Category: Storage Spaces

Letter Re: DIY Desiccant Packs

Hugh- Many preppers (those that are going for the long term) use moisture absorbers in their food, ammo, and other storage containers and caches. I recently re-discovered an old technique for DIY desiccant packs that is much less expensive than purchasing them complete and outright, even when one makes bulk buys. As background, the actual desiccant medium used for moisture absorption is Silica Gel. Now one can look at places, like Amazon, and confirm that this stuff sells for upwards of $15 per Kg (2.2 pounds). Even then one is faced with the task of packaging it in suitable sizes …


Advice on Caching Containers

I recently had a consulting client ask me about sources for waterproof containers that she could use for caching guns, ammo, food, camping gear, and so forth. I generally prefer military surplus ammo cans and shipping containers for two reasons: They are made to rigorous military specifications (“mil-spec”), and They are relatively inexpensive, compared to their civilian counterparts. For ammunition caches, I generally prefer military surplus (“mil-surp”) 20mm ammo cans. The larger 30mm cans hold even more, but they are so heavy when full that they are a pain to transport any distance. If you opt for the 30mm size, …


Letter: A Two Year Experiment

Two years ago I buried cash and silver coins on some property I own as an experiment to see how well the cash and silver would fare. Oct 31st 2014 was the day it was recovered. The vessel was a white plastic PVC pipe about 6” round and about 1.5 feet long capped and sealed with PVC Glue. The cash was placed in standard zip lock sandwich bags and a moisture absorber pouch was placed in each. The silver was placed in the standard coin tubes you receive when buying 20 coins at a time. No absorbers were placed in …


Letter Re: Calcium Hypochlorite Reminders

Hugh, A reminder that Calcium Hypochlorite WILL corrode metal stored anywhere nearby. Also, many articles appear stating that you can siphon gas from your gas tank. ALL late model cars and 1/2 ton trucks and vans have a restriction in the filler neck that is designed to prevent leaking gas in the event of a rollover. Siphon hoses will not work in this application. They will work in 3/4 trucks and up, because they fall into different federal class regulations. -F.M.


Letter Re: Storage Without a Basement

I’m writing in response to the discussion about how to keep food in the Southeastern United States in the heat of the summer. My mother-in-law is in her 80s. I asked her how her parents and grandparents kept their food. For things like apples, potatoes, tomatoes, they would just store it above ground, sometimes packed in sawdust, usually in open air. For canned food, her mother had a little room off the house with shelves in it. It didn’t have a window, but it also got just as hot as the house. They would keep the canned food in jars …


Letter: Silica Gel Packets

Jim, Hoping you could answer a quick question. I put two jars full of silica gel packets in a glass jar and set them in a oven at 200 degrees over night to dry them out. I noticed that a couple of the bags broke open and the silica gels were brown. Does that make them non effective. I thought they were white to start with. Thank you and may God’s blessings be upon you and your family. P.S.- I liked your comment on one of your interviews where you stated your prayer is for God to put you in …


Letter Re: Constructing In-House Caches

Captain Rawles, In response to the excellent article regarding hidden wall caches I have some feedback. I work in the tiling industry for an unnamed mid-south distributor. As a distributor for Schluter Systems I have sold many of this kit for installers / homeowners to use for concealed access panels. Schluter Rema is the trade name. They come in quite handy for whirlpool tubs wherein access is required for frequent pump maintenance. I have sold many of these and have had no complaints. Best wishes, – Matt in Ohio


Letter Re: Constructing In-House Caches

JWR, I hope all is well. I Was reading the reply to the post on “Constructing In-House Caches.” I have been thinking on this one lately and working on solutions to the problem of attachment, actually came across the solution while working for a contractor on a client’s high end project and trying to build false panels to hide a security control panel. The solution we came up with was rare earth magnets found here http://www.rare-earth-magnets.com/ or elsewhere on the net as well. you can google it! If you have plywood paneling you can attach the magnets with a screw to …


Letter Re: Constructing In-House Caches

I have just finished listening to the audiobook of your novel Expatriates with great enjoyment. Eric Dove does a great job voicing the various characters and, to this yank’s ear, a credible “Aussie” accent was required. I wanted to add a bit to the account of Chuck’s rifle hide behind wall paneling. I am a cabinet maker and have spent more than a few hours puzzling over the various problems and pitfalls of concealed storage. Several are present in Chuck’s solution. While I do not like Velcro (as it wears out, accumulates litter and makes noise) if dots are to …


Two Letters Re: Preserving a Digital Library

James, I work for a large, three-letter computer manufacturer with a penchant for Blue. Joe Ax’s comments about the problems with maintaining a digital library are right on the money. When I worked in our Storage Division (hard disks, tapes, etc.), this issue came up during a talk on medical systems’ storage needs. There is a requirement for medical records to be maintained 100 years, and yet no computer data storage system has been designed to do this. So what is the ‘solution’?  It seems that doctor’s offices are cajoled/required/encouraged to upgrade their office systems on average of about every …


Letter Re: Advice on Firearms Caching

James, In “Letter Re: Advice on Firearms Caching”, Mark J. wrote “Should I simply use a Hot Hands hand warmer inside the mylar bag and then another one inside the PVC tube? I should not have to worry about moisture if it is vacuum sealed? right? “ Well, no–regardless of the chemicals in the heater. Putting any temporary heat source in a sealed container may actually cause corrosion or water damage that wouldn’t have happened before. This is why: Heating air does not remove moisture from a confined environment; it simply increases the air’s ability to absorb moisture from other …


Waterproofing and Long-Term Storage of Small Arms Ammunition, by Nebraska Farmer

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Did you ever wonder just how waterproof your ammunition is?  Over the years I’ve seen ammo stored in everything from cardboard boxes in the attic to sealed ammo cans in the basement, to fruit jars in the refrigerator.    Case corrosion and propellant degradation can occur as a result of exposure to elements, oxygen, and extreme fluctuations in temperature and humidity.  Think of the times when both you and your ammunition were exposed to the elements…wouldn’t it be nice to add one more layer of reliability to your primary weapon system – by ensuring waterproof reloads?  Okay, I’m not going to …


Letter Re: Advice on Firearms Caching

Hi James, After a firearm has been oiled up with RIG grease and vacuum sealed, I want to put it into a rifle length mylar bag as well and then put into a 6″ PVC tube.  Should I simply use a Hot Hands hand warmer inside the mylar bag and then another one inside the PVC tube?  I should not have to worry about moisture if it is vacuum sealed? right?  I do have some silica gel packs but did not know if you can mix the two together. I tried to do a search on your site but could …


Letter Re: Preserving a Digital Library

James, Concerning the recent posts (all good) about a digital library: I admit I didn’t read every word, but as a fairly long time (23+ years) IT professional for the same company, I would be remiss to not identify the problems we have had. First off understand, technology always marches on! And whiles many times I have successfully restored rewritten 20+ year old data, there have been many failures. As densities of storage medium grows the physical size of the actual stored information shrinks! So the actual stored magnetic 1’s and 0’s are written is in smaller and smaller spaces, …


Two Letters Re: Preserving a Digital Library

James, Regarding the article “Preserving a Digital Library” written by “H335”: Windows XP requires [remote] activation [from a Microsoft server]! If XP runs at all after a fresh install, it’ll only be for a few days.  If you find yourself reloading XP on a computer in any sort of a grid-down situation, you’re not going to be calling up Microsoft to get your fresh install of XP activated.  Without activation, you can’t even log in to Windows XP. If you want to run a Microsoft operating system, I’d suggest Windows 7.  I’ve been running a copy unactivated on a laptop …