper than the freight. Above about forty, ask about a partial truckload — the per-drum freight drops sharply.
Do you buy used drums?
Yes, at $3 to $9 each depending on grade, format and prior contents, with the same honesty requirement as totes: drained, lids on, prior contents declared. Below about forty drums the freight usually exceeds the value, so will-call or combining with a tote pickup is the practical route.
What drums should I avoid entirely?
Anything that held a pesticide or herbicide, which we also cannot take back. Anything unlabelled where you intend food or potable use. And steel drums for aqueous storage, which rust from the inside and are a different product from what we sell.
Need a pallet of four, or a truck of two hundred?
Both are normal. Quantity and format are all we need to price it.