# Food buckets



## Jakthesoldier (Feb 1, 2015)

How long can rice and beans be stored in buckets without mylar bags?


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## Prepared One (Nov 5, 2014)

Good question. I am currently storing rice and beans in sealed 5 gal. Buckets. I have recently purchased Mylar bags to begin that process but I would like to know how long without bags as well.


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## Jakthesoldier (Feb 1, 2015)

Well how long have yours lasted so far?


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## Auntie (Oct 4, 2014)

Do you have Gamma lids? Are you using oxygen absorbers? Are they food safe buckets?


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## RNprepper (Apr 5, 2014)

The sealed Mylar keeps O2 out, as well as protecting from light that goes through the buckets. I have also sealed beans in buckets without sealed Mylar, but used CO2 gas to drive out all O2, and then added O2 absorbers to take care of any bit of residual O2. I then sealed the buckets (ring seals, not gamma seals). Getting that last bit of O2 out created a vacuume and the sides of the buckets actually sucked in. I will be very interested in seeing how long that vacuume lasts, as that will tell me that air is finally penetrating the plastic. So far it's been a year. As long as those buckets are sucked in, I know that no O2 has gotten inside, and I am trusting that those beans will last as long as the vacuume. Does that make sense? The key to long term food storage is getting the O2 out so the food does not oxidize or turn rancid. I use food grade CO2 and use a long wand to fill the buckets from the bottom. Since CO2 is heavier, it pushes the room air up and out of the beans/grain. You can place a small tea light candle on top the food as you fill the bucket with CO2 and watch the candle go out as the O2 is pushed out. You can also use nitrogen. 

Native people in the southwest did this by building grain caches and lighting a small fire inside. They then sealed the cache and the fire would consume any O2, thus killing insects and preserving the grain in an O2 free environment.

PS: You also need to store the buckets in a cool, dark place. Heat, light, and O2 are the enemies of food preservation.


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## Auntie (Oct 4, 2014)

I found this:
Supersizing Food Storage with BUCKETS - The Prepper Journal


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## slewfoot (Nov 6, 2013)

found this.
according to findings of recent scientific studies. Estimated shelf life for many products has increased to 30 years or more (see chart below for new estimates of shelf life).

Previous estimates of longevity were based on "best-if-used-by" recommendations and experience. Though not studied, sugar, salt, baking soda (essential for soaking beans), and vitamin C in tablet form also store well long-term. Some basic foods do need more frequent rotation, such as vegetable oil every 1 to 2 years.

While there is a decline in nutritional quality and taste over time, depending on the original quality of food and how it was processed, packaged, and stored, the studies show that even after being stored long-term, the food will help sustain life in an emergency.

For tips on how to best preserve longer-term food storage products, see Longer-Term Food Supply.


Food

New "Life-Sustaining" Shelf-Life Estimates (in Years)


Wheat 30+ 
White rice 30+ 
Corn 30+ 
Sugar 30+ 
Pinto beans 30 
Rolled oats 30 
Pasta 30 
Potato flakes 30 
Apple slices 30 
Non-fat powdered milk 20 
Dehydrated carrots 20


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## PatriotFlamethrower (Jan 10, 2015)

Why not just buy mylar bags, and not worry about shelf life without them?

They aren't expensive. Just go to e-Bay and buy whatever size you need.

We use mylar bags all the time. Throw in the right size of oxygen absorber, then seal the mylar with an iron or other type of "heat sealer".


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

I really like these guys

Mylar Bags - SorbentSystems.com


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## slewfoot (Nov 6, 2013)

PatriotFlamethrower said:


> Why not just buy mylar bags, and not worry about shelf life without them?
> 
> They aren't expensive. Just go to e-Bay and buy whatever size you need.
> 
> We use mylar bags all the time. Throw in the right size of oxygen absorber, then seal the mylar with an iron or other type of "heat sealer".


Yep, this is what we do.


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## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

hundreds if not thousands of years if you can reproduce the same conditions as the egyptian pyramids. they didn't have mylar


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## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

PatriotFlamethrower said:


> Why not just buy mylar bags, and not worry about shelf life without them?
> 
> They aren't expensive. Just go to e-Bay and buy whatever size you need.
> 
> We use mylar bags all the time. Throw in the right size of oxygen absorber, then seal the mylar with an iron or other type of "heat sealer".


i believe walmart online will sell them free shipping


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## Prepared One (Nov 5, 2014)

I have the Mylar bags and will storing in those. I have had beans, rice, and pasta in sealed buckets for about a year now. I store them on the bottom shelf of the food pantry so I am thinking I can get at least 5 years without Mylar. Doing more research tho.


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

The FDA food buckets most people find/buy/acquire are high density polyethylene. The chart listed below shows a permeability to oxygen and moisture based on testing (probably this sheet material) for HDPE (second item in chart). You will notice that PET or PETE right above the HDPE info show permeability levels much better than HDPE have. Look at the foods you buy that are packaged in LDPE or HDPE. They are all short storage lives. Since it is oxygen and moisture (and light) that will cause foods to degrade, LDPE or HDPE don't meet the criteria for long term storage. 
For what it is worth, I saw a You Tube of a guy who had originally stored rice in HDPE buckets with oxygen absorbers. after fives years he opened one, found the rice to be turning color to a "yellow". He sent a sample to a lab for analysis and it came back to be about 40% lower in nutritional value. He transferred all the rice and other foods into Mylar bags and marked them as being of lesser nutritional value. He did not mention how or where he stored these buckets, so they may have been exposed to light which will also degrade foods. For the cost of Mylar, it's worth the extra dollar.

Plastics Comparison Chart | Alpha Packaging


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## Jakthesoldier (Feb 1, 2015)

Yea, but until the bags arrive...
seriously though, I would assume with a sealing lid, food would be good for a reasonably long time.


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## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

Jakthesoldier said:


> Yea, but until the bags arrive...
> seriously though, I would assume with a sealing lid, food would be good for a reasonably long time.


Find out what the mormons did in the 1980s when oxygen absorbers and mylar were not the latest rage. Then find out how well their food storage lasted.

I would like to know this info, too.

I will note, that the mormons sell in #10 cans but they still advocate storing in PETE and HDPE containers.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Good answers. If you can get mylar bags and oxygen absorbers, use them. Good luck all, we are hearing and seeing more and more people getting ready for something bad to happen as the year goes on. Maybe its the overall economy, maybe its the social unrest in some areas, maybe its the Euro and Greece/Spain/Portugal, maybe its Iran and Israel, maybe its Biblical, maybe its overspending and money printing at the fed, ???

I don't know but I aim to be ready. God Save This Once Great Republic.


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## Prepared One (Nov 5, 2014)

If anything I am speeding up Slip....or should I call you Slippypoo?.....I am going more in the self sustaining area. If things go bad here in the city I will take as many as I can with me o'l pal. That way you and the others will have less to deal with. I just have this sense...not sure what, more of a feeling, that something at the end of that alley...ain't good.

Jak, I ordered my Mylar bags from Amazon and had them in two days. 50 bucks initial investment to get started. Going to start Mylar this weekend with a couple of failures I am sure.


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## PatriotFlamethrower (Jan 10, 2015)

We have purchased ALL of our 5-gallon pails, with lids, from Home Depot. 

They work just fine, even though Obama's FDA hasn't approved them.


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## SOCOM42 (Nov 9, 2012)

rnprepper said:


> the sealed mylar keeps o2 out, as well as protecting from light that goes through the buckets. I have also sealed beans in buckets without sealed mylar, but used co2 gas to drive out all o2, and then added o2 absorbers to take care of any bit of residual o2. I then sealed the buckets (ring seals, not gamma seals). Getting that last bit of o2 out created a vacuume and the sides of the buckets actually sucked in. I will be very interested in seeing how long that vacuume lasts, as that will tell me that air is finally penetrating the plastic. So far it's been a year. As long as those buckets are sucked in, i know that no o2 has gotten inside, and i am trusting that those beans will last as long as the vacuume. Does that make sense? The key to long term food storage is getting the o2 out so the food does not oxidize or turn rancid. I use food grade co2 and use a long wand to fill the buckets from the bottom. Since co2 is heavier, it pushes the room air up and out of the beans/grain. You can place a small tea light candle on top the food as you fill the bucket with co2 and watch the candle go out as the o2 is pushed out. You can also use nitrogen.
> 
> Native people in the southwest did this by building grain caches and lighting a small fire inside. They then sealed the cache and the fire would consume any o2, thus killing insects and preserving the grain in an o2 free environment.
> 
> Ps: You also need to store the buckets in a cool, dark place. Heat, light, and o2 are the enemies of food preservation.


hey you almost stole my idea. I started with the co2 in 1988, used food grade buckets with factory airtight seals.
I opened one bucket of rice two years ago, it tasted a little aged but, ok. Was stored for 24 years.
Now i use aluminum/mylar bags, vac pack, and with o2 eaters for everything but rice and flour, bags are stored in 20mm cans.
Will start recyling the rice out next year and refilling the buckets @ a hundred pounds a time.
All is stored in zero light, aluminum comm shelters to keep out any UV that could degrade the plastic. both are rodent proof..
The older rice has been kept as a food for the dogs if needed to keep them from eating strangers.


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