Two Letters Re: Buried Cache Retrieval

Dear JWR:
After reading the post this morning on buried items, I would like to share a thought.

If you bury items in PVC pipe and use threaded fittings, you will have to use a pipe dope to seal out moisture.  If you do this, unscrewing the fitting is going to be an ordeal.  You would have to dig out an area big enough to swing a very large wrench if you have one.  Or you would have to dig out the pipe and put the pipe in a large vise if you have one.  Or cut the pipe in the ground or out.  Not the easiest thing to do.

I used a neoprene rubber cap manufactured by Fernco Inc. with a trade name of Plumbquick.  It is a plumbing item that a plumbing supply or hardware store should have or be able to order.  Mine is 8″ and I think they go to 10″.  I did glue a PVC cap on the bottom.  The Fernco cap fits over the pipe and is tightened with a hose clamp.  The 8″ has two clamps.  All you have to do is dig out enough to get a wrench on the hose clamp nut and dig down about three inches around the cap to keep the dirt from falling into the pipe and be able  to put a shovel under the cap to pry it up.  Any small pry bar would work.

I inspected mine recently after being buried since 2008 and it appeared to be very dry except for a small Ziploc bag with a few coins that had some moisture in the bag.  We even had a small flood that had covered the pipe with water while buried.

When they start the gun confiscation, your readers are going to be looking for a way to hide their guns.  They may want to put the cap on their prep list along with the pipe, PVC cap and glue.  Obviously the metal items would have to be protected and apparently plastic bags are not a good idea. – T.M.

James –
When my beloved pet decided to pass on in the middle of winter, my secretary showed me a neat trick for winter digging fro those of us who live north of the 40th Parallel. 
 
1. Go home for lunch. 
2. Get a bag of charcoal from the shed, lay it on the ground where you’re planning to dig.
3. Cut it open on the side and douse briquettes with lighter fluid. 
4. Light.
5. Go back to work.
6. Come home to a patch of backyard that’s thawed well below the frost line.  I was digging up steaming dirt from two feet down.
 
My pet is resting well four feet under ground in a hole that was dug relatively easily in December. – B.F.B.