Decon Containers

[+nfa]

4/5 of the geocaches I've found that used decon containers were filled with soaking wet wads of inky paper due to leakage. Given that experience, I'm wondering why people would go to the trouble of ordering them over less expensive, seemingly more effective containers that can be had locally...

 

It may be that everyone else finds them in good shape whenever they cache, but I was just wondering.

 

Thanks,

[+Stunod]

The problem is people who don't close them properly. It is a little difficult to snap down all 4 corners, and some cachers just don't realize (or maybe care) that they didn't close it right.

[+beejay&esskay]

I don't think I've ever found the contents of a decon container wet.

 

Maybe you just have some local cachers who don't close them tight?

 

Or maybe they found them in a downpour and the contents got wet while it was open?

 

Or maybe I've just been lucky.

[+Renegade Knight]

Locally most cachers have upgrade from Film Canisters to Decon's. They tend to shut them correctly and they hold up fairly well. They can be a bitch to open, but...nothing a handy geocacher can't handle.

[+Mule Ears]

A company called Witz Products makes a nice alternative called a Keep-it Safe box (scroll down a bit). It's slightly smaller than a decon case, and has the gasket/latch combination of an ammo box. A touch more expensive ($7) than surplus, but worthwhile for special caches.

[+Isonzo Karst]

I have a ton of decons out (until recently I could buy them at the local surplus store for $1). I've only had one come up wet, and it was just not closed. At all. I've read about them being difficult to open and close here in the forums, but never experienced it. A cold weather phenomenom? I still love 'em, but now they cost me around $2.

[+Prime Suspect]

I've found a decon box that was hidden inside another container that had an opening in the top. When I found it, it had recently rained, and the decon box was under water, and had been for several days. The interior was completely dry.

[tossedsalad]

A company called Witz Products makes a nice alternative called a Keep-it Safe box (scroll down a bit). It's slightly smaller than a decon case, and has the gasket/latch combination of an ammo box. A touch more expensive ($7) than surplus, but worthwhile for special caches.

Yeah, these are pretty water tight. They make them in slightly larger sizes too that are about the same price. I bought one of each of three different styles. One was a Leisure Pro Aqua and was only $3, IIRC. But I got the last one made! They broke the mold and there aren't any more. That one was in a tree crevice and was encased in slime at one point and was still dry on the inside. But a park cleanup crew trashed it, I believe.

 

The others are around $6 plus shipping which is a bit steep, but in the real world, that is cheap compared to the time I put into caches.

 

But I still like the Lock n Lock cases. They come in a wide range of sizes and you can get some sizes of them at Target and Walmarts everywhere! I got a three pack assortment for $6! The largest of those is sitting at the bottom of a trout stream waiting for me to retrieve it to see if it leaked.

[+Folshen]

The only decons I've seen with wet contents are either as stated above, previous cacher failed to close it properly or they closed it with the strap caught inside which prevents a good seal from being made.

[Hugh Jazz]

Every decon container I've ever found has been full of water. Even one that was six feet off the ground in a hole in a tree. On the other hand, I have never found an Ammo Can that was wet inside, yet in every Ammo Can the logbook is placed inside a (totally superfluous) baggie.

[Clan Riffster]

I found a "bonus" cache that was a decon container attached to a brick, submerged under 2' of water, in a culvert. It had sat there for 2 months. There was about 1/2" of water in it. I'd say that's pretty water resistant. It's the only decon container I found that wasn't bone dry. I think as long as folks close them properly, they work pretty well.

[+Team Perks]

I've found a few that were sopping wet inside, but the overwhelming majority have been perfectly dry.

 

This hasn't stopped me from hiding a few of them, but I've found that decon containers aren't immune to small animals of the rodent variety chewing them up...even when hanging in a tree.

[+Rick618]

I've found a couple of ammo cans that were damp inside, one was up under some rocks near a cave, could be condinsation from the container heating and cooling, but I was glad that the log was inside a plastic baggie. Another one was under a sometimes creek bed. The couple of decon containers that I've found have been sealed and dry.

[+briansnat]

I've pretty much stopped using decons because of the leakage issue. Some of the lids don't seem to seal well. They actually wiggle when seated. Others don't have this problem. If I can hide it in a protected area, I'll use one, but I still make sure the logbook and contents are in Ziplocs inside.

 

I now pretty much only use them for the middle stages of multis, where there are no contents that need to be kept dry, other than a laminated set of coordinates in a Ziploc.