Food Grade Barrels  Do get food grade barrels. Get 3 of them, you will see why during the construction phase of the smoker. What I mean by food grade barrels is, some barrels that have been used to store some type of food product. I came across some barrels at the local Kebler factory that had malt extract in them. I've also read that other folks have found barrels of this type at their local bakery as well. Strange thing is they are just sitting there and some place wont let you have them. Seems its a liability issue for you to take them. Um, who's gonna eat what's in them? We just want to cook! Clean  Do get new barrels that have not been sitting around to long. I also washed them out at the local car wash before I took them home. It's also a good idea to wash them out after you are done with your final assembly, more about this later in the project.