DRAFT TANZANIA STANDARD  
 
 
 
 
GDC 4 (1074) DTZS Packaging - Steel drums - Part 2: Non -removable head 
drums -Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TANZANIA BUREAU OF STANDARDS  
 
 
 
© TBS 2022 — all rights reserved                                   1st Edition  
 
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF  GDC 4 (107 4) DTZS PACKAGING — STEEL DRUMS 
— PART 2: NON -REMOVABLE HEAD DRUMS -SPECIFICATION  
This draft Tanzania standard specifies the requirements, methods of sampling and 
testing for non-removable head drums or tight head drums, manufactured from 
galvanized or ungalvanized steel sheet.  
It is anticipated that this draft Tanzania Standard will be made COMPULSORY i n its 
application.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
NATIONAL FOREWORDS  
 
0.1 The Tanzania Bureau of Standards is the statutory national standards body for 
Tanzania, established under the Act.No.3 of 1975, amended by Act.No.2 of 2009.  
 
This draft Tanzania Standard has been adopted by Packaging Technical committee, 
under the supervision of the General Techniques Standards Divisional Committee 
(GTDC) and it is in accordance with the procedures of the Bureau.  
 
During preparation of this standard, assistance was drawn from the following 
document:  
 
        IS 2552 Steel drums (ga lvanized and ungalvanized) – Specification  
 
ISO 15750 Packaging — Steel drums —Part 1: Removable head (open head) 
drums with a minimum total capacity of 208 L, 210 L and 216.5 L   
Acknowledgement is hereby made for the assistance derived from this source.  
 
0.2 Terminology and conventions  
 
Some terminology and certain conventions are not identical with those used as 
Tanzania Standard; attention is drawn to the following:  
 
The comma has been used as decimal marker for metric dimensions. In Tanzania, its 
current practice to use a full point on the baseline as decimal marker.  
 
Whenever the words “International Standard” appear, referring to this draft Tanzania 
Standard, they should read as “Tanzania Standard”.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
1. Scope  
 
This draft Tanzania standard specifies the requirements, methods of sampling and 
testing for non -removable head drums or tight head drums, manufactured from 
galvanized or ungalvanized steel sheet.  
 
2.  Normative references  
 
The following documents are referred to in the text i n such a way that some or all of 
their content constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only 
the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced 
document (including any amendments) applies.  
 
 ISO 3574:2012 Cold -reduced carbon steel sheet of commercial and drawing qualities  
 
ISO 3573:2012 Hot -rolled carbon steel sheet of commercial and drawing qualities  
 
ISO 228 -1:2000 Pipe threads where pressure -tight joints are not made on the threads 
— part 1: di mensions, tolerances and designation  
 
ISO 15750 -3:2002 Packaging — Steel drums — part 3: inserted flange -type closure 
systems  
 
3. Terms and definitions  
 
For the purpose of this document, the following terms and definitions shall apply.  
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the 
following addresses:  
            IEC Electropedia: available at http://www.electropedia.org/  
            ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp  
3.1 chimb  
projecting edge rim or brim at the ends of a drum. Also used to refer to the depth of 
the end stamping of a drum   
  
3.2 drum  
cylindrical packaging made of steel, the ends of whic h are permanently fixed to the 
body, with openings for filling, emptying and venting in the head  
 
3.3 round seam  
seam consisting of six or more layers of steel  
 
3.4 nominal capacity  
capacity, in litres, which by convention is used to represent a class of drums of similar 
brimful capacities  
 
3.5 total capacity  
volume of water, in litres, held by the drum when filled completely, i.e. following the 
removal of any air trapped in the drum, the drum being closed and having a lid fitted 
with closures  
 
3.6 strap handle  
handle for med of strip metal with cranked ends, riveted, soldered or welded to the 
head of the container  
 
4. Materials  
 
4.1 Body and ends shall be of steel sheet CR1 (commercial quality) for cold -reduced 
steel, according to ISO 3574, or of steel sheet HR1 (commercial quality) for hot -
rolled steel according to ISO 3573. Steel of higher strength is permitted.  
 
4.2 Closure flanges shall be manufactured from metal, and closure plugs from metal 
or plastic materials.  
 
5. Requirements  
 
5.1 General requirements  
 
5.1.1  Construction  
 
5.1.1.1  Body and heads shall be constructed of steel of adequate thickness in 
relation to the intended use.  
 
5.1.1.2  The longitudinal seam of the body shall be welded.  
  
 5.1.1.3  The body and ends shall be permanently fixed by round seaming as 
shown in Figure 1, details A and B, using a non -hardening seaming compound, 
or other joining methods (e.g., welding).  
 
5.1.1.4  Two rolling hoops (beads) expanded or rolled into the body shall be 
located as shown in Figure 1.  
 
5.1.1.5  Constructions of rolling hoops other than those shown are  allowed and 
the drum body may be reinforced with corrugations.  
 
   NOTE: The  preferred drum type is the drum with two rolling hoops only.  
 
5.1.1.6  The closures shall be positioned in the top end, diametrically opposed 
as indicated in Figure 1.  
 
5.1.1.7  The nominal pitch diameter and pitch of the closures shall be as defined 
in ISO 228 -1, threads G 3/4 and G 2.  
 
 
5.1.1.8  The closures should be as specified in ISO 15750 -3, unless otherwise 
agreed between the purchaser and manufacturer.  
 
5.1.1.9  Gaskets/washers or other sealing elements sha ll be used with the closures 
unless the fittings are inherently leakproof.  
 
5.1.1.10  The metal or plastic plugs shall be fitted with washers/gaskets of suitable 
materials.  
 
5.1.1.11  The nature of the internal and external finish shall be agreed between 
the purchaser and manufacturer.  
 
5.1.1.12   If materials used for the body, heads and fittings are not in themselves 
compatible with the contents to be transported, suitable internal protective 
coatings or treatments shall be applied. These coatings or treatments shall 
retain their protective properties under normal conditions of transport.  
   
  
 
D1- Internal diameter                                             h2- Depth of top  
D2- External diameter                                  h3- Clearance from floor  
D3- Diameter over chimb                                       h4- Distance between beads  
H1- Total drum height                                            
             p1- Centre-to-centre distance of closures                                                                       
             p2- Location of G2 (50 mm) closure to outside body, measured approximately 
50 mm from top  
 
 5.2 Specific requirements  
 
5.2.1  Drop impact strength  
The drum shall show no sign of rupture or leakage when tested in accordance with the 
method described in Annex A.  
 
5.2.2  Internal air pressure  
The drum when subjected to an internal air pressure of 40 kPa shall show no leakage 
when tested in accordance with the method described in Annex B.  
 
5.2.3  Handle pull strength  
The handle of the drum shall show no permanent distortion or damage on the handle 
retaining lugs or rivets or welding on the handle seat when tested in accordance with 
the m ethod described in Annex C.   
 
5.2.4  Thickness  
 
5.2.4.1  Thickness of the steel sheet   
The thickness of the sheet metal used for the body and the ends shall be between 0.6 
mm and 1.6 mm, with tolerances according to ISO 3573 or ISO 3574.  
 
5.2.4.2  Thickness of the handle  
The m inimum nominal sheet thickness of the strap handle shall be 0.5 mm, and the 
wire thickness of the wire handle shall be 5 mm.  
 
5.2.5  Draining  
The design of the drum shall be such as to minimize the residual volume of the liquid 
left in the drum after drainage. T he residue shall not be more than 100 ml when tested 
according to procedure A of Annex D or not more than that agreed between the 
purchaser and supplier when tested in accordance with procedure B of Annex D.  
     
        NOTE: The residue according to procedure B is more dependent on the area and 
condition of the internal surface of the packaging than procedure A and 
therefore may be in excess of that for procedure A.  
 
6. Marking  
 
The drums shall be marked indelibly or embossed with the following information on 
top or bottom ends:   
  
a) Manufacture's name or identification mark.  
b) Year of manufacture.  
c) Nominal capacity.  
d) Use /or use restrictions e.g., for chemicals only, food safe, not for corrosive 
materials etc.  
 
 
7. Sampling  
 
7.1 The drum shall be ty pe tested for the requirements given in clauses 5.2.1, 5.2.2, 
5.2.3 ,5.2.4 and 5.2.5. Any change in design, material or capacity makes it 
necessary for the new drums to be tested in accordance with all the tests specified.  
 
7.2 The frequency of sampling and th e number of samples are deemed to the matter 
of agreement between the purchaser and supplier. Nevertheless, the sample size 
given in the test methods namely, drop impact, handle strength and internal 
pressure shall be used as these are the minimum necessar y to obtain meaningful 
test results regardless of the batch size under consideration.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 Annex A  
 
(Clause 5.2.1)  
 
Drop Impact Test  
 
A1. The drums shall be subjected to the drop tests detailed in A2 and A3.  
 
A2. Fill the drum to 98 percent of its total capacity with water, close the drum 
properly and keep its diagonal in a vertical position. Drop the drum four times from 
a height of one metre on a concrete floor, drops arranged in such a manner that 
the following four points of the drum strike the floor on each drop -in turn:  
 
 
a) The bottom rim near its junction with the side seam;  
b) The top rim near its junction with the side seam;  
c) The bottom  rim diametrically opposite to the position at (a); 
and 
d) The top rim diametrically opposite to the Position at (b).  
 
A3. Empty the drum after the conclusion of the four drops. The drum shall not show 
any sign of leakage.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 Annex B  
 
(Clause 5.2.2)  
 
Air Pressure Test  
 
B1. The drums shall be subjected to the drop tests detailed in B2 and B3.  
 
B2. The drum when required for packing liquid products, shall be subjected to an 
internal air pressure of 40 kPa while fully immersed under water or coat ed over with 
soap water.  
 
B3. The drum shall show no sign of leakage.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 Annex C  
 
(Clause 5.2.3)  
 
Handle Pull Test  
 
C1. The handle of the drum shall be subjected to the gradual pull as given below, 
distributed uniformly over the length of the handle for a period of two minutes.  
 
Nominal Capacity  Pull load,kg  
Up to 10 Litres  30 
Above 10 Litres  72 
 
C2. After removal of the load, no permanent distortion or damage shall be observed 
on the handle retaining lugs or rivets or welding on the handle seat.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 Annex D  
 
(Clause 5.2.5)  
 
Draining test  
D.1. Principle  
 
The method of determining absolute and relative drainability relies on obtaining the 
mass of water left as a residue in the drum after drainage under gravity.  
 
D.2. Apparatus  
 
A weighing scale with an accuracy of at least ± 2 g is required.  
 
D.3. Procedures  
 
Procedure A  
 
Using the top section of the drum, cut the drum in half.  
 
Retain the top half and fit the appropriate closure(s).  
 
Weigh the top half with closures fitted, and record the mass, m 1, in grams.  
 
Position the drum half, top down, on a test rig so that it is held at the angle specified 
by the manufacturer (preferably 0° to 20°) with the designated closure opening at its 
lowest position.  
 
Fill the top with approximately 10 L of tap water. Wait until the water surface has settled 
and then open the closure.  
 
Allow the water to drain for 5 min without moving or shaking the top then refit the 
closure.  
  
 Reweigh the drum top, still in the top -down positio n, and record the mass, m 2, in 
grams.  
 
Procedure B   
 
Using a complete drum, weigh the empty drum including its closure(s), and record its 
mass, m 1, in grams.  
 
Fill the drum with a limited quantity of tap water, approximately 10 L. Close the drum.  
 
Rotate t he drum to ensure a wetting of all inner surfaces.  
 
Open the drum and place it in a horizontal position with the designated closure opening 
in its lowest position and leave it till the liquid flow stops. (See Figure D.1, Position 1.) 
Slowly incline the drum up to the manufacturer's recommended angle which e nsures 
the optimal draining (preferably 0° to 20°) and leave the drum in this position for 5 min 
(Position 2), without moving or shaking the drum.  
 
Fit and secure the designated closure and remove any surplus water from the outside.  
 
Weigh the emptied drum , and record its mass, m 2, in grams.  
 
D.4. Expression of results  
 
The difference between the weighing (m 2 – m1) represents the residue in the drum and 
is called the absolute drainability of the drum.  
 
The relative drainability of a drum is calculated as its absolute drainability expressed 
as a percentage of the total capacity.  
  
  
 
 
Key 
 
1. Position 1  
2. Position 2  
3. Designated closure  
Figure D.1 -Draining of the Drum