Storing bulk salt question

[Bullets~n~Beans]

Well, I have 50# of salt that came in a bag from Costco that I'm going to transfer into a 5 gallon food grade bucket. Is there any reason that I should bother with mylar? Can I just dump the salt in and put on the gasketed lid?

It's not likely that any bugs are going to be concerned with it. (they'll just get well preserved) Will the salt degrade the bucket at all?

Thanx, BnB

[Rascals]

Yes and no. Do you want a salt block? Or granulated. If there is any mosture that gets in there it will turn into a block. No fun. I put it in bags anyway but do not do not put in a 02 packet. Otherwise you still have a block. Also salt is really good about absorbing things. Im not sure but you could argue it could obsorb anything you have stored around it but I dont think I would worry becasue we only keep food in most of our root cellars.

[Herbalpagan]

It should be fine. I'd do it that way too.

[disidoro]

Your salt will be fine if you just dump it in the bucket and seal it. It won't degrade the plastic.

[disidoro]

If it does cake up, just heat the chunks up to dry it and the salt will be good as new. Or just chip away at it.

[Bullets~n~Beans]

Ok, Many thanx to all! Didn't figure that O2 abs was an issue but I have some silica packs may I drop into it. Good point on the moisture.

[MikeK]

Originally Posted by Bullets~n~Beans

Well, I have 50# of salt that came in a bag from Costco that I'm going to transfer into a 5 gallon food grade bucket. Is there any reason that I should bother with mylar? Can I just dump the salt in and put on the gasketed lid?

It's not likely that any bugs are going to be concerned with it. (they'll just get well preserved) Will the salt degrade the bucket at all?

Thanx, BnB

No reason whatsoever as long as you can keep it dry. Otherwise it's going to turn into a rock. You might consider putting a cloth bag of rice into the bucket to help absorb humidity. Silica gel works even better and you can get it at hobby shops or online. Mine are just sitting in their bags on a shelf in the store room. It's dry enough here that it doesn't clump.

[Bullets~n~Beans]

a cloth bag of rice into the bucket to help absorb humidity

Perfect! Augment the few silica gel packs that I have.

[Rascals]

Originally Posted by Bullets~n~Beans

Ok, Many thanx to all! Didn't figure that O2 abs was an issue but I have some silica packs may I drop into it. Good point on the moisture.

You dont want to use the o2 at all it will make it like a rock. And you dont have to ask. Yes I did do it.

[RaisedByWolves]

Also, it already has a certain amount of moisture in it. Adding Silica gel will kill the silica gel pretty quick. You would need to add and monitor it till it stopped changing color, then seal it to get all the moisture out.



Just seal your lid and youll be GTG.

[DakotaS]

I wonder if salt could be stored using the old Mylar/O2 Absorber method...?
We just store our salt in the 25 pound bags they come in.

[MikeK]

Originally Posted by DakotaS

I wonder if salt could be stored using the old Mylar/O2 Absorber method...?
We just store our salt in the 25 pound bags they come in.

The O2 absorber is of no benefit to salt. O2 does nothing to it. Moisture, however, does. So a dessicant is a good idea in damp climates. We have a short humid season here, and the rest of the year is dry, so no dessicant is needed.

[goose3]

Salt is hygroscopic, meaning it absorbs moisture.

So sealing it away from moisture is a good thing. Packing it when the humidity is low is one way, the desiccants are another way.

I had a galvanized pail of sidewalk salt (rock salt it's also called) which I kept in the garage for spreading on snowy/icy driveway. Toward the end I had about a half inch of salt in that bucket--and a puddle of water! The salt absorbed water, it ended up absorbing so much that I got saltwater!

I've stored some of the 4# boxes of salt you can buy at Sam's Club. Before I tucked it away I wrapped each box in plastic and sealed them with duct tape.

[jimp111]

I store salt and sugar in 1 gal. Gatorade bottles, which I keep in a metal cabinet (rodents). Nothing else is needed.

[stephpd]

I'd add that if the buckets aren't food grade then I think a mylar bag would be helpful in keeping out anything that could leach out of the plastic buckets.

Most of my buckets are the cheap 'Homer' buckets which I know aren't food grade. I always use mylar for everything that I put in them. Salt and sugar are the only two things I can think of that don't get O2 absorbers, just desiccant packets.

[nadja]

And even if it turns to a "brick" all you need to do is break off a small piece and grind or smash it back into usable size. Salt will always be salt.