Besides the obvious of washing the buckets clean - what else should I do to make these buckets useable as food pack buckets?

Search function is not working so thought I would post again. I know it's been discussed before. Thanks!

Paging Old Scout to the white courtesy phone. Others may have used this system, too, but I know OS could shed some light on this.

For what it's worth - I'd encourage you to get the buckets that have a one piece top, which makes them much more secure and water/rodent proof. I then line the bucket with a tough plastic bag, into which I will put my food items. Tie off with a twist tie. You're done.
Two buckets sit beautifully side to side in a #4 Duluth pack.

I use the one piece top buckets. All my food is organized in large zip locks, so I don't need to add a liner. Before each trip I wash it out, let it dry and it's ready to go.

I will be using these on my solo next year. I've heard Tidy Cats is a good brand of bucket.

The one peice lids are good advice and I avoided buckets that had scented litter in them. A person could soak them in baking soda solution and leave them out to sunbaked and air out a few days.

I saw a dry laundry detergent bucket at Sam's that was more rectangular that fit my bugaboo cook set well.

PS. BZ- I hope the new job is going well. K

My five gallon buckets had transmission oil in it. I just cleaned them out a couple of times. The food is in bags anyway so no big deal.

quote Savage Voyageur: "My five gallon buckets had transmission oil in it. I just cleaned them out a couple of times. The food is in bags anyway so no big deal. "

I have one that cutting oil came in also. Cleaned out and snapped the gama seal lid on.

I do have 4 square buckets that glass beads came in for a blasting cabinet. They held 50#'s of medium each. Are a stronger bucket IMHO. Drop me an email if anyone wants. I do come north towards the cities now and then.

quote Humdinger: "The one peice lids are good advice and I avoided buckets that had scented litter in them. A person could soak them in baking soda solution and leave them out to sunbaked and air out a few days.


I saw a dry laundry detergent bucket at Sam's that was more rectangular that fit my bugaboo cook set well.


PS. BZ- I hope the new job is going well. K"

Do people remove the metal handles? I was thinking of taking those off and replacing with length of cord.

Humdinger - the job is going great. Thanks for asking.

Yes, I remove the wire handles. I then just pick up the buckets by the strong plastic flanges on the side.

Mine has a plastic handle. I left it on.

I used one last summer on an abbreviated trip. It worked remarkably well - cheap and simple. Still like a larger capacity barrel for longer trips though.

That picture is funny. It looks so out of place to me.

quote BearBrown: "That picture is funny. It looks so out of place to me. "

A bright yellow cat litter box hanging in a tree looks out of place just about anywhere :)

i'm thinking some 'goo gone' would clean that up nice. Then you'd just have a bright yellow bucket!

The ones I use are white, ...and I put them into a pack when I hang them.

I wish there were gamma seals that fit the "kitty litter" buckets. I'd probably use them. I use the 5 gallon buckets now.

To answer your question, I think cleaning is enough. However, they still need to be hung because the lid comes off so easily.

A roofer friend got these buckets for us. They had some type of fasteners in them.

I pack two side by side in a pack and set my cooking pots on top of the short one. The one piece lids snap on tight and I pack all meals in freezer zip-loc bags.

quote Bannock: "I wish there were gamma seals that fit the "kitty litter" buckets. I'd probably use them. I use the 5 gallon buckets now.


To answer your question, I think cleaning is enough. However, they still need to be hung because the lid comes off so easily."

Not square kitty litter buckets, but square bird seed buckets. These would work fine and pack well in packs. buckets

quote Savage Voyageur: "

quote Bannock: "I wish there were gamma seals that fit the "kitty litter" buckets. I'd probably use them. I use the 5 gallon buckets now.



To answer your question, I think cleaning is enough. However, they still need to be hung because the lid comes off so easily."

Not square kitty litter buckets, but square bird seed buckets. These would work fine and pack well in packs. buckets "

You can find a similar square/gamma buckets at Petsmart / petco type stores if you want to buy local or look at them before ordering.

H

I have several of the kitty litter buckets laying around here. As stated, lids are not tight fitting on some brands and the flip top ones are tight but not durable. The hinged top will split after a couple dozen uses. Of course there's good ole duck tape for mending.
I put an orange-colored gamma lid on a 3 gal hard plastic bucket which use to hold flooring glue. Capacity is decent for clothing or food-stuff, scent-free (seals airtight), critter proof and OK as seat. The way the spoked gamma lid is designed a clever bear could toy with it and easily learn to unscrew the lid. Hang it high to keep from bear paws.

I've had the Vittle Vaults before. I was wishing for the gamma seal snap on lids that would snap onto a square top bucket. As far as I know they are only made for round top buckets. But I suppose the square tops are not standard size like the rounds. Manufacturers probably all size them a bit differently.

quote Savage Voyageur:

Not square kitty litter buckets, but square bird seed buckets. These would work fine and pack well in packs. buckets "

That looks like something I can use. I like the grey color too because I plan to hide my food along the shore instead of hanging. The yellow cat litter buckets would stand out too much for me. Thanks for the link!

quote Bannock: "I wish there were gamma seals that fit the "kitty litter" buckets. I'd probably use them. I use the 5 gallon buckets now."

To improve the seal, you could shoot a thin bead of silicon into the groove on the lid.

I love kitty litter buckets. I think they are ideal. They keep food organized and protect from rain and rodents.

I think they are better than blue barrels. Towards the end of a trip, most buckets are empty so you can stack them and eliminate a pack or two. I guess you could repack other gear in the blue barrels too...

The buckets are square so two of them fit nicely in the bottom of a duluth pac.

They also make nice chairs or tables (I bring a thin piece of plywood to make a very nice table)