Underwater Cache Container...

[+ScubaDewd]

I'm planning an underwater cache for WNC and was wondering if anyone might have an idea for a longterm waterproof cache container. I have kicked around the thought of making a container from 6 inch PVC pipe, using a cap on one end and a screw-out cap on the other. I thought I'd lube the threads with some marine grade grease to prevent it from seizing up and to help with the watertight seal. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

ScubaDewd

[+Jamie Z]

Regular ol' ammo cans have been known to withstand submersion.

 

Buck8Point had one of his caches flooded and mussels (I think) had attached themselves to the outside. When he retrieved it several months later from the water, it was clean and dry inside.

 

A couple other people have reported that they have tested an ammo can in a pool for several weeks. Nary a drop.

 

The only problem is getting it to sink. An ammo can is awfully bouyant, so it'll take a good deal of weight or a tether to keep it under.

 

Jamie

[+ScubaDewd]

I had planned to sink several cinder blocks and attach a stainless steel cable and carabiner to attach the container as I figured the displacement of the air inside would cause the container to be positvely buoyant.

[+Polgara]

Scientific supply companies have great leakproof stuff that make great cache containers, such as these:

 

http://www.mgscientific.com/store/group.asp?GROUP_ID=938

 

The down side is you usually have to buy in bulk and sometimes what looks leakproof, isn't, ya got to double check with the company.

 

"The more I study nature, the more I am amazed at the Creator."

- Louis Pasteur

[The McFlurrys]

Ive been thinking of an underwater cache also. I found a few possibilities, but it ain't cheap. A few companies are in the business of watertight containers.....depending on how big you want the cache to be can cost you in between 20 bucks and several hundred dollars. You might want to check it out here http://www.watertightcase.com/products.html

, or here http://www.diversdirect.com/scripts/ecatalogisapi.dll/Group?Group=19&Template=9990000001000999&searchn=0&maxresults=35If you think of something please let me know!!!

[+Dread Pirate Roberts']

We've got a hydrocache set up using an otter box (similar to the pelican box someone else mentioned). I'll let you know in about 6 months if it stays dry

[+Sissy-n-CR]

I've been planning an underwater cache. I have a few 105mm howitzer tubes. They're about 3' long and a little over 5" in diameter on the inside. I'm going to be going to my nearest home improvement store and getting some ready-mix concrete and a footings form--it's basically a large card board tube. Then I'm gonna put the tube in the other tube and fill it up with cement.

 

I had originally thought of just putting one end in a 5 gallon bucket and filling that up with concrete, but figured it might try to stand up under water. That wouldn't do as I'm gonna be painting the cache to resemble a log and putting in relatively shallow water.

 

CR

 

[+Kouros]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jamie Z:

Regular ol' ammo cans have been known to withstand submersion.

 

Buck8Point had one of his caches flooded and mussels (I think) had attached themselves to the outside. When he retrieved it several months later from the water, it was clean and dry inside.

---

 

FWIW, Buck8Point's cache can be seen here. It might be worth bearing in mind that this cache was only submerged for a few months - any longer, and water might begin to seep in without extra protection.

 

Perhaps an experiment is in order? Hmm, I feel the germination of a cache idea coming on...

 

------

An it harm none, do what ye will

[+Tangles]

We had three underwater caches our first was a small Lexan box but this cache was taken by a shark. Our other two we made out of P.V.C pipe and they work very well but they float so you have to add ballast. The only problem you have with the P.V.C pipe is people do the screw cap up to tight making it hard for the next person. Another advantage of the P.V.C pipe is because of the buoyancy they make great submersible caches. We did test ammo boxes but found that they leaked after awhile or become very rusty.

[+ScubaDewd]

Does anyone have an idea of how waterproof the plastic mortar tubes with the threaded tops are? They look like they may fit the bill... if they'll stand up to long periods of submersion.

[+JohnnyVegas]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sissy-n-CR:

I've been planning an underwater cache. I have a few 105mm howitzer tubes. They're about 3' long and a little over 5" in diameter on the inside. I'm going to be going to my nearest home improvement store and getting some ready-mix concrete and a footings form--it's basically a large card board tube. Then I'm gonna put the tube in the other tube and fill it up with cement.

 

I had originally thought of just putting one end in a 5 gallon bucket and filling that up with concrete, but figured it might try to stand up under water. That wouldn't do as I'm gonna be painting the cache to resemble a log and putting in relatively shallow water.

 

CR

 

http://img.Groundspeak.com/user/72057_2000.gif

---

 

If it's anchored in Cement, how is any one going to retrieve it to sign the log?

[+Sissy-n-CR]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Johnnyvegas:

If it's anchored in Cement, how is any one going to retrieve it to sign the log?

---

 

 

It's not anchored to anything. It's only encased in concrete with one end open to make it heavy enough to sink and not move around.

 

I guess it could be considered anchored if your not strong enough to lift it!

 

CR

 

[brianmcm]

How about a pelican case? These are made to be submerged.

By the way, I've heard of a way to use a GPS unit underwater. It involves a magellan unit and a waterproof case. Since the signal is lost underwater, the case is sent to the surface, locked on to a signal and then brought back to the diver to read. If you're interested, I can get the particulars from one of my dive team members.

 

Boston Police Underwater Search/Recovery Team

[+delanos]

I saw this item on another thread. It's called a Bison tube and REI has them. Real tiny waterproof thing. One of the other suggestions I heard about is Waterproof paper. Available at Camp and Dive shops. Then you make the cache open to the water. PVC with holes then you don't have to worry about Ballast. No nasty suprise when it leaks. Put it under some rocks. TB tags are rustproof and plastic stuff won’t rust. Just make sure you state that it’s a wet cache. You can’t have sugar, crackers, Carbide (grin) or bread but most stuff will hold up under water. Bring your own marker to log the visit.

 

GWHunter

 

[This message was edited by GWHUNTER on May 26, 2003 at 11:04 AM.]

[+Don&Betty]

Seems the main problem with a dry underwater cache would be how the finder is supposed to keep it dry while he is opening and handling it. There are several problems:

 

(1) Getting it up to the surface shouldn't be hard if it's not much heavier than neutral.

 

(2) How to handle and open it if he is merely swimming, and treading water, would be tough. I suppose he would have a boat standing by, to have located it from.

 

(3) How to keep water from entering and wetting the contents while he is treading water and logging in the book, with wet hands, would be nearly impossible. I suppose one would hand it up into a boat where there would be towels to dry it before it's opened.

 

(4) Getting it back to the very same hiding spot might be a problem. Perhaps it ought to have a sinking "mooring" cable, long enough to reach the surface and the boat, that would lead the finder back to the precise spot where he found the cache.

 

Has anybody actually overcome these things. Some underwater (probably SCUBA) caches undoubtedly are intended to be openable underwater and contain only submersible trinkets.

 

I hope to do something underwater for a cache. One thing I have in mind is perhaps to have the underwater parts of a multi merely yield "virtual" code letters etc. which lead to other legs which ultimately lead to the actual cache somewhere on land.

 

An earlier idea I had was some relatively shallow underwater anchored submerged "floats" that had colored reflectors on them that could be seen from a canoe, perhaps using a flashlight. These color codes would lead to others for a multi, ultimately leading to a cache on land.

[+The Cheeseheads]

This cache has some pictures of how he did it. The cache is anchored down with a cement block, but can be unhooked for retrieval.

 

Obviously, the trick is making sure you can find the block again to replace the cache...

 

- - - - -

What are goosebumps for?

 

To slow down the geese!

[Garyan]

I'd recommend the housing from an old dive light. You can get them pretty cheaply at scuba flea markets, and lots of divers have retired or dead lights kicking around. The housings are usually depth rated to 200 feet or more, have simple screw-off closures that seal on a single o-ring, and many are big enough to hold 4 to 8 D-cells, enough volume for a log and a couple of small trinkets. Most are negatively bouyant with batteries, so they wouldn't be too positive without batteries. The cache owner should probably make it a point to re-grease the o-ring once a year...

[+joefrog]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Don&Betty:

(4) Getting it back to the very same hiding spot might be a problem. Perhaps it ought to have a sinking "mooring" cable, long enough to reach the surface and the boat, that would lead the finder back to the precise spot where he found the cache.

---

 

Excellent idea! Even a cement block, a stainless-steel clip, and a buoy on a rope JUST long enough to reach the surface when unhooked would be the ticket! Cache unclips from buoy, voila! That's great... thanks!

 

Joel (joefrog)

 

"Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for ye are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!"

[Ruprex]

Here's what I like to use for my bigger caches.

http://img.Groundspeak.com/cache/56860_200.jpg

 

They're 21st century ammo cans. Carbon fiber with a rubber seal that will prevent water from entering.

 

Downside: They're pretty darn big so you'll need to fill the bottom with cement or something of the sort.

 

Upside: They wont rust. Easy to open and close. Give me a buzz if you haven't got a container yet...I'm a fairly nice guy ;-)

 

Two men are walking down the street. The first man walks into the bar. The second man ducks...

[+Ltljon]

quote:

---

Originally posted by ScubaDewd:

I'm planning an underwater cache for WNC and was wondering if anyone might have an idea for a longterm waterproof cache container. ScubaDewd

---

 

Why do I get the "sinking" feeling me 'n Spyder are going swimming in Lake James soon??

 

I may have what you need by Saturday.

[+ScubaDewd]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ltljon:

 

Why do I get the "sinking" feeling me 'n Spyder are going swimming in Lake James soon??

---

 

Oooh, Nooo... Lake James is a hot spring compared to the water I'm thinking about.

[+Capaldo]

I have a cache in about 6 feet of still water - Towelie. The container is a regular one quart thermos bottle. It is housed in a plastic cylinder attached horizontally to a concrete paver with a large zip tie. One end of the cylinder is closed and the other has a small lip. The bouyancy of the container holds it in place. The only wetness seems to be from sloppy handling by wet cachers. Total cost about $8 and it's doing well.

[brianmcm]

Originally posted by Cheesehead Dave:

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=25257 has some pictures of how he did it. The cache is anchored down with a cement block, but can be unhooked for retrieval.

 

Obviously, the trick is making sure you can find the block again to replace the cache...

 

- - - - -

Perhaps a pelican float could be attached to the anchor so that the diver can find the hook. When the cache is replaced, the pelican float can be rolled up and secured or the next diver/cacher.

 

When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading.

Henny Youngman (1906 - 1998)

[+Lazyboy & Mitey Mite]

The underwater cache on Maui is placed in a plastic cage. The logbook is a divers slate and pencil. Items in the cache are all water resisitent stuff. If you want to keep it dry you'll be dissapointed in the long run.

 

Hi Jeremy

[+pizzachef]

I was thinking of using a Nalgene bottle. The only thing I'm concerned about is the anchor drifting...down here we've got the GUlf of Mexico, and even behind the barrier islands off the coast of Mississippi, I think the sea floor is a dynamic thing in hurricanes and such. Is that a problem for anyone???

 

-pizzachef