How To Weather Proof Seattle Ammobox

[+Team Maccabee]

Ok, this is for those of you that have hidden caches in our peculiar weather (where else in the country do the weather-folk use the word "sun-break" ). I have a small ammo box, and I want to make sure that the elements stay on the outside of the box. The foamy seal appears good, but has anyone had problems with ammo boxes and water/moisture? I'm also concerned about the "Official Geocache" Sticker on the outside of the box.

 

By the way, any suggestions from the Typical Usual Suspects (TUS) for a FTF prize ?

 

Team Maccabee's Abba

Edited November 9, 2005 by Team Maccabee

[+Prying Pandora]

Ammo boxes keep the elements out beautifully. They're the best kind of cache container by far, in my opinion. The stickers on the outside can be a little tricky! Ammo cans are always a little dusty/dirty when you buy them, and the stickers won't stick well unless the box is perfectly clean. There is an easy way to get them that way, though. Take the lid off (it slides off sideways) and run the box through the dishwasher. I've never had trouble with the stickers since I've started cleaning my ammo boxes that way. Before, I could never get them clean enough and the stickers would peel off after they'd been in the field for a little while.

Edited November 9, 2005 by Prying Pandora

[+Team Maccabee]

Oh, Pandora... Unfortunately, *I* am the dishwasher here, one in need of replacement, or at least a tuneup.

 

 

Edited: Take out silly idea...

Edited November 9, 2005 by Team Maccabee

[+Half-Canadian]

Ammo boxes keep the elements out beautifully.    There is an easy way to get them ... clean.  Take the lid off (it slides off sideways) and run the box through the dishwasher. 

Not to derail your thread, but this would be a great topic for discussion...

 

"You know you're a die-hard geocacher when..."

 

You put ammo cans in your dishwasher.

or

You bake Lock & Locks in your oven (based on a technique for painting 'em up here in O'Canada) -- cure them in a low-temp oven for that "baked enamel" durability

[+Silly Look]

You know you are a geocacher when:

 

You wash ammo cans in the bathtub.

 

The only problem with this method is you can scratch fiberglass or enamel tubs. I now just take the ammo cans outside and dip them in a 5 gallon bucket of soapy water and scrub them with a green scratchy, rinse them off with the hose, then repaint using flat black, green or brown spray paint. Have never had a problem with ammo cans in the year I have been caching. No need to repaint, the repainting is just my personal preference.

 

Down the road if somebody posts that the contents are damp, check the weather report for the last couple of days. If it has been raining, some people don't have enough sense to crouch over the can to shield the contents from the rain. So the next cacher may find a "damp" cache.

 

Good luck in setting up your first cache!

[+fauxSteve]

By the way, any suggestions for a FTF prize from TUS? 

We don't need no stickin' FTF prizes!

 

The best FTF prize for a Tiresome Usual Suspect is an unsigned logsheet. Just fill your ammo-box with some nice trade items for the rest of the crowd.

Edited November 9, 2005 by fauxSteve

[+Allanon]

I've gotten into the habit of using Acetone on the outside of my cans...to take the military 'ammo' markings off. It also has the benefit of cleaning the can.

[+willcall]

I paint my cans. Here's "Fully Fern-ished", a can I've yet to hide:

 

Acrylic doesn't go on very crisply, but a varnish spray over it seems to keep out the weather.

[+Prying Pandora]

I just painted a bunch of cans yesterday. It's easy with spray paint and snippings of common plants.

 

 

Krylon makes spray paint in flat camouflage colors that are perfect for ammo cans. The plants I used in this case are (back row l-r) bracken fern, sword fern, cedar, itty bitty maple leaves. Front one is a very thorny lacy-leaved blackberry, Rubus laciniatus.

[+Team Maccabee]

Fascinating! Any other tips out there for camouflaging or otherwise concealing ammo boxes?

[+nfa]

I paint all of my ammo-cans with dollar store rustoleum analog in whatever dark colors they have when I'm there.

 

I've gone one step further with a couple of amm-cans by using black adhesive (or silicone) to stick bark and dirt and small rocks onto the sides and top of the can to break up the profile...I haven't seen how these ones last over one of our winters.

 

jamie

[+evergreenhiker!]

I paint my cans. Here's "Fully Fern-ished", a can I've yet to hide:

 

Acrylic doesn't go on very crisply, but a varnish spray over it seems to keep out the weather.

Cool box!

[+Prying Pandora]

Here's another beautiful hand painted ammo box I found recently on Whidbey Island:

 

[+Square Bear]

The only problem I've every had is with a large ammo can that can be opened from either side. Some one had closed the lid with a geocaching sticker in the lid so that the sticker prevented the ammo can from sealing properly.

[+FunnyNose]

I just put out a Lock&Lock that I sprayed with car undercoating then sprinkled with native dirt..

[+willcall]

Here's another beautiful hand painted ammo box I found recently on Whidbey Island:

Thanks -- unfortunately, I didn't match the hide to the paint job, but glad you liked it.

[+Wienerdog]

I just painted a bunch of cans yesterday.  It's easy with spray paint and snippings of common plants.

 

Cool! Will have the opportunity to look for those soon?

[+GeoRoo]

"You know you're a die-hard geocacher when..." Your woodstove top has outlines of 30 and 50 cal ammo boxes. I just painted up 2 50 cal boxes a bit ago and they are baking next to the woodstove. I use Ace Rust Stop spray enamel in black and brown. Be sure to spray over the millitary codes and what they were used for. Surprising the number of ammo boxes I've found with bright orange millitary markings.

 

Check the rubber gasket and make sure it's clean all the way around. Applying a bit of vaseline will restore the seal if it's getting dried out. The only ammo boxes I've found with water are the ones that get put back on their sides. I always try and replace a ammobox in the upright position if possible. Same for my hides. I do have some sideways and they seem to be holding up ok, so much will depend on the hide. Finding a protected spot for the box will help.

 

Does anyone have a line on buying a bulk lot of ammo cans this year? Wasn't it about xmas time last year when we all went nuts on ammo cans? I bought 25 and still have 15 left, but those were 50 cal cans. The 50 cal cans are great, but so darn big!.....I'd sure like to buy some 30 cal cans.

[+Team Maccabee]

Does anyone have a line on buying a bulk lot of ammo cans this year? Wasn't it about xmas time last year when we all went nuts on ammo cans? I bought 25 and still have 15 left, but those were 50 cal cans. The 50 cal cans are great, but so darn big!.....I'd sure like to buy some 30 cal cans.

The Federal Army & Navy Surplus store in downtown Seattle has some 30 cal ammo cans, probably at least a dozen, but they are used and some are dented. They sell them for about $5 each, and might be able to help you to bulk order them. Their phone number is 206-443-1818.

 

Team Maccabee's Abba

[+Sagefox]

I have a small ammo box, and I want to make sure that the elements stay on the outside of the box.

 

Ammo cans keep moisture out very nicely.

 

But... geocaching on the rainy west side (all the way to San Francisco) opens your cache to the dreaded water. Can't do anything about that. In the rain forest we have to cache in the rain.

 

I'm also concerned about the  "Official Geocache" Sticker on the outside of the box.

 

Light sanding of the outside of the the can will help paint or a sticker adhere to the can.

[+CENT5]

Check the rubber gasket and make sure it's clean all the way around.  Applying a bit of vaseline will restore the seal if it's getting dried out.  The only ammo boxes I've found with water are the ones that get put back on their sides.  I always try and replace a ammobox in the upright position if possible.  Same for my hides.  I do have some sideways and they seem to be holding up ok, so much will depend on the hide.  Finding a protected spot for the box will help.

andrwerj and I replaced Colter's Run on April 22nd after it had gone missing. This cache is a .30 cal ammo can that floats almost every high tide. After 6+ months of floating, sometimes for hours, 2 times a day, I'm happy to say it's still dry inside. When I perused the cans at the surplus store I just made sure the seal was in good condition and the box snapped shut a little tighter than normal.

Edited November 10, 2005 by CENT5

[+NorthWes]

This cache is a .30 cal ammo can that floats almost every high tide. After 6+ months of floating, sometimes for hours, 2 times a day, I'm happy to say it's still dry inside. 

 

Only a die-hard duck hunter would be able to find a harsher weatherproofing test than the rains of the Pacific Northwest... floating on the tide twice daily is even tougher than the rainbooth at Seattle REI store! Speaks well for the ammocan as the premium cache container in my book!

 

I'm with Prying Pandora - ammocans are my favorite cache container. After a recent visit to caches across Arizona, I've realized they also do much better than plastic containers at sealing out the microwildlife (although there's nothing micro about scorpions or tarantulas!).

 

Several of us up here in Alaska are recycling those little baggies of stay-dri crystals into the ammocans to help absorb moisture that gets into the can during cacher visits. Seems to help a bit...

 

I buy surveyor's log books made from 'Rite in the Rain' paper at the local surveyor's supply store - cheaper when you buy 'em by the dozen, and less expensive than the specialty suppliers. They make dandy cache logs, and hold up very well in the wet. I cut up and re-bind pages into micrologs for microcaches.

 

The last tip I share for drier ammocan caches is to put everything in freezer-grade ziploc baggies. I put the log in its own bag, and the swag in another. The packaging makes it easier for cachers to sort through cache contents, and the relatively tougher freezer bag helps keep contents drier longer during a cache container 'opening' in wet weather. My cachebag has spare baggies of various sizes squirreled away in a pocket (and my rainjacket, and my vest, and my winter coat too...); it's a habit that comes in handy during dogwalks as well. Makes cache maintenance easy; I pull two baggies out of the cache, dump the twigs/leaves/dirt out, wipe out the interior, and replace the baggies. It's a habit that makes it easy to assist other caches with emergency repairs & ugrades too. Good luck!

[+NorthWes]

...and I forgot to mention I use a stencil I acquired from the Sissy'n'CR website for putting the geocache statement on the outside of the ammocan. After a flat black or brown paint treatment dries on the can, I use flat orange (!!) spraypaint on the stencil to put the data on the can. When I place the cache, I use a permanent paint marker in black to put the cache name & my contact phone number on the ammocan. The orange stenciled 'dataplate' is far less obvious than the shiny green decal to muggles, yet features enough contrast to be read easily when the cache is located. As an added plus, it's not affected by the weather.

[bigscrun]

I am very familiar with ammo cans. I buy them full empty them because of my other addiction (EBR) and then plan on using them for caches.

[+Pablo Mac]

...my other addiction (EBR)...

What is EBR?

 

European Business Register

 

Environmental Biosafety Research

 

Early Bronco Registry

 

European Biopharmaceutical Review

 

Evidence Based Research

 

Enhanced Business Reporting

 

C'mon - Enquiring Minds Want to Know!

[+Allanon]

Empty/Expended Brass Reloading?

[+Team Maccabee]

Evil Bunny Restraining?

[+Shop99er]

Front one is a very thorny lacy-leaved blackberry, Rubus laciniatus.

Common name:

 

Pacific Northwest Cacher-poker.

 

I HATE blackberries

[BLY]

bigscrun:

I am very familiar with ammo cans. I buy them full empty them because of my other addiction (EBR) and then plan on using them for caches. 

 

......

 

Pablo Mac

What is EBR?

 

......

 

Allanon

Empty/Expended Brass Reloading?

 

............ Allanon is close and, in a way so is Team Maccabee. It is Evil, in a good way though.

 

Gotta love the EBR.

[+Prying Pandora]

Extinguish Bambi Rifles?

[+Team Maccabee]

Explosive/Ballistic Research?

 

With that idea, I can't help but picture some animal cartoon character with a rather dim look and a wide grin...

 

heh heh heh!! New ammo can.... goood!! ...make things go BOOM!!

 

Team Maccabee

[+Bill & Tammy]

Back on topic:

 

The guy at my local surplus store recommended applying brake fluid to the seal on the ammo can to rejuvenate them. He also mentioned something about putting a bar of baked hand soap in as a type of desiccant dryer. I must say I haven't tried either but they sound like they might do the trick.

 

I also imagine if you wanted to invest in putting everything inside a freezer bag then in a Lock & Lock and then placing it all in a good, tight ammo can you would be pretty safe.

 

Hope this helps!

[+Team Maccabee]

Well, I placed the cache at Thanksgiving (Northend Jewish Holiday Cache) and I'm going to visit it today or tomorrow to check on everything. I opted for the lazy solution to water-proofing: put everything inside freezer ziplock or small ziplock inside an ammocan, put a sticker on the ammocan, and hope for the best. I'll report on any deficiencies. Being a parent, I didn't feel comfortable using silicon baggies (or whatever they are) that are small and could be dangerous if swallowed.

 

I like the idea of the baked hand soap, but it does sound a bit bizzare. How would one make/buy this?

 

Team Maccabee

[+Bill & Tammy]

Well, I placed the cache at Thanksgiving (Northend Jewish Holiday Cache) and I'm going to visit it today or tomorrow to check on everything. I opted for the lazy solution to water-proofing: put everything inside freezer ziplock or small ziplock inside an ammocan, put a sticker on the ammocan, and hope for the best. I'll report on any deficiencies. Being a parent, I didn't feel comfortable using silicon baggies (or whatever they are) that are small and could be dangerous if swallowed.

 

I like the idea of the baked hand soap, but it does sound a bit bizzare. How would one make/buy this?

 

Team Maccabee

I think the idea of baking it is to remove any existing moisture. I would probably avoid scented, lotion or oily soap as well.

[bigscrun]

bigscrun:

I am very familiar with ammo cans. I buy them full empty them because of my other addiction (EBR) and then plan on using them for caches. 

 

......

 

Pablo Mac

What is EBR?

 

......

 

Allanon

Empty/Expended Brass Reloading?

 

............ Allanon is close and, in a way so is Team Maccabee. It is Evil, in a good way though.

 

Gotta love the EBR.

Evil Black Rifle. I am a shooter and own many AR15's. That hobby is very addicting also.

[+tkays]

What about under water-- not floating?

[+Prying Pandora]

I have found an ammo box that was weighted and submerged. Dry as a bone inside! It was a fairly new cache, so I don't know how long it would stay watertight, submerged like that. As far as I know, that particular hide was moved up high and dry not long afterward so it didn't get to take the test of time.

[+LandRover]

I have found an ammo box that was weighted and submerged.  Dry as a bone inside!  It was a fairly new cache, so I don't know how long it would stay watertight, submerged like that.  As far as I know, that particular hide was moved up high and dry not long afterward so it didn't get to take the test of time.

If i'm not mistaken I think it has been moved back to it's original spot, although the original box was muggled so what's there now is new. How muggles ever found it i'll never know, it took me 3 or 4 trys and I finnaly found it with a major hint.