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Are barrel BBQ safe

PostPosted: 26 Feb 2016, 18:25
by TheMeatThief
Hi guys I've just brought a barrel to make into a BBQ. However just looked online and there are loads of scare stories about how the insides create caresagents when heated.

Can anyone help with this. Need it all completed pretty sharpish however after reading this I'm a bit worried now.

How would I clean out the barrel so it's safe to use as a BBQ


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Re: Are barrel BBQ safe

PostPosted: 26 Feb 2016, 18:25
by TheMeatThief
It was previously used to hold new oil.


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Re: Are barrel BBQ safe

PostPosted: 26 Feb 2016, 22:16
by Swindon_Ed
TheMeatThief wrote:How would I clean out the barrel so it's safe to use as a BBQ


You need to start a big fire and burn out the lining. This'll get rid of most of it and then you need a wire brush attachment for a drill bit and scrub the rest out. It's not a nice job, but it's what you gotta do with lined drums.

other than that, you could get it shot blasted, but it's not cheap, or you could just buy a brand new non-lined drum for £40 + shipping

Re: Are barrel BBQ safe

PostPosted: 27 Feb 2016, 07:33
by BraaiMeesterWannabe
Swindon_Ed wrote:
TheMeatThief wrote:How would I clean out the barrel so it's safe to use as a BBQ


You need to start a big fire and burn out the lining. This'll get rid of most of it and then you need a wire brush attachment for a drill bit and scrub the rest out. It's not a nice job, but it's what you gotta do with lined drums.

other than that, you could get it shot blasted, but it's not cheap, or you could just buy a brand new non-lined drum for £40 + shipping


What Ed said

Re: Are barrel BBQ safe

PostPosted: 28 Feb 2016, 22:06
by TheMeatThief
Thankyou for the advice. I decided against it for now and purchased a [img]http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160228/ce2b8936b2a7cdec835eeabb965eb072.jpg[/img]

What do you think of these.


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Re: Are barrel BBQ safe

PostPosted: 01 Mar 2016, 14:13
by BigG
See my article here, click this link

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1834

Re: Are barrel BBQ safe

PostPosted: 31 Mar 2016, 19:33
by stretchie_
The first one I just burnt out then attacked it with an angle grinder with a wire knott, the second one I cut the top off and got shot blasted for £10, if I do it again, the shot blast was much easier and got a better clean

Re: Are barrel BBQ safe

PostPosted: 05 May 2016, 14:58
by Out2lunch
Im building a UDS atm, I purchased a 'Unpainted & lacquered new Drum' from eBay, they say its totally untreated but im still going to give it a burn out though.

It was a little expensive at £48 delivered, but its the sense of knowing that anything I cook will be safe unless I fook it up :D

Re: Are barrel BBQ safe

PostPosted: 05 May 2016, 17:43
by essexsmoker
I always wash mine out first with soapy water.
I would say that you need to get rid of any oil first, even clean oil.

Clean oil itself is fairly harmless but burning it could create toxic chemicals. One of the main baddies of combusted oil is BaP , or benzo a pyrene, I believe this is a known carcinogen.
You often find that many businesses have a COSHH for clean engine oil which is generally an irritatant at most, but nothing for used / combusted engine oil which is highly noxious. Lol.

Well that's my reasoning anyway.

Metal is a crystline material and can absorb water based chemical into the metal itself but oil absorption should be minimal I would think. A good burn, another clean and buzz round should fix it.

At the end of the day we take in loads of nasty chemicals all the time. So long as its had a good clean I can't imagine it's much worse than living in London. Lol.

I'm sure that street vendors in Jamaica don't clean their drums that well and there isn't an epidemic of disease out there that I've heard of.

I could be wrong though. Lol.