Unused pharmacy bottles: acceptable containers?

[+NikkiPoooo]

I have a bunch of large unused pharmacy bottles that I bought for another project laying around. If they are clearly labeled as caches and haven't been used for drugs would they be acceptable containers?

[crawil]

I've found several of these as caches. Some are well cammoed and other are not. They should be fine.

[+StarBrand]

Many of those will leak if left exposed out in the wild. Also they will tend to detorirate as the plastic is not UV stabilized. They just aren't the best Cache containers.

[+9Key]

Many of those will leak if left exposed out in the wild. Also they will tend to detorirate as the plastic is not UV stabilized. They just aren't the best Cache containers.

I agree with Star Brand. If they don't outright leak they get condensation inside.

[+Confucius' Cat]

No problem with them because they are drug bottles, but they aint worth a darn because they get wet inside.

[+Thrak]

A local cacher seems to use them a lot. He paints them. I've found some that weren't in the best shape after a lot of rain though. Personally, I don't use them but others do. I don't have a problem coming up with cache containers. My problem is quality places to put caches. I have 1 ammo can, 3 small caches, and 3 micro caches in my truck that are ready to go. I'm just not willing to say, "Hey, look! There's a guardrail!!!" and place a cache there.

 

Note: I do have 4 guardrail caches but they are there for the purpose of getting numbers off of them that are used in a 5th cache that has a nice hike and that one leads to a 6th cache with a hike and a view and it's a .50 cal ammo can with a combo lock.

[+Harry Dolphin]

I have one that's been in place a bit over three years. No. It's not water-tight. It's in a sheltered location,, so no exposure to UV. Log protected by a Ziplock. Done right, they can be good containers. I have found some that were in terrible condition. In general, not a good choice.

[Mag Magician]

I went through the phase of using prescription bottles for a while. As each one gets logged as being damp, I am slowly exchanging them with the containers that diabetic test strips come in. Those seem to hold out the elements about.....oh-h-h-h.......400% better.

[+gof1]

I realize the desire to use what you have at hand is great. The whole reduce, reuse, recycle thing. But for very little money you can get a container that will work much better. Try a match safe, they can be had at Wally World for around a buck or so. I haven't tried them myself but I hear that soda bottle preforms work well. A 30 pack is about $17 plus shipping. Lots of good choices out there.

[+NikkiPoooo]

Thanks for the input! I actually have some smaller lock & locks and tupperware that came in variety packs and I've never found a use for, I just wondered if maybe I'd found a use for the bottles other than as sharps containers for traveling... they work great for that but I don't have needle meds anymore.

[+PhxChem]

containers that diabetic test strips come in. Those seem to hold out the elements about.....oh-h-h-h.......400% better.

 

Plus, you have the whole Wilford Brimley angle and all.....

[+trailpuppy]

I've seen a lot of prescription medicine bottle hides and not one has ever been wet inside. If you wrap them in camo tape then the exposure to UV light shouldn't be an issue.

[+Knight2000]

My problem is quality places to put caches. I have 1 ammo can, 3 small caches, and 3 micro caches in my truck that are ready to go. I'm just not willing to say, "Hey, look! There's a guardrail!!!" and place a cache there.

All hail Thrak. More peeps need to think like that.

 

I've seen a lot of prescription medicine bottle hides and not one has ever been wet inside. If you wrap them in camo tape then the exposure to UV light shouldn't be an issue.

Keep in mind what may work in CA may not work in ME.

 

I live in Ohio and see them too often. If in the proper location shielded from weather, it would be fine here. Too often it is wrapped in camo tape and tossed into nook in a tree. Ugh.

 

IMO this is true in most cases...

[Radman Forever]

A local cacher seems to use them a lot. He paints them. I've found some that weren't in the best shape after a lot of rain though. Personally, I don't use them but others do. I don't have a problem coming up with cache containers. My problem is quality places to put caches. I have 1 ammo can, 3 small caches, and 3 micro caches in my truck that are ready to go. I'm just not willing to say, "Hey, look! There's a guardrail!!!" and place a cache there.

 

Note: I do have 4 guardrail caches but they are there for the purpose of getting numbers off of them that are used in a 5th cache that has a nice hike and that one leads to a 6th cache with a hike and a view and it's a .50 cal ammo can with a combo lock.

 

I've been using them for a few years now and I haven't had too much of a problem. Probably the bigger problem was that a couple caches always went missing. Who steals perscription bottles? Must've thought it was junk.

 

Anyways, I take the bottle and wrap electric tape all around the container. Electric tape is used because I have found that it works pretty well in the elements and hides a cache pretty well. I started using it on accident because it was the only thing I had on hand.

 

Maybe the most important thing for most small containers is to try and keep it out of the elements as much as possible. Most containers not meant to be used need to be somewhat sheltered from snow and rain. I found this to be true with 35mm containers, which I feel is just as vunerable to rain as my perscription pill bottles. But even a few of my caches that are vunerable have handled pretty well in the elements over the last few years, so why change something that works?? For me at least!

[+olbluesguy]

I have used camo pill bottles for stages of multi's .I insert a piece of popsicle stick inside with the next stage co-ords written on them with water proof marker.

 

Or put a piece of paper inside with co-ords wrirtten it so that you can see it thru the container.

you can compleatly seal the container,and it neds not be opened at all.

[+dew cache]

I found one a while back that had been chewed through by some critter and only the lid and about half of the bottle were left. I know it was the cache because I had found it about 3 months earlier. I found what was left of the log about 6 feet from the container which had been placed about 4 feet up in a tree.