food grade buckets?? help

Discussion in 'Back to Basics' started by CANDY fISHER, Jan 22, 2011.


  1. CANDY fISHER

    CANDY fISHER Monkey+

    so I used to get my buckets from resturants, now I can not get any. seems the employees are taking them and I have had no luch. so i went to buy some, first place says yes these are food grade, went to walmart and there buckets also had a 2 on the bottom of the bucket ( same as the first store who said theres was food grade. so walmart tells me there buckets are not food grade even though they look like the buckets I had already gotten that had 2 on the bottom also. help, I need these buckets but am not sure what I should be buying.
    thanks
     
  2. Hispeedal2

    Hispeedal2 Nay Sayer

    Not all "2" buckets are food grade. Has to do with the release agents used in the process.

    My advice is to check local grocery stores. We have one that gives them away dirty. You just have to clean them. I picked up 10 in NOV. A buddy just stopped and picked up another 10. That shows you how much a large store can go through.
     
  3. kckndrgn

    kckndrgn Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I would not rely on the store employees, get the bucket mfg info and contact them. Lowes sells a grey 5 gal. bucket that is or was food grade.
    Check every place you can, restaurants, bakers, etc. For free or low cost. If you find some that will give you some buckets don't forget to tip the person who got them for you, you may get more buckets easier from them in the future.

    Sent from my Android
     
  4. Disciple

    Disciple Monkey+

    Try an internet search for yankee food grade buckets brand new these are expensive but you can also get a 6 gallon bucket.............
     
  5. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    Donut shops and bakeries also have them. Ebay for a steal sometimes. Craigslist maybe. Wash and bleach and rinse again. Done.
     
    Cephus likes this.
  6. Clyde

    Clyde Jet Set Tourer Administrator Founding Member

    I have purchased gamma lids through Gamma Seal Lids Gamma Lid Resealable Bucket Lid Products Plastic . These allow one to open and close a storage bucket without destroying the seal of the lid. Don't forget to buy a set of oxygen absorbers depending on what you are storing. I use these for storing wheat, salt, sugar, beans, etc.
     
  7. kckndrgn

    kckndrgn Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    The Gamma Seal Lids are expensive (my opinion) but well worth it. They make accessing your bucket so much easier.
     
  8. Clyde

    Clyde Jet Set Tourer Administrator Founding Member

    Yes. I don't have it on all of my buckets. Not everything needs it, but on the important stuff that I need to access, yes.
     
  9. Equilibrium

    Equilibrium Monkey++

    [FONT=&quot]It’s been a while since I checked into this for myself for rainwater but… any bucket we buy stamped HDPE or with a recycling symbol 2 on it should still be safe purchased new. The FDA dictates. Here’s the run down on our recycling symbols, http://www.healthobservatory.org/library.cfm?refid=102202. All #2’s are high density polyethylene and…. I’m pretty sure they’re still all free of hormone disrupting chemicals off the line or they can’t be stamped HDPE or #2. Some HDPE 5 gallon buckets come off a manufacturer’s line and get this label, Food Storage Containers - Emergency Essentials then get sold for $7.95 each and some come off a line and get a basic label, 5 GALON PLASTIC BUCKET then get sold for only $2.79 each but…. it’s my understanding any bucket stamped with the HDPE stamp or the #2 recycling symbol was once “food safe”…. off the line. Ickies could have been stored in any bucket after it was sold…. rendering it no longer “food safe” so I’m picky about which buckets I’ll use if they’re not new. I saved Purina’s ‘Strategy’ 50# horse feed buckets for myself just because they were great buckets. I didn’t know what I was going to do with them at the time but I saved them anyway. They’re too big to be practical to store 100% heavy foods in them but when I was looking around for something I already had to make do…. I spotted the #2 on them. Mine came from a feed store… most places sell Strategy in bags like dog food so maybe check a feed store or ask around at a stable? [/FONT][FONT=&quot]That might help get you started since not too many folk think to go there and there’s some pretty anal horsie boarders using these buckets…. all you’d need to do is wash them out with warm soapy water then rinse with a 10% bleach solution. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]I’ve been picking up used 5-gallon buckets from a deli lately… a couple at a time for free. Plastics we definitely don’t want coming in contact with our food or beverages would be #3, #6, and #7….. Bisphenol A. This site will probably have more details, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy | Where global and local meet sustainability or flat out call the distributor like kckndrgn suggested. [/FONT]
     
  10. CANDY fISHER

    CANDY fISHER Monkey+

    I called all the deli's and bakerys, I called the resturants etc. so I am just going to have to buy them for now. I tried craigslist and I tried walmart. thanks all I will continue to look :)
     
  11. TnAndy

    TnAndy Senior Member Founding Member

    Use mylar bags to put the food in, and it doesn't matter WHAT kind of bucket you use. I use the orange "Homer" buckets from Home Depot because I buy a stack of them when they put them on sale.
     
  12. fedorthedog

    fedorthedog Monkey+++

    Is there a food processing plant in your area that makes meal type processed foods. They should have lots of buckets if you can find one. A candy factory will also have them.

    The buckets at walmart near me are hdpe 2 which is food grade until a chemical is put in them.
     
  13. Falcon15

    Falcon15 Falco Peregrinus

    Like BROKOR Said - Don't forget doughnut shops...there are several in my area that sell the buckets that contained the filling goo/frosting/cremes for the delectable fried morsels we all love...
    Average price of buckets with lids - washed and ready to use (food safe too, dontchaknow) $3-5.00 each, with lids.
     
  14. magnus392

    magnus392 Field Marshall Mags Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Wal-Mart Bakery.
     
  15. Equilibrium

    Equilibrium Monkey++

    magnus> you were right on the money!!!
    CANDY> I JUST got back from WalMart.... I have 25 ***free*** food grade 5-gallon buckets with snap on lids previously used for frostings I think. Gag me they smell so horrible from that sickeningly sweet frosting smell but.... they can be cleaned easily enough and they were free..... F R E E. All I did was ask and went to pick them up when they called. Maybe WalMarts in different regions are different since I heard some ask for a $1 per bucket and lid to go to the Children's Miracle Network but.... the WalMart I went to was happy to set a "few" aside for me and blow me away.... they sent me home with enough to share with friends and family and.... they told me to let them know if I wanted more. OMG!!! Please check with a local WalMart bakery before you go spending any money.
    --
    Something really funny happened while I was there.... they asked me if I'd be interested in applying for a WalMart greeter job.... Sometimes you just have to laugh.... so you don't cry..... I never thought of myself as being "old" enough to qualify for that job let alone "old" enough that somebody
    would actually encourage me to apply for it. I've arrived!!! I'm big.... I'm bad... I'm not so OLD but definitely gray!!!
     
  16. Bison_Forge

    Bison_Forge Aspiring Knifemaker

    Go to the bakery at your local walmart and ask if they have any empty buckets. They usually just ask how many you want and hand them across the counter. You can tell that they are food grade because they are the same buckets that they get their icing and flour in, and they still have the labels to prove it.
     
  17. CANDY fISHER

    CANDY fISHER Monkey+

    Going back tomorrow to find some. I hope there there I really need these. Im about to send off an order to buy some if I just can not find any.. this is the problem with smaller towns, everyone is getting them LOL ( I sure how there stocking up as I think we are looking at crap hitting the fan soon!
     
  18. franks71vw

    franks71vw Monkey+++

    going to hit wally world and big discount warehouses and see what i can find... my question is can you retrofit the regular lids with the gamma seal? or do they have to be the lids from gamma?? I have been doing everythingbut food... so sorry if it sounds kindergarden like
     
  19. kckndrgn

    kckndrgn Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    No, the gamma lids are a 2 piece unit. A ring that snaps on to the bucket and a threaded lid that will screw into the ring. Both pieces have a rubber type seal.
    For a nice image how they work see here.
    Gamma Seal Lids Low as $3.98 ea - 3.5 Gallon Plastic Buckets & Pails White Low As $3.69 ea
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 15, 2013
  20. CANDY fISHER

    CANDY fISHER Monkey+

    T oday I hit the mother load!!! I went to walmart they had only 5 and 2 small, went to Safeway bakery, none went to a sandwich shop, I got 20 plus lids! and I can go back as they use a ton of pickles and said they will have 20 more in 2 weeks. Im sooo happy. there charging all over town, these cost me 1.00 a bucket, but Safeway and the other big bakers want 3.00 so I am sticking to the sandwich shop. best day ever!! Im bleaching them out now and will air each one out for a few weeks. thanks all Im one happy girl!
     
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