Where did you buy your Mylar bags, food buckets, O2 absorbers, etc.

[Stryker]

Interested in hearing where everyone is sourcing their Mylar bags, food grade buckets, O2 absorbers, etc. - and are happy with the quality.

Hesitant to buy from places like Amazon where I think the quality can be suspect at times.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Contramnky]

There are many, many venues online which will meet your need.

I bought my buckets and lids from Home Depot (online only), as they are food grade and not too expensive.

My mylar bags and O2 absorbers came from Emergency Essentials - Home page, as they have an excellent price/shipping/selection range. Note: Don't use hand warmers...they release moisture. Food grade O2 absorbers do not. Be warned.

 

[Jason Flare]

There are many, many venues online which will meet your need.

I bought my buckets and lids from Home Depot (online only), as they are food grade and not too expensive.

My mylar bags and O2 absorbers came from Emergency Essentials - Home page, as they have an excellent price/shipping/selection range. Note: Don't use hand warmers...they release moisture. Food grade O2 absorbers do not. Be warned.

I just checked out Home Depot from the link. Do you buy online to get the white food grade buckets; the ones they sell in groups of ten? Are the orange Homer buckets not as good? I guess my question is, Are the 10 food grade buckets from Home depot the best to buy?

 

[mclina]

I bought most of my mylar bags and O2 absorbers here:

Mylar Bag/Oxygen Absorber Combo Kits - Discount Mylar Bags

And I bought my 5 gallon food grade pails at Lowes.

 

[coastie]

I bought most of my mylar bags and O2 absorbers here:

Mylar Bag/Oxygen Absorber Combo Kits - Discount Mylar Bags

And I bought my 5 gallon food grade pails at Lowes.

Use the same but I get my buckets from a local deli for free.

 

[In God We Trust]

Buckets from Emergency Essentials, mylar and o2 absorbers from amazon.

 

[Hiltonizer]

I bought most of my mylar bags and O2 absorbers here:

Mylar Bag/Oxygen Absorber Combo Kits - Discount Mylar Bags

And I bought my 5 gallon food grade pails at Lowes.

and coupon code FSC gets you 5% off.

 

[Dija]

Amazon has them. Sells food grade buckets too.

 

[joe847]

Question for the people using mylar bags. Do you still need food grade buckets? I was under the impression that you did not.

 

[Cowgirlup]

I always buy mine from this place.
Best prices on Mylar Bags and Oxygen Absorbers Wholesale

- - - Updated - - -

Question for the people using mylar bags. Do you still need food grade buckets? I was under the impression that you did not.

If the food isn't coming into contact with the plastic then you can use a regular bucket. Or. for easier storage I package my dried foods in smaller mylar packages (2-10lbs) and use square storage bins.

 

[Dija]

Question for the people using mylar bags. Do you still need food grade buckets? I was under the impression that you did not.

I've heard of people going both ways. I use food grade. I get them 20 bucks or so for 3 five gallon buckets, delivered.

 

[mclina]

I don't think food grade buckets are necessary with Mylar, but I picked up a couple dozen from Lowe's for about $4 + lids. The only cheaper pails I found were blue ones at Wal-Mart, but they looked pretty flimsy.

If you can get free ones from a restaurant or your local ice cream place, that's they way to go.

 

[xtry51]

Uline has the nicest buckets. Ratcheting, easy remove latch screw lids with seal ring and stackable. I have some of them 5 high and they're rock solid.

5 Gallon Screw Top Pail with Lid S-13652 - Uline

Pricey, but worth every penny. If you're on a tight budget just get the Home Depot or Lowes buckets. Don't stack them high though. The buckets aren't very strong or stable above 3 high.

Uline buckets:

 

[Mainer]

Sorbent Systems for the mylar and clam shell heater.
The LDS Church for the 02.
Lowes for the buckets with a big yellow sticker stating food grade && BPA free.
(we still use the mylar inside the buckets).

 

[June4th]

I'm cheap. I find the buckets from a convenient store after they sold their pickles or salads. The store owner is happy to give them to me.

 

[exojam]

OK, dumb question coming but since I do not know I will ask. What are you guys putting in these (certain types of food)?

James

 

[Jason Flare]

OK, dumb question coming but since I do not know I will ask. What are you guys putting in these (certain types of food)?

James

(I'm a newbie, so I'm listening carefully to what others say.)

With that said, my list, so far includes: Jasmine rice, white flour, powdered milk, corn meal, oat meal, instant mashed potatoes, white granulated sugar, macaroni products, regular white rice, winter wheat, dried black beans, dried kidney beans, dried navy beans.

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

 

[exojam]

Jason,

Thank you very much for the reply and information (good list you have there).

As you could probably tell by my question, I have never looked into this before so I had to ask the most basic question.

James

 

[Jason Flare]

Jason,

Thank you very much for the reply and information (good list you have there).

As you could probably tell by my question, I have never looked into this before so I had to ask the most basic question.

James

Here's a link to a very good source for food and info.:

The Ready Store? - Always Here | Always Ready?

We ordered a bunch of freeze dried food from them that will keep for 15 to 30 years or so. That is food that you probably wouldn't want to use for the first several years in a crisis; the first few years regular stored canned goods from the grocery store would stay edible and you would use that. Our theory was that even if nothing happens, the long term freeze dried food will get used before it perishes, so it isn't money wasted.

So, we checked out the Ready Store to see what we could buy in 5 gallon buckets and decided to package our own to save money. Then we bought some long term freeze dried food for the long haul. Then we started stocking the shelves with canned goods to get us through the first few years.

Oh. And we also bought a Liberty Seed Vault. The issue with that is that the seeds have a shelf life, so we will need to start planting and saving seeds from that crop for future crops.

Keep in touch. I'm a newbie too. we didn't start this until probably September 2012

 

[exojam]

Jason,

Thank you for the follow up and link. I am just thinking of trying to get some things together for any natural disaster for now. I does not seem like many people were prepared for Katrina, Sandy etc. Heck, I was not prepared for when we lost power for about 4 days from that ice storm last year.

James

 

[xtry51]

(I'm a newbie, so I'm listening carefully to what others say.)

With that said, my list, so far includes: Jasmine rice, white flour, powdered milk, corn meal, oat meal, instant mashed potatoes, white granulated sugar, macaroni products, regular white rice, winter wheat, dried black beans, dried kidney beans, dried navy beans.

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

This is a very good list. I would add you should be storing heirloom seeds for gardening as well.

 

[Jason Flare]

This is a very good list. I would add you should be storing heirloom seeds for gardening as well.

We have a Liberty Seed Vault and an heirloom seed vault from The Ready Store. We were going to start using those seeds this year and saving the seeds from that crop for future years. Is that the best way to keep the seeds fresh?

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

(I'm a newbie, so I'm listening carefully to what others say.)

With that said, my list, so far includes: Jasmine rice, white flour, powdered milk, corn meal, oat meal, instant mashed potatoes, white granulated sugar, macaroni products, regular white rice, winter wheat, dried black beans, dried kidney beans, dried navy beans.

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Add to that list:

Salts, granulated table salt (iodized) and lots of coarse pickling salt, sea salt

Bullion cubes, chicken beef, vegetable (use to flavor rice)

Yeast

Baking powder

Baking soda

Lentils

Whole Flax seed

Pearled Barley

Great Nortehern beans

Pinto Beans

Hulled Millet

Whole Oat Groats (you can plant this and grow your own oats) or eat it after cutting it in a mill.

Beware, any corn products will go rancid once the whole kernel is cracked or ground. Long term storage requires whole kernels

Same goes for brown rice, it doesn't keep well beyond six months regardless of packaging.

Garbonzo beans (chic peas) you make hummus out of them.

Dried onions

Dried garlic

brown sugar

Mollasses

Maple syrup

Sweet relish

Agave syrup

baking cocoa

 

[Hiltonizer]

We have a Liberty Seed Vault and an heirloom seed vault from The Ready Store. We were going to start using those seeds this year and saving the seeds from that crop for future years. Is that the best way to keep the seeds fresh?

I wouldn't rotate a seed vault annually, pretty expensive way to get seeds. Could probably stand to rotate out every 3 years or so.

Other options would include a shopping spree at walmart of the 25c seed packs after the peak of the season and using them the following year, always seems to work well for me.

 

[xtry51]

Those are fine, though I'd save the seed vaults for a few years as stated above.

 

[MetalgodZ]

Good link on the Uline stuff. Very cool.

I've been buying as my day-to-day list grows, and haven't yet gotten to the longer term storage, so no mylar use yet. Buckets from Wal Mart, lids from Gamma Seal lids from Home Depot, purchased as necessary. Certainly more expensive than the Uline option, but only by a few dollars. Not sure whether I like the Uline or the Gamma Seal lids better.

I've been contemplating taking the approach of multiple types of food (beans, rice, wheat, sugar, etc.) in one 5-gal or 6-gal bucket, each in its own mylar "silo," so that each item can be packaged in a quantity such that each one runs out roughly simultaneously...and I can have only a few buckets "open" at a time. Has anyone attempted this, and/or any idea where to buy the bags for it? Positives/negatives to the approach?

 

[Hiltonizer]

gamma seal buckets are overkill for anything in mylar.. I use 1 gal mylar bags and just keep them in rubbermaid totes, the 1 gal bags make it easier to rotate... I just bring an old one upstairs to the pantry and it gets used for routine flour/oats/etc

Conversely, sugar and salt can just go in the buckets, sans the mylar.

 

[MST_2009]

I bought my buckets and lids from Home Depot (online only), as they are food grade and not too expensive.

Didn't know they were food grade. Cool.

 

[samsonsjack07]

Interested in hearing where everyone is sourcing their Mylar bags, food grade buckets, O2 absorbers, etc. - and are happy with the quality.

Hesitant to buy from places like Amazon where I think the quality can be suspect at times.

Thanks for the help!

The Custom Mylar Bags is often cited as a reliable source for purchasing Mylar bags. They offer a wide range of products including food buckets, oxygen absorbers, and more, making them a convenient one-stop shop for long-term food storage needs.