Anyone ever weld two 55 gal drums together for a deer feeder. I have a AC welder and a flux core mig. Welded two drum lids together for a test with the Mig and didn't have a problem. Kinda nervous to start on the drums yet. Trying to cut back on trips to deer lease with the cost of fuel going up.

Shouldn't be a problem, know several people that have done it. Just remember to mount the legs a little higher (about where the seam between barrels is) so its not too top heavy.

Bill

Now thats an idea for sure, just make sure the legs are strong. Should be able to put about 600 LBS. or more in it?

320 and 320 without a funnel... 640... definitely have good legs on em. Welding the 2 isn't a big deal.

I was looking at my Drums, the bottom of the drum looks to have a different edge on them. Looks like the bottom edge of the drums is thicker. I think I will weld the two bottoms together. Bought schedule 40, 1 5/8" x 8' for legs at American Fence. Had 6' legs before. Should be able to throw corn for at least 3 months. 110 gals @ 5.45lbs a gal = ~600 lbs, throw 6lbs a day for
100 days. I hope! LOL

You might also have to increase the size of the pads that hold up the feeder. Since you are doubling the weight of the feed, it may sink into soft ground if it rains and it may fall over. A flat peice of sheetmetal about 1/8" thick under each leg should work just fine.

Since it is thinner material, i would opt for the mig with the flux core wire over the stick welder but both will work. If you are using the ac buzz box i would use some 3/32" or 1/8" 6011 or 6010 (6011 is actually made for ac machines but i have not seen any difference in performance or ease of welding)
Definately weld the thickest areas together if that is an option and try to get them as tight is possible to eliminate gaps and that will make welding easier.
If you are going to weld with the stick welder and you have a gap to weld, you can use another welding rod as a filler to weld over or use it to introduce additional metal to the weld puddle and it will make the job wasier ( Sorta like tig welding but using the stick /arc welding process) If you use the filler rod, it wil perform better if you sand or scrape off the flux .
Hope this helps.
.....SmokeRolls

Mr. welder man..... . Knew there was somthing odd about you

Before you get to wild? You might look on the side so to speak and see what was in there first. Heat can do strang things.

Damn straight, we wouldn't want to the op to change his name to KABOOM!!!

Thats funny .....but so right!
Hahahaha
I love the "KABOOM" name though....
.....SmokeRolls

Before welding I'd powerwash the insides to remove all traces of what they previously held.

Have done quite a few making horse feeders out of them.Although not a professional welder by any means.I have had better luck brazing them and these horses and mules are a lot tougher on them than deer would be, so they are strong enough.

I've done that, two barrels welded together, one a-top the other to double the capacity. Now I prefer to just set up two complete feeders at each stand. One set to throw in the AM the other to throw in the PM.

It saves me trips out to fill feeders which more than covers the cost of an additional feeder and motor. If one motor should fail you still have some feed hitting the ground from the other.

Those double barrel feeders are very heavy, and create more problems than they solve.

Man there a lot of ideas here first power wash them out the open the koles up for air or smoke or gases to get out then put a lot of tacks welds between the sides lot of them like every 1/4 inch or so and remember to stager them top to bottom to center . Then weld for about 2 inches top bottom an center till done if you blow a hole. Take a nother rod weld over the rod to plug it

You should not have any trouble welding two drums together. I have made many cattle feeders out of drums. We weld three of them together and then cut them in half lenghtwise. It makes two nice cattle trough feeders.

Both Drums had Chocolate syrup in them. I don't think I will have a problem with a BLEVE, I cut the bottoms out of the drums and have removed the lids. I will mount the funnel to one end protruding out of the drum. I don't have any 6010's or 6011 rods I have tried them don't like the welds they/I make with them to much porosity. I can make some nice welds with 6013's. I appreciate everyone looking out for my safety. I know the laws of unintended consequence's and have the scars to prove it.LOL

Good luck. Post some pics when you get the feeder done. I would like to see how it turns out. I may try and make one myself

Just trying to pass on a little knowledge so you wont rule out those rods for future projects.
6010 and 6011 both look nasty after welding due to the flux but once the flux is cleaned off the weld is nice as long as the welder does his part.
The porosity was not from the rod unless;
*The flux was damaged or missing
*You were welding on some nasty metal with issues
*The rod was held too far from the material being welded (long arcing it) and the flux will not be able to do it's job to seal the molten metal from the atmosphere until it cools.
*You were using to low of amperage (Which would have been hard to weld)

6011 and 6010 are both one of the best and most universal rods that can be used in the welders arsenal right up there with 7018.
They can be used to weld
*over heavy paint
*greasy coated steel
*a little bit of flux covered steel
*It has violent penetration but is so flexible and controllable with amperage.
*It will fill gaps and holes without having to chip away much of the flux.
6013 will work and it is prettier but it cannot compare to what can be done with the 6010-6011
Just trying to help.
.......SmokeRolls

Thats what I would use also

Well she sead 7018 whould plug any hole.

No, a good welder can fill any crack.....WELDERS GET BETTER PENETRATION.......

ain't no hill for a climber

While I was in the Navy and attatched to one of the welding shops many moons ago somewhere in the world, there was an old saying posted over the wall of the office for the welding shop 26A /11A, It said this ;
"We can weld the crack of dawn"
"We can repair the broken heart"
"Busted cherry.....Were workin on it"

Thats when political correctness wasnt even in the dictionary nor used.
.....SmokeRolls

+100,especially if you picked up the barrels from someone and are uncertain of their orgin. I've seen many a 55 Gal drum at meth lab sites and you don't want any part of that crap.

A good friend and sportsman died while welding on drums. He wasn't careful enough with cleaning and ventilation. Take the cap off and power wash are both good ideas.

I have the drums welded together finally, have been fighting the FLU for a couple of days. I tried some 6011 3/32 worked ok but I burned through more than I wanted to, 6013 3/32 worked ok less burn through wasn't to impressed with them either. My cheap-o flux core welder with .035 wire was the easiest to weld the drums together with, but the duty cycle isn't cut out for welding drums. The hardest thing so far is trying to figure out how to post the darn pictures.

Sounds like you were running too much amperage on the rods but it could have been too much of arc gap (Long arcing). Running the correct temperature and keeping the correct length from the metal is critical to a good weld. It's not going to be very easy since it's pretty thin metal but it is doable.
I can't tell you everything to do in a few postings, since much of this is hands on and experience with someone leaning over you to coach you as you do it.
Just keep welding more stuff and learn as you go, it gets easier as you burn more rods on different items.
.......SmokeRolls