DIY food storage basics, ask questions, get answers, etc.

[1Admin]

Little more info- what size bags- 6 gallon or 1 gallon? Have to assume 1 gallon because of the small size of the absorbers?

Not sure what "double sealed with a food savor" means.

Are you seeing the oat packages sucked down, like a brick of coffee? That's how it should look if everything went 100% right. If not, and you DO have a good seal, it's not the end of the world by any stretch.

Do another batch of the same beans without using the food saver thingee, use an iron set on the highest DRY setting and make a wider seal. Protus has a video showing how to do this on his youtube channel - look at the PAW Productions subforum, it's probably posted there.

[jimmydiablo]

I will give that a try. Will do it this weekend. The oats are almost as tight as when I vacuum seal (food saver thingy).

[camoBOB]

Great information. When I package I flush the pale with nitrogen and then still add a O2 absorber. You know you are on the right track when a couple of days later the lid has sunken in a little bit.

[Briar Wabbit]

OK ... Noob, here, who has not even read the whole thread ... take pity?

My "half-arsed" plan ...

I want to pack "weekly buckets", black, plastic buckets, with "normal" (non delta) type plastic lids ...

I plan to fill each bucket with a variety of "vacuum-sealed" (with absorbers) Zip-Loc(TM) brand vuccum bags and a hand-pump (or a compatible battery-op pump) ... (recommendations, on the pump?) ...

I plan to vacuum pack items, such as Quick-Oats, 16-bean soup, and dense cerials, such as Grape-Nuts and Farina, etc. WITH absorbers ... BUT I will take well-sealed items, such as: foil pouches, retort-tuna, Jiff, etc. and just drop them in there, using the factory seal ... stuff like ... foil-sealed Nature-Valley granola bars, sealed jars of Peanut-butter, sealed plastic jars of roasted almonds, raisins in a factory-sealed pouch, nonfat powdered milk in the foil pouches, hard candy, organic honey, Tuna in the Retort foil pouches, etc ... A variety of such items, in each bucket, and only vacuum/absorber sealing items with a USE-By date of less than 30 months ...

I plan to consume these items (or donate) within (or exactly "at") 5-years (mayy-be longer) ...

So, I would repackage the Qwick-Oats, Minute-Rice, Soup Beans and other such "lo-life" items in Zip-Loc Vacuum (quart and gallon) bags, with a (probably) over-rated absorber packet ... in a black plastic bucket, with a simple plasic lid, but would not attempt to actually remove the ambient oxygen, from within the bucket ... just the individually packaged items, themselves.
(No ... it is NOT a food-grade bucket).

The main point of using the bucket would be to block most/all light and to keep pests out and to help me label and rotate and carry these sorted items. ... and to help moderate changes in room temperature.

BTW, my Texas Condo never has the A/C running ... The ambient temp averages about ~78*F, with a high of ~84F and a rare low of ~66F.


Sound like a viable plan ? ... What would be the best thing (high priority) for storing in the "way-back" of my fridge shelves, and in the "crisper-drawers, below? (best priority candidates?).

I know that this is not "optimum", by a long-shot but ... I am just one guy (not a whole family) and I must draw the line, somewhere ...
... Delta lids, with mylar seems escessive and expensive, to me, considering that MOST of my "stuffs" are very well sealed, from the factory, and are (mostly) ready-to-eat (or instant).

I would just like to EXTEND the shelf life, of the "worst-packed" and the "most vulnerable/perishable" items and to use my "dead" refridgerator space to optimal advantage.

That covers it ... Comments? ... Advice? .... Sensible cautions ? (without being overly conservative or extreme).

Would just like to hear if I am gonna "choke-and-die" (or puke and get real sick) ... and when that might happen ...
.... How long would you folks use this method and feel "totally safe" to eat or donate ?

Hmmmm ? (already purched LOTS of the ZipLoc vacuum bags and two hand pumps ... would like a cheap electric (hand-held battery-op) pump.

Also looking for a cheap source of quality absorbers, appropriate to quart and gallon sized ZipLoc vacuum bags ... any good sources ?

I plan to do, say, about 50 quarts and 50 gallons, within the next two years.
(incrementally ... one packing session, each month ... ~4+ bags, each size).

[1Admin]

Briar- go back and read the thread and related food storage threads.

Packed properly, your food is going to far outlast any ziplock bag plastic.

[ibetiny]

OK, Bearman and I have found a place that has blue 55 gal food grade plastic drums from a recycle place for 7.50 each. I think these had Syrup in them. These have 2 bung holes on the top for access. My question is about cleaning them out prior to use. What does everyone think about hauling these to a car wash and spraying with the hot car wash hose, then rinsing the dickens out of them?

[Lowdown3]

How are you going to get the food in? Or are these for water?

[ibetiny]

These are for water, sorry should have said that. They have green steel drums with the removable lids for about the same price. I have about 10 of these already at the house. These had corn syrup in them. Brand new looking.

[Lowdown3]

I wonder if it would be easier/safer to clean at home with a pressure washer borrowed from a friend or rented. That why you could be SURE their is no chemicals going into the drum. Does that make sense?

[ibetiny]

Absolutely makes sense. That was my concern, the chemicals. I would, at the very least, have to triple rinse them at home after the car wash. Thanks Lowdown. Anyone else? Still in the scheming, er... planning stages.

thanks.

[goatlady]

At our town car wash you can choose to use many different "settings" and seems to me one could choose the hot water rinse cycle and avoid chemicals and still get "gunk" out of the barrels, then possibly just re-rinse again when you get home using your normal water?

[1Admin]

Absolutely makes sense. That was my concern, the chemicals. I would, at the very least, have to triple rinse them at home after the car wash. Thanks Lowdown. Anyone else? Still in the scheming, er... planning stages.

thanks.

If they just had soda syrup in there, you could also half fill with water and bleach, let the kids roll it around on the ground for an afternoon, stopping and draining and refilling it a couple times.

All our original water barrels originally held apple juice concentrate- the thick apple mess shipped in from other countries then watered down here in the U.S. and sold as apple juice. All we did was what I listed above and used the water a couple times during hurricanes, etc. without ever a problem.

Since we moved to the retreat, the water barrels took a "back up to the backup" status however.

Their is an old thread on here about water tanks from Tractor Supply somewhere. Search water tanks and I bet it will come up. Good luck!

[john1929]

dose anyone know about jaring meets?

[PerryJeff]

Thanks Lowdown3,
This will keep me busy for quite awhile...

[SCinPNW]

I have a couple of quick questions regarding number of oxygen absorbers to mylar bag size. After running a search and quick read through it is my understanding that I use one 2,000 cc. oxygen absorber per 6 gal. mylar bag, is that correct? And then for a 1.5 gallon mylar bag I should just use one 500cc. oxygen absorber, is that correct?

The last time I packed mylar bags was several years ago and it was a packing party with some of my Morman neighbors, and this time I am packing and sealing everything myself so I just want to confirm this before getting started.

Thanks for your help,
SC