[Woodcogger]

When my son was born we were given one of this Mylar balloons in a basket, and as he got older we just sort of put all that stuff in a box. My point is, he is now 21 years old and that balloon still is as taut and full as when we got it, and that's under pressure! So my question is, if Mylar seals that well, why do we need airtight pails? I ask this because pails plus lids cost $15.00 per here in Canada. Why wouldn't a cheap Walmart bin that could fit 4 5 gal Mylar bags (with O2 absorbers, of course), sealed with liberal amounts of duct tape to keep out critters, work just as we'll? Am I way off base here? I'm a noob to prepping, but I thought this might work nearly as we'll for mid-term storage - 10 years no, but 5-6 maybe?
I throw myself on the collective wisdom of this forum.

 

[WoadWarrior]

Wow... interesting idea. I wonder how the balloons are sealed? Is there a special compound at the opening that is heat sealed? Simply buying mylar and duct taping it wouldn't seem as effective. I'd begin by researching how the balloons are made and sealed... and then share your info with the rest of us. It sounds promising on the surface.

Anyone else have experience with mylar balloons? My experience is that they have always leaked and started to deflate... but that might just be a cheaper brand the store was using. (The joys of shopping at Walmart... )

 

[Woodcogger]

Sorry, I meant to heat seal the Mylar, and duct tape the plastic bin. The balloon just has one of those plastic cone-shaped cinches, almost like a bread closure, but cone shaped. What astounds me is not how it was sealed, because that may be just a fluke, but if a perfect seal was achieved (as is obviously the case), the Mylar did not leak even a few molecules of air!
So if 5mil Mylar can achieve that with a good heat seal, and then you seal a cheap bin with duct tape to keep out bugs, why wouldn't that work? Spoilage is supposedly due to oxygenation, so if that is eliminated with properly sealed Mylar, and puncture and bugs are eliminated with a "sealed" - duct-taped- bin, why wouldn't that work? Bins hold a lot more than a 20L pail, and are a helluva lot cheaper! Can afford more food to store
Thanks for your replies - as I said, I'm new to this, but have developed a passion for it, mostly due to increased awareness and the US election results. The Canadian economy is closely tied to the US economy, and sorry guys, I think you're in for a rough one (and consequently, so are we )

 

[WoadWarrior]

Economically... I couldn't agree more.

WC... If you do more research... or practical work on this... please share your results.

 

[C5GUY]

If you have a Lowe's or a Home Depot close to you they stock food grade non-BPHA 5gal. buckets with rubber "O" ring sealed lids that run around $2.98 for the bucket and $1.98 or so for the lids. They are perfect to add a mylar bag to for long term food/water storage.

 

[Woodcogger]

The absolute cheapest I could find for pails is $3.99 for Home Depot pails, and $8.00 FRICKIN DOLLARS for O-ringed lids! So if anyone here in Canada has found lids (and pails) for cheap, speak up! Because spending $15.00 for a #**€£##*%^ PAIL/LID is nuts! Am I alone in this? I am very anal about doing this right, given that I have no experience with this, but I'm a health professional that really has no problem affording pails, but don't want to spend money stupidly. I am used to reading research papers validating certain protocols, and would just like to know from the more experienced members on this forum whether sealed pails are absolutely necessary. If that's what's required for this, that's what I'll do. But I'm one of the fortunate few who can afford the whole prepping thing on short notice, but not all can (OK, I'm a cheap bastard at heart, but what prepper isn't cost-conscious? A penny saved is a penny put towards your survival!)