How To Build A Grill Out Of A 55 Gallon Drum

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  • Cooking outdoors on a grill has become one of America's favorite pastimes. Building a grill of your own out of a 55 gallon drum be both rewarding as well as an enhancement to your outdoor grilling experience. Let's take a look at how to build a drum grill. The first step will be to make sure you use a drum that has not been contaminated with chemicals, preferably one that is a food-grade drum.

  • Tips

    • Always remember to put safety first.
    • Never use a drum that has had chemicals stored in it.
    • Use a sealed drum instead of one with a lid.
    • Double check any rough edges to make sure they are deburred.

  • Introduction

    Building your own grill out of a 55 gallon drum will require a few tools. First, you will need something to cut the drum with. A small cutting torch, jigsaw with metal cutting blades or even a hacksaw will do the job. In addition stainless steel hinges and bolts will be needed for connecting movable parts. Last but not least, a small welder will be helpful for attaching legs or a metal support structure under the grill.

  • Step 1:

    Cut the drum in the middle, from top to bottom. When you are done the drum should be in two pieces resembling the top and bottoms of a clam shell. You will also want to cut a small door in one end of the bottom half that will allow you to adjust the airflow into the grill once it is assembled.

  • Step 2:

    Attach at least two stainless steel hinges on one side of the drum to connect the two halves together. This will allow you to open and close the grill.

  • Step 3:

    Attach two side handles on each end of the bottom half of the grill. This will allow you to move the grill and place it where you want it. Attach a third handle on the front in the middle of the top section. This will allow you to lift the lid of the grill when you need to. It would be best to use stainless steel handles and bolts with wooden grips on all of these, to ensure secure fastening to the drum while reducing the heat impact at the point where you will be using the handle.

  • Step 4:

    Attach at least four stainless steel L-shaped brackets on the inside of the bottom section to help hold the grill in place when inserted into the drum. Any stainless steel grills can be used for this purpose. Old oven racks can be used or old freezer storage racks. The key is to make sure they are unpainted and stainless steel.

  • Step 5:

    Add steel or iron legs to the grill to provide a platform of stability. Ideally the legs should be tack welded to the drum, but could also be attached with stainless steel bolts. Once you finish attaching the legs the grill should be given a good coating of flat black heat resistant paint designed specifically for grills. This type of paint can be found in most hardware stores in aerosol cans. Two or three cans should be enough for the whole grill. Just keep in mind that when you first fire up our 55 gallon drum grill the paint will put off a few fumes until it is cured completely, so hold off on putting on the meat until it's been fired up at least once.

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