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Can you use old, clean medicine containers (no labels) for caches?


searcher6913

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I have collected many medicine containers in hopes of someday hiding caches.  This has not been possible recently so thought perhaps someone else could use them.  They are clean, no labels, & a good sizes for logs, etc.  Sizes vary but all are useable.  Please let me know if these are useful or not.  Thank you!   

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9 hours ago, searcher6913 said:

I have collected many medicine containers in hopes of someday hiding caches.  This has not been possible recently so thought perhaps someone else could use them.  They are clean, no labels, & a good sizes for logs, etc.  Sizes vary but all are useable.  Please let me know if these are useful or not.  Thank you!   

 

Medicine bottles that have a foam seal are not designed to keep out water, nor to be opened and closed for years and maintain a seal at all.  The log is soaked almost every time I find one, with the wet log sheet inside a ziplock bag.  They are not the ideal container for just any typical cache hide placement.  But if the bottle is protected (hidden or used in a way that water doesn't contact the bottle), that could work OK.

 

I was given some test strip bottles (diabetes test strips).  Thick-walled plastic with snap-on caps.  I'd expect those to be about the same as the old plastic film canisters.  Not so good in the long term, but not the worst.  Plan to switch them out as they petrify or lose the seal.  I never placed any of those, and I've never found one in the wilds.

 

Any of these are handy for other Geocaching purposes besides as cache containers.  There are other uses.

 

Edited by kunarion
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10 hours ago, searcher6913 said:

I have collected many medicine containers in hopes of someday hiding caches.  This has not been possible recently so thought perhaps someone else could use them.  They are clean, no labels, & a good sizes for logs, etc.  Sizes vary but all are useable.  Please let me know if these are useful or not.  Thank you!   

Hum you are aware this is an International forum? Shipping might be expensive....

 

Try local Facebook group.

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17 hours ago, kunarion said:

 

I was given some test strip bottles (diabetes test strips).  Thick-walled plastic with snap-on caps.  I'd expect those to be about the same as the old plastic film canisters.  Not so good in the long term, but not the worst.  Plan to switch them out as they petrify or lose the seal.  I never placed any of those, and I've never found one in the wilds.

 

 

 

I have both placed and found diabetes test strip containers and they are far superior to the old 35 mm film canisters.  They seem to last a fairly long time, but nothing plastic lasts forever. 

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39 minutes ago, NanCycle said:

I have both placed and found diabetes test strip containers and they are far superior to the old 35 mm film canisters.  They seem to last a fairly long time, but nothing plastic lasts forever. 

 

Plastic containers last pretty much indefinitiely (in caching terms at least) if they're hidden in a dark place that doesn't get any sunlight or extremes of temperature. This one I found a couple of years ago was hidden in 2008 and is as good as the day it was put there:

 

GC1K67W.jpg.abc4e76df23ebd6c1428453f09f42e23.jpg

 

In a hiding place that's well protected from the elements, like in a cave or deep under a rock ledge, they'll last as long as they do in your kitchen cupboard. This is a recent photo of my oldest surviving cache which I placed in 2014. It's tucked in under a ledge and the only time it's exposed to any sunlight is when someone pulls it out to sign the log:

 

20210822_144011.jpg.915ade0c81648b0f78ad796542ad7359.jpg

Edited by barefootjeff
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23 minutes ago, barefootjeff said:

 

Plastic containers last pretty much indefinitiely (in caching terms at least) if they're hidden in a dark place that doesn't get any sunlight or extremes of temperature. This one I found a couple of years ago was hidden in 2008 and is as good as the day it was put there:

 

In a hiding place that's well protected from the elements, like in a cave or deep under a rock ledge, they'll last as long as they do in your kitchen cupboard. This is a recent photo of my oldest surviving cache which I placed in 2014. It's tucked in under a ledge and the only time it's exposed to any sunlight is when someone pulls it out to sign the log:

 

 

But most caches are not hidden in such places, and must contend with all types of weather, etc.

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6 minutes ago, NanCycle said:

But most caches are not hidden in such places, and must contend with all types of weather, etc.

 

Most of mine are :). The most common problem I've seen with plastic containers isn't the container itself but the seal (or lack of one). These things are great for storing food in the freezer but often end up full of water when used as a cache:

 

20211022_082341.jpg.5875b4941bc253c3910db28e0afe7755.jpg

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You "can" use them (and many people do).  The better question is "should" they be used.  There are various beliefs about their use but almost all reach the same consensus, that they're not great containers and are prone to allowing water into the interior.  Very rarely, if at all, has anyone come on here and stated that they're great containers.  A few have mentioned some screw top containers for vitamins (I think that's what I recall they were) that work better, but those are different, despite being somewhat similar in use.

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They are better for cache containers than I have seen on a few recent caches--by the same cacher. One was an old computer tablet with a cache log init propped up against a light pole! Several logs indicated it would not last long. Another was a folded piece of paper shoved under a rotatable outdoor light on a community center bulletin board. Both are down for repair the last I looked. Like mentioned earlier, they may be good in a place protected by weather, but bear in mind that are not made for any purpose other than temporary storage of medical supplies. The plastic may disintegrate easily. I have seen some used, and actually have a few sitting around.

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I have shown this one before. This type of pill bottle lasts well. It has an insert in the lid to assist with sealing. I have one for this cache - GC61P7D  - and seven years later it's still going well. It is though in the shade under a tree, so very little sun. Also, a darker colour, which I have been told protects the container better from the sun, than if it had been white. It's a larger 'small' sized cache. (Some people have rated those containers, regular, but it's a small.)

I have another in use in another game and it's also going well.

1157627238_Greenpillbotle.thumb.jpg.bbc3150bde9d5a1360ebeb0fd60f53e8.jpg

Edited by Goldenwattle
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Late to the discussion but here 😎 I wouldn't try to ship your empties to anyone - even in your home country - as has been said, freight is expensive. Regarding the containers, themselves - It Strictly Depends On The Container. I have medicine vials that HAVE round, self-sealing ridges under the caps, and I have those which do not. Ditto for Child-proof/non in one lid. If it has a self-sealing ridge, it's probably waterproof - if not NO WAY. 

 

And a closed, properly sized ziplock (of good mil thickness) - with the seal NOT folded, and so compromised - will keep ANY log dry.

 

Better still, always use Rite-in-the-Rain paper or logs made from it - that way even if wet they can be pressed dry enough on a pants leg to sign 😎

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