Question concerning oxygen absorbers.

[prankster]

I've got some left over 2000cc oxygen absorbers. Can I keep them in a small tightly lidded glass jar for future use in a 5 gallon bucket? Thanks for any info.

[Jack711Evans]

Yes as long as you move them there quickly, don't have them exposed to air any longer than necessary. The jar must have an airtight seal of course.

I get my entire stuff ready, see how many absorbers I will need, open mine take out what I need and immediately seal the package of absorbers back up with a food sealed.

[RockinGLock]

I vacuum sealed mine then stored them away, thats been a year and there still good to use when or if I get more food to use them for.

[getFOODnow]

you can put them in a jar with a tight lid. like a mason jar, leave as little space as possible so use the smallest jar available.
or you can use a foodsealer and seal them up.

[MikeK]

If they haven't been exposed for long, and the jar has an airtight seal, that'll work just fine. They are generally under rated as to their actual capacity, specifically to cover a little wastage during processing.

[webfarmer]

Like the others said - vacuum seal if possible if you aren't going to use them in the very near future. I stuff mine in jars while using but some heated in one of those jars and that tells me the lid wasn't a good seal.

[keystone]

Originally Posted by getFOODnow

you can put them in a jar with a tight lid. like a mason jar, leave as little space as possible so use the smallest jar available.
or you can use a foodsealer and seal them up.

This is what I do, when I open a pack I transfer all packs to a quart size mason jar, drop the packs I need into my bags, then pour rice into the jar to displace as much oxygen as possible. Then on with the lid (a used one -- no good for canning again, fine for vacuum) and off to the foodsaver for air evacuation.

I've had the little pink pills turn purple in the 5 minutes this took, then turn pink again as the leftover oxygen in the jar is used up by the...hmm...22,000cc's of oxygen absorbtion I have in there.

[SLICK75]

Ive never used O2 absorbers before but thinking of getting some storage equipment next month.

Is there a way to look at them and see whether theyre any good or not? What kind of 'life span' do they have. Presumably longer than the life of the stored food?

Just a few things I was curious of before I dove off into head-first expecting the wrong results.

[MikeK]

Originally Posted by keystone

This is what I do, when I open a pack I transfer all packs to a quart size mason jar, drop the packs I need into my bags, then pour rice into the jar to displace as much oxygen as possible. Then on with the lid (a used one -- no good for canning again, fine for vacuum) and off to the foodsaver for air evacuation.

I've had the little pink pills turn purple in the 5 minutes this took, then turn pink again as the leftover oxygen in the jar is used up by the...hmm...22,000cc's of oxygen absorbtion I have in there.

They're going to heat up in the jar temporarily as they absorb the O2 that's in it. Then they shut down. Unless they remained heated, I wouldn't worry.

Originally Posted by SLICK75

Ive never used O2 absorbers before but thinking of getting some storage equipment next month.

Is there a way to look at them and see whether theyre any good or not? What kind of 'life span' do they have. Presumably longer than the life of the stored food?

Just a few things I was curious of before I dove off into head-first expecting the wrong results.

I've heard conflicting reports on their shelf life. The makers give them an expiration date, but that's probably to cover their own butt.

As for lasting longer than the food, they don't need to. Once the O2 is out, it remains out if you use the right storage medium and seal it properly. I doubt if an O2 absorber would restart years down the road if O2 started coming into the bag/can/jar, because they contain a small amount of moisture that they require to work and that would have been absorbed by the drier foods over time.

The easy rule to follow with food storage is to do it EXACTLY like the food storage companies are doing it. They're doing it right to start with and have laboratory tests to prove it. Don't go trying to reinvent the wheel by adding extra steps like vacuum sealing along with the O2 absorber, or adding dessicants and such. Or trying to use hand warmers instead of O2 absorbers, or mylar balloons instead of proper mylar bags.

You can add dessicants, but they have to be placed on the bottom of the bag, and the O2 absorber placed on the top of the food. Otherwise the dessicant will dry out the absorber before it has finished it's job. But people dive in without learning stuff like that first. The food storage companies don't add dessicants. So what does that tell us?

Food storage is too important to try to save a few cents by improvising. It's also too important to risk ruining it by using a nonstandard solution that "sounds logical to you". If the food storage companies are not doing it, then it does not need done, or it has a hidden drawback and some people aren't aware of.

[SLICK75]

Thanks MikeK, thats exactly the reason I was asking. I could see my going Dr. Jekyl on storage and totally screwing it up.

LOL I can just see a 5 gal bucket exploding in my pantry because I tried to cram every storage technology known to man in there.

[MikeK]

Originally Posted by SLICK75

Thanks MikeK, thats exactly the reason I was asking. I could see my going Dr. Jekyl on storage and totally screwing it up.

LOL I can just see a 5 gal bucket exploding in my pantry because I tried to cram every storage technology known to man in there.

It was a hard lesson for me to learn too. I'm one of those people who can't resist trying to make improvements. But as I researched these "improvements" I learned of the downsides. Sometimes simpler is better, afterall.

[Illini Warrior]

With correct packing procedures spelled out endlessly on these forums and UTube videos and the packing system proven to work by the professionals ....... all kinds of people continue to skip simple and inexpensive parts of the packing procedures ...... and the misinformation that continously circulates and recirculates .....

"I don't need a mylar bag because I'm putting in a bucket."

"I don't need a food grade bucket because I'm using a mylar bag"

"A triangle 2 recycle symbol means food grade plastic"

"HDPE means food grade plastic"

[stephpd]

Originally Posted by Illini Warrior

With correct packing procedures spelled out endlessly on these forums and UTube videos and the packing system proven to work by the professionals ....... all kinds of people continue to skip simple and inexpensive parts of the packing procedures ...... and the misinformation that continously circulates and recirculates .....

"I don't need a mylar bag because I'm putting in a bucket."

"I don't need a food grade bucket because I'm using a mylar bag"

"A triangle 2 recycle symbol means food grade plastic"

"HDPE means food grade plastic"

Problem is; For every good video on youtube there's 3 poor ones.

Same can be said for packing instructions on different forums.

Trying to sort out the best way is often confusing for many.

Even looking to 'expert' advice seem contradictory at times.

Since packing food properly was new to me and important I looked everywhere. Even Lowdown3's video's got the #2 and triangle wrong saying that's food grade.

I have no problem with most of your quotes except the need for "I don't need a food grade bucket because I'm using a mylar bag". I know there could be other uses, post Mylar bags and the need for possible contact with food or water. But sans that they are fine as long as you do have the Mylar bags.

Same could be said for any food grade bucket used a second time and not cleaned and dried properly. (no abrasives and proper disinfection) HDPE, being a soft plastic, can be easily abraded and bacteria can form in those scratches. I've seen folks using old icing and pickle buckets and sometimes being given sometimes poor advice on how to clean them.

[Lowdown3]

Since packing food properly was new to me and important I looked everywhere. Even Lowdown3's video's got the #2 and triangle wrong saying that's food grade.

Go back and re-watch, what I said was that that type of plastic was "generally considered food grade"

www.bucketpacking.com

YouTube - ‪Long term food storage...

You only have to go in to about :45 seconds to hear me say those exact words.

And it is.

I have YET to see in the (no BS) thousands of buckets that have went near or through my hands (not just my own in that number) ANY bucket SPECIFICALLY MARKED FROM THE FACTORY "FOOD GRADE."

New people have PLENTY of reasons to NOT do anything. Apathy is one of the biggest problems in what we do. When we add to the problem with ridiculous arguments about things like "hand warmers, sheetrock dust, lime" and related bull****e, ALL WE ARE DOING IS GIVING NEW PEOPLE REASONS TO NOT GET IT DONE.

It's way too late in the game to sit on your hands.

In 12-13 years of eating storage food regularly, not a damn bit of which came out of a MARKED FROM THE FACTORY "FOOD GRADE" BUCKET (cause I've never seen one marked in that manner), we have NEVER experienced any health problems.

New people need reasons to get off their butts and get it done, not reasons to do endless "research" which for many means NEVER getting it done. That's not to sound rude to anyone, that's just the fact of the matter. I interact with a LOT of like minded people and I know the confusion, I've seen the apathy and sitting on hands, it's for real. We should not add to it....

Lowdown3/Robert Henry