Buckets that don’t break

[retrobass]

I’ve got several buckets of wheel weights built up and most still need sorting. Has anybody found cheap buckets that don’t crumble like potato chips after a while? I was thinking maybe tractor supply has something thicker than your typical 5 gal bucket. What are y’all using?

[Bazoo]

I get metal paint buckets from work. Lacquer comes in them. We get them from a paint supplier in town. So maybe car paint shops or woodworking shops (like us) might have some for you.

[Petrol & Powder]

While used 5 gallon plastic buckets are cheap and plentiful, they are less than ideal. They're round, so there's wasted space when stacking/storing them. They are larger than idea for something as dense as lead. The handles are a weak point. And most hard plastics will crack with age.
On the plus side, they don't rust. They are very inexpensive (often free).

I could probably build a wooden crate that was a better size for the application but the labor may not be worth it in the end.

[Gewehr-Guy]

I buy a lot of my oil in 5 gal buckets, and I think the black plastic ones hold up longer than the white buckets. they only hold lead till I get them cast into ingots, then are stored in wooden boxes holding 64 ingots, which I made to resemble little ammo crates. They stack up nicely, and don't tip over like a stack of partially filled buckets, when the bottom one splits open after becoming brittle with age.

[LenH]

I usually get the paint buckets when they use 5 gallon buckets. The paint dries hard as a rock and the lead don't care. I have also got bolt barrels from the Ironworkers. They
are a bit taller than a 5 gal bucket and have sealed lids with a spring band. But now it seems that bolts come in plastic buckets more and more.

[lightman]

I don't know of any plastic bucket thats better than others. I've had buckets of ingots split and its frustrating, to say the least. Around here plastic buckets are easy to find. I've started using plastic milk crates for storing ingots. I stack them in so that theres no pressure on the sides. But be sure they are where you want them to stay before you fill one up.

[alamogunr]

Like Bazoo, I got metal paint buckets at work. At one time I had at least 20. When I cleaned up all the wheel weights they contained, I scrapped most of them. Wish I had kept at least 3-4. I don't scrounge WW any longer. Too old and have more lead than I'll ever use.

I don't recommend trying to buy new. I looked up sources once and found they are very expensive in small quantities.

[BamaNapper]

If you know someone with cats you have access to a never ending supply of square plastic buckets from litter that stack nicely if they're empty or half full. They aren't the strongest things and the handles are worthless for lead, but they are free, plentiful, and recyclable when they do break. They work well for sorting.

The cheapest Harbor Freight dolly with a piece of scrap plywood will hold a couple buckets and makes it easier to move around or store under benches. Or hit up Amazon and a dozen casters are about a buck apiece, for $5 homemade dollies.

If you want to spend a few more dollars, try a military surplus store and ask for the large 50 cal ammo cans they may have sitting outside. I've seen them marked as low as $5/ea and they will easily hold a couple hundred pounds of ingots. I keep a couple with clean ingots under my casting bench on a homemade dolly.

[Rich/WIS]

Not ideal but the blue plastic containers from Maxwell Coffee hold up well and hold about 30# in muffin tin ingots. Easier to handle and stack reasonably well. Put a note inside as to alloy and use a magic marker on the lid and sides for easy identification. A GI 50 cal can works well also but if you fill it, particularly with Lyman/SAECO style ingots you'll be crying "hernia, hernia" when you move it.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I don't get COWW any more. But what I did, I learned that full 5 gallon buckets crack and bust. I then learned that 5 gallon buckets that were 1/3 full don't crack and bust. They stack nicely, I have about 20 five gallon buckets that are 1/3 full in my garage, stacked to about 4 feet tall. They have been there several years, they are waiting for me to smelt. Since they are in front of one work bench, I need to move a stack once in a while, still no cracking or busting. The plastic buckets were free, coming from multiple sources. Chinese restaurants are a rarely mentioned source...another rarely mentioned source is the County's recycle dumpsters.

[jsizemore]

The plastic buckets that contain petroleum products seem to hold up a little longer. Steel buckets for paint and finishes are next and the good old 30 & 55 gal. oil and paint drums are the best.

[Valornor]

I find there is two things that preserve the life of my buckets. Don’t fill them more then 1/3 or 1/2 full, and don’t let them sit where the sun hits them.

I have several buckets which are full to the brim of lead waiting to be processed. I moved one of them one day, heard a pop in my back, and down I went for a good ten minutes. I had moved those buckets dozens of times with no problem, just was my time. Dropping that bucket, didn’t help the bucket any....

Now I scoop from the full bucket to a new bucket. I have a few steel buckets I use. But mostly I try and limit the amount of lead I store in any one bucket.


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[fredj338]

3 or 5gal metal ones are the best.

[kevin c]

...don’t let them sit where the sun hits them...

For sure. I've had plastic five gallon buckets that literally crumbled into bits after three or four years out in my wife's garden.

...I moved one of them one day, heard a pop in my back, and down I went for a good ten minutes...

Ouch. Been there, done that, got the tee shirt...

Oh, and I second metal buckets for strength, though I agree that it's not the best shape for efficient use of space.

[GregLaROCHE]

I use cheap masonry buckets with metal bails. $1-2 apiece at places like Home Depot. They’re less than five gallons and don’t have lids, but are made to take the weight and when full are as heavy as I want to carry. I don’t use them for storage. More for moving it around. I try to make ingots as soon as possible so I can stack them. Otherwise, I store range scrap in the bottom half of a 55gal. plastic drum.

If using the five gallon types with lids, make sure they haven’t been exposed to sunlight for a long time. I’ve found the the ones used for motor oil are pretty tough compared to what is used in the food industry.

[gwpercle]

5 gallon steel buckets . Granger Supply . $17.48
Check local hardware or feed and seed store like Tractor Supply if you don't have a Granger nearby.

[Mr_Sheesh]

Black plastic will last better by far in sunlight, also; We electrickery folks use black wire ties for outdoors situations.

[Uncle Grinch]

Black plastic will last better by far in sunlight, also; We electrickery folks use black wire ties for outdoors situations.

Yep... black cable ties are UV resistant. I suppose black plastic buckets would be too.

[Plate plinker]

Concrete guys have lots of metal buckets.