Drum & Barrel Conveyors

Drums and barrels are some of the heaviest and least forgiving unit loads in a plant. A full 55-gallon drum can weigh several hundred pounds, rolls away if it tips and can spill its contents when it is jolted. We design drum conveyors and barrel conveyor systems that move drums individually or on pallets, turn and transfer them between lines, and present them to filling, capping and palletizing stations at a consistent position.

Custom Conveyor has built drum and barrel conveyors for an industrial container and drum manufacturer and for an equipment supplier, and our unit handling work covers products from six grams to six tons per unit. Every system is engineered, fabricated and assembled in our Cedar Rapids, Iowa facility.

Talk to an engineer about your drum line

Tell us the drum types, weights and rates you handle and where the drums need to go. We will recommend a conveyor, transfer and accumulation layout that fits your floor.

Talk to an Engineer See Our Work

(319) 449-3322

Drum and Barrel Conveyors We Have Built

Our drum work draws on the same heavy unit handling equipment we build for pallets, heavy parts and packaging lines. Relevant projects include:

Drum and heavy unit handling experience

Drum (barrel) conveyors for an industrial container and drum manufacturer
Drum conveyors for an equipment supplier
Heavy duty live roller conveyors that handle thousands of pounds of payload at a time, with hydraulic cylinders that adjust the passline for multiple products
A 3,000 lb turntable used to load pallets of heavy product
A pallet pop-up transfer that uses pneumatic air bags to lift heavy pallets for a 90-degree transfer on a palletizing line
An infeed conveyor for a paint manufacturer and a corrosion-resistant plastic conveyor for hydrochloric acid service at a chemical producer

Drum and Barrel Handling Challenges

Drums look simple, but they combine high weight, a round footprint and liquid contents that shift. These are the factors to settle first.

Weight and Load Concentration

A 55-gallon drum of a water-like liquid weighs roughly 500 lb once the container is included, and denser products weigh more. Steel drums bear on a narrow rolled chime, so the load sits on a small ring rather than a flat base. Roller diameter, axle size and spacing have to suit that concentrated load; a common rule of thumb is to keep at least three rollers under the container at all times.

Upright or On Their Side

Filled drums usually travel upright, which keeps bungs and lids on top and gives a stable footprint. Empty drums are sometimes conveyed on their side, where they will roll unless the conveyor cradles them. A V-shaped or cradled bed controls round loads; we have built a V-configuration conveyor to move heavy springs between processing steps in a high-volume production line.

Open-Head vs. Tight-Head Drums

Tight-head drums are sealed except for small bung openings, so the main risk in transit is tipping. Open-head drums have a removable cover held by a closing ring, and before that ring is secured, a hard start, stop or jolt at a transfer can slosh product over the rim. Smooth acceleration, controlled stops and level transfers matter most between the filler and the lidding step.

Individual Drums or Palletized Loads

Drums are often grouped four to a pallet for shipping, which turns drum handling into pallet handling. Individual drums need guides, stops and spacing control; palletized drums need conveyors sized for a combined load that can exceed a ton. Many lines do both. Our overview of heavy-duty pallet conveyors covers the pallet side in depth.

Conveyor Options for Drums and Barrels

Most drum systems combine several conveyor types. The right mix depends on whether drums travel singly or on pallets, how often they change direction and where they must stop.

Heavy-duty live roller conveyors: Powered roller conveyors are the most common way to move upright drums and drum pallets. Passline height can be made adjustable when one line serves several products.
Chain conveyors: Multi-strand chain conveyors carry pallets on their bottom boards and suit pallets whose board direction makes rollers a poor fit. A chain transfer spur we built added a processing spur to an existing pallet line.
Turntables and transfers: Our turntables include heavy-duty, elevated, tilting and dual-mode (powered or free-spin) designs, and our transfer equipment includes pneumatic pop-up and chain transfers for 90-degree moves between lines.
Accumulation: Accumulation zones hold drums while a filler, capper or palletizing station catches up. Zero-pressure accumulation keeps drums from bumping, which protects open-head drums and labels. See our guide to accumulation conveyors.

Integrating With Filling, Capping and Palletizing

Drum conveyors connect to filling stations, lidding or capping steps, labeling, check weighing and palletizing or stretch wrapping. Each connection is an integration point where the conveyor must hand off drums at the right position and rate. We build the conveyors, transfers and controls around your process equipment, not the fillers or palletizers themselves.

Filler infeed and outfeed: stops or indexing that locate each drum under the fill head, then carry filled drums away smoothly
Capping and lidding: heights and guides matched to the capping equipment; we built a lid transfer conveyor that moves bulk lids about 20 feet from a storage hopper to a capping machine’s infeed hopper
Palletizing and wrapping: pallet conveyors and pop-up carriages like our pallet automation system, which carries empty pallets to a loading zone and indexes full loads onto a wrapper
Controls: automation support equipment can be ordered as hardware only or as a turnkey system with complete controls

Our guide to conveyor system integration explains how new conveyors tie into existing machines and controls.

Materials for Chemical and Paint Environments

Drums often hold paints, coatings and chemicals that can drip or splash onto the conveyor. Frame material, finish and components should reflect what the drums contain and how the area is cleaned.

Painted or coated carbon steel for general drum handling
Stainless steel where corrosion or washdown is a concern; we have used stainless construction to ensure long life in harsh environments
Plastic construction for aggressive chemicals, as on the conveyor we built for hydrochloric acid service
Drip pans and cleanable, accessible frames that make spills easier to contain

Safety and Ergonomics in Drum Handling

Manually rolling, tipping and lifting drums exposes workers to strains, pinch points and dropped loads. Conveyors, turntables and transfers reduce that exposure by bringing drums to the operator at a fixed height and orientation.

Elevated turntables and pass lines cut bending, walking and fork truck moves; our elevated turntable eliminated bending and walking from a heavy pallet loading operation, reducing operator fatigue and injuries
Side guides, stops and end barriers keep drums from rolling off the line
Guarding at chain, sprocket and roller nip points, in line with the machine guarding principles of OSHA 29 CFR 1910.212
Emergency stops and clear sight lines wherever operators work beside powered equipment

For the broader regulatory picture, see our summary of conveyor safety standards and OSHA requirements.

Drum Conveyor FAQs

What type of conveyor is best for 55-gallon drums?

For upright drums, heavy-duty powered roller conveyors are the most common choice, with rollers spaced so at least three sit under each drum. Palletized drums often move on chain or heavy roller conveyors sized for the combined load, with turntables and pop-up transfers handling direction changes.

Can one conveyor handle both steel and plastic drums?

Usually, as long as the rollers, guides and stops suit the lightest container as well as the heaviest. Plastic and steel drums have different bottom profiles, so roller spacing and guides should be checked against each type before the design is finalized.

How do you prevent spills on a drum conveyor?

Keep drums level, start and stop them smoothly and avoid hard impacts at stops and transfers. Variable-speed drives with gentle ramps help, and zero-pressure accumulation keeps drums from bumping each other. Drip pans and cleanable frames contain any spills that do occur.

Do you build drum filling or palletizing machines?

No. We build the conveyors, transfers, turntables and controls that move drums to and from your filling, capping and palletizing equipment, and we design the handoff points around the machines you already have or plan to buy.

What information do you need to design a drum conveyor?

Drum sizes and head types, full and empty weights, contents, rates, whether drums travel singly or palletized, the equipment they connect to and a floor layout. We offer on-site or remote engineering consultations and can help gather the data needed to validate a concept.