best ways to clean out fertilizer drums

jay563

Member
I use some old farmall planters/side dressers. What is best way everyone finds to keep fertilizer drums in good shape. I have high pressured mine, used salt ex, grease/oil on surface, repainted them, rust proof paint etc.
 
I thoroughly flush mine out with water, let them dry, then come back and soak WD40. I store them inside. I buy WD40 in 1 gallon cans and refill a hand sprayer.

The retired farmer I bought them from stored them in a 55 gallon drum of used motor oil. They are in perfect shape after 50+ years but what a mess to clean up before you can use them.
 
You already have some pretty good answers. Here's what I do:
Disassemble them completely! Wash off each piece throughly. Let all the pieces dry in the sun. Dunk all the smaller pieces in used motor oil and apply a abundant amount of the used motor oil with a rag, etc to all surfaces of the hopper itself,both inside and out. Reassemble and set inside(put something under it to catch the excess oil that runs off) and you will be good to go next year. I've been using this method for 35 years and my hoppers are as good as ever.
 
(quoted from post at 21:41:46 11/02/12) We always washed ours with water and then treated them with used motor oil.

This is what Dad did with his and stored them inside. We had what we called the "grease room" beside the garage, and all the oils and greases were stored there... everything in that room stayed oily and greasy. Anything Dad didn't want to rust was stored in there... roller chains, fertilizer boxes, shovels, axes, chain saws, etc.
BTW, WD-40 is not a very good long term protectant. It will dry out and not protect metal over the long haul, but is better than nothing from one season to the next. WD.... water displacement.
 

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