Square drums

Marc Martens

User manual

Last revision: July 2020

Thank you for putting your trust in High Performance Packaging. Please consult the following instructions prior to operating this CurTec product:

Hot filling
Closing
Handling
Strength at negative temperatures
Palletizing
Static stacking load
Dynamic stacking load
Air transport
Opening
Washing

In case you have questions after reading these instructions, please contact us.

 

1. Hot filling

The temperature of the content cannot exceed 70°C. The content has to cool down to 30°C before the container can be closed.

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2. Closing

The UN marking on a drum is only valid if the following closing instruction is applied:

1. Put the lid on the drum and turn it clockwise until it cannot by moved any further by hand.
2. Then turn the lid 30° clockwise. Only now the drum is leak tight and the UN marking is valid.

! Using a Lid Locker makes closing easier. Watch the video.

After closing you can make the drum tamper evident. For that purpose the lid and the container have sealing loops. CurTec advises you to use Unisto Compact seals:

1. Put the tail of the sealing strip into the sealing loops of the lid and drum. Push the tail trough the eye of the sealing strip and pull close.
2. The drum is now sealed.

Sealing the drum is not required to validate the UN marking.

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3. Handling

You can lift the drum by using the handgrips on the body or the handgrips on the lid.

! Please consider the HSE regulations regarding weight and frequency restrictions for lifting.

The mounted handgrips have been designed for manual displacement only. They are not suitable for mechanical handling, such as lifting with a hoist.

The handgrip is suited for a brief, controlled charge of maximum 80 kg and a couple of minutes, during which the handgrip cannot be torqued.

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4. Strength at negative temperatures

The drums are made of plastic which is resistant to a minimum temperature of -25°C. As of -5°C, impacting or putting extreme loads on the drums should be avoided.

! The volume of drums filled with water-based contents can increase by 10%. The chances that drums will distort is real and it will reduce the stability of a drum stack on a pallet. Please maintain a maximum filling level of 90% and test the stability of a pallet stacking.

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5. Palletizing

Pallet quality

Pallets should have an almost closed surface. Wooden pallets should be fitted with planks that are no more than 5 cm/ 2 in apart. Plastic pallets should have a grid mesh top with openings that do not exceed 5 cm²/ 2 in². Pallets should be fitted with a solid, flat intermediate layer prior to loading.

Pallet schemes

CurTec advises you to respect the following quantities and schemes per layer:

Item no. 7440 - 7450 - 7466 - 7480

When positioning the drums on a pallet, it is important to turn handgrips away from the corners to avoid damaging the pallet cover or stretch foil.

Filled drums are placed on a flat surface and stacked by placing the base of the drum in the counter shape of the lid.

! Our ex-works palletization is different. Please check our website for more info.

Pallet wrapping

CurTec recommends the use of a plastic heat shrink pallet cover, which needs to be shrunk around the stack including the pallet. In addition, the base of the pallet needs to be stretched with foil as well. The drums at the base of a stack will carry most of the load and to avoid a collapse they cannot be deformed by overstretching the foil or over-heating the cover.

In case a pallet is placed on top of another pallet, an intermediate layer is required to enable an equal spread of the pressure. This layer should also be solid and flat.

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6. Static stacking load

When stacking drums for storage or transport, it is important to know how much weight the lowest drum in a stack can handle.

The stacking load depends strongly on: the weight of a drum, the number of drums to be stacked, the weight of interlayers and pallets, the ambient temperature, the duration of the load and the surface beneath the lowest drum.

The following table shows the maximum stacking load (in kg) at a given ambient temperature, during a certain period of time, for a drum placed on a flat, closed surface or pallet.

Max. temp °C	0	0	0	15	15	15	25	25	25	35	35
Months	1	4	12	1	4	12	1	4	12	0.5	6
7440	302	254	222	196	165	144	147	124	108	120	88
7450	302	254	222	196	165	144	147	124	108	120	88
7466	302	254	222	196	165	144	147	124	108	120	88
7480	302	254	222	196	165	144	147	124	108	120	88

! The weights mentioned in the table have been established after simulation and can only serve as indications. CurTec recommends users to perform tests at all times.

The table allows you to calculate the number of drums that can be stacked: Reduce the stacking weight mentioned with the relevant share of the weight of intermediate layers and divide by the weight of the drum with content. This number, with a figure after the decimal point lower than 8, rounded down is the total amount of drums that can be stacked on the lowest drum of a stack.

Example

How many 66 liter drums (Item no. 7466) with a content weighing 65 kg can be stacked on a pallet at 15°C during one month? The relevant weight share of intermediate layers is 6 kg, so (196-6)/65 = 2.92. The number of drums that can be stacked on the lowest drum is 3.

In case of a different duration or temperature, please choose the next appropriate column. For shorter stacking durations, the table of instruction 7 can be of service.

Attention points

• Before stacking the drums, the temperature of the contents must be equal or lower than the ambient temperature.
• The maximum stacking time is reduced considerably at temperatures above 35°C. The stacking load in the table is at 50°C only 75% of the last mentioned value and at 60°C only 50%.
• When a stack is higher than 2.5 meters, the floor angle cannot exceed 0.5%.
• CurTec strongly discommends stacking drums horizontally, lying on the side.
• When changing transport mode, from storage to shipping or vice versa, the lowest drums of a stack must always be placed highest in a new stack.

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7. Dynamic stacking load

When stacking drums for transport, it is important to know what the maximum load on the lowest drum in a stack can be.

For transport, this stacking load is called dynamic load and can be found by dividing the admissible static load by a so-called safety factor. These factors are:

• Air transport > 3
• Road transport > 2
• Rail transport > 1.8
• Maritime transport > 1.3

The stacking weights mentioned in the table below are indicative and depend on temperature and time: 5°C is the temperature for cooled transport, 30°C is the temperature for the average transport by road or inland waterways and 40°C is the temperature for transport in warmer surroundings.

Max. temp °C	5	5	5	5	5	30	30	30	30	30	40	40	40	40	40
Weeks	0.5	1	2	3	5	0.5	1	2	3	5	0.5	1	2	3	5
7440	343	315	289	274	257	167	153	140	134	125	125	115	105	100	94
7450	343	315	289	274	257	167	153	140	134	125	125	115	105	100	94
7466	343	315	289	274	257	167	153	140	134	125	125	115	105	100	94
7480	343	315	289	274	257	167	153	140	134	125	125	115	105	100	94

! The weights mentioned in the table have been established after simulation and can only serve as indications. CurTec recommends users to perform tests at all times.

In case of a different duration or temperature below 40°C, please choose the next appropriate column. In case of even higher temperature, please consider that the dynamic load is at 50°C only 75% of the last mentioned value and at 60°C only 50%.

The table allows you to calculate the number of drums that can be stacked: Divide the stacking weight by the appropriate safety-factor, reduce the outcome with the relevant share of the weight of intermediate layers and divide by the weight of the drum with content. This number, with a figure after the decimal point lower than 8, rounded down is the total amount of drums that can be stacked on the lowest drum of a stack.

Example

How many 50 liter drums (Item no. 7450) with a content weighing 60 kg can be transported by road at 30°C during 2 weeks? The relevant weight share of intermediate layers is 6 kg, so ((140/2)-6)/60 = 1.07. The number of drums that can be stacked on the lowest drum is 1.

Attention points

• When changing transport mode, from storage to shipping or vice versa, the lowest drums of a stack must always be placed highest in a new stack.
• The drums must be stowed professionally and fixed in such a way that makes moving impossible.
• For the use of pallets, see instruction 5.
• For stacking drums in a warehouse, see instruction 6.

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8. Air transport

During air transport, the pressure drops inside a plane’s cargo hold, which causes air inside a package wanting to escape. After landing, normal atmospheric pressure prevails again which, depending on the amount of escaped air*, can cause the wall of the package to cave in.

CurTec packaging has not been designed to compensate pressure differences. The construction is such that a correctly closed packaging allows air to escape relatively fast, but does not allow it to return easily.

Since CurTec has no influence on the use of its packaging by end users, they advise to test each transport mode.

It remains the responsibility of end users to verify whether a package and content comply with relevant transport regulations. CurTec refers to the regulations mentioned in the UN certificates.

* The quantity depends on the content type (the shape and air between) and the filling degree/ level

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9. Opening

Due to the weight of the stack on top, the rubber gasket in the lid can get compressed and needs time to recover. After unstacking, users are advised to leave the drums in an upright position for at least 15 minutes prior to opening. This allows the rubber gasket to return to its original shape and guarantee an optimal closure.

1. In case a drum is sealed, cut or tear the seal and remove it from the loops.
2. Turn the lid counter-clockwise to open.

! Using a Lid Locker makes opening easier. Watch the video.

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10. Washing

The washing instructions below apply to the cleaning of all CurTec packaging products that are made of polyethylene and polypropylene:

• Best results will be achieved with ultrasonic washing machines or machines equipped with spray nozzles.
• Best qualified detergent is a low-foaming alkaline substance with a PH-value of 10 to 12 (solvents.)
• The recommended temperature of the washing water lies between 40°C and 50°C.
• The temperature of the rinsing water can only be up to 65°C.
• Washing at maximum temperature can only take up to 35 seconds and rinsing at maximum temperature only up to 20 seconds. It prevents the plastic from warming up and shrinking.
• Increased drying of products can be effected by means of applying cold air. If warm air will be used the drying can only last up to 30 seconds at a maximum temperature of 65°C.
• The blowing and drying part of the installation needs to be adjusted to the product, so those difficult spots of the kegs can also be dried.

! Check the thermostat and programmed times of your equipment regularly.

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Disclaimer

CurTec manufactures packaging material for a wide range of purposes. This declaration is restricted to the packaging material as it leaves the production facility. CurTec has neither control over final end use of the product nor over processing conditions. It is therefore the responsibility of the end user to check compliance with the relevant regulations and to validate material performance in the end application through proper end use testing.

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