Anybody have a picture? Where do you buy them?

I've seen them at Fleetfarm. I have a Three? gallon vittles vault bucket with a gamma2 seal I'd sell you for 10 bucks. I think I paid 15.99.

Usually they fit a five gallon pail. Sometimes they are sold in sets(pail lid). Look around and you can probably get them for under ten bucks for pail and lid.

They are pretty watertight. Raccoons can't get in. Haven't tried vs bears..think bears could chew in.

these

just a lid for a typical 5 ga bucket. It can be unscrewed as opposed to pried off.

have seen the lids at Home Depot.

I have 4, use 2 for my food buckets. I ordered mine from here...

Baytec

The lids are two pieces, the rim and the screw on lid. The threaded rim snaps on the rim of a 5 gal. bucket. Then you just screw the lid piece into the rim. Walla! An air/water tight container. The lid has a rubber gasket insert, thus Gamma Seal. Not bear proof, but will keep smaller varmints out of your stuff. They make great camp stools as well.

Another Link

I got mine at Home Depot. Worked like a charm with 2 buckets in a 2-strap army duffle and a cheapo $10 foam pad for cushion on the back. Next time I might opt for a 30L barrel and CCS barrel pack to accompany my 60L if money allows. For a cheap fix though, the buckets worked great.

Bought mine at Menard's.

Does anyone store food in a 5 gallon bucket with a gamma seal and stash them away from camp rather than hang in a tree with a bear rope?

Lay the buckets on their side if it looks like rain. The top of the lid will fill with water and it will seep through. Keep a steady stream of water on one overnight and you will see for yourself. The problem is that lids are an inside fit, so the seal better be perfect.

Mike

You can get the lid at Fleet farm to fit on a any 5 gallon bucket you have. They work great for storing cat/dog/bird food at home. Camping also great, we take 5-6 for 8 guys in duffle bags. Never had any animal troubles. Works also for a camp seat. We label the buckets for ease of finding food.

quote TomP: "Bought mine at Menard's.


Does anyone store food in a 5 gallon bucket with a gamma seal and stash them away from camp rather than hang in a tree with a bear rope?"

Yes I do. I use something called a Vittle Vault. Got the idea from another memeber here. I use the 12" square vault and stuff that into a backpack for portaging. I will stuff it into the packback and then wrap the whole thing in a garbage bag and then stash away from camp and off trail. So far so good. However, I'm looking into other methods in order to reduce bulk and weight.

Home Depot also sells gamma lids in their typical orange color.

Vittle Vaults are interesting due to their square shape. I bet they'd fit/stack in a pack much more easily. Problem with 5 gallon buckets is they leave dead space and they have tapered sides.

Opps... Wrong bucket.








Best picture I could find of mine. I put an orange lid on it so I wouldn't lose it on the portage. If you get them on good they are pretty watertight. I've had this one float on it's side for about a half hour without a drop. The screw top works good, but over time it'll crack (especially if someone sits on it when it isn't screwed shut all the way.)

I've found out that if you sit on it you can have a fine wrestling match trying to open it!

Here's some pictures of the Gamma Lid.



The lid consists of 2 pieces, a rim and a lid that screws into the rim. Get your typical 5 or 7 gallon bucket, pound the Gamma Lid rim onto the bucket with a rubber hammer. It fits tightly and seals pretty water tight with an O ring. Screw lid into rim and you are done.

quote yellowcanoe: "I've found out that if you sit on it you can have a fine wrestling match trying to open it!"

Works easier if you get up first! LOL

quote awbrown: "

quote yellowcanoe: "I've found out that if you sit on it you can have a fine wrestling match trying to open it!"

Works easier if you get up first! LOL"

More fun if you try and spin.. Oh a real suggestion I should remember but probably wont.

The lid leaves you with waffle butt. Bring a small circular pad.

Ben, I love your picture! I hadn't seen the lids in orange before. Will look for that. How do you carry the bucket then?

What's the advantage to one of these vs. a standard snap-on style cap with an O-ring? Just waterproofing? I would imagine a small animal would have difficulty opening a regular snap-on cap for a 5-gallon bucket when I have difficulty myself... :)

quote TallMatt: "What's the advantage to one of these vs. a standard snap-on style cap with an O-ring? Just waterproofing? I would imagine a small animal would have difficulty opening a regular snap-on cap for a 5-gallon bucket when I have difficulty myself... :)"

well, bears have yet to get the "righty tighty, lefy lucy" thing.

Don't trust them to stay water tight. Have had friends to have them leak and I had one up at our barn that held cat food that leaked after about a year (and it was not in direct line of rain). I remember "Rescuing" gear for a friend who had dumped on the river; I reached out to grab the bucket and it was heavy and already half full of water. And it hadn't been pinned or anything, it had just floated free.

I think LuvmyBell uses them with sealed, freeze dried food so potential damage to the food is averted in a seal failure. I just can't trust them after my experiences. Here's a small picture of mine when I USED to use it on the river. The same critique holds true for those plastic ammo boxes. Don't put anything in there not sealed or that you don't want to possibly be exposed.

quote TallMatt: "What's the advantage to one of these vs. a standard snap-on style cap with an O-ring? Just waterproofing? I would imagine a small animal would have difficulty opening a regular snap-on cap for a 5-gallon bucket when I have difficulty myself... :)"

Snap on lids are a pain to get off, then you need to pound them back on again. The gamma lid thingy just screws on and off.

The comments about them not being 100% water proof are correct. They would be considered water resistant.

I don't use them for canoe tripping, but I use them at home for bird seed, sidewalk salt, etc. Getting the lids off is real easy.

I don't get this not water proof stuff? My have sat for hours in the rain, and floated down a river, yet did not take on water. Could it be some buckets don't work, the rim is not affixed properly, the lid is not tight or the gasket damaged? Are there cheapie knock-offs out there not as good as the genuine Gamma Seal?

Maybe my day is coming, but I trust mine to be waterproof for now.

quote AndySG: "
I don't get this not water proof stuff? My have sat for hours in the rain, and floated down a river, yet did not take on water. ."

I'm guessing the rim isn't on the bucket good enough. And I always use a new bucket. Like you I haven't had a problem.

Carrying it? Just use the bucket handle. I met some guys on a portage and carried a couple of their buckets across. They kind of thanked me and chuckled. They'd rigged a yoke to carry their buckets. I thought that was a good idea.

quote AndySG: "
I don't get this not water proof stuff? My have sat for hours in the rain, and floated down a river, yet did not take on water. Could it be some buckets don't work, the rim is not affixed properly, the lid is not tight or the gasket damaged? Are there cheapie knock-offs out there not as good as the genuine Gamma Seal?
Maybe my day is coming, but I trust mine to be waterproof for now."

Nope, the lids were on properly, at least I'm 100% sure of mine, pretty certain of my friend's. They were waterproof for awhile, then not. Just saying, depend on them being water proof forever at your own risk. I have a few friends whom also have found out the hard way.

quote mirth: "Home Depot also sells gamma lids in their typical orange color.


Vittle Vaults are interesting due to their square shape. I bet they'd fit/stack in a pack much more easily. Problem with 5 gallon buckets is they leave dead space and they have tapered sides."

Vittles vaults are the bomb.......I use them every trip now........

Been doing so for about 10 - 12 years or so.

quote Bdubguy: "I have 4, use 2 for my food buckets. I ordered mine from here...

Baytec "

Thanks for the link, I just purchased 8 from them.

quote Campcraft: "Lay the buckets on their side if it looks like rain. The top of the lid will fill with water and it will seep through. Keep a steady stream of water on one overnight and you will see for yourself. The problem is that lids are an inside fit, so the seal better be perfect.


Mike
"

Their one weakness is the fact that the lid is recessed inside the rim. I will run an experiment with one of mine today, in the laundry tub and will report back. A fresh, never used, new bucket will be the victim.

drop your iphone into to check :)

quote awbrown: "

quote Campcraft: "Lay the buckets on their side if it looks like rain. The top of the lid will fill with water and it will seep through. Keep a steady stream of water on one overnight and you will see for yourself. The problem is that lids are an inside fit, so the seal better be perfect.



Mike
"

Their one weakness is the fact that the lid is recessed inside the rim. I will run an experiment with one of mine today, in the laundry tub and will report back. A fresh, never used, new bucket will be the victim.


"

Well........here's the results.

First, I fetched my bucket and lid from the garage. Both are unused. I bought several buckets and Gamma Lids last year and had one bucket and lid that I hadn't used yet.

I first set the bucket with lid on under the faucet in the laundry tub and ran water on it for an hour.

Not a drop got inside the bucket.

Next, I took the bucket, turned it upside down, put some weight on it to hold it down and filled the laundry tub with water. I let it sit for approximately 4 hours.

Not a drop got inside the bucket.

As a disclaimer, this was an unused bucket and lid. The setup has never had any abuse or rough handling, had never been humped over a portage. Never been dropped in the dirt. It's led a spoiled life.

But it never leaked.

However, just like anything that depends upon o rings to insure waterproofness (is this a real word?), they will always be prone to failure and are susceptible to dirt and grime having an adverse effect upon their reliability.

But mine worked fine.

In the first picture you can see one inside the backpack used to carry it. There is also one in brown pack in the forefront and another in the daypack to the left. They are our food packs and each person carries one in our solo canoes.

The second picture WI/Jim uses one as a footrest. Another open one, lined with a plastic bag, is open. You can see the lid if you look under the red chair. This is from another solo canoe trip.

"Vittles vaults are the bomb.......I use them every trip now........."

Here is my Vittles Vault. I strapped it to a Backpack frame to carry it.

A friend loves the gamma seals i've had mixed results with them over the years the same with regular buckets and snap on lids.
What my friend did for his set was first use a 8 gallon bucket instead of the five gallon. These look just like a normal bucket just taller(I think he gets them from a friend and cream cheese icing comes in them)When he installs the rings to the buckets he uses a caulk to seal the rim of the gamma rings to the buckets. He then wipes the "O" ring with a thin smear of petro jelly and screws the lid in. He carries three of them on his trips and bought a older pack frame(1970's vintage) that he turned into a pack board to carry them. In the canoe he places 2 of them on their sides in the bottom and the third on top of the two tying the whole thing to tie downs in the canoe.
Since he's the current holder of the world record for flipping canoes his set up gets tested four or five times a year and so far everything stays dry while he bails water.
I have to admit that I like having them around the camp site as being a bit taller they're great for sitting on.

We carry all our food in them I use a two inch strap with hooks on each end so that I can carry them hands free with a front and rear pack as needed, they double as chairs and have never leaked.

quote AndySG: "
I don't get this not water proof stuff? My have sat for hours in the rain, and floated down a river, yet did not take on water. Could it be some buckets don't work, the rim is not affixed properly, the lid is not tight or the gasket damaged? Are there cheapie knock-offs out there not as good as the genuine Gamma Seal?


Maybe my day is coming, but I trust mine to be waterproof for now."

+1..never had a leak and been using them for years on river trips and BWCA. I suspect that the o-ring wasn't seated completely or the bucket wasn't compatible (slight size difference...maybe???). I know I had to really pound mine on with a rubber mallet.

quote ozarkpaddler: "Don't trust them to stay water tight. Have had friends to have them leak and I had one up at our barn that held cat food that leaked after about a year (and it was not in direct line of rain). I remember "Rescuing" gear for a friend who had dumped on the river; I reached out to grab the bucket and it was heavy and already half full of water. And it hadn't been pinned or anything, it had just floated free.


I think LuvmyBell uses them with sealed, freeze dried food so potential damage to the food is averted in a seal failure. I just can't trust them after my experiences. Here's a small picture of mine when I USED to use it on the river. The same critique holds true for those plastic ammo boxes. Don't put anything in there not sealed or that you don't want to possibly be exposed.


"

As Ozarkpaddler indicated, I used to use 5 gallon buckets with gamma lids for many years without any issues. Each person is our group had their own 5 gallon bucket with all their 21 freeze dried food packets (3 meals x 7 days). Once in camp the buckets functioned nicely as a seat.

Nowadays, we just use the 70-liter barrels for all our food. I can fit all food and kitchen items (stove, mess kits) in 2 barrels for a week trip for 8 - 9 people.