5 gallon Food grade buckets

**Icemancometh** · 12-17-2009, 03:27 PM

Scored 7, 5-gallon buckets w/lids for $1 a piece at Walmart. They were from the bakery and had icing in them at one time. Now just what to put in 'em. Any suggestions? I currently have several with rice and beans. Will using mylar bags extend the longevity of my food stores. I had read that the bags aren't needed. Your opinions please.

**SARKY** · 12-17-2009, 04:07 PM

Don't believe it... use the mylar bags and while you're at it get some gamma seal screw on lids for the buckets.

**crashdive123** · 12-17-2009, 04:25 PM

Nice score. As far as what to put in them? I would recommed things that you already eat and then just rotate your supplies. No sense in storing food that you don't normally consume and may toss out if the need never arises to live off your supplies.

**Icemancometh** · 12-17-2009, 05:48 PM

Eat what you store and store what you eat. Learned that several years ago. I found a good deal on corned beef hash, bought many cans, ate 1 and gave the rest away. Too greasy for me and the kids hated it too. The only things I store now are things we normally consume. My basement pantry is siimply a larger copy of the one upstairs.

I have some of the gamma lids and love them. I will check out the mylar bags and some O2 absorbers.

**canid** · 12-17-2009, 05:57 PM

corn beef hash is great when you spend a lot of time outdoors [you pretty much have to].

carbs and fat are great for the furnace.

**pocomoonskyeyes** · 12-17-2009, 06:19 PM

OK let me throw a monkey wrench in here. IS/WAS anyone aware that you can get food grade 55 Gallon drums with a locking ring? That is what we get to store horse feed in for about $5-7 each. One will hold about 200 pounds of horse feed.

**canid** · 12-17-2009, 06:26 PM

wow. around here clean used 55gal drums with locking lids go for about $40, and you *don't* get to be picky about what they originally held.

**SARKY** · 12-17-2009, 07:43 PM

OK let me throw a monkey wrench in here. IS/WAS anyone aware that you can get food grade 55 Gallon drums with a locking ring? That is what we get to store horse feed in for about $5-7 each. One will hold about 200 pounds of horse feed.
__________________
OK, I have to ask, where do you get them?

**2dumb2kwit** · 12-17-2009, 08:03 PM

Originally Posted by SARKY

OK, I have to ask, where do you get them?

Ron's Half price Haz-Mat recycling.

**pocomoonskyeyes** · 12-17-2009, 08:09 PM

They come from a food processing plant. The ones we have came from South America I believe. They had Guava juice or pomegranate juice Or something like that. Some of the bottling plants have them. The ones that use "Natural Flavors" in their Fruit drinks. A good rinse, then we set the barrels out upside down and let the ants get what remained. A final wash with dish detergent,and it was good to go when it dried out. I don't think the guy we got them from said exactly which one it was. He goes and gets them for less than that and then sells them for about a $2-3 profit. He gets them by the hay trailer load.Hay Trailer is about 25 ft. long and about 7-8 ft wide He does two rows about 10 on the bottom of each one and then stacks them pyramid style. Probably gets 50-60 at a time. I'm sure if you call one of these food/drink type factories you could find the same or pretty close anyway.

**Rick** · 12-17-2009, 09:13 PM

Pomegranate juice, transmission fluid, it's hard to tell the difference.

On the 5 gallon buckets you also need to pick up one of those special lids.

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**canid** · 12-17-2009, 10:46 PM

hug-able who?

ah; lug-able poo...

**your_comforting_company** · 12-18-2009, 03:23 AM

I've spent all day imagining if I had 7 more buckets... OH THE POSSIBILITIES!!

I actually have 2 of those 55 gallon drums with rings, I just never seem to have that much skin (or other stuff) to process at once... alas, they are both empty

**Icemancometh** · 12-18-2009, 10:34 AM

Originally Posted by sjj

Good score. I believe the mylar bags are absolutely needed along with oxygen absorbers. I keep staples in them but confess I don't rotate/eat the 5 gallon storage stuff regularly - just the canned stuff. 10 - 15 years from now, if I'm still around, I'll restock. I'm just not going to eat that many bean/rice/wheat/sugar/salt - etc

Thats what is I was wanting to hear. I want to put my rice, beans, etc away and not touch them for many, many years. I currently have in buckets:

2-rice
1-pinto beans
3 large shelves of regulary consumed canned goods
2 55 gallon barrels of water (rotated annually)
30 gallons bottled water (rotated annually)

was thinking of adding:

1-rice
2-beans
1-oats
1-sugar
1-salt (3 gallon bucket)
1-popcorn or wheat
Any suggestions on my "want list" above, any additions or subtractions?

**RichJ** · 12-18-2009, 05:46 PM

Originally Posted by Rick

Pomegranate juice, transmission fluid, it's hard to tell the difference.

On the 5 gallon buckets you also need to pick up one of those special lids.

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Why would anyone want to "go" in a bucket? Just dig yerself a hole and fill it when you're done.
I sure as ___ ain't toten a bucket full of ___!