[duckfoot]

Was up one night channel surfing and saw one of them ad shows for a gadget that was call "Food Saver." Basically a vacuumed packer that has a roll of plastic that you can make as long as you want. What got me going is that thing could have a lot of uses for us gun nuts. Long term shortage for a rifle that doesn’t get much use, or storing a rare pistol, storing ammo, dry packing various SHFT items, impregnating wood stocks, the list could go on. Any more ideas?

[only1asterisk]

I have one and use it as described. I was concerned about storing ammo, but after some testing I think that it will be ok.


David

[Kharn]

From what I have heard, you need to get the heavy-duty bags, and also use a little cardboard to cover the sharp/protruding edges of the firearm (like an AK's bolt handle would probably cause a problem) to prevent the bag from tearing.

Kharn

[ajacobs]

I use one for all my long term storage needs. Infact I have never used it for food.

[ialevy]

Hey! another use for the foodsaver! I think this thing is great; as good as the infomercial claims! It saves a ton of money. Since it's just the wife and me, we could never justify buying in bulk. Now we have a freezer full of vacuum bags. Now I will have to seal up some guns and ammo!

[H Romberg]

I tested mine using a dummy grenade with the pin sticking out as a torture test of the bags. The bag just scrunched up around the pin with no damage. This thing is great! Toss in a dessicant pack, and I think you've got a near perfect long term storage system.

[ElToro]

that was the first thing i registered for at Macy's for my wedding.. no my bro says thats what hes getting me.. good idea on the cardboard for protection... also i intend to use to make my own MRE's with stuff i like to eat.. for camping and such of course... it really compacts things down... fiance likes shopping at COSTCO but im hesitant to buy perishables in bulk cuz we just end up thowing it out but i buy the bulk boxes of canned corn and... also out here we have a chain called BIG LOTS where they get lots of factory seconds and stuff.. and prices are cheaper than costco sometimes.... if you dont mind Kleenex with 2002 SLC olympics on the outside or halloween themed glad bags...

[4v50 Gary]

A bit of greases and a food saver and it's good enough for a trip to the moon. Archaeologists will love you.

[Carlos]

LMAO.

I bought one of the Tilia 1050 machines months ago. It's great, and my freezer is full of my own MREs and meats. I use the canister sets and marinating pan all the time, with great result. Stuff really lasts and lasts. I can reuse the bag material if I store small portions in small plastic containers.

I packed up 250 40S&W in a bag at the outset and feel it's a great storage method. Other things I pack up are waterproofed socks and other clothing in my fishing packs, etc. I just might seal up a weapon or two one of these days.

Great machine.

[Bravo11]

I remember seeing those infomercials but I don't remember the cost.
How much do they set you back?

[Kharn]

Megcatia:
I checked around on Amazon.com this afternoon (after reading more about vacuum sealers and firearms storage), a new one will set you back about $160 for a top of the line model with all the cooking-related goodies, while a reconditioned version of the same model is like $70 (without the cooking-related goodies). Rolls of bag material are like $18 for two rolls (Marked as 18', but I dont know if thats 18' total, or 18' per roll), bags come in either 8" or 11" wide versions.

Kharn

[Hk Paul]

what about oil degrading the materal?

[gun-fucious]

i have a plastic "tent" made out of a plastic impregnated with a rust preventative
thats supposed to keep a bicycle from rusting

i wonder if the same stuff could be made for vacu sealing firearms

rust is an oxidation, so removing air from the storage container is "a Good Thing™"

a desicant pack might be good in the bag as well

and maybe a "In Case of SHTF, open bag" label

;)

[Waitone]

While plastic (generic term) is good for packaging, it is not necessarily good for long term storage.

The product is most likely polyethylene which over time will transmit oxygen and water vapor. Both of which are necessary to produce rust.

It works for frozen food only for a time.

Truly long term plastic storage is only done with multiply coextruded films or laminated structures containing foil. The plastic packaging used on MRE's is not the same as is used with the food saver.

If you are interested in long term weapons storage, purchase a product impregnated with a volitile corrosion inhibitor.

[gun-fucious]

http://www.sorbentsystems.com/mylar.html

How do I know if I have the right type of mylar® bag for my application?

This is an extremely good question. The bags we recommend for in process ingredient or pharmaceutical product storage were originally designed for exporting Macadamia nuts in bulk. This bag is 4.5 mils thick and appears to look like aluminum foil, although the top layer is transparent. Long-term food/product storage bags and all high O2 or H2O barrier materials are NEVER transparent.


One good example to watch for is the US Military MRE products. The packaging material used to produce the MRE's has a very high oxygen barrier. Often they will specify nylon as the outside layer of the material instead of polyester (mylar®) due to its stronger puncture resistance and oxygen barrier properties. Most of all, you will never see a simple mylar® (transparent) structure or shiny mylar® foil (metallized polyester) structure used for an MRE.

[4v50 Gary]

Man, the great stuff you can learn here. Thanks guys.

[Carlos]

One of those silicone impregnated rifle sleeves inside a Tilia bag might work pretty well.

Thanks for the url Gun-Fucious.

[Newt]

I didn't read all the threads, so I don't know if this one was listed. Black powder would be good to keep in a vacuum like that. If you have a SHTF bag, they would be good for that too.

Newt

[Waitone]

Danger Will Robinson !

Polyethylene and other untreated plastics will generate substantial static electricity. In a production facility is is quite common to generate a static discharge of 4 feet. I wouldn't consider putting black powder in an unteated plastic container. Bad, really bad mohjo.

Do not play around with black powder and plastics.

[BallisticTip]

I have, vacuumed packed a Glock and some ammo, for the boat. Use it for other tools also, as salt water gets into evrything.