Drum Feed Safety Clamps Buying Guide
How to use Drum Feed Safety Clamps
What inspired the Drum Feed Safety Clamp?
The Drum Lock Safety Clamp was invented by Cherie Summers, a Chemical Engineer with over 17 years of experience in the water treatment industry. After years of working with different facilities, including water treatment plants, Cherie noticed that chemical pollution levels are high in water treatment facilities due to the off-gassing of chemicals being stored in drums on site. As an environmentally conscious person, she had to do something about this environmental and safety issue. She was inspired to find a way to prevent off-gassing chemicals from contaminating the work environment while also protecting the chemicals inside the drums.
There are normally 4 different applications in which chemicals are used in most industries: Cooling, Heating, Waste Treatment and Cleaning and Sanitation. These industries use roughly 6 – 8+ different chemicals in their daily applications. These chemicals are typically stored in 15 – 55 Gallon drums with a feed system.
What is the purpose of the Drum Feed Safety Clamp?
The Drum Feed Safety Clamp has two purposes:
- The clamp protects the chemicals in drums from being contaminated by particles floating in the air. Manufacturing facilities, for example, often have high levels of airborne pollutants.
- The clamp helps to prevent chemicals from off-gassing into the air and cross-contamination of chemicals, providing a cleaner and healthier work environment.
The benefits of these purposes:
- Reduce the risk of direct chemical exposure
- Improve air quality
- Reduce cross contamination of chemicals
- Reduce off-gassing of harmful chemical odors
- Reduce contamination of the chemical product
- Create a “greener” work environment
What size drums does it fit?
- Clamps fit most standard plastic UN chemical drums between 15-gallon and 55-gallon which feature a 2" opening with a flange. The precise size opening that it will fit is 85mm-92mm. If the widest part of your drum opening is within this range, the clamp will fit securely.
- If your drum has an opening slightly smaller than 2", such as many Canadian drums and many smaller drums (5-15 gallon) you can add weather stripping to the inside of the drum lock to adapt the clamp. We have had customers securely attach 3/8" wide x 1/8" thick adhesive-backed weather stripping foam to the inside of the clamp with excellent results.
Which Industries use Drum Feed Safety Clamp?
Any industry that stores chemicals in drums with a drum feed, including but not limited to:
- Food and Beverage
- Dairy
- Semi-conductor
- Hospitality (including hotels and casinos)
- Refineries
- Manufacturing
What are the most common applications in which Drum Feed Safety Clamp is used?
The top applications for storing and feeding chemicals:
- Heating
- Cooling
- Waste Treatment
- Cleaning & Sanitation
Heating and cooling processes can use up to 8 different chemicals including Antiscalants, Corrosion Inhibitors and Biocides.
Waste treatment in a manufacturing plant usually deals with waste biproduct production. This sort of waste cannot be disposed of simply. Most times, it has to be sent to an internal waste treatment plant, where it is exposed to certain chemicals for processing, then the waste is discharged to the city.
Cleaning and Sanitation involves a variety of different chemicals including Chlorine, Ammonia, Iodine, and Quaternary Ammonium Compounds.
What are the most common applications for Drum Feed Safety Clamp?
- By using Plastic tubing (3/8” OD up to 1” OD)
- Or, Drum Probes (3/8” or 1”)
- Or, Solid Filter (no hole) for Lock Out / Tag Out of offline drums
What filter is best for my application?
Flexible Feed Tube: Use the white Standard Chemical Filter for most applications that use a single size of tubing. The radial cut design is flexible and allows for use with a range of tubing sizes, from 3/8" to 1", and has slight memory properties which conform to your specific tubing size.
Drum Probe 3/8”: The Cleaning and Sanitation Filter is designed specifically to be used with a standard 3/8” Drum Probe.
Various tubing sizes used in a single process: Use any drum clamp but keep multiple filters on hand to switch out for the different tubing sizes. Choose our All-in-One Filters with Tear-Out Center Rings, which can be customized to fit any of the following standard feed tubes:
- 3/8” (ID) Drum Probe
- 3/8" (OD) feed tubing, 3/8" drum probes
- 1/2" drum probe
- 1" flex hose
Lock Out/Tag Out, Offline Drums: The Solid Filter is designed specifically for FSMA-Compliant lock out, tag out procedures. Use in tandem with our serialized drum tags to prevent unauthorized access and keep compliant records.
What is the chemical compatibility of the filters?
Please view our Filter Chemical Compatibility Chart for information. As a general rule, any chemical that is sold in a plastic drum will be compliant with this product.
Once I choose a size for the All-in-One Filter with Tear-Out Center Rings, can I change the size?
No, once you have punched out the inner segments in the filter you cannot reinsert them. Please take the time to measure your tubing before deciding how many inner rings to remove. Order replacement filters to keep different sizes on hand.
What type of plastic is the outer clamp made of?
Polypropylene (PP)
What type of material are the filters made of?
They are made of Plastazote, which is a LDPE, Closed cell cross-linked polyethylene foam. All filter options are compatible with chemicals with a pH of 1 – 14. The white is the most flexible and lowest in density at LD15, the black Choose-Your-Opening filter is LD33, and the last two black filters (solid and pre-sized) are LD45.
Can I use the Drum Feed Safety Clamp on my metal drums?
No. Chemicals stored in metal drums may not be compatible with the LDPE filter or plastic clamp. Therefore, the clamp was not designed for use with metal drums.
When I insert my drum probe into the filter it creates a small opening on one side. How can I get it to seal better?
Rotate the drum probe slightly while inserted into the filter. This should help the filter form correctly around the feed tube.
Can the Drum Feed Safety Clamp be used with vertical feeds?
No. It is not leak-proof.
We are a part of the Food and Beverage Industry and use chemicals for Cleaning and Sanitization, do you have a filter for this?
Yes! We understand that in the food and beverage industry there are very strict regulations (OSHA, EPA, etc.) for Cleaning and Sanitization; CIP (Cleaning in Place). The chemicals used for these operations are extremely toxic with very high pH. Our Cleaning and Sanitization Filter is designed for this specific application. It is a very high density and rigid, so when it’s being moved around on drums it holds steady. It will fit tightly with a standard 3/8” drum probe - most commonly used in the food and beverage industry.
Why would I use a Solid Filter?
Some industry processes, such as Waste Treatment, may not use chemicals as frequently as other processes. The Solid Filter is used for lock out/tag out of an offline drum. It is very dense, keeping chemicals from going in or out of the drum. By using this drum clamp model along with a serialized tag, manufacturers can record when a lock out/tag out occurred. This prevents tampering and contamination of chemicals. This procedure complies with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA.)
Do the Drum Clamps seal the drum 100%?
No. The clamps do not seal the drums entirely. The clamp has been designed to allow air to flow in and out at a minimal rate through a small lip on the underside of the clamp. If the drum clamp created a complete seal, a vacuum would occur during the feed process and the drum would eventually implode.
How often should I change out my filter?
We recommend changing out the filter every 3 – 6 months. For heavy usage, we recommend every 2 months.
When using the safety clamps can I store certain volatile chemicals in the same vicinity?
Understanding the compatibility of the chemicals being used in your facility should be a top priority. Certain chemicals, such as Chlorine and Ammonia, can create a deadly environment through off-gassing. The Drum Lock Safety Clamps can help curb the off-gassing of these chemicals but it is still not recommended to store certain volatile chemicals in the same room.