Saturday, May 8, 2010

Mylar Bags and Sealing for Long Term Storage*

My personal evolution with long term food storage methods was long and at times frustrating because I tried the common methods that others were using. During the previous attempts and getting to the point where I am today those methods never seemed really right. I’m sure you all have been there or are now not pleased or convinced the method you’re using is safe and just as important, frugal and convenient.

I’m not a patient person, when I do a project it needs to be cheap and fast with the end result being the best method and results. One of the cornerstones of cheap and fast is having minimal options or ways to accomplish your goal including the right equipment.

Here’s the food storage system that works best for me.
For a food storage system to work for you it needs to save money everyday while at the same time is also your survival long term food stash. Buying in bulk does save money so I designed a system that let’s me make use of the stored foods everyday and take advantage of the bulk savings in a manageable way. This method also let’s me experiment with recipes and create dishes that are based on survival meals so should the day arrive when this is all the food I have to eat we won’t be eating strange meals or have them be a shock to our digestive system.

Through much experimenting and trial and error I now use exclusively one gallon Mylar bags for my bulk food storage with the only exceptions being wheat grain and all purpose flour because I use all 5 gallons of those in 3-6 months.

The reason for storing in 1 gallon Mylar bags? 
It’s because I use 5 quart plastic jugs with molded in handle to store the food in the pantry. In the 5 quart jugs I have a complete variety of all the foods that I long term store on hand for everyday use. The replacement food remains in storage in one gallon Mylar packs, inside 5 gallon buckets, that are the perfect size to refill the jugs when they get close to being empty. Now using the 1 gallon packs size I have just enough long term stored food in them to refill the jugs with the freshest food coming out of storage as compared to opening a full single bagged 5 gallon bucket to take some of the food out and then may not use remainder of it for a year or two risking spoilage.

In a nut shell here are all the components used for my long term storage:
• 5 gallon buckets, new, FDA Food Compliant with gasketed lids
• Mylar FDA Compliant Food Storage bags, 20 x 30 x 4.3 mils thick, for 5 or 6 gallon buckets
• Mylar FDA Compliant Food Storage bags, 12.5 x 18 x 4.3 mils thick for 1 gallon quantity food packs
• Mylar bag Heat Sealer machine
• Oxygen Absorbers, 500cc (I use 2, 500cc absorbers per 1 gallon of food stored)
• Quart canning jars

The Mylar bags and Sealing Machine:I buy and use just two bag sizes:
• 20 x 30 x 4.3 mils thick ($1.50 each for 5 or 6 gallon buckets)
• 12.5 x 18 x 4.3 mils thick ($0.50 each for 1 gallon bags)
• I also use the ‘Impak’ 16 inch Heat Sealer machine
• I buy all my bags and the heat sealer from www.sorbentsystems.com
• Sorbent makes the bags and the heat sealing machines in the US.

The ‘Impak’ Heat Sealing Machine
This machine may be a hard pill to swallow due to cost $130.00 but I feel it is absolutely necessary to ensure you have that perfect long term heat seal of the Mylar bags. In the past I like many others used a clothes iron, yes it works but I was never sure I had a good seal. Since buying the heat sealer machine I have resealed all my bags that I had used the clothes iron for the seal. After all we are talking about long term food storage of 10, 20 or maybe 30 years and worst case life or death. This machine is designed to produce the perfect seal time after time without any guess work.

Why is this sealing machine the better way to seal Mylar Bags?
1. It is specifically made for the job.
2. It has the recommended 5mm wide heat strip.
3. The top clamping arm has a positive stop to prevent excessive clamping pressure and upon touching the stop a micro switch is tripped to start the heat strip and at that moment a timer also starts and automatically turns off the heat strip via a programmable timer for the perfect heat duration every time.
4. Incorporated in the top clamp bar is a spring loaded silicone rubber pressure bar that applier the exact amount of pressure so you don’t over or under squeeze the seal area.
5. Bottom line is it duplicates the precise heat, duration and pressure needed to produce a perfect seal every time.
6. It will last forever; even if you let your friends use it for their sealing needs.


The large Mylar bag is 12.5 x 18 x 4.3 mils thick.
I no longer trim the corners as shown in the photo. In the beginning, I stacked the four bags in the bucket one on top the other. Today I stand the four bags on end in the bucket and that is easier to do.


If you need smaller Mylar bags to custom fit a smaller volume I do not have to buy and stock a number of different sizes. I simply cut and heat seal the large Mylar 12.5 x 18 x 4.3 mils thick bag into 4 smaller bags for 2 cup capacity you can use for up to two meals in each bag for back packing, camping etc. Cutting up the larger bag into the smaller bags ends up costing about $0.12 each. Example of how much food fits in the smaller bag: 2 cups of rice or beans dry equals 6 cups of cooked food.


I use a 1 gallon pitcher so I can easily and consistently measure out 1 gallon quantities of food for each bag. I have a chart that breaks down how many meals we can get from a single gallon of stored food. This helps greatly for knowing exactly how many meals you have in total in long term bulk food storage stock.

The bag with 1 gallon of food in it (about half full) just before sealing.

I use some books to elevate the bag so it is more in line with the sealer surface and this avoids fighting with bag wrinkles at the seal point.

The first seal is continuous all along the top edge of the bag. There is no oxygen absorber inside at this time. I seal close to the top because when I open the bag I just trim enough to cut off the seal and enough bag is left for 2 or 3 more reuses. Saves money on buying new bags! I found doing it this way it was a lot easier to get the bag to lay flat and eliminate any wrinkles in the large main seal. Wrinkles will cause an oxygen leak down the road.

In this photo you’ll see a small angled seal. This is where I use scissors to remove part of the original first seal so I can slip in 2, 500cc oxygen absorbers, squeeze out some of the air and then reseal that opening. The bag is now sealed and finished.

I lay one bag on top of another in the 5 gallon bucket. Four 1 gallon food packs fit inside one bucket. I leave the lid off for 2-3 days and let the absorber eat the oxygen and collapse the bags making them settle below the rim. Using a mallet I snap the lid on and I’m good for years to come.
That’s it! I like this system and will stay with it because it does everything I want with cost, convenience and ease of doing.

63 comments:

  1. Great article. Looking to graduate to 16 inch heat sealer due to hit and miss with iron. Excellent commentary and pics. Good tips in regards to measuring too. Thanks a bunch! One question though: You mention getting a 16" heat sealer. Since the larger bags you are sealing are 20", would a 20" sealer be better?

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  2. Prieth,
    If I was using 20 inch bags (5-6 gallon size) all the time then yes. But I have adjusted my food storage method, except for wheat grain, to using only 1 gallon bags and the 16 inch sealer is perfect for that size. If you noticed I have a pantry that uses 5 quart jugs so when it comes time to refill the jugs the 1 gallon bags are the right amount for a refill without having to open a 5 gallon bag and let in all the air and moisture which will shorten the remaining foods stored life.
    I find my 1 gallon bags to be the easiest and most convenient way to use my bulk stored foods.
    YM

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  3. Your various suggestion are terrific.

    You choose to use a heat bar and an oxygen absorbent. Are you pro or con (and why) regarding the use of a vacuum sealer?

    Wayne

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  4. Hi Wayne, and thanks for the comments.

    As for vacuum sealers they are great for meats and veggies you freeze, I use them there. But for long term dry food storage they are not a good choice.

    First I have experienced that 10% of the bags I’ve sealed eventually leak air inside regardless of what is stored inside. As for rice, grains, pasta or other hard edged dry foods they can cause a very slight stress punctures of the plastic bags, not a large one but microscopic and the bags will over a short time like two weeks lose their vacuum. This lets oxygen inside and will allow bacteria etc continue to grow inside the bag and spoil the food.

    The greatest misconception about vacuum bag sealing is people believe that ALL the air is sucked out and this is not true. Only what is easy is sucked out. To get ALL the air out you would need a perfect vacuum and these machines can’t reach that level of vacuum. For example, if you bagged wheat grain there is no way all the air between each kernel is removed (it’s only reduced in volume) and in that space there is oxygen which the bacteria feeds on.

    Oxygen absorbers are the best and cheapest way for the Survivalist to get rid of the oxygen molecules. Common air we breathe is about 20% oxygen and the rest nitrogen. Oxygen absorbers are made of iron particles, the iron particles will rust and to rust they need and consume only oxygen, not the nitrogen. They continue to work until all the oxygen molecules are gone. If you use absorbers you will notice that after several days the bag appears to have had a vacuum pulled in it, that’s the 20% oxygen that has been eaten by the absorbers rusting and doing their job.

    One other important point; a number of keyboard commandos say to add a desiccant with the oxygen absorbers. This is WRONG. Only use one or the other. The iron particles need a little moisture to rust. Using a desiccant with an absorber will render the absorber useless. The small amount of moisture remaining in the bag after the absorber has done its work will do no harm because there is no oxygen left to feed the bacteria.

    Hope this helps,
    YM

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  5. Where did you get your 5 quart jugs for on hand storage.
    You do have a great system and I thank you for sharing your wisdom with others.

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  6. An on,
    This is where I buy my jugs from.
    Thanks for the comment!

    Freund Container
    Source for Plastic Jugs and Buckets.
    http://www.freundcontainer.com/

    Freund Container; link for PETG Jugs I use.
    http://www.freundcontainer.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_34408_A_cn_E_58

    US Plastics
    Source for Plastic Jugs and Buckets.
    http://www.usplastic.com/

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  7. Do you worry that the food will interact with the mylar bags? I do.

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  8. can you put in dry ice for nitrogen and then put in absorbers

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  9. Anon 11-28.
    There is no need for the dry ice if you use oxygen absorbers. But yes you could if you like however it is an added expense with no extra benefit. After the absorbers do their job all that is left behind is nitrogen.

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  10. That is an awesome system u have, approx. 10 years ago my wife borrowed a sealer that used the kink of bags you use. i am new to the computer and it took me some time to find your article, could u give me an address or phone number so i could get in touch if need be for your assistance, it would be greatly appreciated, i am an optimistic person but any sensible person can see our country is going down and i want to prepare my friends and family to be at least able to eat and do the best we can ''thru these times'' God bless ralphallenplum@gmail.com,

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  11. i had a pack of 50 oxygen absorbents and opened it and used a few but did not reseal the bag. Will they go bad/are they ruined because i did not reseal the bag?

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  12. Anon 7:12
    Yes they will.
    The minute the oxygen absorbers come in contact will fresh air they activate and begin to work. If you have let them open in a few hours they are probably on there way to being used up and no longer effective.
    I bag all the food I want to seal, then open the absorbers and add them to the bags of food. I immediately reseal the absorbers then seal my Mylar food bags.
    Sorry for the hard lesson learned...

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  13. you said you use 4.3 mil bag if they are thicker is that a problem

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  14. Anon 4:33
    Thicker Mylar is not a problem, it just costs slightly more. 4-5 mils is the common thickness range and generally being very price competitive.

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  15. can you u store ammo the same way you store food in mylar with ox absorber

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  16. Anon 2:19
    Yes, you can do this. Oxygen absorbers eat corrosive oxygen and to make absorbers work they need and use humidity. So, two things happen; One they will eliminate the oxygen and two they remove humidity which results in a perfect environment for long term ammo storage. The only concern would be if you store sharp pointy bullets as they may puncture the Mylar when a vacuum is created because of the oxygen removal (which makes up 20% of the air volume) and could then result in a bag puncture.

    I personally have shot 35 year old paper shot gun shells stored in a closet in a house and had no issues or misfires with them. This means that extra special care in storage of ammo isn’t really needed unless it was under water or some other extreme storage environment, they will fire. Ammo cans or 5 gallon buckets will do fine as a long term storage method.

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  17. Someone else asked, but I'm also wondering where you bought the 5 quart jugs?

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  18. Anon 10:37
    This is where I buy my jugs from.
    Source for Plastic Jugs
    http://www.freundcontainer.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_34408_A_cn_E_58

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  19. Thank you so much for your detailed pictures. I am new to this and trying to learn how to do long term storage with smaller quantities. What kind of lids do you use for your 5 gallon buckets? Is it OK to take the lid off to take out 1 smaller bag? Where do you get your buckets and lids from? Where do you get your bags from?


    Again...thanks for your help.

    Lisa

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  20. Hi Lisa,
    Glad to here you’re beginning to take care of yourself because no one else will.
    Remember that buckets are just a storage vessel to contain your food in and you can open them as often as you need to. For myself I use Gamma Lids on the buckets I enter most often like my wheat grain, sugar, salt and all purpose flour.

    Here are my sources I use:

    Source for 5 gallon buckets
    http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=23220&catid=752

    Source for Plastic Jugs
    http://www.freundcontainer.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_34408_A_cn_E_58

    Gamma Seal Lids
    http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=24282&catid=686

    Oxygen Absorbers, Desiccants, Mylar Bags and more long term food storage information.
    http://www.sorbentsystems.com/products.html

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  21. Hi, regarding the jugs that you use in your pantry.
    Did you have to buy 1000 items or is it just because i'm in Australia

    Tracy

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  22. Anon 12:52
    I didn’t have to buy 1000. Here I can buy as little as one jug. You may want to Google 'plastic jugs' to see if someone there sells the same or similar jug in Australia.
    I hope you were spared the flooding Australia recently had!

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  23. Hi thanks for your information I find it very helpful.

    Is it a good practise to vaccum seal and also use oxygen absorbers or is it unnecesary to vaccuum seal if you use an oxygen absorber in mylar? Is it better to use 7 mil mylar 5 gallon packages as opposed to 4.3 mil?

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  24. Anon 10:13
    If you already own a vacuum machine ‘specifically’ made for pulling a vacuum when using Mylar bags it wouldn’t hurt but I have found no need to do so. A Food Saver machine will not work with Mylar bags because it requires a textured bag like the Food Saver bags to work.

    Oxygen absorbers consume oxygen so when using them just try to squeeze out as much air as possible from the bag when sealing it. As the absorber works consuming the oxygen in the sealed bag it will create a strong vacuum inside. My bags have such a strong tight vacuum that they become like a solid brick even imprinting the shape of the food inside.

    As for bag thickness I have used both sizes you mention. I prefer the 4.3 mil bags because I find them more than adequate for food item storage and I’ve never had a bag rupture or leak using them. Plus they are easier to form fit to the inside of a bucket and cost less than 7 mil bags.

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  25. Hello, I was wondering if you could give a break down of what you have in the pantry shelves pictured above...that looks absolutely perfect! I am going to copy your system because you have it down to a science. Thank you very much for all of the information and links provided above. I have been researching this for a while and had almost thought of bying a drycanner, but couldn't deal with the price tag for it all. Thanks again.

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  26. Anon 11:40
    Thanks for stopping by! The post you were looking at is from 5-8-10. Since then I have completed my initial stage of food storage and this link below will take you to a current list of what is on my shelves and more.
    http://livingprepared.blogspot.com/2010/12/dry-bulk-food-storage-goal-finally-met.html

    The blog has grown over the years and I need to clean it up by removing parts of some old posts that are no longer up to date. This is something I am working on but is a large task.

    Please feel free to copy my method if you feel it will work for you! If any other questions just ask!

    Mike

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  27. Yukon Mike,

    Thanks for all the wonderful information. We recently became serious about food storage and studied it for several months. I continuously came across the "everything in bulk buckets of 5 gallons" method. It just didn't make sense to me for a rotating food storage. After much searching we came across your site. Excellent, practical, useful and realistic information.

    My question is this: The picture of the elbow pasta has a comment regarding a chart breaking down how many meals come from 1 gallon of stored product. Do you have that chart available to share? I searched the site but to no avail. I greatly appreciate any response you have. Thanks.

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  28. Anon,
    Thanks for stopping by and the kind words. Like you, in the beginning there was too much bad or worthless information out there and I decided to take a logical and tested approach to food storage. I am pleased and totally trust my results.

    Yes, I do have a chart that I will share with you or other who want it. Just send me an e-mail yukonsupply@yahoo.com

    Mike

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  29. Do you use oxygen absorbers in the 5 qt jugs? What is shelf life in the jugs for products such as macaroni,wheat,grits,et?

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  30. Do you use oxygen absorbers in the 5 qt jugs?

    No I do not; however you could if you wanted to especially in the second duplicate jug as with some foods it may be a year before you’re into it. My jug storage is used every week and I’ll completely rotate out the foods every 2-3 years.

    What is shelf life in the jugs for products such as macaroni,wheat,grits,et?

    Jugs are not meant to be used for long term storage. Again, with weekly use it will rotate out in 2-3 years. I have no issues with eating food stored in these gasketed jugs that may be 5 years old.

    Again you must remember jug storage is not for long term bulk storage but for everyday use of dry bulk foods. Your bucket storage is for long term storage and is what refills the jugs.

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  31. Yukon Mike, I decided to follow your system and purchased the same sealer and bags. How do you safely seal the 20 x 30 bags that you use with the 16" sealer?

    Thanks so much for your blog. I've read so much on food storage with so much conflicting information. This post was the only one that gave me the 'beginning' to 'end' steps all in one place that I felt I could safely follow!

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  32. Anon 4:07,
    sorry for taking so long to respond bu my Blogger account won't let me answer comments again.

    Anyway thanks for stopping by and I’m sure you will be happy with the system I use as it serves me very well.

    How do I seal a 20 inch wide bag with a 16 inch sealer?

    This is kind of hard to explain but here goes;
    I do it in two seals. I angle the sealer from the top center of the bag to the outside edge about 1-2 inches lower than the top center. The second seal will overlap the first top center seal and angle down like the first seal. Kind of like your drawing a house roof.

    If you don’t quite understand let me know and I’ll try and send you an image of what I do.

    Yukon Mike

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  33. Yukon Mike, I think that makes perfect sense. I'm going to try it tonight.

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  34. This thing rocks! Works better than the expensive name brands. Our best bet would probably be to buy the roll type of bags and cut to fit.

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  35. I'm not aware of Mylar on a roll. I'll have to look for some.

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  36. You really know your stuff... Keep up the good work!
    bags sealing

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  37. Great site. Have you ever tried, or do you know if you can reuse the mylar bags by simply re-sealing them?

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  38. Anon 3:52
    You can not reseal a previously sealed surface.
    However, if you cut the old seal off you can without a problem create a new seal on the same bag just below where the original seal was.

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  39. Going to start my long term storage and have been reading a lot of info about it. I have one question that I can not find an answer to. If a 300 cc Oxygen Absorber is good for a 1 gal bag, what happens if you use 2? Dont see a pinhole potential if it only absorbes a finite quantity, but does it "save" itself for any future air infiltration? Also, is the Impulse sealer better than say a 6-8" hot jaw. Also have seen some stuff about using a hair straightening iron but not too sure on that one. Any assistance would be appreciated
    Thanks
    NCM

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  40. Anon 11:22,
    Using two 300cc absorbers per gallon is perfectly fine and a good insurance policy of having enough oxygen absorption for foods like egg noodles, elbow pasta, etc that has a lot of air space between the foods pieces.

    Oxygen absorbers only consumes oxygen and when all the oxygen has been absorbed inside the Mylar bag they stop and wait for more until they are depleted of the absorbing material in the packet. The material inside is simply iron dust that rusts and rust needs oxygen to create rust, this rust reaction is how the oxygen is absorbed. So they are good until all the iron dust has rusted. If a microscopic pin hole was to be in the Mylar they will continue to work until used up.

    Impluse vs Hot Jaw sealers; each have their advantages:

    I use the Impluse for two reasons.
    1. I now only use 1 gallon Mylar bags for my long term storage. Four gallon bags per 5 gallon bucket. Using the one gallon bags is best suited for table top use where I have better physical control of the sealing process.
    2. I can cut up 5 gallon or 1 gallon Mylar bags and use the Impulse sealer to create new smaller single serving size Mylar bags. The impulse sealer makes it easy to make new seams to create smaller bags. Yes, I could use a Hot Jaw for this but the bigger machine is easier and quicker.

    The Hot Jaws;
    Is best at sealing the 5 gallon Mylar bags when the bag is in the 5 gallon buckets because you only have to fight with 4-5 inches of Mylar seams at a time trying to get the wrinkle free seams needed for proper long lasting seals. And you can easily seal the last 1-2 inches on bag after squeezing as much air as possible from the bag something difficult to do with the bigger impulse sealer.

    Using a hair straightening iron;
    Absolutely not! They do not get hot enough to properly melt the plastic together forming a perfect leak free seal. Sorbent Systems who makes the Mylar bags recommends a 5/16 wide seal width with pre-set pressure for proper sealing. A hair straightening iron does not apply the pre-measured amount of heat and pressure needed for perfect seals.

    If you’re not quite sure of my answers or have any other question please feel free to ask. Or send an e-mail direct to me.

    Mike

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  41. Thank you for the info above. I have some thoughts and wondered if you could assist. Do you think you use this same method for long term storage of other things like Sterno,Diet Supplements, etc. Also, I am finding a very wide price range on impulse sealers with a 5mm seal ($70-$200), if the usage is only short term for food storage not continous, is the difference that big? Greatly appreciate the assistance, thanks.
    NCM

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  42. NCM,
    As for the sealer the prices they should be about the same at all major retailers. I bought mine from www.sorbentsystems.com and their prices are fair and consistent. I also buy all my Mylar bags and oxygen absorbers from them. They are also a USA company.

    For Sterno and other items like that I don’t see a need to store it in Mylar. Sterno should be fine in its sealed can.

    Supplements; I never use them so I don’t store them. Vitamins also I don’t use and even if I did store them in Mylar with absorbers I believe, but not sure, they will regardless lose their potency over time. That is a question you should get online and ask the makers about.

    Hope this helps and let me know how it goes.

    Mike

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  43. Hi again Mike,

    I searched the comments and didn't see this answer. I apologize in advance if you already answered it.

    In the comments, you stated you package all the bags, do first partial seals before adding oxygen, cut and then place the oxygen absorbers in. Before sealing the mylar, you reseal the extra absorbers so they don't activate.

    My question and I haven't actually bought my supplies yet. The oxygen packets appear to be in plastic bags. How do you reseal the bags that hold the oxygen absorbers?

    Thanks again,
    Tina

    On a side note, I bought a set of 10 buckets with Gamma Lids from Sam's and they shipped to my door, Sam's now sells bulk items via Augason Farms.

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  44. Hi TinaM,
    Some times I don’t get a message I had a comment and this was probably one of them. Blogger isn’t perfect sometimes far from it!

    Oxygen absorbers come is a plastic bag that if you cut just enough of the original seal off to get the absorbers out, there’s normally more than enough plastic bag left to reseal the absorber bag with your Mylar bag sealer. If there’s not enough original bag to reseal then I pack the absorbers into a small canning jar.

    Thanks for the tip about Sam’s, I didn’t know they did that. I’ll have to check it out and see what they have to offer.

    Again, if any questions please feel free to ask!

    Mike

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  45. Hi!

    Thanks for your great article! I was wondering about the O2 absorbers sizes you use. Is there a reason you are using 2 500cc absorbers per 1 gallon of food? Is that just to be on the safe side?
    When buying my 5 gal buckets from http://www.bayteccontainers.com/nsearch.html?query=mylar+bags, they sell 300cc size and say that one of those is good in a 1 gallon mylar size bag (or 1 in a #10 size can). I got some of these, but was now wondering after reading your article if one would be enough? I don't want to waste them, but also don't want to use one that is too small and risk my food not being safe in years to come. Thanks!

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  46. Hi Alison,
    The reason I use two, 500cc absorbers in the 1 gallon Mylar bags is, yes to be on the safe side!
    For one, the gallon bags are larger than one gallon, I put into them exactly 1 gallon of food but there is considerable extra space (CC’s) inside the bag the absorber has to remove oxygen from.
    Another reason, if the absorber isn’t 100% fresh and 100% capable of absorbing the stated CC amount then the additional absorber is simply inexpensive insurance. (We just don’t know how old or if someone at the factory mishandled the absorbers and they are not 100%)

    Is a 300 CC size being correct for 1 gallon? Yes it is in a perfect situation such as a true one gallon container and let’s say storing a densely packed food like rice.
    Here is a link that walks you through the size of an absorber you need.
    http://www.sorbentsystems.com/o2absorbers_1.html

    I view my food storage as a possible life saving effort and spending a few more cents to assure it will be there when I need it is well worth the cost. This is why I store food with my method, it may add a few more cents to the storage cost but I sleep well at night knowing I have good food to eat 10 or 20 years from now.
    Also I like things simple and when I stock oxygen absorbers it is simple to stock just one size to use in all applications. By simply adding multiple absorbers for large volumes to using a single absorber even though it’s overkill for small volumes, makes my life simple.

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  47. Doing a search on Amazon.com for "16 heat sealer 5mm" I found a similar sealer "Jorestech" available for about $80 shipped. Prices on Amazon may fluctuate.

    I haven't started with the mylar bags yet but am going to get started soon. Have you looked into the mylar bags that have the zip-lock at the top? Those seem like a great option for being able to open and shut the bags when you are working with rotating storage into your everyday use also. Your plastic bins and dry goods shelves look wonderful - so organized - great job!

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  48. Sounds like a deal on the sealer!
    I have thought about the zip-lock Mylar bags but don’t need them with my jug storage system. I long term store in 1 gallon Mylar bags so when the jug is almost empty I open one bag and refill the jug with no leftover. Thanks for the comment on my bin set-up!

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  49. any thoughts on vacume sealing in a quart mason jar with a food saver attachment? Rice , beans flour etc? shelf life ?

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    1. Wanda, I have done no long term testing using a vacuum sealer and canning jars. The reason is you need to get the rubber seal on the lid hot and the jar hot to soften the rubber so it makes a good seal. Just don't see an easy way to do that consistently. It would work but the seal may fail prematurely. Then there's the cost of jars; 5 gallons of food equals 20 quart canning jars.

      Delete
  50. Hello Mike thank you for the detailed information - it's very helpful. Would you be so kind to elaborate on how long we can expect raw ingredients like rice, flour, sugar and ready-to-eat foods like nuts, peanut butter, crackers, dried fruit to remain in good use in Mylar bags? We are preparing for at-home emergencies and for evacuations in an urban environment. Admittedly, we just won't rotate foods as often so it would be really helpful we can be once and done for 1 year 3 years 10 years? (Ok if we have Mylar bags on couple of different rotations schedules). We just can't seem to find out how long we can keep foods in Mylar bags. THANK YOU

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    Replies
    1. What I do to gauge how long foods will last long term packaged in Mylar with absorbers is to reference back to the major packers/retailers. See what they say their #10 cans or buckets shelf life is quoted as and copy what they say. Because, if they are wrong they will be in litigation and probably lose their business.

      Here’s 3 of my reference sources:

      http://shop.honeyville.com/
      http://shop.honeyville.com/?gclid=CKH9tcGxmcgCFYNEaQodk_0HZw

      http://beprepared.com/

      https://www.lds.org/topics/food-storage/longer-term-food-supply?lang=eng

      Supermarket can/jar foods see their best buy dates, I stretch it 1 year.
      For nuts, dried fruits, etc anything not thoroughly dried or oily with spoil in short order. You can Google search each Item for possible food storage. I wish I could help, but there are too many foods for me to list. Research what you like and store what you like.

      Delete
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