Clear plastic 25L drums cracking

[JOEPRO]

I keep old TFR drums etc for used car engine oil storage until I can get to local dump where they can recycle it.

I have noticed lately a couple of clear / white type drums have cracked - became brittle.

To the point where one broke the handle on it.

Is this a UV degradation thing on the clear / white drums? Anyone else had this problem?

I like them as you can see how much oil is in them but I need to go buy more drums now don't trust the 3 I have.

I have black ones also and cut them up for cheap drain trays. They do not appear to have got brittle at all. Had then 15 years or so now. Would like to cut another pair from a clear drum



I can buy these £3.50 each locally

 

[qwakers]

yes the clear ones seems to not be uv stable. ive had a few and they all go brittle.

 

[brightspark]

keep them covered up out of the sun

 

[joebog1]

Even out of the sun they eventually crack up. They are not stabilised.
The black ones contain carbon and are stabilised.
This is the problem of microplastics that are poisoning the sea.
They dont ever disappear, they just keep breaking into smaller and smaller particules.

Joe

 

[Kram]

Which plastic are they? HDPE? That is usually quite good and I have liquids stored in old milk bottles, tho not in the sun.

 

[Onoff]

What about the blue ones, are they UV stabilised?

I've scored a few that were filled with AC chiller chemicals, cleanser, inhibitor etc.

Plan for a couple is to rinse /dry then store the 50kg of proper blasting sand I bought. Came in two bags that are sat on the garage floor and both have split.

Round, lidded tubs would be better but beggars etc.

 

[Domdom]

I have a load of the clear ones for making or collecting salt water for the aquariums I keep. Had them years. No cracking yet but they are stored in the garage, out of direct sunlight.

 

[MoreWellie]

I use the empty oil containers that the oil was supplied in as they must be rated for oil and often have clear areas to tell how much is in them
I think our recycling centre says no more than 15L at a time or it might be 20L so I try to take it before it builds up and it has the added advantage of not using so much storage space

 

[Erie Fred]

I thought I read somewhere that some people were coating them with cheap latex house paint when new, to help keep the UV off of them.

 

[julianf]

I've used these for years and years in the course of making biofuel.

The clear ones just dont last. I mean they're ok for a while but you need to keep an eye on them and junk them before the handle comes off in your hand and the rest of the drum hits the ground.

If anyone's keen I have batches of the blue ones, near new. I generally give them away on local freecycle.

I can't post them...

 

[bricol]

I had some of those white plastic containers - left outside. Looked fine. No visible cracks, crazing, nothing.

Simply cracked / shattered when I accidently dropped something on one - I had expected it to simply bounce, maybe dent it. When I checked the rest, every single one cracked under not much load at all.

 

[mike 109444]

Seams to be bucket loads of the "adblue" containers kicking around. (get through quite a bit of it myself. 10lts. They are semi clear so dont know how well they stand the test of time but they do come with a poring nozle so have used one for diesel. Just be aware the poring nozle is very cheeply made and may be split where it is folded to sit in the recess of the container.

 

[qwakers]

ive been using (carefully cleaned!) adblue containers for years. not had one fail yet.

 

[joebog1]

Bulkies, that is one ton / one metre cube in a steel cage used for farm furtlisers and bulk oil carrying, are white and dont crack.
I use them as garden beds when cut into thirds. I have no experience with blue ones. I do know that engine oil in four, five or six litre versions will all crack up inside 12 months if outside.
About 18 months if out of the sun. Its some bizarre method of pollution control , you know, out of sight out of mind. Plus the oil companies cant be done over for them.
I miss my old mans collection of Castrol XL 4 gallon drums !!!!. Or my small collection of Shell Racing A drums from years ago. STEEL, and if you paint the bottoms with a decent paint, last almost forever.

Joe

 

[JOEPRO]

Thanks for all the replies and it appears this is a problem then!

I don't have space to keep them inside. So I'll buy 3x 25L blue or black containers for storing waste oil outside and a clear one to cut in half and use as drain trays inside the garage. Will be nice to see the oil level from side view as it fills.

My local dump allows me to take a few drums at a time once a year or so.

I was questioned once and I explained I have 11x cars.... he let me be - somewhat bewildered