Anybody know where I can get a metal barrel that never contained toxic materials? I would like to use it for a burn barrel to make bio char for the garden. Also, looking for the kind of plastic buckets that construction materials often come in would like that to be food grade but not as fussy about that. Never seem to see ones for sale.

For burning your bio, did you consider getting a concrete pipe. We use one here in the jungle for burning our rubbish and it is perfect. I know we shouldn't burn it, but there is no option.

Concrete materials yard.  Get a medium water/sever pipe coupling.

85cm diameter, 35cm width.  Should cost about 125 baht.

14 hours ago, KannikaP said:

know we shouldn't burn it, but there is no option.

Why no option?  Can’t compost?

I have too much material for a small concrete pipe and a larger one would be much heavier than a metal barrel. Want to tip over the barrel to get the charcoal out, so lighter is better for me. How long does your pipe last using it that way?

1 hour ago, Bill97 said:

Why no option?  Can’t compost?

Tree branches, bamboo, coconut and more just seem to never rot away, burning is the only option.

16 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

Tree branches, bamboo, coconut and more just seem to never rot away, burning is the only option.

 

Guess it's a matter of quantity - we got all these, and I usually just spread them about the edge of the plot, never burned anything. Then again, it's a 2 rai plot, so manageable, different if larger or an orchard setting.

"Oil" drums should be readily available for fairly nominal sums, our last one used to contain orange-juice.

 

We use a mulcher for smaller stuff which encourages composting but your woody bits need to be well mixed with lawn mowings and the like.

 

The bigger stuff gets sliced with the chainsaw and converted into kindling to get the barbie going.

 

 

10 minutes ago, Morch said:

 

Guess it's a matter of quantity - we got all these, and I usually just spread them about the edge of the plot, never burned anything. Then again, it's a 2 rai plot, so manageable, different if larger or an orchard setting.

1 rai, Yes I also do that, but many small branches, and bamboo is to bushy for that, we just make a big pile and a couple of times a year fire it up, have a felled coconut tree been there 6yrs, running out of room, and the red ants are nasty little monsters. Have many trees, banana,, mango, durian, mangosteen, bamboo (for the big edible shoots). lime, lemon, and lemon grass are on 2 edges.

5 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

1 rai, Yes I also do that, but many small branches, and bamboo is to bushy for that, we just make a big pile and a couple of times a year fire it up, have a felled coconut tree been there 6yrs, running out of room, and the red ants are nasty little monsters. Have many trees, banana,, mango, durian, mangosteen, bamboo (for the big edible shoots). lime, lemon, and lemon grass are on 2 edges.

 

Two sides of our plot are bordered by grass fields (not the good stuff, just for cows) which get flooded regularly. Accelerates the rotting process of all the branches, trunks, leaves and cuttings dropped there, and prevents soil erosion. Longer term, will go the OP's way.

World chemicals mahidol road have what you require.

I had concrete pipes before but they broke from fire. Not a good solution because it is not fireproof.
Metal drums and also plastic buckets you can find on te facebook market with prices between 100-500 THB.

3 hours ago, Crossy said:

"Oil" drums should be readily available for fairly nominal sums, our last one used to contain orange-juice.

 

We use a mulcher for smaller stuff which encourages composting but your woody bits need to be well mixed with lawn mowings and the like.

 

The bigger stuff gets sliced with the chainsaw and converted into kindling to get the barbie going.

 

 

We can just walk around the garden for a few minutes, no chainsaw required, kitchen veg waste gets put directly around the trees. grass cuttings also, or just left to rot back into the ground, we don't need any fertilizers.

Just curious where is your location.

14 hours ago, thailand49 said:

Just curious where is your location.

Chiang Dao. Regarding other comments, I have a chipper shredder, make about a cubic meter of compost a month, and have prunings too large to chip (over 10cm). I value biochar for it’s soil benefits and to reduce the smoke from burning.

20 hours ago, sappersrest said:

World chemicals mahidol road have what you require.

Looks good, thanks.