still works out cheaper to fill the barrel with foam

Why do they sell them with and without foam?

Then when the outer shell gets a hole soon you have foam all over the lake

@@danp129 because they are generic barrels. They are not specifically made for docks, they just happened to be used for them.

Some places will fine you for having your foam coming out of a hole and littering the lake

Probably the only affordable option that is tougher than a plain barrel for similar floatation.

They are pretty much an international standard, you can probably find some if you look around they are often used to store liquids.

That's pretty common. It also quiets the barrels when waves hit them.

Fill the drum with ping pong balls :)

I got 22 years on Blue Lake with icy winds and freezing waters in winter. You are talking metal drums and they do eventually decay. My 40 foot Rolling Barge dock supported the weight of a Toyota truck that was needed on another property. Later that season the lack of water left 2/3 's of the dock on the shoreline and it was unharmed. My dock pops up above the ice in the winter and is almost impossible to get it stuck in ice ever (incorrect mooring can get it stuck). Rolling Barge dock kits is what you should have. But if you are supporting a floating garage, then those envirofloats are great. Expensive as heck! I am happy with my Yoshida Teriyaki barrels.

Teflon tape for sure on the threads of the bung caps (as they always leak over time). Then if you get a puncher, just change the barrel. Ensure every year you pump/empty out the barrels of water if they leak. Up here in Manitoba, Canada we experience -20 to -35 winters causing the barrels to crack or break.

Most people use silicone to seal it.

We have tons of docks out here with plastic barrels. Most older ones have been retrofitted with them as their dock floats have cracked. At work we dont have the option to use barrels for the pump docks we have. The floats have to be replaced once every couple years. These are in ponds with almost no water level fluctuation, very few days a year below freezing, no large waves beating them, and no boats bumping into them.

@@MrDirtysteve75 I don't understand,so u saying the barrels is better in terms of durability?

The barrels are also round sided and made from thicker plastic. Both of which give them a huge advantage when it comes to impact resistance.

Exactly my thought

Taylor made are flat! the barrels are round.. flat sits better and floats better in the water.. You just can't let anybody over with a claw hammer😂😂.. I've had this Taylor made type, over ten years no problems.. So far..

It will partially sink but the barrel can be replaced easily and cheaply.

Even sucured and under pressure these types of barrels are fairly axe resistant, so I don't think they will catostrophic fail, and you can fill them with closed cell foam or something else that is cheap, floats and isn't adsorbant if you don't want to replace leaky barrels.

I’d like to know as well

@@pkaspar78 left mine in the pond 2 years now and no issues.

@@jaecubed592 good to know, thanks for the reply 👍🏻

Styrofoam doesnt float for ever only a few years. Ice, bacteria or small animal can break the bubbles and it soaks with water over time.

I think you'll be fine, I've had a dock with them 10 ten years.. if you go with the tailor made You just can't let anybody over. And beat on them with a hammer claw..😢 🤪

I did that once with an axe, barely scratched the barrel.

Well yeah, nobody _plans_ on an impact. And yet they happen. A lot.

@@RobMacKendrick are you talking mainly like bumping them with boats?

@@RobMacKendrick what other impacts are you referring to beyond that?

@@wreckedbmwguy9925 All kinds. Docks get banged and bashed and whacked and stabbed and stuck with everything. After seeing this, I'm using poly barrels.

$10 used

Doctor Medkit hmm, makes me want to build a battleship

@@crusadervictor1882 Don't let your dreams stay dreams, only you can make the battleship happen

Doctor Medkit and then I can finally show my neighbours who’s boss. Thanks Doctor Medkit, thanks

The money he spent in aluminum to build a frame to avoid the drums from rolling everywhere, you will save it by using the traditional dock float from Taylor Made. I had a dock in Puerto Rico. Made with this drums sun kill them over time because they are made of HDPE which is poor UV resistant, they got bridle for long hours under Sun exposition. I changed to Taylor Made dock floats and they sit right under dock can't even see them under the dock plus I added LED lights, and it looks almost like a levitating platform because the float are black.

@@sololetras8169 Aluminum seems like an excessively expensive material for framing a dock with poor rigidity, why would you use it?