Building an environmentally friendly burn barrel isn’t rocket science. Started a quest after learning that 4 households (2 adults and 2 children) burning a years’ worth of urban (not farm) trash generated and released more hazardous chemicals into the atmosphere than the incinerator serving the city of Ames, Iowa.

The “final” system is a blown incinerator based upon a basic design patented (3,791,319) by David Trott in 1974 and later tested by EPA and approved for use in Alaska, Montana and a few other places for use in wilderness areas. The key is that the incinerator is “blown”. Started with a vacuum cleaner motor and now using a blower from an inflatable Halloween monster.

This system has gone through 4 iterations from a 55 gallon steel barrel to 500 gallon propane tank (preferably, old and out of service because of the thick walls of old tanks).

Starting with a 500 gallon propane tank, you need a 6” stainless steel collar for a 6” x 24” SS flue seamless pipe, a 12” x 24” seamless SS flue pipe, a 4” x 24” (or so) seamless SS flue pipe, the top half of a SS beer keg, and an 8” x 1/8” SS disk. Add in some ¾” rebar for a grate, couple of handfuls of SS bolts, nuts, washers and hinges. SS is important and worth every penny. Add in some pieces of 4” flue pipe to connect the blower to the air inlet.

This version has been running for 7 years now. Replaced the door gasket (it was designed to be replaceable) once and the original grate made with ½” rebar once.

The door opening is 24” x 24” actual. Mine has two doors so ashes can be scooped out.

I put legs under it but with a new install would just dig a shallow hole and drop the round end into it. Would make use easier (no need for a step platform) and would make cleanout (through a second door on the bottom half) much easier.

Can do a pix if interest.