Inspection

Have a few (ahem) leftovers from the Mountain House group buy that are going into the Deep Sleep. I used this opportunity to adjust quantities of ‘broken case’ items. See, the boxes normally hold six #10 cans. If I have only five cans of, say, Diced Beef, that means that six-can box is short by one can…or, in other words, it’s a partial or ‘broken’ case. So, I used this opportunity to round out my broken cases. In the process it also gave me a chance to inspect things. Embarrassingly, according to the dates stamped on the box, the last inspection I made on these things was seven years ago. In reality I should probably inspect these things once every other year or so.

Why? Well, mostly just to check that nothing has started to rust or otherwise be compromised. Last thing I want is to be packing up one day to move to a new location, pick up a cardboard case and have a bunch rusted cans fall out the soggy bottom of the box. No, no, no,no. I did not spend this kinda money to just wind up heaving it in a dumpster someday because I didn’t take the time to do the things necessary to protect my stuff.

What sorta steps? Well, nothing terribly intricate. Everything is in a cardboard box, taped shut, the boxes are stacked at least two feet off the floor on wire shelving, away from electrical and water sources, and (in theory) routinely inspected for damage. If I really wanted to go balls deep on the preservation side of things, the guys at repackbox.com sell a kit for really going full Burt Gummer and protecting your investment. I might have to get that to try out and see how things hold up over time.

By the by, the oldest of the cans I have in storage are pre Y2k (in fact, they were purchased at a post Y2K sale) and the majority are about 14 years old. How have they held up? Pretty well. Labels havent peeled, can integrity appears solid, boxes show no damage….just a little dust on the boxes.

 

9 thoughts on “Inspection

  1. Looked at RePack Box a while back. I dunno….Lotsa cardboard, 4 cans/box decreases storage density, the plastic bag is nice but I’m not sure it’s airtight enough to be a benefit, and if it isn’t the dessicant may be of marginal value. Cardboard absorbs moisture, and treating the exterior surface to be water resistant might work, unless it serves to hold moisture in if moisture ever gets in.

    I store cases on their sides on wire rack, so a 48W X 86H X 18D with 7 shelves holds 36 cases. I keep a couple dozen LDS Storage Center boxes on hand for those times when I procure loose cans. Storage density is a huge issue to me because of limited space.

    Now, if someone made a vacuum-shrinkable, heat sealable plastic bag with the toughness of the Food Saver bag material that would fit tightly inside a 6-can case and hold all 6 cans, and it was affordable, say, $2-3 per case, I’d really be interested. Put it in the case, insert 6 cans, drop dessicant and between the cans, partially seal the bag, vacuum almost all the air out, seal the last part, close and tape the case, done.

    • A Food Saver type, box sized bage would be ideal. I may try to rig up something using one of the vacuum seal clothes bags on the market. I do mark each can as it comes in, top & bottom, with the contents & re-hydration info & acquisition date using a Sharpie marker. I saw a letter somewhere from a family that had a basement flood. The cans survived well, but all the labels came off & they had no idea if they were going to be opening chicken & rice dinner mix or blueberries. Redundancy can be our friend!

  2. Having been in the woods hunting, working, backpacking and what not, the pouring rain has to be considered. If it can go wrong it will go wrong philosophy. Cardboard is a minus, but the food store is a definite plus.

    These cans could be broken down if on foot but home storage or vehicle use they are ideal. The warehouse grade saran wrap/visqueen type of plastic protection may be useful around the boxes. Even a simple garbage bag would offer a good deal of protection.

    Costco has 17 gallon Centrex Plastic (Commander model !) totes for $8, couldn’t find them on their website but they were in the store the other day, Lowes and Home Depot carries them also. These seem pretty waterproof, sturdy and stackable so they are the go to for now.

  3. The plastic bag part of the kit is cool. And it bet pretty easy to replicate cheaply. The rest of it is just cardboard.

  4. Re the integrity of “normal” canned goods: we had a 1-year-old can of some ordinary grocery item (olives?) let go in the kitchen cupboard, gluing itself to the shelf and 2 nearby cans. Quite the mess and disappointment. Regular inspection mighta caught it but who the heck examines their day-to-day foodstuffs?

  5. I use rolled visqueen sheet plastic from home depot, loewes, etc. 6mil or better 4 mil thickness. Cut large enough square to wrap the box with its contents inside prepared for deep sleep. Wrap up like a big christmas gift box and tape up end tabs and seams with good duct tape or g.i. grade hundred mile an hour tape. It is nearly waterproofed, dust proofed, and if clear visqueen is used you can read box labels through it, or sharpie mark contents on outside wrapper. The moisture in the air alone will attack the card board and it holds that against the cans or contents. Cardboard being recycled fiber any way has a fast decomposition rate. This will make that case of items stable, easier and safer for multiple transport and storage locations, and increase its value visually as it demonstrates care in storage. Do it for cases of ammo or anything else in longest term storage scenarios. Good luck!

  6. “Go full Burt Gummer”…
    Actually, at least based on the first movie, Burt Gummer would in many matters be very lucky to go full Commander Zero when it comes to prepping.

  7. To protect the cans remove labels,mark contents with sharpie on both ends,wipe down with solvent(grease+wax remover,paint prep) and brush or dip in varnish(1/2 dry then other 1/2),store in wood or plastic crates with seperators to prevent rubbing(cardboard is a buffet for bugs). This is how it was done shipboard on a tall ship that did multiyear round the world training voyages and provisioned where it was cheapest with reliable product(pallets of cases at a time,broken down,treated and stowed from the dock,no cardboard allowed aboard to prevent infestations). Well worth the effort hundreds of miles offshore with no fresh food left and a week or two till next landfall.

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