Cache Containers

2.1k · December 3, 2003

I was inspired with someone elses cache(actually had already thought of it, but never acted) that I decided to make a couple of my own. Coming to new caches soon. What do ya think?

1.4k · December 3, 2003

Very nice idea...the ATF won't blow those babies up because they look like pipe bombs.

Sereously though, good idea. Is the lid water tight?

2.1k · December 3, 2003

Yeah, they just look like atom bombs instead...lol

They've been sitting outside for a couple days. I touched up some of the paint on them and forgot about them, then we had a little snow and never went back out till a while ago. I'm gonna submerge them and see what happens.... will give a report on it after it's done...

3.5k · December 3, 2003

Be sure to grease the threads good. Those things can seize up and not want to open after being left out in the weather for a bit.

Bret

1.4k · December 3, 2003

If they do leak try some teflon tape, or you may be able to get a rubber seal for them as they are plumbing parts.

1.4k · December 3, 2003

Be sure to grease the threads good. Those things can seize up and not want to open after being left out in the weather for a bit.

Bret

This may also help the seal.

2.1k · December 3, 2003

hey i guess I could paint a butt on them and call them plumbers butt...

2.1k · December 3, 2003

well I just submerge them in water for about 20-30 seconds.

The little one, didn't take on any water.

The big one took on a little. I checked and the top was not on very tight. Tighten it and resubmerged. Unscrewed the top and there was a couple of drops.

That was submerged.

Unless I place them in a river bed, i think they will do fine. I think if you submerged a lot of the tupperware and even some of the ammo cans that you would get a little water...

Edited December 3, 2003 by woodsters

December 3, 2003

If they do leak try some teflon tape, or you may be able to get a rubber seal for them as they are plumbing parts.

Teflon tape will be rendered useless after opening it up once or twice. You'd have to leave a couple rolls in the container, along with instructions, as I'm sure there's someone out there that couldn't figure out teflon tape.

2.3k · December 3, 2003

we have a few similar to that in Colorado. Both owners included some sort of wrench to open the cache up with when it was too cold. one was a real wrench and one was a piece of wood what had a cutout that fit the square on the top to lock on to the cap with

2.1k · December 3, 2003

what kind of grease would you use CyBret?

December 3, 2003

I've thought about doing something similar, and spent a couple visits to Home Depot/Lowes in the plumbing section, but never tried it yet. Be sure to let us know how it works out.

December 3, 2003

I would use just plain `ol Teflon grease or white lithium lube. OR for a cruel joke you could use Never-Sieze, for those of you who don't know what that is... messy stuff You can take a teaspoon of that stuff into a 40 acre field, lay it down and be covered with it by the time you get back

Edited December 3, 2003 by JeepinRedNeck

5.3k · December 3, 2003

what kind of grease would you use CyBret?

A smear of Vaseline will work just fine

December 3, 2003

Looks similar to one of mine (never placed).

2.1k · December 3, 2003

hmmm....vaseline might be the better thing...i do have some white lithium grease and it tends to get messy itself...The vaseline petroleum jelly stuff will probably seal out the drops of water that happened in the big one...

We are supposed to get snow htins weekend . Was hoping to find an area for it...

5.3k · December 3, 2003

We are supposed to get snow htins weekend . Was hoping to find an area for it...

Around here we just usually keep it on the ground.

2.1k · December 3, 2003

yeah it does geospotter..what kind of bottom does yours have?

i tell you, the most confusing thing is looking at them parts in lowes...

December 3, 2003

yeah it does geospotter..what kind of bottom does yours have?

It was just an 'end cap' of some sort. The whole bottom half is the end cap.

Edited December 3, 2003 by geospotter

2.1k · December 3, 2003

lol stunod..took me a second there. Yeah it likes to stay on the ground here too...for a long time! It was well into April I believe this year when it finally went away....

We live on a couple acres on top of a hill overlooking a lake, which is now almost frozen over. The house we are renting sits all the way back on the property and our driveway is steep and we had to get it plowed a few time this past winter, even with the Jeep. Today, our landlord si having someone cut a drive almost half the way down...hop it helps out.

4.8k · December 3, 2003

we have a few similar to that in Colorado. Both owners included some sort of wrench to open the cache up with when it was too cold. one was a real wrench and one was a piece of wood what had a cutout that fit the square on the top to lock on to the cap with

Same here. A local cacher used one of these and he put a metal rod with the cache to use to open it. He hung the rod on a wire next to the cache (which BTW was up a post on a flagpole pulley system!).

2.1k · December 3, 2003

ahhh ok geospotter...I may look at those next time...the end caps were fairly expensive and is why I got 2 screw on caps on mine...

2.1k · December 3, 2003

hmmm...I could drill a hole through the top knob and include something like a screwdriver or wedge one into it...

2.3k · December 3, 2003

we have a few similar to that in Colorado. Both owners included some sort of wrench to open the cache up with when it was too cold. one was a real wrench and one was a piece of wood what had a cutout that fit the square on the top to lock on to the cap with

A few around here as well -- the owner/maker (missingscout) attaches a "geo-tool" to the container made from some material similar to the white cutting boards with some cord. The tool has a handle for leverage and a square cutout exactly the size of the turn plug. Very cool caches.

2.1k · December 3, 2003

hmmm can't drill a hole in the top as that part is hollow and it would definitely leak, unless of course I could wedge a screwdiver into of some sort...

will have to think about this for a while...the wooden wrench might be a good idea...

2.3k · December 3, 2003

The one I saw was made from a peice os Masonite and it seemed to hold up well in Colorado weather

December 3, 2003

Teflon tape will be rendered useless after opening it up once or twice. You'd have to leave a couple rolls in the container, along with instructions

You'd more than likely soon end up with a note in the log like, "Took teflon tape, Left pez dispenser" doh!

3.9k · December 3, 2003

I've got a few of those out there. Instead of a screw attachment on both sides, use a cap on one side and make sure you glue it on. I also painted mine brown so it matched the tree stumps I put them in. I've also used nylon zip ties to strap them to a tree brach. Then the finder just unscrews the top and takes out the ziplock bag. Teflon tape dosen't work because it comes aff after a few times of opening and closing it. A good grease should be good enough to hold out any water. Everyone that finds these thinks the container is great.

December 3, 2003

What about moisture buildup from humindity? I think I remember reading this in a earlier thread a while back that the PVC type containers take on quite a bit of moisture from humidity.

2.1k · December 3, 2003

the caps would of tripled the costs of making these...I may just glue one of the screw caps on and write "open here" with an arrow on it.

I painted mine gray as a good bit of the caches around here are hidden in stone walls or near some sort of rocks... I thought of getting some camo colors and camouflaging it....brown would be good to for hte stumps...

December 3, 2003

we have a few similar to that in Colorado. Both owners included some sort of wrench to open the cache up with when it was too cold. one was a real wrench and one was a piece of wood what had a cutout that fit the square on the top to lock on to the cap with

Hmmm, here is an interesting thought.. What about doing this as a multi cache. Use the wrench to tighten the lid tight enough that it cant be taken off by hand. Then have the first part of the multi having to find the wrench to get the cap off. The the after the cache is done, put the wrench back where it was found in the first place. Sounds really neat, but I can see somebody taking matters into there own hands and using a pair of channel locks or something to open the cache instead of finding the wrench.

2.1k · December 3, 2003

Hmmm, here is an interesting thought.. What about doing this as a multi cache. Use the wrench to tighten the lid tight enough that it cant be taken off by hand. Then have the first part of the multi having to find the wrench to get the cap off. The the after the cache is done, put the wrench back where it was found in the first place. Sounds really neat, but I can see somebody taking matters into there own hands and using a pair of channel locks or something to open the cache instead of finding the wrench.

Put the coordinates to it on the wrnech...so when they go to the first cache, they get the wrench and the coordinates.... Giving me an idea there!

On the humidity...I guess it would depend on the location. I could see more of a problem down south than up north...

2.3k · December 3, 2003

A smear of Vaseline will work just fine

We are talking geocaching here...

Are you sure you are posting in the right forum???

Edited December 3, 2003 by Doc-Dean

3.9k · December 3, 2003

I like the multi-cache idea. I've have an idea to make the 1st leg of the multi contain something you need to use to find the actuall cache. Like rope to climb a tree to get the cache. Just to be on topic the cache of coarse would be a large PVC pipe. I'm just worried the rope won't make it back to the 1st leg.

December 3, 2003

Hmmm, here is an interesting thought.. What about doing this as a multi cache. Use the wrench to tighten the lid tight enough that it cant be taken off by hand. Then have the first part of the multi having to find the wrench to get the cap off. The the after the cache is done, put the wrench back where it was found in the first place. Sounds really neat, but I can see somebody taking matters into there own hands and using a pair of channel locks or something to open the cache instead of finding the wrench.

Put the coordinates to it on the wrnech...so when they go to the first cache, they get the wrench and the coordinates.... Giving me an idea there!

On the humidity...I guess it would depend on the location. I could see more of a problem down south than up north...

I'm liking this more and more. Maybe getting some sort of engraving tool to put the coords on. Wrenches are pretty cheap, so if you have to move the cache or somebody wanders off with the wrench, your not out a whole lot of money. I say go for it and let me know how it works out if you decide to do it!!!

2.5k · December 3, 2003

I agree that Vaseline is a good choice for lubing the threads and it will help keep moisture out. I have found similar containers and have found that those types of caps are next to impossible to loosen without a tool after a couple of months. Also, the threads are more fine than course, and any piece of dirt in the threads will make opening and closing more difficult. Unfortunately, the dirt will stick to the vaseline. You may find that this cache will require much more maintenance than you expected. I found the test plugs work well, as long as they are the plastic ones, rather than the metal ones. Also, I have not seen any larger than 4 inch, although they might make them larger. Anyway, I hope it works out for you.

Edited December 3, 2003 by cachew nut

1.2k · December 3, 2003

I`ve done a couple of caches using PVC tube. On one I drilled 2 holes in the end cap and put a u-bolt in it and filled inside with silicone, so people could put a stick in the gap and turn the cap. I had to replace it cause it did get water in it over the summer. On another I used the rubber plug with a wing nut. That one you pretty much had to have a knife or screwdriver to pry it loose. I tried greasing and sanding down the tube for a looser fit and still the same problem. No leaks yet on that onethough.

2k · December 4, 2003

Try to find a "test plug" they cost a little more but I have one cache that uses one and so far it has been great. What they are is a rubber puck with a hole. There are two metal washers, one on each side, with a carraige bolt and a wing nut through the middle. Put the whole she-bang into the opening and tighten the wing-nut, the two washers compress the rubber out to form a water tight seal. I found mine at the homeboys, but I'm sure Lowes has them too.

I type slow IBcrashen posted while typed. I haven't seen the problem with sticking but my cache isn't PVC.

Edited December 4, 2003 by rusty_tlc

2.5k · December 4, 2003

On another I used the rubber plug with a wing nut. That one you pretty much had to have a knife or screwdriver to pry it loose. I tried greasing and sanding down the tube for a looser fit and still the same problem. No leaks yet on that onethough.

The trick with test plugs is to loosen the wing nut and then wait about a minute for the rubber to relax and loosen its grip. A slow rocking motion on the bolt sometimes speeds up the loosening of the plug.

2.5k · December 4, 2003

There are two metal washers, one on each side, with a carraige bolt and a wing nut through the middle.

I've found a few with metal parts in the field and they rust after a while of being outdoors. If you have a choice, try to get test plugs with the least amount of metal.

3.5k · December 4, 2003

Speaking of the wrench / pvc multi-cache, there's one here in the Dallas area that is similar to the idea proposed in this thread.

The PVC tubes I have either found or placed have all failed after a couple of months. The vaseline evaporates or wears off or something.

I wonder how well the test plug will do. Report back!

1.5k · December 4, 2003

There is a cache around here that even the landscapers wouldn't look at. It was 3" PVC that came out of the ground, went across about 18" and back down into the ground. There was a T that you could unscrew and the cache was inside.

1k · December 4, 2003

hmmm....vaseline might be the better thing...i do have some white lithium grease and it tends to get messy itself...The vaseline petroleum jelly stuff will probably seal out the drops of water that happened in the big one...

We are supposed to get snow htins weekend . Was hoping to find an area for it...

You still might get condensation moisture on the inside of it.

3.5k · December 4, 2003

what kind of grease would you use CyBret?

Yeah, I was thinking Vaseline too.

One other caveat (that's French for "fish eggs"), a couple local cachers have placed PVC pipe caches and used the rubber expanding caps on them. Unfortunately these seem to contract quite a bit and become practically useless in the winter. Also, there are a lot of posts from cachers who just plain didn't know how to put them back together or disassembled them in the process of removing the lid and couldn't figure out how to get them back together correctly.

Another local cacher has taken to hiding a few caches in 1-1/2" PVC tubes, about 12" or so long. In one, he drilled a hole and put a metal rod into the cap, then pushed the rod into the ground next to some kind of utility service area. It really looked like it belonged there. I am a little concerned about what might happen when someone comes to service the utility and sees it there. He did write "GEOCACHE" on it, but....well....I just hope for the best.

Bret

December 4, 2003

A very cool concept Woodster, but this looks like it will require quite a bit of upkeep to assure that it will be sealed. I have found caches in containers like this, and they were always wet on the inside. Interesting to see how this works out though!

December 4, 2003

One thing to consider is an alternative way for a finder to prove they were at the cache if the log does get wet, or the pen / pencil lost. I put out some micros recently using a new method, an do not know if they will be water tight. So I wrote a number inside of the lid of the box. On the cache page, it says that if the log is wet, please report this and prove your find by emailing me the number written inside the lid of the box.

2.1k · December 4, 2003

On the test plugs. The one pvc pipe cache that inspired me had one of those, but I did not see them in the same area as the pipe fittings in the Lowes I was at. Should they be in the same area or a different one?

December 5, 2003

Could you put on of those little packets of absorbent that come with some electonic devices? The have the ability to absorb humidity before any damage is done to the delicate parts in the package.

Of course you would have to write "leave packet here" or someone would trade for it like the teflon tape.

:rolleyes: :unsure:

December 5, 2003

Here are 2 that I have done :

and

These have held up well. The decon container finally had to be pull because peopel were so rough with it, it started to break up and peel.

These have been quite fun, and I have several more kinda like these planned. They seem to be well recived.

-Robert

December 5, 2003

That is really cool RobAGD... how did you make the tree stump?

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