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Container Question


mgbmusic

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...Of glass jars...of the spaghetti sauce or apple sauce variety. I have a couple of these and i was kicking around the idea of using them. Anybody love em? hate em? none of the above? Also A hugemungo plastic peanut butter jar. All thuroughly washed of course...

 

Bear in mind as I ask this question it is 0 degrees outside...

 

--MGb

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I always try to deploy a high quality container for a cache.

The requirement for durability in a cache container is often underestimated.

Steel (ammo cans)or high quality plastic containers (lock n locks) will serve you well.

My experience has been that glass jars are not durable and they will get broken.

Every environment has challenges, UV, freezing temperatures, visiting cachers or the local wildlife, whatever it is you can expect it will take a toll on your container. You can avoid a lot of future problems by selecting a high quality container for your cache.

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More than 50% of the glass container I have seen were already cracked or a bit broken - low survivability. Saw a completely shattered one hidden in rocks once.

 

Broke one myself once. I was trying to get it out of its hidey hole and a rock shifted and crack!

 

Well, that pretty much confirms what I had thought....I'm leary about the plastic jar as well...

 

Dunno...wost case it gets temp disabled, but we'll see... it'll be a long time b4 we go through that peanut butter...

 

--MGb

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I have a friend who can't go into a local "Texas-Style" restaurant becasue they have buckets of peanuts and you can eat the peanuts and throw the shells on the ground. There's enough peanut dust in the air that he gets a (pretty bad) allergic reaction. Now, imagine that happening a couple miles from your car in a forest.

 

:huh: is right.

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Plastic peanut butter jars are also a bad thing to use. There are MANY people that are HIGHLY allergic to peanut butter. You may "think" you have it completely clean out but you can never be too sure.
Bummer, that was going to be my jelly jar alternative. There must be another PET [Polyethylene terephthalate] jar as a good alternative with a wide mouth. Think people, think!!!

 

Hermit

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How about, if you use a peanut butter container, you say so in your post so that your peanut allergic cacher can choose not to go after it?

 

I have a peanut butter one I plan on using. I've hand washed it once. Used the dishwasher twice. It is currently undergoing decon with baking soda. After that, it'll go through the dishwasher a few more times. Then I'll start camoing it and more. Would that help?

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Plastic peanut butter jars are also a bad thing to use. There are MANY people that are HIGHLY allergic to peanut butter. You may "think" you have it completely clean out but you can never be too sure.

 

Also, animals have very acute senses of smell. You might think it's clean, but that mouse, rat, racoon might get a whiff of that peanut smell and trash the container.

 

Consider these Nalgene Straight Jars. Inexpensive, water tight and durable. Clear for those places that require clear containers, or can be camoed using duct tape or pastic spraypaint.

 

4d451274-cb98-4440-9838-e1140857435b.jpg

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Plastic peanut butter jars are also a bad thing to use. There are MANY people that are HIGHLY allergic to peanut butter. You may "think" you have it completely clean out but you can never be too sure.
Some time ago, this issue came up in the forums and made me curious. I did a little research which led me to understand that peanut allergies are to the peanut protiens, not the oils. Based on this, a PB jar that has been prepared sufficiently to remove the odor to make it relatively safe from animal munching would render it safe from those with alergies.
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i work in a building with a peanut-safe protocol. many people with severe peanut allergies don't need much contact to have a bad reaction. there are several commercially abvailable products that will treat the surfaces, but you're takeing your chances with peanut butter jars in any case.

 

additionally, the lids on peanut butter jars tend to become brittle in low temperatures. you might as well just go for something like a lock-n-lock.

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Plastic peanut butter jars are also a bad thing to use. There are MANY people that are HIGHLY allergic to peanut butter. You may "think" you have it completely clean out but you can never be too sure.

 

I once had a plastic peanut butter jar in a national forest. Then the forestry people did a prescribed burn to clear underbrush....... <_<

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Plastic peanut butter jars are also a bad thing to use. There are MANY people that are HIGHLY allergic to peanut butter. You may "think" you have it completely clean out but you can never be too sure.

 

I once had a plastic peanut butter jar in a national forest. Then the forestry people did a prescribed burn to clear underbrush....... <_<

Did you find the melted remains?
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Jumping in here regarding the discussion of re-using food packaging as cache containers (PB jars, ice cream tubs, etc. etc.). There are a number in my area and I simply just hate 'em. Why? On the most part they were never meant to be re-used especially in the manner of being in the outdoors where temperature and other environmental effects degrade them. Most food packaging lids will become brittle and break easily in the cold as pointed out earlier.

 

I guess I can see where it might be inviting on one hand it might be a plus on the environmental side to keep one more thing from lining landfills but mostly I think it may be just the cache placer just not wanting to spend a little extra $ for a nice cache.

 

I once used the analogy of a cache being like hosting a party for your friends. I guess I wouldn't like being served left-overs. I think it is generally understood that a host should do their best to make a good impression (OK, enough with the Martha Stewart stuff). Anyway, if you are going to put a cache out where maybe a hundred folks will visit it over its' lifespan why not make it something they will value and appreciate when finding? I get a pretty good screw top storage container form Dollar General that comes in a variety of sizes. They have held up well and the best part is they are just a buck! Lock & Locks can be had for around from 3-6 dollars from Wal-Mart. I have seen ammo cans sell for 2.50. Why go to all the trouble of bleaching and preparing a PB jar that probably won't survive anyway when these type of cache containers are available?

 

I think cachers would far and away enjoy finding a nicely prepared ammo can rather than a cracked ice tub any day. Especially at the end of a complex multi or a lengthy hike on a hot summer day. It just seems to be a better pay-off and adds to being brought to a very cool place.

 

I think cachers would far and away enjoy finding a nicley prepared ammo can rather than a cracked ice tub anyday. Especially at the end of a complex multi or a lenghy hike on a hot summer day. It just seems to be a better pay-off and adds to being brought to a very cool place.

Edited by Bill & Tammy
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I think cachers would far and away enjoy finding a nicely prepared ammo can rather than a cracked ice tub any day. Especially at the end of a complex multi or a lengthy hike on a hot summer day. It just seems to be a better pay-off and adds to being brought to a very cool place.

 

I think cachers would far and away enjoy finding a nicley prepared ammo can rather than a cracked ice tub anyday. Especially at the end of a complex multi or a lenghy hike on a hot summer day. It just seems to be a better pay-off and adds to being brought to a very cool place.

Must be an echo. <_<
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Other than the ammo cans, i've found the peanut butter containers great. we get temperature in the -40 and i've yet to see a cracked or damage peanut butter cache. But i've seen plenty of others cache containers that have cracked or just leak. As for glass, don't like it at all. Bad enough so many places are littered with broken beer bottles, we don't need any more chance of broken glass.

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We've used the 1 or 2 quart insulated screw-top coolers (you know, the jugs you take on picnics, etc.) as cache containers several times. Just plug the dispenser spout (usually on the lid), and you have a very waterproof container. We watch for them at garage sales and get them for 50c each, usually. (Each year our church has a large rummage sale and we grab them at really cheap prices.) They camo really well, too! We've made a couple of intriguing hides with them. Just another way to recycle those containers.

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The common answer here is: If you are hiding a geocache, you should want it to last, and stay in good condition. Lock and Locks, ammo cans, and other containers listed here are cheap! Glass containers break. Glass is fragile. I have found some terrible containers. Chinese food containers (a.k.a. smashed cache.) Gladware? Just as bad. I found a four year old pretzel container recently. It is not water proof. Folger's Coffee cans? Not waterproof. Peanut butter containrs? Never put out a container that previously had food in it. Rats and bears can smell it, no matter how well you clean it. And, they're not waterproof either.

If you can't afford the $5 for a Lock and Lock, (or whatever price you can find for an ammo can), then, perhaps, you should reconsider hiding a cache until you can afford the $5.

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You can wash it several times but you can't be sure you've gotten the food smell off. Animals have a very keen sense of smell and can detect faint smells for quite a while. Best to avoid containers that have held food.

 

You know, I've heard this argument quite a bit, and I'm not entirely convinced of the validity of it. Yes I know animals have keen noses, etc, etc, but I'm not sure that the evidence is anything more than annecdotal.

 

a) Cache is a peanut butter jar.

<_< Cache gets chewed.

 

Cacher concludes that a leads to b. In my personal experience, I've seen more caches that have never contained food, chewed by animals than caches that have contained food be chewed.

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Plastic peanut butter jars are also a bad thing to use. There are MANY people that are HIGHLY allergic to peanut butter. You may "think" you have it completely clean out but you can never be too sure.

 

Cachers lick caches? :D:D<_<

 

And thier Tasty Too....... :D:) (although some are tastier than others) :P:o

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most critter repellants are made from black pepper.

 

i have a few former food containers that may be cache containers someday (probably not, but who knows) and they have been washed very well, and now are sitting with black pepper in them which should act as a repellant if the containers are ever used.

 

haven't tried it yet though.

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You can wash it several times but you can't be sure you've gotten the food smell off. Animals have a very keen sense of smell and can detect faint smells for quite a while. Best to avoid containers that have held food.

 

You know, I've heard this argument quite a bit, and I'm not entirely convinced of the validity of it. Yes I know animals have keen noses, etc, etc, but I'm not sure that the evidence is anything more than annecdotal.

 

a) Cache is a peanut butter jar.

<_< Cache gets chewed.

 

Cacher concludes that a leads to b. In my personal experience, I've seen more caches that have never contained food, chewed by animals than caches that have contained food be chewed.

 

Valid point.

But (always a but, isn't there?) for less money than the kids meal that gets you the McSwag to put in a cache you can purchase a new container that has never held food. As a crazy old coot I knew liked to say "Better safe than sorry look'n."

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My gripe with plastic food containers is not necessarily any hypothetical residual odors, (which can be a legitimate concern), but is rather their inherent delicate nature. Rodents chew. All the time. They do this because their primary teeth never stop growing. The chewing helps wear down the teeth. Plastic food containers such as peanut butter jars are made from relatively soft plastic, and offer purchase for those rodent teeth. Rodents won't have much luck gnawing on an ammo can. If given the option between using a container that might last a few months, versus using one that can last a few decades, why would anyone choose to use a lesser container?

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Of the PB jars we've used we've not had the first complaint or problem. Some have been out for years. The only time one has every had water in it is when a cacher logged in the pouring rain.

 

I tried using film cans as stages to a multi cache once. Within days half the cans were moved or missing. Of the ones found, they all had some sort of teeth marks on it. I dare say, it's not always the food smell that attracts critters.

 

Plus, consider the likelihood of someone putting something in the cache with a more powerful smell than the food residue. Worrying about the residue just instantly got trumped. Basically, food residue after a good washing (dishwasher, bleach soak, dishwasher) is pretty far down on my list of worries when placing a cache.

 

Additionally, not every cache lives in the same environment as every other cache. Some containers are better suited for different areas. One container not suitable for one environment may very well be very suitable for another.

 

I think glass would be suitable for certain situations, but consider how folks hunt for caches. When searching for a cache under a layer of debris I like to poke around with my hiking stick. I'd hate to hear a crunch because I didn't know it was a glass container--which would offer little resistance to a steel-tipped hiking stick.

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I've never seen a glass cache container and I'd always assumed it was against the guidelines, but obviously not. As a cacher I want to promote the fact that I do NOTHING to the detriment of the countryside.

 

Don't you hate it when you find a "cache" that used to be in a deli holding olives or humus. You can't fit anything in, the log is soaked and the lid won't go on properly.

 

You can't beat an ammo box, but lock 'n' locks come a reasonable second, especially if you need a smaller hide.

:rolleyes:

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I've got a cache (plastic small folgers can) that has been in place for over 2 years. No cracking, fading, animals or water (unless someone leaves the lid off). However, having said that, a platic pringles tube lasted about a year, but due to dry rot/weatherization not animals. Now, having said THAT, a nearby cache was chewed to pieces by some animal - it seems the animals were after the crayons for some reason. Maybe it's just luck, I don't know.

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I've had a 1-gallon mason jar for a cache since Sept '04 and one since April '05. They're see-through (unlike ammo cans) and completely water-tight. There's no need for a geocaching sticker. Simply tape the stash sheet to the inside so it's readable without opening. They were the only glass container I had seen until caching in Portland, Oregon recently. Cachers there are starting to use glass canning jars. I think it depends on the area. Obviously, you wouldn't use glass near rocky areas. And if it breaks you are responsible for the clean up. Just my .02.

 

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Edited by cache-n-dash
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