Ellen sent us 200 of the mylar bags she has for sale, and we tried them out. They are great! The only thing tricky about them is getting the valve on the plug shut before the air can get back in, but we found out that if you tape part of a vacuum cleaner's flat nozzle attachment with duct tape (not shown in pictures) you can hold it over the valve hole till the air is all vacuumed out, then quickly turn the valve all the way to the right to seal in the vacuum. Ellen's post here in the forum: http://www.preparedsociety.com/foru...rage-bags-2-gallon-see-photos-5399/#post54787 Her other site and address: Survivalist Forum - View Single Post - Mylar Water Storage Bags 2+ Gallon SEE PHOTOS I am anxious to see how they will do for long-term seed storage. The recent thread that Lotsoflead had about 5-year-old wheatberries sprouting at 100% germination is awesome! http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f36/sprouted-stored-wheat-berries-5663/#post58507 - Basey
Wow Thanks so much for the tutorial. We have not used a vacuum to seal ours before. I am definitely going to give it a try! I appreciate the photos.
We heard a few kernals come up through the valve, not many, dozen or so... you have to be a little careful.
I was wondering the same thing. I'm thinking of rubber-banding a piece of cheese cloth over the vacuum hose to stop any from being sucked up.
Does she have bags that you can put larger items in like ammo, toiletries, water purifier elements, block yeast, etc.? If so, what do you have to do to then vacuum seal therm? Thanks, Bill
These will hold ammo but I don't think I would use them for that. Everything that goes in them has to fit through the opening. Just remember they were manufactured for use with liquids. They work nicely for grains and small pastas, etc.
Thanks Ellen, Do you have access to, or know where to get Mylar bags more like the Ronco Seal-a-Meal bags, or something like that? I've been looking around for a sealer and bags for some time now with no real luck. Thanks, Bill
I don't know where to get the heat-sealing Mylar bags. Maybe check Amazon; they seem to have some very random items. Also, try www.waltonfeed.com They should carry a selection of Mylar bags.
I just ordered some heat seal bags from https://www.usaemergencysupply.com/. After comparing prices they were competitive and had exactly what I wanted.
I got mine off of eBay. I checked a bunch of sellers before I found one that had good reviews and seemed like a good supplier. Got 60 1 gallon bags plus 60 300cc absorbers for 23.99 plus shipping if I recall.
I don't know why this thread slid into heat-seal and or seal-a-meal type bags... You don't need to buy special equipment for these, you don't need electrical power you just pop out the valve-plug, fill it, replace the plug, vacuum out the air (even by mouth works) and you are done. Nothing else required. I'm not trying to sell anyone on these for Ellen, I just like the simplicity of it all. I think we lost a MAXIMUM of about 10 to 12 kernels of wheat out of maybe 50,000+ kernals in the bag while vacuuming the air out, that's all! ... sorry if that caused any panic here... They are good for liquids as well... emergency water supply etc. - BC
Hi BasecampUSA, The simple answer to your question is that Mylar bags are awesome! There are just some things that I'd like to seal in them that won't fit through the small opening. Definitely not worried about losing a few kernels of wheat ; - ) All the Best, Bill
Heh... yeah, that's a problem, and ziplocks don't always do the job. I took my trash to the transfer station today, and at the "recycle room" next door, I found a brand new Black & Decker 12" wide heat sealer... shoulda kept my mouth shut about having to "buy" additional equipment
Sounds like a great find Basey! Now you can find the new bags and let us know ; - ) All the Best, Bill
I cannot get the black plug out! I have tried to use a screw driver with no luck. What am I doing wrong??? Help!!
