Best way to waterproof a micro

[UberJason]

I have a couple of 35mm film canister micros and the log books have got wet, just wondering if anyone had come up with a good and easy way of stopping the logs getting damp.

[+hukilaulau]

I have a couple of 35mm film canister micros and the log books have got wet, just wondering if anyone had come up with a good and easy way of stopping the logs getting damp.

1) put the film canister in an ammo can (somebody had to say it!)

2) invest in some bison tubes

3) be prepared to do frequent log replacements

[+Chrysalides]

I have a couple of 35mm film canister micros and the log books have got wet, just wondering if anyone had come up with a good and easy way of stopping the logs getting damp.

I'm going to guess that there will be at least 5 people who's thinking "put it in an ammo can" (edit : dang, hukilaulau beat me to it )

 

The white (Fuji) types are better than the black with grey cover (Kodak) ones. And don't bother with the APS containers.

 

A plastic baggie helps - as long as the baggie isn't torn.

 

Use waterproof paper (National Geographic Adventure Paper) or water resistant paper (Rite-in-the-Rain).

 

Another alternative container is the match holder. About $1 from Walmart.

Edited December 31, 2009 by Chrysalides

[+Opalblade]

Found a lot of film canisters today with dry logs in tiny jewelry size plastic bags.

[+Chrysalides]

And an answer to the obvious as yet unasked question : you can get baggies from craft stores (Michael's, Jo-Anns), eBay, and if you want it in lots of 1000, Royal Bags.

 

I find 2x2 and 2x3 to be the most useful size for micro logs and tiny items.

Edited December 31, 2009 by Chrysalides

[Clan Riffster]

My motto: If you must rely on a baggie to keep your log dry, your cache has failed at a very basic level. Baggies are susceptible to the same paper cuts as people are. More so, as we aren't having folded paper drug out and shoved back into us on a regular basis. Rather than trying to save a container you've already seen to be crappy, might I recommend you swap them out for containers with proven track records? Soda bottle preforms are dang near bullet proof, as are match containers.

[+FunnyNose]

I have a couple of 35mm film canister micros and the log books have got wet, just wondering if anyone had come up with a good and easy way of stopping the logs getting damp.

 

Tiny zip lock bags never last past 20 opening and closing. Plus I hate messing with zip lock bags in urban areas.

 

Best solution use waterproof paper.

[+9Key]

Soda bottle preforms are dang near bullet proof, as are match containers.

There's your answer. Don't use film cans, they are not waterproof.

[Tahosa and Sons]

Leave it on your desk!!

[+Harry Dolphin]

Best solution use waterproof paper.

 

Then send me some for Christmas!

[+bittsen]

My motto: If you must rely on a baggie to keep your log dry, your cache has failed at a very basic level. Baggies are susceptible to the same paper cuts as people are. More so, as we aren't having folded paper drug out and shoved back into us on a regular basis. Rather than trying to save a container you've already seen to be crappy, might I recommend you swap them out for containers with proven track records? Soda bottle preforms are dang near bullet proof, as are match containers.

 

You should just make this your signature. It could save you a lot of typing. It looks like a C/P of the last 10 or so times you have responded to a thread about micros.

[+9Key]

My motto: If you must rely on a baggie to keep your log dry, your cache has failed at a very basic level. Baggies are susceptible to the same paper cuts as people are. More so, as we aren't having folded paper drug out and shoved back into us on a regular basis. Rather than trying to save a container you've already seen to be crappy, might I recommend you swap them out for containers with proven track records? Soda bottle preforms are dang near bullet proof, as are match containers.

 

You should just make this your signature. It could save you a lot of typing. It looks like a C/P of the last 10 or so times you have responded to a thread about micros.

Its a great reponse, why do you take issue with it? Do you have some magic fire breathing dragon way of making film cans waterproof? Riffster is just stating a fact that he and thousands of other veteran cachers have learned by trial and error and experience. Cut and paste away Riffster!

[+ChileHead]

With the near death of film it seems like the film canister hides are very few in my area. There are so many other containers that are so much better and not too expensive that could be used instead.

 

Spend a buck or two on a lock-n-lock or even match container, and you'll have much happier cache finders.

[+hukilaulau]

I have a couple of 35mm film canister micros and the log books have got wet, just wondering if anyone had come up with a good and easy way of stopping the logs getting damp.

I'm going to guess that there will be at least 5 people who's thinking "put it in an ammo can" (edit : dang, hukilaulau beat me to it )

 

Another alternative container is the match holder. About $1 from Walmart.

yeah, but in my haste to be first I forgot this one which is actually the best answer. I like to cover the orange ones with camo duct tape and hang them in trees as the first stage in multis. I also have one that you have to float to the top of a pipe by pouring water in.

[+kunarion]

I have a couple of 35mm film canister micros and the log books have got wet, just wondering if anyone had come up with a good and easy way of stopping the logs getting damp.

I’ve had a plastic 35mm film canister cache, out in the elements for 4 over months, and it has 28 finds. It’s been there through some of the most severe rainstorms Georgia’s ever had. And the log’s bone dry.

 

I check on it frequently, since it’s in a nearby park. Several people have had trouble putting the cap back on (or they were in a hurry). I’ve been expecting to see damage along the cap seal, but it’s still pristine and watertight. This is the old-fashioned black-body grey-cap style.

 

And maybe there is a secret to keeping it water-free: Keep water off the container.

Mine is covered in water-repellent treated “leaves”, maybe a kind of little raincoat. Rain tends to never touch any of the plastic container. If the whole thing got soaked, the lip around the rim of the cap could trap water. Then all one needs to do is open it, to get the log wet. I’d guess a temperature drop could pull that water inside, too. Try sheltering it from the rain somehow, maybe covered by something smaller than an ammo can

 

After all the bad press here about film canisters, I’ve been preparing for my cache to get soaked. I have a new Rite-in-Rain replacement log sheet ready to go. And I have the 2nd Generation cache ready – it’s a match tube. But I haven’t needed to use either, yet.

 

I’m NOT looking forward to the day when I will have to switch to that match tube. The film canister holds pathtags, swag, lots of fun stuff. The match tube is too small for anything.

 

My 2nd cache is an ammo can, and it’s always perfectly dry inside. But even that one is covered with a rain barrier. Go figure.

Edited December 31, 2009 by kunarion

[+Kyle98632]

Ive found film canisters to be like people; not one is excatly the same. Some hold up to water, others do not. I would suggest dont hide them in areas exposed to the rain. I have a couple out there, one is inside a tree, the other one protected in a hole in a sign. Baggies, as have been stated, dont have a long lifespan.

 

Waterproof logs are overhyped IMO. Ive found more than a couple here in rainy Washington that while the ink is still ok, it has mold growing on it.

[+buttaskotch]

My motto: If you must rely on a baggie to keep your log dry, your cache has failed at a very basic level. Baggies are susceptible to the same paper cuts as people are. More so, as we aren't having folded paper drug out and shoved back into us on a regular basis. Rather than trying to save a container you've already seen to be crappy, might I recommend you swap them out for containers with proven track records? Soda bottle preforms are dang near bullet proof, as are match containers.

 

You should just make this your signature. It could save you a lot of typing. It looks like a C/P of the last 10 or so times you have responded to a thread about micros.

Its a great reponse, why do you take issue with it? Do you have some magic fire breathing dragon way of making film cans waterproof? Riffster is just stating a fact that he and thousands of other veteran cachers have learned by trial and error and experience. Cut and paste away Riffster!

tyvek and a baggy

[Clan Riffster]

tyvek and a baggy

Quality container first, then Tyvek, (and for backup, just in case), a baggie.

In this day and age, there's simply no reason to use an inferior container.

[4wheelin_fool]

I have a couple of 35mm film canister micros and the log books have got wet, just wondering if anyone had come up with a good and easy way of stopping the logs getting damp.

 

Use an ammo can to camoflage it

Edited January 2, 2010 by 4wheelin_fool

[+JohnE5]

I actually have a real solution for this problem.

 

Get a bicycle inner tube and cut it a little longer than the film canister.

 

Slide the tube over the canister stopping at the bottom edge, now you can use water proof glue on the base.

 

As long as the rubber covers the space where the cap is, it will stay water proof. No baggies needed.

 

A good side effect is that you can place a magnet between the can and the rubber to ensure it stays.

[+belair56]

Go to the Pharmacy get a sqatty pill bottle, they will fit a film canister inside of it, and there not much bigger.

[+WHO-DEY]

best way? Put it in an ammo can.

[+ecanderson]

I have a couple of 35mm film canister micros and the log books have got wet, just wondering if anyone had come up with a good and easy way of stopping the logs getting damp.

AVOID the type where the lid snaps only INSIDE the can. You want the old fashioned type where the lid snaps OVER AND have a seal on the inner side of the lip of the can as well. The majority of the problems I've run across with wet 35 logs were due to use of the former. Then again, we have some locals here who cut holes in 35s for tie-wraps. Still haven't figured that one out. I've also seen designs where the lid or can was wired and a hole used. These really MUST be sealed with RTV or something if the CO expects to keep the log dry.

 

Also, avoid APS film cans. Same problem of fit.

 

Much as I hate fiddling with mini Zip-Locs as a finder, putting the log inside one of those inside of a 35 of the right type will provide a lot of additional insurance for a dry log. We've got tons of the configuration I'm describing out here that make it through season after season.

[+TeamGuisinger]

I've managed to not have any problems with them leaking. Baggies actually lead to them leaking. I've seen several times on other caches using the black and gray ones, if they're wet inside with a ziplock in them, it's because the zip part of the baggies was closed at least once in the lid, and bent the seal out of round. It also helps to hide it upright, instead of using a hiding spot big enough for the container to be thrown carelessly into. Matchsafes are $.88 at wally world, or most any chain store that sells camping supplies, but there's nothing wrong with free filmcans either. I always try to remember this while hiding. The less effort you put into your container, the more you have to put into the hide. It's always relevant. I have custom nano containers that I know I'll never be able to seal, so I bought some rite in rain paper.

[+RadishSpirit]

I found two today that had no baggie and were soaked inside. I blast-dried the logs and containers (with car heater) and put the logs inside baggies. Yet I've seen other 35mm containers that were dry inside and didn't need baggies. It's hard to say what the best option is. Depends where the hide is and other factors. If it gets wet, you'll find out soon enough in the log reports.

[Clan Riffster]

It's hard to say what the best option is.

Personally, I think the best option is to start with a waterproof container, rather than spending time trying to make a non-waterproof container stay dry inside. Film cans were designed to store film, over short durations, in stable environments, such as kitchen cabinets and padded camera bags. They are not waterproof by any reasonable definition. If the location calls for a micro, (and many way kewl spots do!), your hide options are either use a waterproof container, which can be had for $0.88, or use a leaky container, which is free. I simply can't fathom why someone would chose the latter.

[+FrogHollowGoddess]

Use Tyvek paper. You can even go green on this and use recycled US postal service Priority mailing envelopes. Nearly any type of writing utensil will work on Tyvek, and it's the good way to help save the environment as well as money.