Food grade barrels with smell safe to use for holding tank?

fragileassassin · Jul 20, 2018

I have 2 food grade 55 gallon drums I got cheap off a local guy. He used them as rain barrels for many years but they still smell like the soda syrup that he said was originally stored in them. I cant remember exactly how long he used them.. 10+ years at least.
Do I need to be concerned about stuff leeching out into my water or should I try to clean them more? I was going to put them out back to collect the RO waste water but plans changed.
I have a large holding tank already, but I was hoping to use one of these as a top off barrel for my main res. The system holds a total of ~120 gallons of water total when running.

JSB99 · Jul 21, 2018

fragileassassin said:
I have 2 food grade 55 gallon drums I got cheap off a local guy. He used them as rain barrels for many years but they still smell like the soda syrup that he said was originally stored in them. I cant remember exactly how long he used them.. 10+ years at least.
Do I need to be concerned about stuff leeching out into my water or should I try to clean them more? I was going to put them out back to collect the RO waste water but plans changed.
I have a large holding tank already, but I was hoping to use one of these as a top off barrel for my main res. The system holds a total of ~120 gallons of water total when running.

Since it's really important to keep things sterile, I think this might cause some problems. What I would do is get a couple gallons of bleach, pour a gallon in each barrel, top off with water, and let them sit for at least a day. After draining, rinsing, and drying, spray the insides of the barrels with bleach mix (10% bleach/90% water) and let air dry.

That should remove the odors.

redi jedi · Jul 21, 2018

After 10 years and they still smell your probably not gonna get rid of it...I wouldnt worry.

Dmannn · Jul 21, 2018

I have used repurposed food grade barrels before. Some had a little syrup in them, it was clear and smelled fruity. Rinsed the 250's out a few times. It didn't effect anything.

Roger A. Shrubber · Jul 21, 2018

i doubt there's a lot of anything left to leech out after ten years of use. i would bleach them out good just to be safe, but i wouldn't worry, otherwise.

Stink Bug · Jul 21, 2018

Give them a good cleaning and use them with no worries.

Roger A. Shrubber · Jul 21, 2018

Stink Bug said:
Give them a good cleaning and use them with no worries.

you just wanted to see if they smelled like Tranya

fragileassassin · Jul 21, 2018

good shit, thanks everyone!!
I sanitized them with RO water and a fairly strong h202 solution, but Ill grab a bottle of bleach later today too and give it a little more effort.

Michael Huntherz · Jul 21, 2018

Roger A. Shrubber said:
you just wanted to see if they smelled like Tranya

Nice reference, very nice.

LinguaPeel · Jul 23, 2018

Michael Huntherz said:
Nice reference, very nice.

Its probably from a television story some nerd or pedophile wrote.. Sweet!

Bleach.. Mmmm the smell of man seed. Delicious. Could use isopropyl like a straight. Nothing will effect the smell but vinegar though.

Quit worrying. The mandatory mason jars for storage and "curing" (waiting for your novelty grow products to fade/kick in if you're a hydro kid), they have bisophenol lids. BPA or BPS. Thats the worst you can do. Mmm, estrogen bud. ENJOY YOUR TITTIES. Just stay away from zip loc & you're golden.

Michael Huntherz · Jul 23, 2018

LinguaPeel said:
Its probably from a television story some nerd or pedophile wrote.. Sweet!

Bleach.. Mmmm the smell of man seed. Delicious. Just use isopropyl like a straight. Quit worrying. The mandatory mason jars for storage and "curing" have bisophenol lids. Thats the worst you can do. Mmm, estrogen bud.

Star Trek.
I was on the fence about you for a minute, but you are vile.

http://onceuponatimeinabedofwildflowers.com/2013/10/27/are-ball-canning-lids-bpa-free/

Roger A. Shrubber · Jul 23, 2018

Michael Huntherz said:
Star Trek.
I was on the fence about you for a minute, but you are vile.

http://onceuponatimeinabedofwildflowers.com/2013/10/27/are-ball-canning-lids-bpa-free/

wow, ignored on his first post, that i've seen anyway...and the last i'll see, come to think of it.....

fragileassassin · Jul 23, 2018

So I soaked one of them with half a gallon of bleach since friday and it helped a little bit but still there.
I worked out a setup that I don't need to use these for my room, so theyll go out back to collect RO waste

JohnDee · Jul 28, 2018

JSB99 said:
What I would do is get a couple gallons of bleach, pour a gallon in each barrel, top off with water, and let them sit for at least a day

I just wanted to say that a gallon of bleach seems like way too much. (if it's needed at all)

I bought some blue barrels that were coco cola syrup barrels. Had faint odor. I used one as-is for my RO water top-up barrel for my hydro op. 3 years...never had any issues. No coco cola smelling buds. :smile:

JD

Roger A. Shrubber · Jul 28, 2018

JohnDee said:
I just wanted to say that a gallon of bleach seems like way too much. (if it's needed at all)

I bought some blue barrels that were coco cola syrup barrels. Had faint odor. I used one as-is for my RO water top-up barrel for my hydro op. 3 years...never had any issues. No coco cola smelling buds.
JD

too bad, you could find a strain that tastes like vanilla i.c., and could have made coke float strain.

JohnDee · Jul 28, 2018

Roger A. Shrubber said:
too bad, you could find a strain that tastes like vanilla i.c., and could have made coke float strain.

Hillbilly humor...you gotta love it.
JD

Roger A. Shrubber · Jul 28, 2018

that was just me being funny, i'd have to work moonshine into it somehow to make it hillbilly, or at least a moon pie

fragileassassin · Jul 28, 2018

After I drained the bleach water I rinsed it and filled it to the top with h2o2 solution and let it sit for a few more days. Smell is pretty faint now. I may end up using it still, im so indecisive

Roger A. Shrubber · Jul 28, 2018

fragileassassin said:
After I drained the bleach water I rinsed it and filled it to the top with h2o2 solution and let it sit for a few more days. Smell is pretty faint now. I may end up using it still, im so indecisive

it's fine, really. there are some chemical esters that bond to plastics, they're not harmful, especially with the barrels being that old. anything volatile would have sublimed away ages ago

thenasty1 · Jul 30, 2018

i used a barrel that smelled like banana peppers for years without issue
its still in service too, i passed it on to a friend a couple years back

Food grade barrels with smell safe to use for holding tank?

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