Members experience with real long term storage.

TnAndy just posted a post on canning grape juice with some old canning lids. While the experiment is still in progress, I would love to hear other members success and "failures" with long term storage items. I know some things, hand tools, saws, axes, knives, are useful for 100's of years, but the gasoline formulation that I used to store, pre alcohol, for 5 years or more in a cool dry place, won't last longer than a year or so with Stabile for an additive and I don't really know how long it would last with Pri G. BTPost tells of burning WW2 diesel that was stored in 55 gal drums. That was the old formula, no alcohol, straight run from the refinery. What has experience been with new diesel in contrast? Looks like temp has a lot do do with keeping it usable as well as preventing oxygen from interacting with it.

In the real world what has peoples experience been with successful crops from seeds stored for an extended time. did the ones put up for long term storage do better, ones stored in the freezer. Most of the data I see is spread all over the net and tends to either be done by someone selling something or a scientific study based on food found stored in some ones basement.

I have fired WW1 Turkish ammo up until about 1990. If stored properly, at least that was my guess, as some lots worked really well and some did not. I still fire WW2 US, German, and Russian ammo with good results and if SHTF would feel safe using it. Given its corrosive, you have to clean at once to protect your firearm. I fired my great grand fathers civil war musket with caps and cartridges from the end of the war or so. Still worked fine in the 1940's. Have 20 plus year old powder that I use in reduced loads for target practice in center fire weapons and they still work fine for that. Don't know if I would trust my life on it however.

Chickens have loved 25 year old stored grain and 10 year old nuts packed in sealed pouch with oxygen absorber and it doesn't seem to bother them. Have oil based paint stored in a full sealed can that I used that never froze or got hot that was usable 20 plus years later. New Latex seems to go bad in about 3 years, but it might be my storage. I have burned lamp oil from a full sealed glass bottle that was stored in the basement for 30 years and it was fine, however as other lamp oil or kerosene, in a couple years in the lamp it will go bad or at least discolor. Easy to see in glass lamp, but not so easy in a railroad or barn lamp made of tin.

Wool blankets, shirts etc would seem to last 100's of years, leather shoes, rubber boots, aritic shoe packs, etc, haven't worked out well for me, leather seems to do better if treated every couple years and rubber just seems to get hard and brittle what ever I try. Has anyone else had long term foot ware, 20 years or so success, I haven't.

How long do the rubber seals for the pressure canner last in the real world, both in use and in storage. Once they are gone you have a very expensive heavy pot instead of a pressure cooker.

 

My long term kerosene is past the decade mark and still completely useful in flat and round wick lamps and burners. It doesn't work well in mantle lamps, whether pressurized (Coleman) or non-pressurized (Aladdin). It causes black spotting on the mantles to the point that they produce minimal light. The solution for the Gas Pressure Appliances is to add 20% white gas (Crown or Coleman Fuel). This allows the black spots to burn off and the lantern to operate normally. The non-pressurized mantle lamps will have to be reserved for the newer kerosene, mineral spirits or Kleen Heet.

In terms of longevity, many of my lamps and lanterns are over 80 years old and still run like new. I suspect the older models will out-live the newer ones. Lead seals win over rubber and instant-lighting only wins over match and torch lighting in terms of convenience.
For the long-haul the big generators will win the day.

 

I have 6 year old farm diesel store with stabilizer. Still OK? Don’t know.

 

I have had treated fuel get water in it despite being sealed, temp swings were likely to blame!

I have had wax sealed canned goods go bad, the wax contracted away from the edges just enough when it cooled to allow contamination!

 

eliminate the air and heat and things last longer

 

Just took a bunch of vacuum packed white and brown rice and some barley out of container in pantry today. It is packed in real tight blocks and will be using it over the next month or so. We put it up in 2015 and it kind of got kicked out of sight. It looks fine but will know more in a few days. Just picked first good picking of romas and other slicer types today. Corn just been ready starting last week. Some of this stuff comes real late in the Oregon Coast range. Always seems to work out though and we get our canning done with salsa and pepper sauce not being complete till October. We are going to can a lot more meat this year than usual as I think just in time grocery store stocking may get rocky.

 

Vacuum packed coffee from 10 years ago still tastes good.
#10 cans of dried veggies, TVP, dry milk, potatoes and bell peppers from about 1988 still good.

 

I was burning Coleman lantern fuel in the lantern Friday night that my Dad bought sometime in the 60's. Can't tell any difference. I have kerosene in a glass 1 gallon container that belonged to my grandfather that has to be from the 1950's. It's probably half full now, I use about an ounce a year placed into a jar lid in the back of the grandfather clock to keep it lubricated.
I did the rice vacuumed sealed in mylar and placed in a bucket in 2008. We opened one in 2019 to try and it seemed fine although it had a different smell, kinda stale smelling, but cooked up and tasted just fine. My problem is canning as I have hit a 3 year brick wall. Everything I can seems to go bad at that point. We tried coffee in the vacuumed packed bricks stored in a separate vacuum sealed bag and placed in the freezer in 2008 and opened some in 2015. It was a gooey tar-like mess. We threw out all 3 bricks. It was trade bait anyway as we don't drink it.
I also did some vacuumed sealed clothes, mainly to compress them for easy travel. I placed a t-shirt, underwear, and pair of socks in a bag and they made nice 1/2" thick square packages. Nice to keep in the car for "just in case", but even after washing the wrinkles won't come out of a t-shirt stored this way for over 10 years.
We came to the realization that there isn't a way to survive long term on just stored goods. It also will take a garden and some hunting skills.

 

Reloaded a bunch of ammo years ago vacuum sealed it and put it in ammo cans still good as the day I reloaded it. We still on the shelf jelly (plum, blueberry, blackberry, apple) 10 yrs old still good.

 

what I've learned over the years - store just about everything away like you won't be touching it again for 15 years >>> the older you get the more the years get away from you - a blink and it's 10 years down the road ...

have the supplies readily handy to pack stuff away without looking around or going to the store - otherwise you'll go half-azzed into it satisfied ...

 

PRI is the ONLY stuff I'd use for long term gasoline storage. I store five 55gal drums of gasoline, (and 10 diesel) and at some point, pull it out and pump it in my 300gal elevated tank to use in vehicles/etc around the place. Some of the oldest was this photo where it was put up in August 2013, and pulled out to use April, 2019.....so not quite 6 years old. Another from 2016, so they are a mix of 3-6yr old drums. I dose the drums with a cup of PRI-G when filled, and another when I open them to use.





Gets pumped into the tank on the left.



Home canned stuff varies by what it is, and more important, the temperature of storage. I built a well insulated dry storage pantry as part of the 'auxiliary' kitchen build about 12 years ago. The pantry is on the northeast corner of the room, and well shaded outside. It never freezes, nor does it get above 65. Stuff with sugar (like jams/jellies/fruits in syrup) will keep many years....5 at a minimum. Stuff with meats, we try not to go over 2. Veggies like beans/tomatoes, 2-3 years, then we open and feed the current crop of pigs. Lot of effort to go to the pigs, but like any insurance, it's there if you need it, and wasted payments if you don't

This past year when toilet paper was short, I opened the first of 6 crates I put up 2005-06 when I got on a kick about it. 144 rolls to the box, 6 boxes (now 5). 15yrs old, and I could tell a lick of difference between it and brand new....except the rolls were bigger.....shrinkflation hadn't hit as bad then.




Got many buckets of wheat, rice, corn, beans, etc in mylar with O2 absorbers put up going past 20 years now. (Y2K stuff from Walton Feed) Have not opened them, so can't report. Maybe I ought to crack some open. My way of looking at it is if I can't eat it, the chickens probably will, (especially if sprouted) then I'll eat the eggs/chickens.

Got a couple pallets of Mt House from 2008. Stored in a cool, dry location. Haven't opened them either, but would be quite surprised if they were degraded at all. About that same time, I ordered a case of boneless pork chops from FreezeDryGuy (don't know if he is still around) that was put up in the mid 80's (mil surplus).....so 20 years on them. (in 2008) Opened one can, after re-hydrating in water in the fridge overnight, they were quite tasty !

One crate I really ought to get into is a big wood box I made and filled with bagged corn,wheat,oats just as it comes from the farm store. I have it stored for emergency critter feed (chickens, pigs). I'd feel sure weevils have gotten into some of it, but the chickens don't care....more protein for them. Can't remember how many bags of stuff in it, but the box is 5x5x4', probably 1,000lbs of various stuff in it.

As I've told the wife when she looks at me sometimes "Honey.....the estate sale will be epic and have people talking for years about that nut !"

 

On toilet paper, just wife and I at home. We have 5 bathrooms in house but installed Toto bidet in master. We are on septic and now we use 1 roll of tp per month. Has good effect on drain field as well. Gen sets will keep all working for a long period of time and it is real comforting to have warm air blowing on your bum to dry off. Does seem a bit odd to run romex and a gfi for your toilet though.

 

Primers, which are the new hot item at the gun show. ($1 each is the latest I've heard) are good for most of a lifetime in proper storage. Older Berdan primers are said to last "indefinitely." I know they're good for 84 years so far. Can't say the same for the stability of some smokeless powders, but the Holy Black seems to be in the indefinite column as well.

All the truly bad ammo I've been given to dispose of has been stored in conditions that any reasonable person would've avoided. So buy it cheap and store it deep was good advice when it was possible.

 

I bought these Sorels in 1981 back when I was swinging a hammer. If I was fortunate enough to find work in the Winter it was generally outside so, Sorels.
The truth is Southern Oregon doesn't get much snow so they've gotten very little use the past almost ten years. But they did yeoman duty for about twenty hard years.
They're on their second set of liners and I just ordered their replacements.

 

I still have my Sorels as well from the 1980s working at the ski slopes and boat landings in Big Bear Lake California.
Best boot I've ever owned because my feet would sweat a storm and I had to dry out the liners every night, eventually I got extra liners and wear them out periodically.