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Cheap Cache Containers


PACDADDY

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good will and other thrift shops sell containers like large mouthed thermases for $1-2

all kinds of tins for less than a dollar

sometimes ammo boxes or tool boxs

maybe a pressure cooker(Its airtight so its water proof and animal proof{maybe not a large bear or a smart racoon}) :D

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One word:

 

Gladware.

One word: Bad!

 

Two words:

 

Lock 'n Lock

 

(I don't think the 'n counds as a word).

Brian, the topic is "cheap cache containers" so yes, *ware container will be cheap. No one said anything about "suitable," which they are not.

 

Actually, I'm thinking the absolute best value are ammo cans for those lucky enough to be near a decent supply.

 

I've not been able to find Lock 'n Lock in reasonable cache sizes. They only seem to want to carry odd sizes. I did find some knock-offs for a buck, but testing show they leak a bit.

 

For the truly cheap, and if you like peanut butter, carefully prepared plastic food jars can work in some situations. A regimen of label removal, thorough cleaning, and bleaching have given me a 100% success rate so far. Of course, none are in bear country or anything; only urban park settings.

 

I think a common element from failure is the lack of sturdiness and the ability to easily open and properly close the container. A *ware container has neither; they are not sturdy nor do they ever close properly or securely.

 

IMNHO, cheap containers are a false economy. What you save in intial costs you make up for with maintenance. We've not ever had a container-related cache issue with any of our metal containers (we have some metal mortar tubes out as well) or our recycled food jars. We did have an issue with an adopted cache in a tupperware container. It didn't get closed properly and we discovered it has standing water. So, skimp on the container and it will cost you in the long run.

Edited by CoyoteRed
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[

 

IMNHO, cheap containers are a false economy.  What you save in intial costs you make up for with maintenance.  We've not ever had a container-related cache issue with any of our metal containers (we have some metal mortal tubes out as well) or our recycled food jars.  We did have an issue with an adopted cache in a tupperware container.  It didn't get closed properly and we discovered it has standing water.  So, skimp on the container and it will cost you in the long run.

Excellent advice CR. We have seen so many problems with gladware and the cheap rubbermaid imitations lately. We have learned our lesson, since we started, about scrimping on the containers.

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One word:

 

Gladware.

One word: Bad!

 

Two words:

 

Lock 'n Lock

 

(I don't think the 'n counds as a word).

I actually find decent lok-n-lok (or however it is spelled) containers at our dollar store. It is a chain called "99Cents" and in decent sizes too. (Not whopper grande mind you but still decent sizes)

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The dollar store sells some great LnL boxes and 2 quart jars.

 

So you can get both cheap and reliable (suitable?) containers at the dollar store.

 

I have many caches out in both these boxes and the jars. The only ones I have had trouble with were the really cheapo boxes that just don't seal.

 

cc\

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How durable are those hinges on the Lock n Locks?

They do fall off, but so far I've had some out close to a year without issues. They are not perfect. I've had them leak, but I've also had ammo boxes that leaked.

 

At under $3 for most of the sizes and as little as 50 cents for some of the smaller Lock 'n Locks, they are both suitable and cheap.

 

Another inexpensive and suitable container are Nalgene Straight Jars. They come in a variety of sizes and are watertight as long as peple screw the lid on.

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They come in a variety of sizes and are watertight as long as peple screw the lid on.

You just hit it square on the head there...many containers will be reasonably watertight IF they are properly fastened before being re-hidden. I have one cache (gladware it is) that may run into problems with that, as the mosquitos are so bad in the area even I hate the idea of going out there for maintenance. Many logs have been quite short because one can't stand to remain still that long...easy to imagine the container being improperly sealed. I can all but guarantee it has been in standing water, if not completely underwater, for brief periods of time this year (it's in a deep valley in a park in town that floods during storms) Last time I visited, it was a little damp, but nothing too alarming. Going to go check on it later this week again and dry if necessary.

 

(edited for failure to complete thought before rambling on....)

Edited by dkwolf
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one word: five gallon buckets. :D

 

you can find them free all over. Home Depot sells lids for $1.99 that have a nice rubber gasket for tight seal.

Recently, I found a cache in a five-gallon bucket. The smell of mold when we lifted the lid was overpowering.

 

They might be waterproof . . . if people put the lid on correctly . . . but if they don't, they can hold a lot of water. :P

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Most people in our area (British Columbia - where yes.....it does rain a bit) use lock-n-locks. I have used the dollar store ones and they don't do the same job as the brand name ones. The true lock-n-lock made by Starfrit are extremly water proof. A fellow cacher here even did a submerssion test with one and it still kept the cache dry. Another cacher in the area had a lock-n-lock float away in a canal when the water level came up. He retrieved the cache several days later down stream and it was still dry.

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Metal container (ammo cans, first aid kits) purist here. They're expensive, but so is gas to go out and deal with wet or destroyed caches. Plus, there's something more appealing (to me at least) about finding an ammo can compared to tupperware. When I find plastic in the woods, there's some weird little synapse in my brain that makes me think "garbage", though I've found some great caches that were plastic.

 

Up here we also have lots and lots of bears that maul plastic caches, though I found a plastic cache with holes chewed in it in northern Illinois this summer.

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Watch eBay for ammo cans if you don't have a source that's local. There are a few sellers that have these for sale in lots. I bought them in a lot of 6 and even with shipping they came out to about $6.00/can.

I just picked up some cylinder-shaped imitation lock & locks at Wal-Mart. 4 sizes for $2.00. I'll place a few and see how they hold up.

As for micros, I've found several M&M's tubes that have been out for a while and were still dry inside.

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RubberMaid and TupperWare are the best by a wide margin. Not cheap but the best seldom if ever is.  :P 'Cheap' is a matter of opinion and might even be tied to your gross anual income.  :P

Actually I find that Tupperware doesn't hold up. Many of the soaked caches I've encountered used real Tupperware. Granted they've had all been out a year or more, but almost without fail, if it was Tupperware it was wet. The stuff is far from cheap too.

 

Rubbermaid on the other hand, specifically Seal n Savers with the blue rim on the lid, works quite well. Not cheap either though unless you get it on sale. The grocery store near my home runs a half price sale on Rubbermaid every 3 months or so.

 

Metal container (ammo cans, first aid kits) purist here. They're expensive, but so is gas to go out and deal with wet or destroyed caches

 

Ammo boxes are cheaper than Tupperware and Rubbermaid.

Edited by briansnat
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Most people in our area (British Columbia - where yes.....it does rain a bit) use lock-n-locks. I have used the dollar store ones and they don't do the same job as the brand name ones. The true lock-n-lock made by Starfrit are extremly water proof.

And you can actually find these at the dollar store.

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In my experience, If you go to the 1 hour photo walgreens guy (or girl) and ask for some photo capsules, they will give you a bag of them for free. :P

 

But the trade off is that photo-capsule lids pop off if they are put under any sort of pressure. They are somewhat waterproof though.

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In my experience, If you go to the 1 hour photo walgreens guy (or girl) and ask for some photo capsules, they will give you a bag of them for free. :P

 

But the trade off is that photo-capsule lids pop off if they are put under any sort of pressure. They are somewhat waterproof though.

 

use the white ones with a lid that goes inside the container.

 

do a search - there was a real study done a while back on their water proof-ness

 

cc\

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Lock n locks and ammo boxes are best. Tupperware lids have a tendency to warp, and then they dont close all the way. Peanut butter jars are good for 6 months or so - but being disposable containers, Ive seen many which crack, or have small holes in them. Sunlight seems to be a factor in aging. Both Walmart and Target have lock n locks, but in different size ranges. I prefer Target.

Film cans leak, and are only good in dry locations or as the stages of a multi.

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PVC pipe!

 

Cheap, near indestructable, and water tight if the cachers screw the cap back on...

 

Wish I had a pic available, but basically it's a 2" PVC cap glued onto a threaded clean out plug. About $2.50 at Lowes. You can go bigger, but the cost rises as you add fittings, pipe, etc.

 

Mapwom

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PVC pipe!

 

Cheap, near indestructable, and water tight if the cachers screw the cap back on...

 

Wish I had a pic available, but basically it's a 2" PVC cap glued onto a threaded clean out plug. About $2.50 at Lowes. You can go bigger, but the cost rises as you add fittings, pipe, etc.

 

Mapwom

They're also easily replaced and log-shaped. Lends itself well to woodland caches if properly camoflaged :lol:

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PVC pipe!

 

Cheap, near indestructable, and water tight if the cachers screw the cap back on...

 

Wish I had a pic available, but basically it's a 2" PVC cap glued onto a threaded clean out plug. About $2.50 at Lowes. You can go bigger, but the cost rises as you add fittings, pipe, etc.

 

  Mapwom

Threaded clean-out plugs are not watertight unless sealed with a sealant or teflon tape. They will not remain water-tight when frequently visited and opened by cachers.

 

I will be bold here and make a general statement:

 

Anyone for whom "cheap" is the most important criterion of a cache container should not be placing caches.

 

If you're not willing to spend a few dollars to give cache finders a quality experience, I suggest maybe you hold off on placing that cache.

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I have had good luck with peanut butter type jars also...I usually let them soak with about 3-4 table spoons of bleach inside for a couple of days...every once in awhile I shake them up when I think about it...after cleaning I let the dog smell them, if she licks it then there is still peanut smell in it...if she turns her nose up at it, its good to go...

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PVC pipe!

 

Cheap, near indestructable, and water tight if the cachers screw the cap back on...

 

Wish I had a pic available, but basically it's a 2" PVC cap glued onto a threaded clean out plug. About $2.50 at Lowes. You can go bigger, but the cost rises as you add fittings, pipe, etc.

 

Mapwom

PVC pipe containers are cheap only if you have the stuff laying around. I considered a PVC pipe cache and checked out the parts at Home Depot. Once I added everything up I was getting close to $20.

 

Another problem with these is that they are waterproof only if firmly tightened, but if you tighten it too much the next person has a hard time unscrewing the cap.

 

Also, being that they can easily be mistaken for pipe bombs, you are pretty limited as to where you can place them. They are only really suitable for backcountry caches.

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Just Please, Please, Please Pretty Please Do Not Use Recycled tin cookie tins, match boxes, etc- Tin Rusts! Not to mention it leaks, then rusts on the inside too!

The just plain Suck as a cache container, IMO - but seem to be quite common where I live (unfortunately)

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Even though I can get ammo cans in a varity of sizes for free, I still use L&Ls due to the weight constraints. The hides I do now are all long hikes, and the difference in weight is noticable.

 

The longer hikes are precisely the ones where I use ammo boxes. I can't be bothered going back frequently for maint trips. As good as L&Ls are, they do leak sometimes and are subject to animal damage. I save those for the shorter hikes.

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What about going over to the local sherwin williams (or whatever paint store) and getting the empty/unused paint cans with the sealing lids?

 

You just have to hook a paint key to it (or people will need to start carrying them based on log note). As far as resealing, a couple good "bangs" with the heel of the hand/foot or a medium sized rock may work.

 

The paint cans can run between 2-3 bucks, they're pretty sturdy (how many have you seen in trash piles that are rusted out and still in relatively good shape), and easily camo'ed with paint or other stuff.

 

Thoughts?

 

~Rose

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I wrote this article a couple years ago. For me the issue comes down to, "If you don't have time to do it right, will you have time to do it again?"

 

I've seen a lot of cheap containers. Gladware not only leaks, it cracks. PVC either leaks or the threads become next to impossible to unscrew.

 

Yeah, gotta love ammo cans. Unfortunately they're not allowed in state parks here in Illinois. We see the occasional Lock n' Lock, but usually it's Rubbermaid. They leak too (eventually).

 

Bret

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