Well, we happened to pass right by the place I got Mike (and my) stanky barrels last January on our way to Uwrharrie National Forest for some camping this week. On the way home this morning I stopped to see if he had any "new" blue barrels and sure enough he did. The last batch were laying about in mid-winter and had been there for a couple of months with the lids off; Some had fallen leaves and pine needles in them mixed with the rainwater and the contents were not far removed from the type of stuff you might see in an abandoned swimming pool. But at $7-8 each I bought ten back then figuring that they'd get used by me, the scout camp or a local scout troop.
Fast forward back to today and the barrels were also outdoors but they had the lids on and were clean inside and out. The vast majority of them were 60L barrels with a few smaller barrels sprinkled in. The price was $8 USD each so I grabbed 5 smaller ones (I already have five 60L barrels). None were anywhere as ripe as the ones Mike and I have been dealing with.
Of the 5 "new" ones ones is a clone of the smaller ones Mike and I have been playing with, three were slightly taller and one was the diameter of a 60L barrel lid and pretty much a cylinder from rim to base. Back at home, I got out a 6-gallon beer making pail that is calibrated in US gallons and a 4 liter pitcher and marked the pail in liters. Then I started filling "new" barrels and the two smaller ones I already had; one identical to Mike's and one a few inches taller.
Some barrels have very small vent holes below the sealing rim in the collar that makes up the neck of the barrel (more on them later) so figuring that the volume has to be measured from below that spot I filled them to the base of the neck.
The clone to Mike's barrel I already had held 32 liters as did one "new" barrel....
Three "new" barrels held 35 Liters.......
And one taller one I already had and the one "new" barrel the diameter of a 60 L barrel lid held 40 Liters.... The picture doesn't do justice to how much wide the lid of the barrel in the left is. It was the only one of that style there and if there were more I'd have bought them. Very handy indeed. It had a plastic locking ring that seems to lock just fine. I might be a bit concerned about long term durability but I have a few spare 60L lids with steel locking rings.
This picture shows the lid diameter difference much better....
Among the same volume barrels barrel circumferences varied by and inch or so between different manufacturers as did the heights so there does not appear to be any standard dimension set as long as the nominal volume is available. Lids sizes, uncompressed gasket heights and locking rings seem to be very consistent though. Any loose locking rings I've seen are not locking ring related but are due to gaskets that have "set" and no longer sit at the appropriate height when uncompressed. The tubular gasket shown in post #65 seems to be the answer to that issue (but time will tell.....)
Of note, quite a large proportion of the components of US pharmaceutical products are made in India. Four of the "new" barrels have molded in makers marks from Bangalore (a province in India or Mumbai. These barrels had been sitting outside for a short enough time to be able to read some of the shipping labels and they came from a local pharmaceutical compounding company so no surprises there, ehh?.
Left to right; the taller 40L barrel I already had, the "new" 40L barrel, a 35L barrel and a 32L barrel. If I think of it tomorrow I'll line them up again and plunk a 60L barrel next to them for scale in another picture.....
As far as the barrels with vent holes I've found that a good cleaning, a swipe with something like acetone or alcohol to remove any oils and the old pre-adhesive priming with the low torch flame trick followed by a little 100% polyurethane adhesive caulk packed into in the hole seals them as if the holes were never there. The holes appear to be punched with a needle like tool and I wasn't sure how well the adhesive would adhere to the smoothy curved surface and tiny holes. I drilled them out with a small drill bit to ensure clean edges to the hole for better adhesion.
Mike, the squat 40L barrel offers intriguing possibilities as both a more comfortable seat and as a potentially more stable table base . The inside of the rim of the seat is 12" as opposed to around 9-1/2" for the smaller lids. Adding to the category of my projects that have their own projects, I'll contact the pharmaceutical company and see if I can get more of that size directly from them.
Best regards to all,
Lance