Drum to heat water on the fire

I wonder if the steel ones can be Gal dipped with any success....
I think the hill-billy hot water donkey that you can purchase is just painted on the outside but maybe they rust out from the inside also?

Ash

BCF have aluminium crab cooking pots, 22L or 37L.
BCF

Hello Snoopy1.
was at a fishing comp a couple of weeks ago and the feller next to me had a large beer keg it had a tap near the top and a piece of 2" pipe welded to the top,he said when he pours the water in it pushes the hot water out the top the 2" pipe must have gone all the way to the bottom of the keg.

Hi all, I've had a bit of experience with these, i'm a scout leader so this is right up my ally. :-) I would advise against aluminium, depending on your fire, if you accidentally leave them in the fire too long they can get quite soft and pliable. We use things called "donkey boilers" and they are usually made from stainless steel kegs that have been 'donated'. The problem with galvanised steel is that you can taste it, if you only plan on using it for showering then this wouldn't be a problem, but if you want to drink it it can get quite a peculiar taste. The theory behind a donkey boiler is the same as your hot water service at home. You have a funnel going in the top which is plumbed down to the bottom of the tank, and an output pipe at the top. Hot water rises so when you pour in the cold water, the hot water comes out of the top pipe, no handle needed, no need to try and burn yourself getting it out of the fireplace. Hope this helps.

I'd go stainless steel but you don't need that much water for a shower! We use the cheap 8-10 litre stainless steel crockpots you can buy at Coles,, cheapaschips, the chinese grocer, the $2 shop etcetc
They have a stainless steel lid and usually cost about $10-15. If you want a bigger size, I'd suggest buying 2 - different sizes that fit inside one another.
Just need to add a handle - salvage one off an old 10L paint can and rivet it on. Its good if the handle can stand upright when on the fire.

Also, if you are in Adelaide, I think Gaganis Brothers on South Rd have a large range of those pots.

snoopy

I got hold of a couple of old stainless beer kegs, the old 5 gallon (about 20 lt) jobbies. They are a bit heavy but should last an old fart like me for life (:-0)
I was planning on using one for hot water and also had an idea to use it to boil water that was not fit to drink. Boil it, collect the steam and feed through a condenser. Could be a way to top up the drinking water.

Cheers
Pop

I'Ve had one of the Hillbilly jobs for about 10 years. It's painted on the outside but seems to have some kind of coating on the inside because it has not rusted. Only cost me $30 then, think they are $50. No brainer.

OBT

G`day snoopy 1,

I have often thought of making one from a Knapsack spray tank, I have seen some of them made of copper, brass, stainless steel and mild steel.

The rural fire brigades had lots of them a few years back.
You would just need to be handy at brazing a few fittings etc.

The size would be about right, not very heavy and with the broad side to the fire it would be very efficient.

Now just got to find one.

Scrubby.

Thanks for all the suggestions. It sounds like the Hill-Billy might be the one to go for.