+the_bell_dingers Posted September 17, 2009 Posted September 17, 2009 are altoids tins waterproof? and if so do they make a good geocache? Quote
Clan Riffster Posted September 17, 2009 Posted September 17, 2009 They are not even remotely water resistant, and if you have an average annual humidity in excess of 0.01%, they make horrible cache containers. Quote
+StarBrand Posted September 17, 2009 Posted September 17, 2009 No and No. Only work if they are placed in a very low humidity area that has virtually no chance of getting wet. Quote
+the_bell_dingers Posted September 17, 2009 Author Posted September 17, 2009 thanks! I will never use them Quote
+Knight2000 Posted September 17, 2009 Posted September 17, 2009 They are ok if they will never ever get wet or be in a place with any humidity. Still small but much better than a film can! Quote
+Castle Mischief Posted September 17, 2009 Posted September 17, 2009 Sooner or later somebody will say that these are fine containers in the right situation/environment. True enough, they do get used pretty often. Almost as often it seems that hiders are not able to match the necessary situation/environment to this less-than-waterproof container. Quote
Clan Riffster Posted September 17, 2009 Posted September 17, 2009 Sooner or later somebody will say that these are fine containers in the right situation/environment. True. They do a fairly good job of storing Altoids mints in a climate controlled convenience store. Until you remove the tamper seal... Then the containers suck. Quote
+Wogus! Posted September 17, 2009 Posted September 17, 2009 I've run across two caches that used Altoids tins. Both were in sad shape, generally speaking (referring to the containers and the log books, not the quality of the enclosed swag). And this is in S. California where we've had drought conditions for... oh, about the past decade. My suggestion: Just don't use them; they were never designed to resist the forces of Mother Nature, are not even remotely water-tight and are just plain flimsy right from the start. A quality cache starts with a quality container. Quote
+the_bell_dingers Posted September 17, 2009 Author Posted September 17, 2009 http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=231815 Moved Topic to The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Quote
+niraD Posted September 17, 2009 Posted September 17, 2009 Note that not only are they not waterproof, but that they will rust (except possibly in very arid environments). Quote
+ecanderson Posted September 17, 2009 Posted September 17, 2009 (edited) are altoids tins waterproof? and if so do they make a good geocache? Not even close to waterproof. We have quite a number of them here in Colorado, land of low humidity. IF the owner has kept them out of direct wet, they do very well here. No matter where they are, if they're allowed to see any rain or snow or any other direct moisture, they're lousy. So it depends on where you are, and how you choose to use them. I see you're in Duluth. Forget it unless it's being placed somewhere that is itself waterproof for some reason (like indoors!) Edited September 17, 2009 by ecanderson Quote
+esseneth Posted September 18, 2009 Posted September 18, 2009 (edited) The best place I saw an Altoids tin was under a pavilion at a rest stop. They person that placed it put magnets on the bottom of the can and stuck it in the eaves of the pavilion. The rest stop was in Wyoming. It doesn't have high humidity, but it's not as low as you'd think. Plus the pavilion kept the tin dry. It was painted rust color to protect the tin from rusting and make it blend into the rust colored eaves. Edited September 18, 2009 by esseneth Quote
+bittsen Posted September 18, 2009 Posted September 18, 2009 The best place I saw an Altoids tin was under a pavilion at a rest stop. They person that placed it put magnets on the bottom of the can and stuck it in the eaves of the pavilion. The rest stop was in Wyoming. It doesn't have high humidity, but it's not as low as you'd think. Plus the pavilion kept the tin dry. It was painted rust color to protect the tin from rusting and make it blend into the rust colored eaves. I have seen a couple good altoid tin hides. They didn't rely on the cache to keep its contents dry, they were placed under cover. Neither had wet logs. Quote
+Anno Lynke Posted September 18, 2009 Posted September 18, 2009 ive seen several here in ohio all are rusty mostly dry but rusty and when they rust ... hard to open i wouldnt use them even under cover Quote
+Unkle Fester Posted September 18, 2009 Posted September 18, 2009 They don't survive getting run over by my truck when the cache is not put back properly or critters drag them out either. Then being wet is kinda moot. Like Clan Riffster, I've found a few things to survive getting run over by the rig accidently. Quote
+the_bell_dingers Posted September 18, 2009 Author Posted September 18, 2009 Plus, I don't feel like spending 4 bucks on a crappy cache! Quote
knowschad Posted September 18, 2009 Posted September 18, 2009 http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=231815 Moved Topic to The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly See? Didn't work, did it? (link) Quote
+the_bell_dingers Posted September 18, 2009 Author Posted September 18, 2009 no....... people need to read more... Quote
knowschad Posted September 18, 2009 Posted September 18, 2009 no....... people need to read more... That's why it takes a moderator to move a thread. They can lock the current one. You can't. But I wouldn't worry about it... you seem to be getting plenty of activity on all branches, meanwhile. Quote
Skippermark Posted September 18, 2009 Posted September 18, 2009 are altoids tins waterproof? and if so do they make a good geocache? No, and no. Here in wet CT, they rust quickly and everything turns into a mush ball...if you can get the container open. I've seen them in dryer climates where they've been okay if kept in a dry place. Quote
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