# Survival Caches



## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

The definition of a cache is a collection of items stored in a hidden or nearly inaccessible location, saved for later use.

There are, of course many types and purposes for caches, but here I'll focus on the "survival cache". *(I'll soon be creating a thread about 2 other types of caches important to preppers.)* Survival caches contain items you would need if you don't have access to your house because of a natural disaster, or it burned down, or it was overrun and robbed. -Or you need replenishment on the long walk from work to home during an SHTF situation. -Or it may be where you hide your bug-out-location stuff, so it can't be plundered before you can get there.

Such a cache is normally secretly buried underground in a wooded area within walking distance of where you expect to be if you need it. The best place to locate it is on higher ground, away from places where groundwater flows or accumulates. I believe this type of cache should be the size of a large storage bin, in most cases, because it usually needs to supply you with everything you need to start over again. I've created 2 survival caches, buried so that the lid is at least 6" below ground level, covered with stout water-resistant plywood, then 3" of sand, then natural dirt and leaves, and a few heavy rocks or a fallen tree. Find a bin whose rim is higher than the top, so the plywood and soil above doesn't deform it. I don't want passersby to stand on it, and if they do, I don't want them to notice any difference. I also want to be able to easily dig it up if the ground is frozen solid, hence the sand.

A commonly made mistake is to assume that, because the lid prevents water from falling into the cache, it will therefore remain dry inside. Actually, the cache needs to be air-tight, because condensation may still enter. I made this mistake, and a year later, found 2" of condensed water in the bottom of my cache, and most of the items ruined. Get the best-rated bin you can, with snug cover lips and locking levers on each side. When you intend to close it until you need it, run a small continuous bead of petroleum jelly on the bin's top edges before locking the lid down.

Everyone needs plastic bags during SHTF, right? Use zip-lock bags to protect everything in your cache that might get destroyed by condensation, -then double bag the really important stuff. Collect moisture and oxygen absorbers, and place them in the innermost bags, (especially for pre-greased guns). Use a thin film of Vaseline on the bags' locks before sealing them. Finally, enclose the whole bin in a strong trash bag, Gorilla-taping the open end so it's air-tight.

The last thing I want to talk about is what I think should go into the top and bottom of the bin. Put things that are impervious to water at the bottom, like synthetics and plastics. Put things easily damaged by water at the top. Every square inch of the bin should be packed with something. I put trade-able items like bagged nips and lighters into every crevice I have while packing.

Please share any more ideas you have about implementing survival caches, and what notable experiences you may have had with them.


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## maine_rm (Jun 24, 2017)

Back so soon ...


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## Illini Warrior (Jan 24, 2015)

guy - you need a little more experience with caching - the type of container you describe WON'T work in most of the country - hydrostatic ground pressure will eventually push past any gasketed lid - vaseline or no vaseline .... even top notch ammo boxes needs a coating of roofing tar or bed liner to make it 100% for sure ....

not at all sure WTF all that zip lock bag and ''collect moisture and 02 absorbers'' is all about .... you need desiccant packs in a burial cache - but they can't be anywhere close to a 02 absorber - and neither is effective if isolated in a poly bag ....

*''The last thing I want to talk about is what I think should go into the top and bottom of the bin. Put things that are impervious to water at the bottom, like synthetics and plastics. Put things easily damaged by water at the top.''* - that has to be the worst thing I've ever read in regard to a burial cache ...


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

TGus, This is a discussion board, not a classroom where we would expect to be lectured at with 30 minute posts, and I use the word at because you don't really seem to be interested in discussion. Instead you seem to be interested in preaching. 

Please try to keep most of your posts short. I don't even bother to read the longer ones anymore.


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## yooper_sjd (May 14, 2017)

well in my part of Texas, solid limestone under the property, depth varies from 1/2 too 8 inches of soil before hitting solid conglomerate limestone. How do you suggest I bury a cache????? Oh, get the professor from "Honey I shrunk the kids" to shrink my cache!!!! But what about power loss from EMP or Grid hack? I don't think a solar cell and battery collection system will provide enough power?!?! But then again we can get "Flux capacitor" from Back to the Future to provide power, might be able to get the old steam locomative up to speed to actuate the FLux Capacitor?? What is your input on that Proffessor TGus????? Or should I just hide them in hollow log, might be much less trouble?


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

TGus said:


> ...... *(I'll soon be creating a thread about 2 other types of caches important to preppers.)*......


I think we've been officially _threatened_.


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## yooper_sjd (May 14, 2017)

Back Pack Hack said:


> I think we've been officially _threatened_.


So damned true there.........


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## SOCOM42 (Nov 9, 2012)

yooper_sjd said:


> well in my part of Texas, solid limestone under the property, depth varies from 1/2 too 8 inches of soil before hitting solid conglomerate limestone. How do you suggest I bury a cache????? Oh, get the professor from "Honey I shrunk the kids" to shrink my cache!!!! But what about power loss from EMP or Grid hack? I don't think a solar cell and battery collection system will provide enough power?!?! But then again we can get "Flux capacitor" from Back to the Future to provide power, might be able to get the old steam locomative up to speed to actuate the FLux Capacitor?? What is your input on that Proffessor TGus????? Or should I just hide them in hollow log, might be much less trouble?


If you ask properly, perhaps he will give forth instruction on building a homemade tunnel boring machine for cutting the limestone.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

SOCOM42 said:


> If you ask properly, perhaps he will give forth instruction on building a homemade tunnel boring machine for cutting the limestone.


With nothing more than a gum wrapper and a paper clip. lain:


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## yooper_sjd (May 14, 2017)

SOCOM42 said:


> If you ask properly, perhaps he will give forth instruction on building a homemade tunnel boring machine for cutting the limestone.


:laughhard::laughhard::laughhard:


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## yooper_sjd (May 14, 2017)

Back Pack Hack said:


> With nothing more than a gum wrapper and a paper clip. lain:


:shock::shock:


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## yooper_sjd (May 14, 2017)

TGus too early for this stuff...... can you go back on your survival trip/excursion????


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## Illini Warrior (Jan 24, 2015)

John Galt said:


> TGus, This is a discussion board, not a classroom where we would expect to be lectured at with 30 minute posts, and I use the word at because you don't really seem to be interested in discussion. Instead you seem to be interested in preaching.
> 
> Please try to keep most of your posts short. I don't even bother to read the longer ones anymore.


if the guy posted it ''this is how I do it - what'd think?'' - asking for feedback and a critique - he'd get better responses .... not only on this prepper site but across the entire network ....

I hate to see newbies make gross mistakes on important prep elements - not only for them but especially for the people depending on the prepping ....


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## Coastie dad (Jan 2, 2016)

Ok. Once again, sounds like he is theorized all of his posts with no proof of experimentation.
Regurgitating from someone else's written work...


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

Illini Warrior said:


> guy - you need a little more experience with caching - the type of container you describe WON'T work in most of the country - hydrostatic ground pressure will eventually push past any gasketed lid - vaseline or no vaseline .... even top notch ammo boxes needs a coating of roofing tar or bed liner to make it 100% for sure ....
> 
> not at all sure WTF all that zip lock bag and ''collect moisture and 02 absorbers'' is all about .... you need desiccant packs in a burial cache - but they can't be anywhere close to a 02 absorber - and neither is effective if isolated in a poly bag ....
> 
> *''The last thing I want to talk about is what I think should go into the top and bottom of the bin. Put things that are impervious to water at the bottom, like synthetics and plastics. Put things easily damaged by water at the top.''* - that has to be the worst thing I've ever read in regard to a burial cache ...


Thank you for your professional insights here. You sound like you know what you're talking about. The technique I described here has only been "tested" by me to work for 3 years in my back-yard garden, which gets plenty of water and temperature variation. Do you think the surrounding sand made the difference, -or was I just lucky in that test?

About the desiccant packs not working in poly bags, I didn't know about that either. Could you explain why, because I can't locate any information about it on the internet?

Would you also be kind enough to take the time to explain why you disagree with the top to bottom placement of items? My rationale for using that order is that, if condensation occurs, items that are more easily damaged by water would be above the water line.


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

John Galt said:


> TGus, This is a discussion board, not a classroom where we would expect to be lectured at with 30 minute posts, and I use the word at because you don't really seem to be interested in discussion. Instead you seem to be interested in preaching.
> 
> Please try to keep most of your posts short. I don't even bother to read the longer ones anymore.


John, I WILL work to make my posts shorter; (You're not the only one who's mentioned that.).

This is not preaching or teaching. I'm creating a fairly complete conceptual scenario so that others here who know more than me can either contribute to it, or shoot parts of it down and suggest something else. Either way is OK with me; I'm trying to learn what you know, that I don't. But I'm not going to take everything you say as gospel truth; if I don't understand or agree with it, we can argue back and forth, until the truth becomes clearer to us.


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

yooper_sjd said:


> well in my part of Texas, solid limestone under the property, depth varies from 1/2 too 8 inches of soil before hitting solid conglomerate limestone. How do you suggest I bury a cache????? Oh, get the professor from "Honey I shrunk the kids" to shrink my cache!!!! But what about power loss from EMP or Grid hack? I don't think a solar cell and battery collection system will provide enough power?!?! But then again we can get "Flux capacitor" from Back to the Future to provide power, might be able to get the old steam locomative up to speed to actuate the FLux Capacitor?? What is your input on that Proffessor TGus????? Or should I just hide them in hollow log, might be much less trouble?


Here's what I would do if I were in your situation, at least as far as burying a cache on your property. I'd rent a jackhammer for a day and create a hole and a drainage channel to a lower area within a foot or two of the hole. That may seem like overkill, but caches are extremely important if/when you need them.


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

Back Pack Hack said:


> I think we've been officially _threatened_.


Too late now!


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

SOCOM42 said:


> If you ask properly, perhaps he will give forth instruction on building a homemade tunnel boring machine for cutting the limestone.


I've jack-hammered a 12' x 8' driveway out of bluestone. You can get 3' x 4' or even larger done in a softer stone.


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## maine_rm (Jun 24, 2017)

TGus said:


> I've jack-hammered a 12' x 8' driveway out of bluestone. You can get 3' x 4' or even larger done in a softer stone.


then you have a hole in solid stone... what could that possibly fill with?? O ya water!!


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

TGus said:


> Too late now!


OK.

I'm off to dig up the 48 tons of gold and silver I buried in my back yard 6 years ago..................


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Pics or it didn't happen @TGus


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

Slippy said:


> Pics or it didn't happen @*TGus*


Stand by. His camera is buried in Sector 8, Grid B, Plot 47(g).


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

maine_rm said:


> then you have a hole in solid stone... what could that possibly fill with?? O ya water!!


That's why I said to locate the hole near a drop-off and create a drainage channel, (filled with rocks), connecting to the drop-off.


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

Back Pack Hack said:


> Stand by. His camera is buried in Sector 8, Grid B, Plot 47(g).


Believe what you want; I don't go there to impress you.


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## maine_rm (Jun 24, 2017)

TGus said:


> That's why I said to locate the hole near a drop-off and create a drainage channel, (filled with rocks), connecting to the drop-off.


You sure do you have a lot of "fun" answers


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

Slippy said:


> Pics or it didn't happen @TGus


Slippy! I haven't heard from you for a while.


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

maine_rm said:


> You sure do you have a lot of "fun" answers


It may not be fun, -but I'm pretty sure it's important.


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## maine_rm (Jun 24, 2017)

@TGus you know I don't live too far from that place you went camping last week....

I was out in the woods scouting for my dear set you this year

and I saw something off in the distance...










It was you wasn't it!


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

maine_rm said:


> @TGus you know I don't live too far from that place you went camping last week....
> 
> I was out in the woods scouting for my dear set you this year
> 
> ...


I don't look like that picture at all, -except in attitude.


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## yooper_sjd (May 14, 2017)

TGus said:


> Here's what I would do if I were in your situation, at least as far as burying a cache on your property. I'd rent a jackhammer for a day and create a hole and a drainage channel to a lower area within a foot or two of the hole. That may seem like overkill, but caches are extremely important if/when you need them.


:vs_lol::vs_lol::vs_lol::vs_lol::vs_lol::vs_lol: guess you never seen conglomerate limestone before. got flint/chert in it as well!!!! I have seen 10 foot diameter rock saws with 4 inch carbide teeth get torn up in less than 5 feet of cutting here!!! and you want me to jack hammer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Ever hear of flash flooding????? very little dirt on top of rock, water has no where to go but down hill!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have seen 3 inches of water run across my yard and back property before sir........ not burying anything around here but at the cemetary, and that itself is on a flood plain, older graves have popped caskets to the surface to be reburied inside a cement vault to keep from happening again!

But now my septic tank could double as a cache!!!!! I could put stuff inside of 4" pvc pipe and glue on caps to seal them up, i mean no one would think of looking for cached food in a septic tank!!!!

Not saying there is not another one on the property that has never been used, and it has a large steel lid over the top of it (oh ya, that one was jackhammered out by back hoe with a rock hammer on it) yrs back...............


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

yooper_sjd said:


> :vs_lol::vs_lol::vs_lol::vs_lol::vs_lol::vs_lol: guess you never seen conglomerate limestone before. got flint/chert in it as well!!!! I have seen 10 foot diameter rock saws with 4 inch carbide teeth get torn up in less than 5 feet of cutting here!!! and you want me to jack hammer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Ever hear of flash flooding????? very little dirt on top of rock, water has no where to go but down hill!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have seen 3 inches of water run across my yard and back property before sir........ not burying anything around here but at the cemetary, and that itself is on a flood plain, older graves have popped caskets to the surface to be reburied inside a cement vault to keep from happening again!
> 
> But now my septic tank could double as a cache!!!!! I could put stuff inside of 4" pvc pipe and glue on caps to seal them up, i mean no one would think of looking for cached food in a septic tank!!!!
> 
> Not saying there is not another one on the property that has never been used, and it has a large steel lid over the top of it (oh ya, that one was jackhammered out by back hoe with a rock hammer on it) yrs back...............


Real interesting geology you have there! And maybe a good place to put a cache.


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