Bump for the newb's

GREAT advice. I have taken the Nitrogen approach, though. Got a 80foot tank with 3000# of nitrogen. The regulator (inert gas only) and tank cost about $250, and the refills are $20 for a FULL tank (3000#) of Nitrogen. The benefit to me is that we are eliminating the O2 completely, for sure, and providing an environment that will not support life.

We use an air line blower (blow-off) pistol thing and some clear tubing with stainless clamps. The trigger on the blower allows control of the gas and the regulator can hold it down to a workable 30# or so. Note that the Nitrogen is injected into the BOTTOM of the bag after the goods are loaded, so the N (which is heavier than air) fills from the bottom up!

It is easy to see when the bag is full of N. On the first bags, time a shot of gas to the bottom of the bag. Say 3 seconds. Then take a lit lighter and move it into the top of the bag, below the bag edge and above the goods. When the lighter goes out, you are FULL of Nitrogen. With a little practice, we KNOW how much gas to spray in the bottom of the bags once the goods are in it. Needless to say, my first experience with sugar was NOT pleasant, as I blew it ALL OVER the place. A deft touch is required for powders like flour and sugar, but once you screw up you learn quick.

We bought the nice sealer unit for about $150, as it does a thin 1/2" seal line that is as good as the factory seal. This allows for MORE room to re-seal the bags later, if needed, and has an automatic timer to INSURE the weld is perfect.

We learned that the smaller bags are generally better, and the best size for us is 13x11"ish. The bigger bags are fine for large rice deposits of 20# or so. The rest of the goods will probably be used in smaller quantities, we think. The pails are stored in a temperature controlled environment, numbered, with a printed list of all and their contents which we update in a spreadsheet as we pack them up.

I have pails filled with 25-30# of mixed goods, labeled and inventoried. We opted for food grade so we could re-use the pails later for other purposes that may include storage of food. They would be a valuable resource in SHTF scenario.

The tank of gas will do at least 35 pails, with average of three or four little bags per pail. So for the initial cost plus three refills, you can do at least 100 pails for about $2+ each. This INCLUDES filling the pail once the bags are in to provide another layer of protection. In the long term, a better solution than the O2 absorbers, and more absolute in its effectiveness.

I finally got around to reading through this thread. A couple questions for those that know, if I may.

1. What are the cost benefits of storing one's own bulk foods versus buying a pre-packaged solution like the Super Pails from Emergency Essentials?
2. How long can the following items be stored, provided they are properly sealed: Baking powder, baking soda, yeast, brown sugar, corn starch, corn meal, and pasta?
3. What are the different types of wheat used for? I see hard red, hard white, and soft white types. Presumably, they have different baking qualities, correct?
4. Is there a well researched list compiled somewhere that provides suggested quantities of each food type (wheat, rice, corn, beans, etc.) and assorted supplemental items (sugar, salt, etc) needed to last one person for a year's supply?
5. What would be a good, versatile hand grinder capable of grinding both corn and wheat? From reading previous threads in SF, I gather the Country Living and Wonder Mill's are at the top of the pack. Is one more versatile than the other?
6. For salt, is there any reason to store one type over the other(iodized salt versus sea salt)?
7. What is the preferred cooking oil type for long term storage and how long can be it stored for?

Thanks in advance for any help with these questions.

Great write up thank you! Great information for new preppers! How do you tag a thread so I can refer to the post when I get my mylar and O2 absorbers in??
TD

1. What are the cost benefits of storing one's own bulk foods versus buying a pre-packaged solution like the Super Pails from Emergency Essentials?
Cost savings will vary depending where you source your materials.
Emergency Essentials right now has a 44lb bucket of white rice for $57.95.
Our local SamsClub has a 50lb. bag of rice for $16.99.
Mylar, O2 absorber and a bucket would not cost me $40.96.
Usually on beans, rice and wheat shipping is the killer due to the weight - again depends where you buy it..
We pack our own rice for a couple of reasons:
1) My wife is loyal to her brand (Comet Long Grain Rice) that she has been using all her life. She lets me pack the rice, I let her pick the brand.
2) We pack rice and beans in 1gal Mylar bags. Each bag holds about 5lbs which is a good size for the two of us.

Most of the other things we store are packed in #10 cans, which holds a similar amount to a 1gal Mylar bag.
We don't pack and forget our stuff, we use it now and replace as we go.

3. What are the different types of wheat used for? I see hard red, hard white, and soft white types. Presumably, they have different baking qualities, correct?
Hard Red and White are mainly used for bread.
It can be coarse ground for cream of wheat cereal, cooked whole and used like rice, put wheat berries in cheesecloth & smack it with a hammer to make cracked wheat, you can sprout it to make wheatgrass.
Soft wheat is usually used for pastries, pie crusts, etc. People do use it for bread and have reported good results.

We source our Hard Red and White wheat from the local LDS cannery.
We bought our last Soft wheat from Emergency Essentials in a bucket. I repacked it into 1gal Mylar.

Also, don't count out Oat Groats.
They are basically oat berries which have not be rolled into oatmeal. They can be ground into flour or cooked whole and used like rice.
Oh, and rice can be ground into rice flour or coarse ground into cream of rice cereal.

4. Is there a well researched list compiled somewhere that provides suggested quantities of each food type (wheat, rice, corn, beans, etc.) and assorted supplemental items (sugar, salt, etc) needed to last one person for a year's supply?
See above - LDS
Food Storage

5. What would be a good, versatile hand grinder capable of grinding both corn and wheat? From reading previous threads in SF, I gather the Country Living and Wonder Mill's are at the top of the pack. Is one more versatile than the other?
We have a Wondermill Jr. Deluxe. So, I can recommend them.
I have nothing bad to say about the Country Living, we simply went with the Wondermill due to the price.
and we have been very happy with it.

If you are talking Mylar w/O2, they are probably fine.
If they don't suck down tight, it probably means you did not squeeze enough air out of the bag before you sealed it.

An O2 absorber will only remove 21% of the air (air is about 21% Oxygen and about 78% Nitrogen)
So, it is probably mostly nitrogen left in the bag which is inert.

I like mine to "suck down" because its easier to see that they are still well sealed when I check them.
However, I we use our stored foods, so any bags I have that did not "suck down" tight, get used first.