Buckets, Buckets, Everwhere.......

[Monel]

LOL, you are correct.

[Monel]

OK, I found a place nearby that sells all manor of barrels and buckets. They even sell mylar bags and Gamma lids. If I buy a 55 gallon open ended barrel, should I get steel or plastic?
They sell nestable barrels that look interesting. The company is Baytec Containers, they also sell on line.

[Matt In Oklahoma]

should I get steel or plastic?

IMO I think plastic is better. Steel barrels rusts it seems no matter the treatments, paint etc. Cosmetically, the plastic can be stored inside without messing anything up if needed with rust on the floor, it also doesnt scrape/gouge near as bad when you contact stuff while moving it. Plastic comes out of water better too if it ever sees a flood. I had some stuff stored in my tornando shelter once and it flooded, didnt find it for about 2 weeks, and the difference between the 2 barrels was night and day. Being in H town and dealing with your rain rain/hurricanes this seems like it would be a factor.
The only downside of plastic is in the larger (55gl) containers some are weaker and will flex some and make it more difficult to move, quality counts in this aspect.
Thats my 2cents

[Klayton]

Monel, I could not find the nestable barrels???

[Monel]

http://www.bayteccontainers.com/15galoppldr.html

[Klayton]

Ahh thanks, their term "nestable" is most people's term "stackable"...

I was thinking more in the lines of nestable meaning buckets that once filled stack together so tightly that they waste almost no floor space...

[Monel]

One more question and I think I will be able to proceed. Given that grain is packaged and sealed in mylar bags with O2 absorbers. Will the shelf life be any better or worse by storing in sealed barrels as opposed to 5 gallon buckets?

[Matt In Oklahoma]

One more question and I think I will be able to proceed. Given that grain is packaged and sealed in mylar bags with O2 absorbers. Will the shelf life be any better or worse by storing in sealed barrels as opposed to 5 gallon buckets?

No it shouldn't the container mainly keeeps the critters out and gives you something to be able to move if needed. The mylar is what keeps the air out. If you put it in barrels make sure they seal good and think about how you are gonna move them heavy things even if it's just to the kitchen. Make sure you watch the PAW video they did here, it's one of the best I've ever seen on storing food.

[Monel]

Thanks Matt. My thinking is that they will stay close to where they are stored. I would remove only 1 bag each of rice, beans, and whatever else I store. Unless I need to run far away. I then would move the barrels with a hand truck to my enclosed trailer. I hope that plastic drums will be stout enough to hold thier shape while being moved around.

[Matt In Oklahoma]

Thanks Matt. My thinking is that they will stay close to where they are stored. I would remove only 1 bag each of rice, beans, and whatever else I store. Unless I need to run far away. I then would move the barrels with a hand truck to my enclosed trailer. I hope that plastic drums will be stout enough to hold thier shape while being moved around.

Some additional thoughts on the matter:
The barrels should hold fine but they will flex as all types of barrels do under pressure. If you can do a practice load out when they are full so you can see how to load them in the trailer to keep them stabile and from shifting. Traffic in "evacuations" can get rough. Getting a weight on each one and marking it with sharpie might not be a bad idea either in case you end up with something besides your vehicle/trailer post SHTF. Also calculate in reduced milage for your bugout.

[etgal]

Hello everyone. My husband recently made a delivery of pallets to a small local manufacturer of juice drinks. We are now the proud owners of many empty 5 gal heavy plastic buckets and bottles that held liquid juice concentrate. I've almost gone blind from searching the net to see if we could use these for water storage. One site leads to another and soon I've wandered off the subject to something even more interesting. To date it seems a mixed bag of opinions, but I figure if we wash them thoroughly, sanitize with bleach (caps & lids included), rinse thoroughly then we could rotate potable water from them. I'd love hear any thoughts on using them. vlm ~..~

[Matt In Oklahoma]

Hello everyone. My husband recently made a delivery of pallets to a small local manufacturer of juice drinks. We are now the proud owners of many empty 5 gal heavy plastic buckets and bottles that held liquid juice concentrate. I've almost gone blind from searching the net to see if we could use these for water storage. One site leads to another and soon I've wandered off the subject to something even more interesting. To date it seems a mixed bag of opinions, but I figure if we wash them thoroughly, sanitize with bleach (caps & lids included), rinse thoroughly then we could rotate potable water from them. I'd love hear any thoughts on using them. vlm ~..~

There is no reason you can't. You don't have to have anything fancy to hold water, just sealed containers. IMHO I would rotate a little quicker than normal the first couple of times just to make sure all contaminates, juice particles etc are out of there. They will probably not stack to high with the weight so maybe put them on bottom and something light like bucketed pasta on top of them. Congrats on the "find"!

[1Admin]

People have been using barrels that held cola syrup for potable water storage as long as I can remember. (After cleaned out thoroughly of course).