Beer barrel Urinal

[chunkolini]

I have been asked by a local publican if i can make him some beer barrel urinals like these

I am sort of interested but it looks like a massive PITA.They are for sale on Etsy for around £400. From what I can see thats not too bad a price.
I am concened about the following, cutting them up and prepping edges. Are they double skinned?cutting holes for plumbing fittings etc. I imagine a hand drill and a hole saw will be a hideous job.
Cut them, open with plasma or angle grinder?
To me this looks like a job that could drive me mad or might be a simple thing to do. I do have a bad habit of overthinking things.
On the images he sent me the edges of the cutaways are just polished with no beading around them, this looks a lot less haslle than in this picture.
Any thoughts appreciated, I'm in a position where I can 'just say no' after finishing a big old job

 

[voipio]

It'll need an arrowed direction sign on the drain pipe, labelled "To the brewery" ;-))

 

[fixerupper]

"You don't buy it you rent it "

 

[Melvyn Best]

Think some of the Tolly Cobbold beer I’ve drunk over the years probably came out of a urinal?

 

[RonA]

Make sure you smooth all the raggy cut edges, the consequences otherwise don't bear thinking about!,
RonA

 

[hotponyshoes]

They are single skinned, usually 316 stainless.
I would see if you can find the fittings you need as a weld in boss then cut the holes out with a tct hole saw and some lube.
The rest will cut easy enough with either a plasma or a slitting disc.

Personally I would trim the edges with a bit of round stainless bar and tig it all both sides or you could cut some strips from the bit you cut out and double up all the edges leaving a tig bead as the finished edge.

Use some owened kegs rather than brewery ones and remember to depressure them before starting!

 

[More Amps]

I would be tempted to ask for a "spare" barrel and have a littls play/investigation - see how it cuts, how easy to deal with the sharp edges etc - and than have a think about pricing.

 

[mike os]

make sure you own the barrels, otherwise the legal owner may have your collar felt... most of these are the same as BOC etc, you get to borrow, not own

 

[Maker]

I think most kegs are owned by the brewery and supposedly the brewery will try to get their old kegs back (Unlike Calor), but it seems old kegs do get sold/scrapped/whatever when they're too beaten up.

I assume there's a proper tool to remove the spear, it needs unscrewing and the core pressing down very hard to retract a locking lug that stops it coming right out.

 

[Agroshield]

Get him to give you an empty barrel as a tester. Then you can assess how much work it will be.

Make him provide the a sample inlet and outlet connection. Standard urinal wastes come in either 1 1/4" or 1 1/2". If the base is curved, it will be difficult to seal the waste outlet. I am not sure the weld-in boss is a good idea as it limits the things that can be attached: start with off-the-shelf urinal fittings and see what you need to do to accommodate them. This is especially so for the water inlet: generally they are mounted on the back of a porcelain one, which will be tricky on a curved barrel. Try to find one that will work on the 'roof' as in the photo (make sure it cannot spray towards the client).

Remember you will need to design and weld up some brackets to fix it to the wall.

The challenge will be making the cut edges suitable for use. I do not think hit and miss welding would do - it would need to be an unbroken seam.

They will be an absolute pig to clean and keep hygienic once installed. You should perhaps draw this to the attention of the LL.

 

[Screwdriver]

I still have a fair few of these to play with. They are about 2mm in stainless and easy to cut without having to worry about blowing yourself up. Tricky part is emptying the things in the first place. The spears are deliberately designed to be difficult to remove without the correct tool.

They do looks good though and I'd be tempted to make something like that myself.

 

[chunkolini]

As usual great advice there.
He says they are spares, just chucked in the yard.
I was going to ask for a sample to play about with to see the hassles involved.
I am also fancying one as a small wood burner for my tiny part roofed bank yard. That may be the sample one.
I'll give the guy a shout.
Cheers all.

 

[marlinspike]

They look quite cool but it sounds like a fair bit of work; lots of sharp edges to tidy up. Feel sorry for the cleaners who have to deal with those rather than the usual simple ceramic design.

Don't forget to post a pic and an update when you've had a go at making one.

 

[Munkul]

They are a cool idea but here's one of the practicalities:

The washing nozzle. Get it positioned right and it will clean the whole tub, but it will also run water/washings around the horizontal swages. This is where the edging comes in - without this, it will run out and leak.

You could go with a feeble washing water flow, but it wont wash the insides properly and someone will have to clean em by hand, or they'll start to stink in short order.

Fabrication wise they look dead simple and easy, especially at 2mm wall, very easy to chop and weld.

 

[Ali]

I wonder what grade they are? Would normal stainless urinals be made of something that would resist bleach etc.?

 

[MCKDAVID]

sounds like a proper job, hope he doesn't take the pisss with the price.....

I'll get my coat..

 

[Maker]

Just a thought; at the top where the handles are there's drain holes to stop the top filling with rain. You'll have to cover the drains and drill new ones into the body of the keg, otherwise when someone inevitably **** es up there it'll just collect and or run down the sides onto the floor.

 

[hotponyshoes]

Just a thought; at the top where the handles are there's drain holes to stop the top filling with rain. You'll have to cover the drains and drill new ones into the body of the keg, otherwise when someone inevitably **** es up there it'll just collect and or run down the sides onto the floor.

Not all of them have drain holes

 

[Screwdriver]

As usual great advice there.
He says they are spares, just chucked in the yard.
I was going to ask for a sample to play about with to see the hassles involved.
I am also fancying one as a small wood burner for my tiny part roofed bank yard. That may be the sample one.
I'll give the guy a shout.
Cheers all.

If you can acquire them legitimately, get as many as you can. They are handy for all sorts of projects...

 

[Maker]

If you can acquire them legitimately, get as many as you can. They are handy for all sorts of projects...

Such as building a small brewery at the end of your garden.