Getting Good Mylar Seals - My Secret

[digger65]

I have only recently ventured into the world of Mylar storage. I have Celiac Disease, which requires me to have an alternative to wheat flour. A farming friend recently gave me a 5-gallon bucket of sorghum seed. I grind it and mix it with ground rice and grits for a hearty breakfast cereal. I also grind it fine for an alternative flour to use on fried meats.

But I have to have a good storage option for the seed. I learned last year (in another 5-gallon bucket) that this seed is often infested with granary weevils straight out of the field. I lost about 4 gallons to bugs last year.

So this year I sealed the seed in 1-gallon Mylar bags and put it in the freezer. I figure that a couple of months with no air (plus being on ice) will take care of any potential critters.

But ... I did not get a good seal on two of the bags. I used a traditional ironing board method the first time, but when I re-sealed the two bad bags, I discovered a new "secret."

I got a 4-foot long piece of galvanized steel electrical conduit (the round kind) from my shed. I put the seed in a new bag, added an oxygen absorber, then burped the bag and began rolling the open end flat and tightly down on the conduit ... all the way down to the seed. I then ironed along the length of the Mylar that made contact with the pipe, very slowly unrolling as I went. I ironed a half-inch seal, moved up another half-inch, and made a second seal.

The beauty of the pipe is that it gets hot through the mylar, thus giving (basically) a solid seal from both directions. Both bags are back in the freezer and show the shrinkage of a good seal.

So ... iron on a rounded metal surface (on cotton setting). It gives GREAT results!

[123456]

I will have to try this. Thanks for sharing.

[TxHills]

Originally Posted by digger65

I have only recently ventured into the world of Mylar storage. I have Celiac Disease, which requires me to have an alternative to wheat flour. A farming friend recently gave me a 5-gallon bucket of sorghum seed. I grind it and mix it with ground rice and grits for a hearty breakfast cereal. I also grind it fine for an alternative flour to use on fried meats.

But I have to have a good storage option for the seed. I learned last year (in another 5-gallon bucket) that this seed is often infested with granary weevils straight out of the field. I lost about 4 gallons to bugs last year.

So this year I sealed the seed in 1-gallon Mylar bags and put it in the freezer. I figure that a couple of months with no air (plus being on ice) will take care of any potential critters.

But ... I did not get a good seal on two of the bags. I used a traditional ironing board method the first time, but when I re-sealed the two bad bags, I discovered a new "secret."

I got a 4-foot long piece of galvanized steel electrical conduit (the round kind) from my shed. I put the seed in a new bag, added an oxygen absorber, then burped the bag and began rolling the open end flat and tightly down on the conduit ... all the way down to the seed. I then ironed along the length of the Mylar that made contact with the pipe, very slowly unrolling as I went. I ironed a half-inch seal, moved up another half-inch, and made a second seal.

The beauty of the pipe is that it gets hot through the mylar, thus giving (basically) a solid seal from both directions. Both bags are back in the freezer and show the shrinkage of a good seal.

So ... iron on a rounded metal surface (on cotton setting). It gives GREAT results!

Excellent, digger. At first I used a piece of 1x4. Had good seals. But I found that an old metal shower curtain rod made a more even and nicer seal, and easier to use. Same principle as yours....and I thought it was just me........

[goose3]

I've got to be honest--how does that pipe get hot if not by heat going through the mylar in the first place?

I suspect you're just taking more care to seal it. If using the previous method didn't work as well, I also suspect that either you didn't leave the iron on the mylar long enough, or you had a fouled seal.

[mefunkymxw]

i suspect using the half inch intervals would provide a good system of redundancy, and thus a better chance for a positive seal... sounds like a good system, i will have to try.

[TxHills]

Originally Posted by goose3

I've got to be honest--how does that pipe get hot if not by heat going through the mylar in the first place?

I suspect you're just taking more care to seal it. If using the previous method didn't work as well, I also suspect that either you didn't leave the iron on the mylar long enough, or you had a fouled seal.

I know my curtain rod doesn't get very hot, if even warm. But it is, for me...easier to use than a baord. Digger might be leaving the iron on a while....

[Nightingale93]

Could you make recommendations on where you buy your Mylar bags? Thanks

[Tampagt07]

Originally Posted by Nightingale93

Could you make recommendations on where you buy your Mylar bags? Thanks

https://www.usaemergencysupply.com/e...orage_bags.htm

[Illini Warrior]

I use a flat sheet of aluminum mounted on plywood ....... I use a regular clothes iron set on "wool" ...... found there are less wrinkles and no heat loss thru the mylar ......

[digger65]

Originally Posted by goose3

I've got to be honest--how does that pipe get hot if not by heat going through the mylar in the first place?

I suspect you're just taking more care to seal it. If using the previous method didn't work as well, I also suspect that either you didn't leave the iron on the mylar long enough, or you had a fouled seal.

It does get heated through the Mylar. My pipe got smoking hot! And that's my point. If you use a piece of wood or and ironing board surface, heat is dispersed. When ironing onto a piece of metal, the heat is absorbed and (at least a little) radiated back into the system.

From a physics standpoint, it just makes more sense to me.

[Bullets~n~Beans]

I like it. Thanx for sharing the tip.

[kissey0]

my wifes hair straightner works well for me

[Old Warrior]

Originally Posted by Nightingale93

Could you make recommendations on where you buy your Mylar bags? Thanks

Advise and Beans is a subscriber or member of the SurvivalistBoards. http://www.discountmylarbags.com/ They give a 10% discount to Survivalist Board subscribers, plus free shipping on orders over $50.

I ordered Mylar bags and O2 absorbers from them monday at about noon, and they shipped them out the same day USPS priority mail.

That is my recommendation to anyone.

Thanks again AandB

[Rascals]

What we use is a 3 foot aluminum level. On one side its flat but on the other side it has 5 groves. So its like having 7 seals. It works great and after 10 years of using it we never had 1 single bag not seal.

[Cosmo]

Originally Posted by Rascals

What we use is a 3 foot aluminum level. On one side its flat but on the other side it has 5 groves. So its like having 7 seals. It works great and after 10 years of using it we never had 1 single bag not seal.

+1 That is exactly what I've been using as well with the same results.

[TobianoCheckers]

Very good description of Mylar storage usage! Thanks!!

[10mmDelta]

I ordered the 7.5 mil mylar bags.
After ruining 2 trying to seal 30 # of rice I tried something different.
Originally I used a very old electric iron and held the mylar down on an aluminum ruler on top of a 2x4. The problem was the hot iron would easily burn the bags, especially if there was a wrinkle. I tried several settings but it still did not work well for me.

Solution was to get a 1.5 in diameter wooden dowel rod. The mylar bag laid much flatter with less wrinkles when pulled over the round dowel.

I also bought some Reynolds parchment paper - used for baking.
I cut a strip of parchment paper and placed that between the iron and the mylar bag.
This worked perfectly. The paper protects the mylar from damage, yet allows the heat to quickly seal the bag.

Just for fun, I would roll the dowel up the bag a little and make a second seal about 1/2 in above the first one.

Much easier for me this way.

I was able to reuse the original 2 bags by cutting off the damaged part and resealing with the new system.

[Alim Nassor]

I seal my bags with an iron on a board and then seal it again in my vacuum sealer, about a half inch closer to the edge.

[vicdotcom]

I now use a hair straightener they cost about 10$ now and the seals are about an inch thick.

[ShellbackBill]

I've been having good luck with a wooden 2x2 that I smoothed with a sander. I seal with an iron.

If I have enough bag, I roll the bag around it and seal it, then unroll a bit and seal a second time. I think the secret of my success is simply that I have two chances to get it right.

Even if I don't have enough bag for a second seal, I have 1 3/4 inch wide seal area.

I think the ironing board method fails sometimes because the backing surface is padded. For me it seems a solid surface works best.