# Coule questions- food grade buckets, berkey filters, storage



## nathan104 (Nov 16, 2007)

I have a few random questions I was hoping to get some quick answers for. Ive been reading this forum for a while but have only recently really began to prep. Here are my questions.

I got a pair of the black big berkey filters. I will be using two 5 gallon buckets to construct my own system for them. Had a buddy ask me about the black berkey filters ability to filter either urine or grey water into drinking water. Id think not but wanted to ask to make sure. I know they can filter nasty stagnant water so who knows. 

Also, went to Lowes to buy my 5 gallon buckets. They had white 5 gallon buckets in the paint section. But, nothing said food grade and none of the people who worked there could help me. Since these will have drinking water in it, I dont want to get the wrong kind and have chemicals leach from the plastic into the water or any food I store in them. So, how do I tell if a 5 gallon bucket is food grade? 

Last, I bought 50lbs of white rice and 50 lbs of beans at Sams. The beans are in a heavy paper bag like a feed bag and the rice is in white woven looking bags. Once I get my food grade buckets, can I just leave the rce in the bags they are in, throw them in a bucket, drop an O2 absorber in it and put the lid on it? OR do I need to put them in mylar bags and try to vacuum seal them first? The beans will have to be opened up and split up into two seperate buckets. Do they need to be in a mylar bag and sealed in the bucket or can you just pour the beans in the bucket with an o2 absorber and seal it up? 

Thanks for any help yall can offer. Im just getting started but very serious on getting it done as quickly and correctly as possible. Im sure Ill have more questions. I really enjoy the forum. My next thing to tackle is to get the equipment and learn how to can.


----------



## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

I'm sure you'll get some great answers from the pros on this board but I wanted to tell you that I've also bought beans, rice, flour, sugar and other things in large bags from Costco. I package them in vacuum bags of about 5 pounds each and then store them in buckets. That way I only open a reasonable amount at a time, and the quality of the bucket isn't as important. I've also bought gamma seals for buckets, which let you screw off the lid and seal it back. But I still prefer the individual bags to protect it all from bugs, moisture and air. Be sure to freeze the rice and beans for a couple days each (you can set them outside if you're in a cold climate) in order to make sure there aren't any bugs or eggs in it.

I think those buckets from Lowe's/Home Depot are supposed to be food grade but you should still use a Mylar or vacuum bag to protect the food from plastic taste.


----------



## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will post soon, but I was told to look for a triangle with a number 2 inside it. It's usually on the bottom or sometimes on the side just below the rim. The triangle with #2 in it means it's food grade. Most of the ones I've seen don't actually say so in words, and store employees never know, in fact act completely shocked that I'd even ask, lol. Some of the wise preppers on here told me to look for the triangle #2, and that's worked well for me.


----------



## sgl42 (Jan 20, 2004)

calliemoonbeam said:


> I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will post soon, but I was told to look for a triangle with a number 2 inside it. It's usually on the bottom or sometimes on the side just below the rim. The triangle with #2 in it means it's food grade. Most of the ones I've seen don't actually say so in words, and store employees never know, in fact act completely shocked that I'd even ask, lol. Some of the wise preppers on here told me to look for the triangle #2, and that's worked well for me.


the #2 is what material it is made of. there can still be additives put into it such that it is *not* food grade. you can't tell without calling the mfg of the bucket and asking. 

i'd suggest trying to find used buckets from food places, as if the bucket already had food in it, it is food grade. check grocery bakery, fast food places, delis, etc.

don't know whether black berkey's filter urine & grey water. they will certainly filter out bacteria in the water (urine is actually sterile) but I don't know whether it will filter out whatever else is in urine or greywater. unless i was in a really arid spot and had no way to store water and no other way to get water, those would be among my last choices for a source of water. you might look up "slow sand filters", as that might be a useful way to process grey water.

re: storing rice & beans
first, read Alan's FAQ, as it will answer most of your questions, and about a bizillion more that you didn't know enough to ask about yet.


> Alan's Stuff: The Prudent Food Storage FAQ and more.
> http://athagan.members.atlantic.net/Index.html


I'd also ask how long you're planning on storing your rice & beans for? Store what you eat, and eat what you store. (White) Rice & beans will store just fine for a several years without vac sealing or o2 absorbers. If the rice will last you a year, then in 6 months buy another bag, and in another year, buy another bag. 

--sgl


----------



## nathan104 (Nov 16, 2007)

Thanks for the great responses. Hopefully someone who knows about the berkey filters will read my post and be able to answer.

On freezing the beans and rice, would that not add moisture to them?


----------



## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

Whoa! Thanks SGL! Guess I was misled, sorry for giving out the wrong info. Now I need to go back and check up on my own buckets, as I've just been trusting to that #2 triangle. I have probably a dozen that were bought with that criteria. Yikes!


----------



## sgl42 (Jan 20, 2004)

calliemoonbeam said:


> Whoa! Thanks SGL! Guess I was misled, sorry for giving out the wrong info. Now I need to go back and check up on my own buckets, as I've just been trusting to that #2 triangle. I have probably a dozen that were bought with that criteria. Yikes!


You can search the archives of S&EP for posts by A T Hagan, and he's got a really good post somewhere talking about buckets and food grade and how you tell and various misconceptions people have. My info comes from his posts as I remember it. (Almost everything I know comes from his FAQ and postings. I think much of this forum is echoing stuff from him!)



nathan104 said:


> Hopefully someone who knows about the berkey filters will read my post and be able to answer.


at the bottom of this link (http://www.frugalsquirrels.com/store/water_pur/black_element.html) it shows all the stuff that black berkey's filter out. The question isn't what they filter out, the question is what's in your urine or greywater? I simply haven't researched that, so I don't know. 

the more 'gunk' in your water, the more frequently the tiny holes get plugged up, the more they need to be scrubbed clean, and the few gallons they last. 

You could probably run your urine thru there and drink it and it wouldn't kill you. But your kidney's would have to re-filter out all the stuff your body filtered out already, less whatever the berkey removed. That would put a additional stress/work on your body. Unless I'm in outerspace, or the middle of the sahara dessert, urine would be among the last places I'd look for a source of water.

Standard prepping is to have 3 sources/alternatives for everything. My primary source of water is the tap, run thru the berkey. Secondary is 20 gallons of stored water. Third is a nearby river that I could haul water in 5 gal buckets.

So the real question is, are you really planning on using it for urine and greywater? Or are you just curious?



nathan104 said:


> On freezing the beans and rice, would that not add moisture to them?


yes, when they come out of the freezer. I vac seal my grains in mason jars, then put them in the freezer for 3-4 days. then i let them return to room temp, before unsealing the mason jars and dumping the grain into mylar lining inside 5 gal buckets. (not enough freezer space for a full 5 gall mylar bag. Also, I don't seal my mylar bags, since all my current stores will be used in less than a year or so.)

--sgl


----------



## nathan104 (Nov 16, 2007)

Thanks for the info. Im just curious on the berkey filters with the grey water and urine. Right now Ive got a 30,000 gallon pool, pond, and a lake about 200 yards away for all my water, but am just wondering about the capability of the filters since my friend asked me about it and Im ordering a pair of the filters for him as well. 

Ive got enough freezer space for a full 5 gallon mylar bag, so that wouldnt be a problem. Ill be ordering some mylar bags this week. So, I would put my rice and beans in a bag or jar and seal them, then freeze them. Glad I asked these questions as I was just planning to put them in the bucket and thats it.


----------



## Sonshine (Jul 27, 2007)

Mom_of_Four said:


> I'm sure you'll get some great answers from the pros on this board but I wanted to tell you that I've also bought beans, rice, flour, sugar and other things in large bags from Costco. I package them in vacuum bags of about 5 pounds each and then store them in buckets. That way I only open a reasonable amount at a time, and the quality of the bucket isn't as important. I've also bought gamma seals for buckets, which let you screw off the lid and seal it back. But I still prefer the individual bags to protect it all from bugs, moisture and air. Be sure to freeze the rice and beans for a couple days each (you can set them outside if you're in a cold climate) in order to make sure there aren't any bugs or eggs in it.
> 
> I think those buckets from Lowe's/Home Depot are supposed to be food grade but you should still use a Mylar or vacuum bag to protect the food from plastic taste.


I also vacuumn seal my stuff in manageable amounts.


----------



## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

No, don't put urine or greywater through the Berkey filter. Both contain salt and that will not be filtered out. They will also plug the filter really fast. Get the cleanest water you can. Running reasonably clean water through a sand filter will take out a lot of filter clogging material. Then put it through the Berkey to remove the remaining harmful things in the water.

I use white buckets from the hardware store all the time. That is what is available to me. Been doing it for yrs.


----------

