Container Opinion?

[+tec_64]

Hi,

 

Anyone here have any experience with plastic STARFRIT Lock&Lock containers?

 

They are fairly robust and have snap down locks and a rubber seal and are supposed to be airtight, watertight, freezable, microwaveble and dishwasher safe. They come in a range of sizes in round and rectangular shapes. I have a 1.8L round one.

 

They seem to be well suited for small and meduim sized caches. Has anyone used them before?

 

tec_64

Sudbury, ON.

[+PeachyPA]

If the label actually says "Lock & Lock" (Made in Korea), I would say they are quite suitable. There is, however, a knockoff brand sold here in the US called Snapware (Made in USA) that is not as airtight. We have squeezed the Snapware and detected an air leak which means a water leak. The real Lock & Lock containers do not have this air leak.

[+tec_64]

Yep. Made in Korea, sold under STARFRIT name here in Canada and and reiterates on the lid "Absolutely air tight".

 

Thanks for your reply.

tec_64

[+Knight2000]

There is, however, a knockoff brand sold here in the US called Snapware (Made in USA) that is not as airtight. We have squeezed the Snapware and detected an air leak which means a water leak. The real Lock & Lock containers do not have this air leak.

I will disagree with the above statement. (If what you are referring to the containers called Snap N Lock AKA snapware.) I have some and they are Made in Korea. They appear almost identical to Lock N Locks that i have seen.

 

To me that squeeze test is not accurate. The only way a container would be squeezed is if it was under substantial water pressure. Our snap n locks though, do not leak when squeezed.

 

I have seen on these boards of another brand like Lock N Locks that have flimsy snaps. I am unsure of the brand though. The Korean Snap N Locks that i have do not have flimsy snaps. They seem very adequate actually.

[+tec_64]

The Korean Lock&Lock round 1.8L/1.9qt is the one I'm questioning. I will place a weight in it and put it in the deep end of the pool for a few days and see what happens. Snap lock hinges are a question for me. We cache in the winter up here and I'm wondering how many cycles the locks will take in the cold before snapping. I quess I'll stick in the freezer for a few days and give it a try.

 

Thanks for the replies folks! I'll keep ya'll posted.

 

tec_64

[+Knight2000]

Please keep us posted. I love learning new info.

 

I have done tests before. A point that was shared with me is that rarely will a cache be submerged in water. Depending on the depth of your pool that also will bring extra forces from the water due to higher pressure. Still i am eager to hear the results.

[+4props]

Is there a particular store chain in the US that sells these containers?

[+Airhead-kb]

...rarely will a cache be submerged in water...

But here in FL, the humidity and morning condensations will pull moisture into the container if it is not airtight.

[+Trucker Lee]

The Korean Lock&Lock round 1.8L/1.9qt is the one I'm questioning. I will place a weight in it and put it in the deep end of the pool for a few days and see what happens. Snap lock hinges are a question for me. We cache in the winter up here and I'm wondering how many cycles the locks will take in the cold before snapping. I quess I'll stick in the freezer for a few days and give it a try.

 

Thanks for the replies folks! I'll keep ya'll posted.

 

tec_64

 

Beta testing cache containers! ALL RIGHT!!!! Be sure to publish a review later. thanks

[+angevine]

We've found Lock & Lock containers to be the most airtight of any currently available, unless you have an ammo can with a *really* good seal.

 

A prior poster has it right: check and make sure it's not a knock-off. Here's one place where the brand name *does* matter. Good luck!

 

-- Jeannette

[+EScout]

You might want to check out the Click N Seal brand. Decent quality and good value. Big one on left 99 cents, the two on right both for 99 cents total. I have the small one in the field as a cache. Good so far, but it has not rained here in about a year....

 

 

Edited July 4, 2007 by EScout

[+Knight2000]

You might want to check out the Click N Seal brand. Decent quality and good value. Big one on left 99 cents, the two on right both for 99 cents total. I have the small one in the field as a cache. Good so far, but it has not rained here in about a year....

I would love to find those around here. Even if they arent watertight they still look like they would be great in applications that don't get direct moisture. Because the lids snap on, that is just plain handy. I have seen similar pictures of those on here before (maybe from yourself). The red is the seal, correct?

[+tec_64]

Ok, here goes:

 

Lock&Lock (made in Korea)

1.8L / 1.9QT round

Aquired at a local national hardware store chain (Canadian) for $6 CDN (money is almost par with U.S. now).

 

I placed a 28oz can of beans in the container for weight. These containers float quite well. The can provided enough weight to keep the whole works in a slight top-down attitude at about 1 foot under the surface. I figured that was good enough as too deep would cause too much water weight/pressure and actually press on the lid more. As well, I don't plan on hiding any Scuba-caches any time soon.

 

I left the container submerged for 24 hours. This "scientific" test procedure produced no signs of any lid leakage.

 

I've stiil to do the frozen lock hinge test.

 

tec_64

[+Moore9KSUcats]

Please keep us posted. I love learning new info.

 

I have done tests before. A point that was shared with me is that rarely will a cache be submerged in water. Depending on the depth of your pool that also will bring extra forces from the water due to higher pressure. Still i am eager to hear the results.

 

I realize this is a rare event here, but we now have caches submerged in water that weren't intended to be submerged.

 

Lake Georgetown conservation pool level is at 791 feet. We've been in a drought for a couple of years, at least. Typical lake level for the last couple of years has been around 770 feet. Due to heavy rain since June 26/27, and frequent rain since the middle of March, the lake level is now at 824 ft. I can think of 5 or more caches that are under water (if they didn't float away), including one we just put out on June 23. We thought we were well above any recent high water lines when we placed it. Unfortunately, it is probably about 15-20 feet under water right now, if it hasn't floated off. (It is in a 30 cal ammo can with a large rock over it.) A local river crested at just short of 31 feet... flood stage is 9 feet.

 

Yep, we should have thought about water levels when we placed it, but didn't.