moolie said:
Just re-reading your original post, and wondering how long term you need?
Sounds like you have your long term in deeper storage and this is just for everyday use? So I'm confused by your question about the oxygen absorbers, because these aren't needed for pantry items in regular use? I wouldn't think that canning jars would be an efficient way to store things longer term--too small.
I use the Ball/Bernardin plastic storage lids and have never had one crack, with daily use. I also use glass (Natur brand) peanut butter jars with red plastic lids for dry pantry storage--again, no lid issues. Using the two-part canning lids for cupboard items would annoy the heck out of me.
I use two levels of food "storage" just because I feel more confident in doing it that way. My long term food storage (15 - 25 years with O2 absorbers) is the #10 cans of grain, beans, rice, flour, freeze-dried fruits, etc. My intermediate food storage (3 - 7 years with O2 absorbers) is what I keep in the Ball jars. My regular supply of food remains in whatever packaging the product comes in from the grocery store, since most of that is good for a year or two. I don't do MRE's, so I try to have things that I could combine for some taste variety. Some people like MRE's, but for the cost, I don't. Everyone is different though. I'm sure some folks think they are great. That's fine if you like to use them. I read a post from a former Army Ranger who said that when they were on strenuous manuvers and were given MRE's for their diet, the caloric content was insufficient to keep up their pace and they had to double up the amount of MRE's that they consumed to maintain their required pace. Add that to the cost, and I think I can do fine without them. That's why I do my storage like I do. It's simply my preference. I'm sure it has it's flaws too. Everything does.
For my intermediate term storage, I like the glass jars because I KNOW bug larvae can't develop in an atmosphere void of O2, and mice aren't going to chew through the glass or metal. With the rubberized seal, ants will not be able to infiltrate my dry goods either.
While I plan on using Mylar bags in the future to bolster my storage capacity and methods, there are a few things that I think are important to consider beforehand. We all know that animals have a keen sense of smell. Consequently, I think, that when you use the Mylar bags smaller than 5 gallons, they should be kept in a rodent-proof container. Don't keep them in a plastic bucket or Tupperware or Rubbermaid tub. I think of the food dust that gets on everything during the packing process. It's so fine that we can't see it all, but I can just about guarantee that a hungry rodent would be able to smell it on the bags unless you use gamma sealed buckets... I think. Plastic buckes, tubs, etc. will not stop a mouse or chipmunk or something of that nature from chewing through the plastic container, including the Mylar bags. I think since the 5 gallon bags are filled while in the bucket, the dust would not be on the outside of the Mylar bag, as opposed to filling gallon bags on the kitchen table with exposure to grain dust.
When I use the Mylar bags, they will be stored in 15 gallon steel drums with banded removable tops. I don't plan to bug out since I live where I do, but if I ever had to leave, the 15 gallon barrels that weigh about 130 pounds would be a whole lot easier to handle than a 55 gallon barrel. The same logic applies to barrels of water. A 55 gallon drum filled with water weighs over 700 pounds. No one will be moving that. Taking it a step further, before someone stores a 55 gallon drum of water in their house, it you have wooden floor joists, you should have the weight per square foot floor load calculated to see if it would hold over 700 pounds in that small an area.
This was a long explanation, but that's how I see the subject of food storage.
and other than a few clumps in the current one that is open the rest all seem to be free flowing still.
