You must be stronger or have lighter drums than me. I can't easily flip a 55gal steel drum and shake it out into a bag. I have a roll of 6mil poly bags that seem to last a long time. Maybe 100 bags in the roll.
Printable View
There are hundreds of steel drums for sale on our local craigslist for cheap. I picked up a black food grade drum which is coated on the inside to replace the lame drum that came with my cyclone. I had to cut it down a few inches. Added some decent casters on the bottom, spruced it up a bit with a rattle can of paint WAY stiffer than the tin can drum from the factory. Also added 4 latches vs only 2 on the factory drum.
Attachment 474133
I'm bagless and just dump the swarf into my green waste recycle can. I have a 35 gallon bin. I couldn't handle a 55 gallon bin.
Mike
I do this, bagless:
I have a rectangular wood box that collects the chips/dust, slides inside a cabinet with a screwed on front. Someday will change over to latched front.
Use a plastic scoop to transfer to a paper lawn bag for disposal
Yes it is dusty when I do it, wear a mask and then leave the shop while the air filter clears the air
Mine has a square chip collection bin, not bag friendly, so I've never used one. I also don't want to add to the numbe of plastic bags going to the landfill. I scoop it out with a big aluminum dustpan into a trash can then carry it out to whichever part of the garden DW directs. Too many handling steps, but I should't try to pick up the heavy steel bin.
Roger makes another good point, why bag it and landfill it when I could just dump it onto my compost pile. Well assuming it won't start itself on fire. I may rig something for my tractor font end loader that can grab the drum, haul it and dump it.
I use a 30 gallon food grade composite bin in my shop. When it is full, I take it outside where I have a stand that holds a 42 gallon contractor bag steady while I dump into the bag. I wear a respirator during this operation, but since I am outside it really does keep the mess out of my shop.
I had previously dumped into the compost pile but quickly overran the pile (it was literally the size of a mini-cooper within a short period of time).
I use a bag inside my 55 gallon drum. When i put a new bag in, I try to open it up as much as possible. After I have starting filling the new bag, could be a few days or a week, depending upon what kind of waste I'm producing, I open the drum and the weight of the waste in the bag usually squeezes out the air that is trapped between the bag the drum. Once that air pocket is gone, I can usually get about 50 gallons of waste in.
I think Leigh is cheating, that looks way too easy. Can we report him to the moderators or something?
I believe there are issues with dumping it into compost, something about the composition pushing the mix of materials a little too far in the wrong way, so you might want to read up, and potentially keep an eye on it/add some stuff to offset it.
Sawdust and chips are not great for serious composting or mulching-- their decomposition sucks up nitrogen and creates problems. The same properties make them good for inhibiting weeds around shrubs and laying down on walking paths you want to keep clear. If you can afford the space for a significant pile the chips will eventually break down into more usable material, but it takes years. Spreading them thin in beds and supplementing with a little nitrogen fertilizer seems to work well. My blueberries seem to be pretty happy with a couple inches of chips on their feet, they do a good job of inhibiting many weeds.
I go the sleeve method.
Attachment 474201
Pop rivet to size. I put a couple of short rope handles 180 degrees from each other for pulling it out of the bin.
Attachment 474200
I slip the bag over the sleeve, flip it over and drop it into the bin.
Attachment 474203 . Attachment 474202
I have tried it with the bag out over the bin lip and also inside. Performance seems the same but the lid does have a nice soft foam gasket that is pretty conforming. I generally get a few uses per bag. I will dump the waste into the green barrel as others have described. When the bag is toast I replace it. I have used various types and weights of bags as I scrounge them. I have used lawn-n-leaf bags with success in the past but, they can be delicate for lifting the bag out of the bin. With my existing stock supplied by my crack team of contracted bag scroungers (friends and family scrounging at work) I may have a lifetime supply at this point.
Mine dumps from the cyclops directly into a 30 gallon metal trash can. I dump it on the trails in the woods behind the shop. After the can the air is blown out the back of the closet with no filters.