Bucket food storage

[mechmedic]

So I plan on doing a lot of long term food storage in 5 gallon buckets with the food inside in sealed Mylar bags. My concern is the local climate, it is very humid and hot (Eastern North Carolina) How would things like rice, beans, oats, and wheat store in say a garage or shop? Does anyone have experience with this?

[JoJo]

 If you use oxygen absorbents and desiccants you should have any worries.

https://www.walmart.com/search/?query=desacant

https://www.sorbentsystems.com/order_O2.html?gclid=CMTFg5-V984CFZVZhgodVpAHpQ

 

[Kbop]

i know you don't have them much in the lowlands around where you live - but i use my basement.  Let's assume that isn't an option.

i've used a garage in the past with mixed results - the hardest one your list is beans.  Anything over about 5 years old needs lots of water and cook time or they come out crunchy. 
Does anyone know what i'm doing wrong?

A hungry mouse will go through a bucket and mylar pretty fast - periodic inspection works, i speak from experience <and it makes the chickens happy when i find one>.  Moving my stuffs to the basement solved that problem.  for me, garage = mice.  basement = no mice.

i store wheat, barley and oat - garage, barn, basement - they seem to be bullet proof, if not mouse proof.  i use galvanized trashcans in the barn but that gets turned over every couple of months - but i havent had one chewed through...  yet.
One thing i did find, wheat stored in mylar with O2 absorbers won't sprout well if that's a concern.

[Nemo]

As far as foodstuffs, I do smaller quantity packaging.  I think 40 pounds of a gotta grind yourself wheat or rice or such in a bag in a bucket is too much open at a time.  For long term storage you get rid of the 3 things that spoil.  Light, moisture and oxygen.

I do foodstuffs in a steel #10 can with O2 absorber inside.  Latter Day Saints cannery.  Available to you (whatever religion or none) and sometimes near you.  Only one in NC.  See Below. 

As far as other type stuff to be able to load up and move out quick, I load up the bucket with a varied supplies, vacuum sealed foodstuffs, cans, clothing and other necessities.  Its also good storage methodology for long term.  IMHO again.

Each bucket has at least two rolls of TP.  One to use, one to trade.  That will be soft gold (like pads or plugs) when bucket needs opened.  I like it so I can go a day or 2 or 5 on one bucket with everything I could need but water.  Unpack the bucket to gas and seal it.

I line the bucket with a mylar bag.  Put about a pound of dry ice in the bottom wrapped in a towel or 2. Repack original bucket stock.  Towels ( in each bucket, around CO2, are always dry off, trade, blanket or other use stuff.  That CO2 will drive out all other gases, primarily oxygen and moisture.

As thats melting repack the bucket in the order you already tested so you know it will fit.  When the bucket is full and CO2 block melting, heat seal up the bag but not completely.  Be quick on the refill because the dry ice is melting and you need melting after you're done repacking.  Seal all but a small exit so the CO2 builds pressure. Clip that hole but not tight enough to blow the bag. When pressured up, open so the excess is going out a small exit.  Collapse the bag so the excess gas leaves and clip again.  You may need several squeezes to let the air and excess CO2 out and have only CO2 in the bag.

Of course there are a couple O2 absorbers loose in the bucket in case you missed any, with a moisture absorber also.  When thats done, seal the bag and seal the bucket.  Be sure you have at least 4 lists for each bucket.  One inside the mylar bag, one outside the mylar bag inside the bucket and one attached to the bucket on the outside and one on the master list of all your supplies.  Number the bucket (to master list) and some spray paint a line on the outside of the bucket.  It helps to get a general idea of whats inside by using various colors painted on it.

Keep the buckets in a cool, dark, dry place as much as possible.

Yeah, might be a bit long, but I have a tendency to ramble.  Ask anyone around here.

Nemo   

http://familysurvivors.com/lds-cannery-locations.htm

1 in NC

Greensboro
Phone  (336) 668-2284
Address  129 Landmark Drive
Greensboro , North Carolina 27409

[Currahee]

I have opened 5 gallon rice mylar after five years outside (in a garage) in the same climate you describe and had no issue.  That is personal experience.  I have talked to people that did 10 years, and they are supposed to be good for longer than that.

If you are just getting started in food preps I would suggest a tiered approach.

#1 your full pantry (the things you eat all the time)

#2 your grab and go stuff (boxes of canned goods, supplies and camping gear)

#3 your long term stuff (mylar packed staples)

#4 pre positioned long term storage (more mylar) at potential BOLs

I describe most of this here

http://everycitizenasoldier.org/5-bs-of-logistics.html

and here

http://everycitizenasoldier.org/food-storage.html

[Jackalope]

   I frequently buy in bulk, and repackage using mylar bag, oxygen absorbers, and five gallon bucket.  I try to keep the bucket in cool places.  At our house in Tennesee it's kept in the basement and in closets.  My wife reminded me last night that I need to build more shelves in the basement.  More projects for next year.

[Nemo]

I have opened 5 gallon rice mylar after five years outside (in a garage) in the same climate you describe and had no issue.

I cannot disagree on that.  Carefully packaged it would likely last 15 easy.  But in regular use around the house, how big a bag of rice do you usually have open. 3 or 5 I suspect to 10 pound max.

Using up a 40 or 50 pound bucket of rice before it spoils, molds, get shared by the critters around or just makes everyone want to never eat rice again is not a good idea methinks.

A 3 or 5 pound bag or 9 or 19 of them is just a better thought.  And, if you share with critters, you may just share one or 2 bags totaling about 6-10 pounds.  Not 50 or so.  Again, IMHO.

Nemo

[Currahee]

I have opened 5 gallon rice mylar after five years outside (in a garage) in the same climate you describe and had no issue.

I cannot disagree on that.  Carefully packaged it would likely last 15 easy.  But in regular use around the house, how big a bag of rice do you usually have open. 3 or 5 I suspect to 10 pound max.

Using up a 40 or 50 pound bucket of rice before it spoils, molds, get shared by the critters around or just makes everyone want to never eat rice again is not a good idea methinks.

A 3 or 5 pound bag or 9 or 19 of them is just a better thought.  And, if you share with critters, you may just share one or 2 bags totaling about 6-10 pounds.  Not 50 or so.  Again, IMHO.

Nemo

I mostly agree with that.  My at home stuff has 1 gallon bags of rice an beans, for the reasons you list PLUS if I only grab and go with one of them then I'll have full meals.  My stuff stored at BOL locations is 5 gallon bags of beans and rice because if I'm there (for that long) we'll be feeding more than just my family out of them and we'll be happy for food not getting sick of rice and beans.

[patriotman]

I can concur on the bucket and mylar approach. A great resource on how much you can fit and how long it lasts for as well as a source for getting the necessary supplies is:

https://www.usaemergencysupply.com/information-center/packing-your-own-food-storage

[JohnyMac]

Not much to add to all of this great advise mechmedic.

As Nemo wrote, look up a LDS Bishop House in your area. Great place to buy bulk products and can your own #10 cans.

My neighbor found out recently not to use 55 gallon plastic barrels to store her mylar food in. Mice ate through the plastic barrel. She now went with galvanized 30 gal trash cans.

[gadget99]

Trying to figure out what the Mormons here in the UK do.

Would love to find their supply sources over here.

[mechmedic]

Thank you all for the advice. I greatly appreciate it! To be clear, I am not trying to only store food in buckets. We are slowly building up our pantry and our canned food storage. I was just curious about the bucket storage in this climate since it would most likely have to stay in the garage. I have also thought about breaking the 5 gallon buckets down so that it wasn’t just one big Mylar bag. It would be several smaller Mylar bags inside of a larger one. Just so that way I wasn’t chancing all the food when I opened it up.

[patriotman]

Thank you all for the advice. I greatly appreciate it! To be clear, I am not trying to only store food in buckets. We are slowly building up our pantry and our canned food storage. I was just curious about the bucket storage in this climate since it would most likely have to stay in the garage. I have also thought about breaking the 5 gallon buckets down so that it wasn’t just one big Mylar bag. It would be several smaller Mylar bags inside of a larger one. Just so that way I wasn’t chancing all the food when I opened it up.

This is a good approach because it can contain a whole balanced meal in it as opposed to one item. You can grab that bucket if you need to leave and it won't only just contain rice or beans, etc. I tend to be a fan of having a few weeks worth of food stored as you described and then the rest of the buckets as just filled as much as possible with a single item simply for the sake of storing it in fewer buckets.

[Nemo]

Thats why I go with the assorted buckets.  Smaller packages, vacuum sealed, with an assortment of food, tool, and clothing contents.

Nemo