longterm grain storage

[cu74]

I store most of my grain in 1.75 liter square bottles with a big black label that says "Old No. 7" - guess I misread the thread title.......

[Rich Jordan]

Some searching showed a number of people reporting getting food grade buckets from local Dunkin Donuts at times for cheap or free.

[Guncrazy]

I am planning on buying some of these gamma seal lids as part of my food storage / survival strategy. But buying the buckets and having them shipped seems VERY DUMB as the cost of shipping is so high due to bulk.

Suggestions on finding local purveyors of food grade quality buckets. Free is obviously better, but just avoiding spending $5 in shipping for each $5 bucket would be great too.

Side not, is there any real reason that any NEW bucket isn't food safe?

http://freckleface.com/shopsite_sc/stor ... seals.html

Here's where I've gotten my buckets:

http://www.uline.com/Product/ProductDet ... 4&ref=8150

Shipping isn't bad. For me, an order of 10 buckets costs $11.61 for shipping, making the whole order just a bit over $54.00.

I've also got the gamma seal lids, also ordered from Freckleface.com, on mine. Best prices I've found on them so far, and the lids are MUCH more convenient than the standard type.

[Dedicated_Dad]

I've been researching this same topic.

ziplocks are worthless for "protection" and only good for separation. For the price of ONE the high-tech lids, you could (as I did) get mylar bags (seal with an iron) and O2 absorbers sufficient to do 2-3 buckets obtained free from donut shops, grocery stores, bakeries, etc.

HTH...

DD

[Precision]

I've been researching this same topic.

ziplocks are worthless for "protection" and only good for separation. For the price of ONE the high-tech lids, you could (as I did) get mylar bags (seal with an iron) and O2 absorbers sufficient to do 2-3 buckets obtained free from donut shops, grocery stores, bakeries, etc.

HTH...

DD

My plan is to have an active rotation of the food. Wouldn't mylar be more expensive long term, not to mention one time and annoying?

Does ironing it closed impart a flavor or toxin?

Not throwing stones, just wondering?

[Dedicated_Dad]

Not according to the info I have found. The bags are intended for food-storage, and are significantly oversized. You can seal a narrow band at the top, carefully cut it off, and re-seal. There's plenty of slack left at the top to do this a number of times.

Here's a vid - part of a series - that a generous guy has made. He shows what I'm talking about... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW7_cTn6YpE

DD

[Aglifter]

If this is still a concern in a month or so, I have lots of food grade buckets -- however, for long term storage, I think the vaccum bags, or new buckets is a better idea

[Dedicated_Dad]

...If you're concerned about partial use, put the stufff in an open ziplock before you vacuum seal it. Once you break the vacuum seal, jsut use it within the couple weeks that a ziplock is good for.

This is what I am doing... I have TRIED - based on bread recipes and etc - to figure out what to put in buckets such that ~2 buckets should be able to keep my family fed for a week. I put the stuff in Ziplocks, just to keep (for example) beans separated from pasta, sealed them, and have ordered the bags and O2 absorbers to seal them up inside mylar bags, which in turn will be in sealed, gasketed, food-grade, FREE buckets.

I found I could buy the bags and absorbers for ~3.50 per bucket. No doubt I could do even better if I really tried, but this worked for me.

I looked into the vac-seal stuff, but couldn't come close to this, not even counting the initial purchase of necessary equipment. If you have a source I have missed, then PLEASE tell me what it is!

If you watch the guy's vids I linked - the series about "results - you'll see how well his grain, rice, pasta, dehydrated stuff, and etc. all kept for many years without even the sort of precautions I plan to take. He and his use the same stuff I am planning to use, and they don't even bother with the buckets, but rather put the bags into barrels which I assume are then buried. You'll note that - in the "results" vids - he makes the point that the stuff he's showing us has been in a shed, subject to all sorts of temperature extremes, humidity, etc. The reality is that stuff actually keeps very well with a modicum of prep, and odds are what we're doing is even a bit of overkill - but I feel much safer knowing the stuff is sealed in mylar and all O2 is removed -- insects cannot live without O2.

One big caveat: No "moist" stuff should ever be stored with O2 absorbers - the "anaerobic" bacteria (those that can live without oxygen) are the REALLY bad ones. Better to let the food rot than to catch a case of (for example) botulism...

DD

[Precision]

Thanks guys.

yet another reason I haunt this place.

great info and I will get on this at once.

[moose42]

I store all my rice wheat beans, etc in dry pack #10 cans with a little oxygen absorbing packet. When stored this way they say wheat can last over 30 years.

The LDS Church has home storage centers where you can pickup cans and food for usually much less than commercially

I have done this type of canning in my garage using a borrowed canning machine.