Posted on 03/15/2022 12:14:54 AM PDT by Mount Athos
For 25# bags of rice/beans, which size mylar bag & oxygen absorbers and where to mail order?
Can i use "gamma vault" as is or is the seal inadequate?
Thank you, Sorry for vanity
I have researched it. Even purchased some steel wool without the oil coating that is on most steel wool.
The absorbers purchased work really well. Wondering if they mix something else to activate the rapid rust.
Sorry for the stutter..
the only things I really worry about are tomato products.
Ditto that...they do not last long, especially those in cans.
“Please: Serious offers, only!”
I know of a field full of castor oil plants all gone to seed. And there is this island east of Long Island that no one visits, ever.
As I was authoring my book on surviving times like these I became aware of https://www.usaemergencysupply.com/. Visit their site and get educated before buying. All mylar bags are certainly not created equal. For example, some are a thicker gauge than others, and you need that thicker gauge.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=5+gal+mylar+bags+with+oxygen+absorbers
If you or anyone wants to buy pre-packaged long term storage food, this be the place. https://beprepared.com/
“The absorbers are iron. The iron reacts with the O2 to form rust. Do a search to get finer details on DIY.”
Exactly... But you have to have rust already seeded/started on the iron. In the case of steel wool we rinse with alcohol and then spray with salt water to get the rust started then sew up into cloth packets. But one can actually just grab a hand full of rusty nails and wrap them in a paper towel to do the same work. We have a lot of stores in large ammo cans that are already rusty on the inside and good to go without any O2 absorbers, just seal the rubber seal with paraffin wax. A hand full of rock salt will absorb the moisture.
I ate tested some 40 year old rice stored in a common food grade 5 gallon bucket.
It at just fine.
ditto here
simple food grade buckets or mason jars
no mylar
no vacuum
if I toss anything in, it will be a couple of bay leaves in the rice (deters insects)
You avoided attention by omitting mention of 1/6.
Well played!
/s
That is where the old style glass canning jars & lids with rubber seals shone. The glass and rubber were totally acid resistant, and the contents rarely went off. The new “approved by the FDA” lids are metal, and corrode more easily.
Of course, you can’t get the metal cinching rings anymore...
For rice and other grains food grade buckets with sealable covers work pretty well. You toss in some silica packets to keep them dry and they will stay for ages.
Mylar bags are fine, but you need a way to seal them and my vacuum sealer never got hot enough for them.
So, I used my vacuum sealer with plastic, and then dropped them in the mylar. Then sealed the mylar with a hand held sealer.
As you can imagine...it was a pain in the neck.
I have had very good success canning stuff by re-using pickle jars and spaghetti sauce jars.
I get a good seal with the original lids and I love hearing that ‘pop’ when they cool down.
Clean them well, boil the lids for a few seconds. I sometimes don’t even use a canning pot to steam them for 20 minutes, but it would probably be better to do that.
I make chili, clean and pre-heat my used spaghetti jars, and use a large funnel to put the hot (boiling) chili into the jars, carefully close the lids (using a towel) and after a few seconds release the pressure and re-close, and do that over and over until no more air pressure is released. Then I set them upside down, to make sure the lids stay hot for a few minutes.
Then set them right side up, and wait for the ‘pop’ of the lids. Any that do not seal and pop (rare) I just refrigerate and use right away.
I am a scientist by profession and training so I watch carefully to measure success.
If I was REALLY REALLY serious about canning and saving a particular batch, I WILL use the canning pot and steam them for 20 minutes, before I close the lid.
What is best for shelf life of rice/beans — silica or oxygen absorber? I have heard it said they don’t work well together.
Should I just put a mylar bag over 25# rice bags or should i empty the contents into food grade buckets?
whoops i see o2 absorber and silica work fine together now.
You can store rice in old jars- vaccuum seal them or heat in oven at 130 to 160 and then close the lid
With grains you just need to keep them dry, sealed, and out of the sunlight.
Think about what stuff “needs” to stay alive and grow—the come up with a way to prevent it.
For smaller bags of beans I just took the original package and dropped them in sealable bag and sucked the air out. I tossed those into a bucket. I check on them every year or so and they are fine.
A lot of this depends on your location, heat, humidity, and where you store them. So what works in AZ might not be applicable to New England (aside from the general things.)
I have had cans of pears leak also.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.