What are the dimensions of a fuel barrel?

Answer 1

I found a prop for rent, which has the dimensions for a 45 gallon bbl.0.5m x 0.9m x 0.5mSo that's 1.5 ft x 3ft x 1.5 ft

http://www.themesinc.co.UK/detail.php?code=PRO062

And as to whether or not a bbl is 45 gal or 42 gal, or 44 gal ,which is used below in the next pragraph,... the 42 gallon barrel is only used as a unit of measure; oil is not transported in 42 gallon barrels or barrels at all, but in barges or pipelines. I believe the 55 gallon drum is what we usually think of. See below for my source.

I found the following in Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrel_(unit)

"the modern day 55-gallon steel drum (known as the 44-gallon drum in Britain and the 200-litre drum in Australia). The 42-US gallon oil barrel is a unit of measure, and is no longer used to transport crude oil - most petroleum is moved in pipelines or oil tankers."

But that still leaves us asking how a 44 gallon drum compares to a 55 gallon drum, as the above quote makes them sound the same...

The unit of measure for a 'barrel' of crude = 42 gallons dates back to the early days of the oil business in America. Several sources I have read during my tenure in the refining industry and as an engineer cite Rockefeller as the source. When crude was being transported in wooden barrels in wagons pulled by horses down the rutty roads from the well to the collection point, a lot of crude was slopped out. Rockefeller balked at paying for barrels that were short of the full amount, so he measured and took the average. This turned out to be 42 gallons.