I've got 5 or 6 big plastic containers,, the fella I got them from wasn't sure what they had been used for before he got them ,, but he said he used 1 or 2 of them to water his plants . I've had them for at least 5 yrs ,, haven't used them . Question is ,, I was thinking of cutting them in half , and use them for growing vegetables,, possibly build a small greenhouse. So ,, not knowing what they were used ,, is there any way to test them for chemicals ? I'm not sure if I could fill them with water ,, let them sit for a while ,, and take some of the water for testing . And ,, where could I take water for testing ? And , or ,, would it be feasible to put a layer of plastic in the halves and fill them with dirt ,, or what would be a good material to line the inside of these things? Thanks for your help.
For what your looking to do, I wouldn't have any issue with just using them as is, at the most, give them a good wipe down with bleach and rinse them out real good, maybe let them sit out in the sun for a few days, but they should be fine! I would worry if these were going to be used for drinking water, but there are ways to clean and determine if they are safe enough to use, my main worry would be the material they are made of it's self!
Thanks for the response,, I'll do as you say ,, I'm going to cut them in half,, and I'll let them sit out in the sun , air out , a let the fresh air and rain get to them.. Thanks again ,,
My limited experience with liquid totes, around 200 gal usually, if there were anything dangerous in them, you can't get the warning stickers off. Not to protect you, but to keep the crooked lawyers from buying a couple unmarked ones and making a fortune. Biggest problem I have is slime growing in them. Paint them and you don't know how full they are, let the sun in everything grows. When I reskin my greenhouse I save the old plastic. Build a board frame, line it with plastic and fill it with dirt or water, bend conduit and use plastic for a hoop house, friends use it for water proof barrier under concrete, cover wood piles, etc. Hate to see people take it to the dump. I always replace both layers and the inner layer is still usually very good.
to start with - use it for food? - needs to be guaranteed FDA food grade >>> started life built specifically for the purpose - any re-use determines whether it maintains that rating ..... with modern chems kicking out cancer from minute amounts - wouldn't want them anywhere near my fricking food chain .... get microscopic embedded chems removed from a poly container? - to the point of absolute safety? - good luck with that
Ok,, thanks for the responses ,, I guess I'll just have to throw them away ,, unless I use them for fuel storage,,, Then on another note then ,, how long does kerosene or diesel last in a tote. These aren't those flimsy white totes in the metal cages ,, these are thick yellowish clear type plastic ,, similar to a to a boat gas tank .
ya could put a fuel blader in em an use em fer fuel storage or any oder suitable purpose Sir @SB21 , keep em regardless
contamination story goes back before the internet - might not be online anymore - believe there was a movie loosely based on it >>>> WI farm family started getting sick - real sick - organ failures - near death >>> early on the concentration was on their dairy herd and drinking their own milk - killed the herd and dissected them into little pieces - animal feed testing - well water sampling - garden soil analyzing >>> you name it finally took the inspection inside the home >> finally found the cause - swipes and chem testing of the dinnerware & cutlery detected chemical residue >>> inside their dishwasher a repair was done using regular bathtub caulking - minute microscopic particles were flaking off during the washing cycle - rinse cycle didn't effect the contamination ....
