55-Gallon Container Accessories

Con-Tech offers a variety of 55-gallon container closures, drum parts and accessories

A Guide to 55-gallon Steel Drums

Con-Tech offers a wide variety of 55-gallon container closures, drum parts, and accessories for steel drums including drum cap seals, steel drum nuts and bolts, steel drum metal ring accessoriesnylon drum plugs, and plastic drum plugs, drum plug gaskets, leak lock plugsdrum paint caps, and drum cap seal crimping tools. Con-tech drum cap seals are printable with your own logo, while a complete assortment of open head drum rings and bolts is also available. Likewise, our 55-gallon steel drum bolts, nuts, lugs, and latches offer reliable cost-effective security for all of your 55-gallon steel drums.

The industry standard in shipping, storage, and containment of hazard materials, 55-gallon steel drums are in constant use in world trade and transport. Designed for structural integrity, these containers are perfect for the easy storage and transport of liquids, solids, and hazardous materials. Several different industries rely on 55-gallon drums to distribute their goods and products, many of which Con-Tech service.

History of 55-gallon Container

The 55-gallon container is a descendant of the wooden barrel used as early as the 3rd century AD. In fact, the ancient craft of barrel practiced by coopers making water-tight, wooden vessels held together by nothing more than the hoops that surround them continued into modern times. Furthermore, Con-Tech founder Robert G. Evans Jr. descended from a long line of coopers.

Wooden barrels were used by coopers and predate the 55-gallon drum

Steel drums are an essential American industry for which buyers carefully assess every detail. The 55-gallon steel drum is the container size commonly available in the United States.  Closed head 55-gallon steel drums is used for shipment and more permanent storage of liquids like chemicals and petroleum, as they cannot easily be filled with or dispense powdered items. Open head 55-gallon steel drums with their removable lids are more commonly used for storage than shipping.

Steel drums in various sizes and configurations have many practical uses in industry. They also have been used in many other ways including as housing supports, musical instruments, rain barrels and barbecue drums.

Using the correct drum closures and accessories is critical as the area is strictly regulated. Organizations of manufacturers of reconditioned and new steel, plastic, and fiber drums, as well as intermediate bulk containers, work hard on their members’ compliance, Manufacturers of new industrial packaging and their North American suppliers do the same while emphasizing the importance of safety and reliability.

Steel Drum Closures & Accessories

Steel drum closures are devices used to seal 55-gallon steel drums in order to protect the contents against air, dirt, liquid and other contaminants during transportation and storage. Steel drum closures also maintain the shelf life of the contents and provide a means of reclosing and reusing the steel drum. The 55-gallon container closures are covered with cap seals to prevent tampering and further protect the contents.

Con-Tech is the exclusive 55-gallon steel drum closure and accessory supplier in the Americas for Technocraft Industries (India) Ltd., an ISO 9002 certified worldwide industrial company known for manufacturing excellence, producing Tite-Seal™ plugs and Tite-Seal™ flanges, related 55-gallon steel drum closures and accessories, steel drum cap seals, steel drum plug gaskets and steel drum flange insertion dies. Electroplated and lined Tite-Seal™ drum closures are also available.

Plastics come in thousands of varieties with different base chemistries, derivatives, and additives that are formulated to cover a wide range of functional and aesthetic properties. When selecting a manufacturing process for a plastic product companies consider the form, volume, lead time and material needed for the project.

Read about Bolts, Nuts, and Lugs for Drum Closures

If your company has other needs for 55-gallon drum parts or other container accessories, click the RFQ button, email info@con-techinternational.com or call us at 1-504-523-4785.

FAQ

A Closed Head Drum is a drum in which the top or head of the drum is separate from the body of the drum. Lids of closed head drums are secured with wings.

A Tight Head Drum is a drum in which the top or head of the drum is permanently attached to the body.

Rolling Hoops are the ribs at both the top and bottom of a barrel as well as at each third of the barrel’s height.

The 55-gallon steel drum holds an average of 55 gallons or 208 liters of material, though the exact amount varies with the exact composition and design of the barrel.

Typically, a 55-gallon steel drum is 33.5 in/851 mm tall with a standard diameter of 22.5 in/572 mm, though some designs may be narrower and taller.

The reconditioning thickness for steel drums is the minimum gauge set by federal regulators for reconditioning or recycling of steel drums. As of now, steel drums constructed for re-use (per CFR 173.28) must have minimum wall thicknesses of 0.92 mm or 20 gauge.

Steel drum contents may vary from chemicals, food, oil, water and wine, to nuclear waste. Given their structural integrity, steel drum may store or transport bulk liquids, powders and solids, as well as hazardous materials.

Steel drum life is the number of times a steel drum can be reconditioned or recycled. A steel drum may be reconditioned up to six times and maintain its certification depending upon the thickness of the steel and the propriety of its handling and reconditioning.