A few quick questions about 5 gallon buckets.

[Trey45]

The buckets I'm going to be using say:

Food Grade
Heavy Duty
BPA Free

Are these air tight once the lid is hammered on?

One or two O2 absorbers in these? (These are the 2 inch square packet absorbers)

If using Food Saver vacuum sealer bags, are O2 absorbers really needed in those buckets that the vacuumed bags are stored in?

Does it make any sense at all to store canned goods inside sealed 5 gallon buckets?

[OBIII]

I am not sure about 5 gal. buckets, since I have never bought/used them, but I think a lot depends on how long you plan to store food. I personally, would put loose items, (beans, rice, etc.), in vacuum sealed bags, and place the bags into 5 gal or larger buckets. If it is truly air tight, then I think that an O2 absorber that would handle whatever oxygen is left in the pail would absorb that oxygen once the pail was sealed. If no leaks or cracks, there should be no oxygen inside of the bucket for more years than I probably have left.

Some type of consideration has to be given to periodically being able to rotate stock. It just makes sense to keep it as fresh as possible. I mean, 5 pounds of rice stored for 10 years before use would probably not be as good as rices stored for only a year or two. Canned goods is relatively easy, but large quantities of beans and rice are another story. If anyone has some ideas along this line, let us know.

OB

[cloakndagger]

I keep my hurricane supplies in 6gal square buckets (we have a poultry farm so we have buckets galore from vitamins, suppliments, and citric acid for cleaning water lines) and they seem fairly airtight if properly prepared. I put a peice of drywall in the bottom, then a couple oxygen absorbers (they come in our bulk vitamins) then two 10# bags one rice one beans, then vaseline the rim and attach the lid, then duct tape it on there good and tight. They probably wouldnt hold up to being buried, but then again not much will. Make sure you LABEL THE BUCKETS its so very annoying to be looking for hatteries and open the beans bucket. This also works well for clothing storage for college.. one weeks clothes will fit one bucket.. and the lid keeps the funk down in the dorm on those used clothes. Mom loved those college "care packages" lol

[Cord]

You should check out "Gamma Seal Lids" for 5 gallon buckets,
found on eBay and other places for a few bucks each, cheaper by the dozen.

The rim snaps on tight to a standard bucket and the inner part
screws in and out, and has an airtight and watertight seal.

MUCH easier to open and close than a standard lid.

You can buy Mylar bags that you can seal with an iron,
and oxygen absorber packs, or use small bits of dry ice
and "burp" the bucket as it drives out the oxygen.

[Houndog]

Just a thought, but if you have a Krispy Kreme or similar Doughnut shop close, check into buying some of the 2 1/2 gallon buckets they get icing and doughnut glaze in. I find them ideal for dry goods food storage and such items as flashlights and batteries. They are usually FREE or never more than $1.00 each around here.

[John in WI]

Be careful about things being called "air tight" and things that are an actual BARRIER to oxygen. Most of the time when you buy bulk foods in buckets, the buckets are actually lined with a big mylar bag. Mylar is an excellent barrier to oxygen (because it's actually metalized film).

If you're using oxygen absorbers, you really don't need to worry about vacuum sealing. Since the air is over 70% nitrogen, when you soak up the oxygen you are left with a nitrogen atmosphere in the bag anyway.

Here's a company I have bought from, and the deliver fast and have good prices: https://www.usaemergencysupply.com/e...orage_bags.htm

The process is pretty easy. You put the mylar in the bucket, fill it with the loose grain or beans (or whatever else), and settle the contents. Then you place in the required number of oxygen absorbers, and heat seal the bag. I used a regular clothes iron. By the next morning, all the puffiness was out of the bag (because most of the oxygen had already been absorbed). That stuff is over 3 years old, and so far it looks like I still have a good partial vacuum on it.

Anyway, I think the bucket is just a way to carry, stack, and store the food. It's more a barrier against damaging the mylar liner.

[Trey45]

What I've been doing is using the Food Saver machine and bags, making portions in each bag, vacuum sealing the bags and filling buckets. Place cooking instructions(print-out) in each bucket, label the outside of each bucket and drop 2 of the O2 absorbers in each bucket, then hammering down the lid. Stack it and start the next bucket. It's slow going but worth it.
Those mylar bags don't work with the food saver vacuum, but they do work with an iron to seal them.
I bought 2 fifty pound bags of dog food today and filled 4 5 gallon buckets, I had forgotten about feeding the dog during an emergency!

[foxhole]

look at the under side of your 5 gal pale lids,if there is a rubber gasket in the groove then these are air/water tite when installed correctly,
you probebly could do with out the O2 abs. in the pales with the vacuem sealed bags,but if you got them why not?the only reason I could think of to put canned goods in a sealed 5 gal pale is if you have a moister problem were your going to store your supplies.just my thoughts

[Denny303]

I bought food grade 5 gal buckets for $3.97 at my local lowe's store, and gamma lids across the street at Home Depot I think they were $6 or $7. Worth a check if you have them stores in you area.

[jdgabbard]

Also check out home brew stores. They have brew buckets that average about $15 a pop...but they're airtight. Have to be for brewing. But the lids usually have holes in them. I know Home Depot/Lowes buckets are food grade.dunno if they're air tight though... Haven't looked in a while.

[Outpost75]

Using 5 gallon buckets is OK as long as you have animal or vehicle transport to carry them.

They are MUCH more difficult to deal with when traveling on foot than using a pair of smaller containers. During a trip to Europe last year I was shown examples of how WW2 partisans and present day criminal gangs make use of hasty, expedient caches, by bundling ammo boxes in burlap sacks, and hoisting them up high in trees, camouflaged with brush, so they would be safe and well hidden until they could come back to get them later.

This expedient method was used during WW2 mostly for small items considered dangerous for operatives to be "caught with," by the enemy, such as portable radio transmitter sets, spare radio “valves” (tubes), batteries, pistols and ammunition or grenades.

The key to a tree cache not being found is using a thick, brushy tree, located well off any road or trail which may be climbed high enough so that the end of the tag line can be well hidden above head height, tied securely then completely concealed by bark, in brush or tucked into a knothole. Enemy patrols always looked for dirt and brush which out of place, but seldom looked up high into trees.

An expedient tree cache requires no digging, and can be exploited quickly if suitable trees have been pre-scouted. It is vital that the tag line be of a color which blends with the surroundings and is well hidden to leave no visible evidence of its presence. I've been experimenting with pre-positioned small "grab & go" can caches, assembled in .50 cal. ammo cans, double-wrapped in black plastic garbage bags, camouflaged in OD netting, then hoisted 10 meters high or more up into a tree with paracord or demolition wire. They looks just like a squirrel nest.

This enables you to travel into the bush to hunt or camp more quickly and quietly, lightening your walking load, by stocking food and supplies near camp ahead of time. I use the same type of canister to store emergency food supplies in the truck, boat, etc.

The following all packs into a one military M2A1 steel ammunition can. Design intent is as an emergency 1 man/week food supply for your boat, vehicle or aircraft. The foods in the can have great staying power, but require significant water for cooking and digestion. If you want to substitute no-cook foods for the rice and beans, you must compromise bulk and shelf life. I’ve found few ready to eat foods with the shelf life and pure staying power of SPAM, beans and rice. Peanut butter in PET plastic containers, Bega tinned cheese and Red Feather tinned butter with MRE vacuum foil wrapped "John Wayne" crackers, Mainstay 2400 lifeboat rations or pilot biscuit comes close. Adding a week’s supply of multi-vitamins is also a good idea.

EXAMPLE SUPPLY LIST FOR TRAINING DISCUSSION

3 lbs. dry rice
2 lbs. dry beans
2 cans SPAM
6 ozs. dried onion flakes
2.5 oz. Chipotle seasoning
2.75 oz. Cajun seasoning (substitute other seasonings to your liking)
7 teabags (substitute bouillion cubes or instant coffee if you prefer)
64 wooden strike anywhere matches, (those in photo are NOT in waterproof packaging, be sure that yours are!)
12 trioxane fuel bars (or Esbit solid fuel tabs)
12 petroleum jelly infused cotton balls (as minimum, used here only to place between Trioxane bars in canteen cup to prevent movement)
Ferro rod (as pocket spare and backup)
Fire starting tool NSN 4240-01-160-5618 (as primary use)
Hand twist-type pencil sharpener to produce wood shavings from sticks as tinder
Mil-K-818 or Swiss Army Spartan pocket knife
Razor, folding, utility
Saw, folding, utility
Canteen cup and warming stand
Mess kit fork and spoon
1/3 c. measure; 2/3c. rice to 1/3c. beans, soak overnight in 2c. water before cooking.
Personal illuminator and four extra AA batteries
Land Survival Pamphlet FAA-P-8740-59, AFS-803 (1999)
Hunting ammunition (substitute water filter if no firearm is carried or needed in survival kit).
50 ft. light duty nylon “Mason’s Line” as utility cord

Attachment 72254Attachment 72255Attachment 72256

[dbosman]

A couple of lbs of dry ice, in the bottom before filling, will displace the air in the bucket. Let it "melt" for a couple of hours then whack the new lids on.

If you have a gauge set already, a rental cylinder of Nitrogen isn't all that expensive. It can be used to displace the air as well.

[giericd]

FYI the orange Home Depot 5gal buckets that have the "seal" lid are not good for storage! I filled 2 of these 5gal buckets with tropical fishfood which looks and feels a lot like brown sugar. Made sure the seal lid was on real good, a few months later my garage had a funkey smell. Tracked it down to the buckets. The fishfood was as hard as cement, stunk to high heaven, and was infested with little brown bugs! Won't use those again.

[John Allen]

The Gamma lids are in the paint aisle of the Home Depot. I have quite a few of these and they are great.

[dbeerman2000]

The best of free buckets comes from your local grocer with a bakery. The frosting buckets are thrown out on certain days, find out when and visit on those days, sometimes 6gal, sometimes 3gal, but always 5gal. Gamma seals are great for buckets you will be in and out of, but for long term storage, buy the lids with a seal, snap them on and leave them alone.

[djgoings]

The Gamma lids are in the paint aisle of the Home Depot. I have quite a few of these and they are great.

I got several 5 gal buckets with gamma lids, I use for ammo storage. I really like unscrewing the lid as opposed to trying to pry off type.

[woodsxdragon]

I store the sugar i use for winemaking in a 5 gallon bucket with the bag in there. i'm still on the same bag from two years ago with no major problems as far as taste or bugs.

[smokeywolf]

The Gamma lids are great, but about 10% g/t of the rings that snap on the bucket rims will crack after a few years. Also, don't stack buckets with Gamma lids more than 3 high; bottom bucket Gamma ring will soon crack.

Don't forget to store as much pet food as possible.

smokeywolf

[sniper69]

I'd use canned goods as a short to medium term item and rotate through them. #10 cans that have long term storage items should be fine on a shelf (i.e. freeze dried foods, etc).
As for 5 gallon buckets - if storing staples (rice, wheat, beans, sugar, etc) many of these items if put in mylar with the proper size O2 absorber, then into the bucket will last 20-30 years! The LDS has some sort of chart available that tells how long items will last stored that way, and there are other resources that show this as well.
Now if using 5 gallon buckets in the pantry to store everyday use items bought in bulk like flour, sugar, oatmeal, etc - then the gamma lids are nice to use as they are easier to open/close.

[CRA]

Go to BJ's or Sam's club and go to the bakery section. They have food grade buckets that they store their icing in and will give them to you for free. Clean 'em out and get some mylar bags and O2 observers. You can get your rice and taters and all sorts of stuff while your there too for food storage