Jan
15
How much of X will fit in a 5 gallon bucket
Jan 15, 2009
One of the most common search phrases that leads people to my site is “How much of x will fit in a 5 gallon bucket”. So for your conveince here is the information that I have gathered from both books, the internet and personal experiance.
- Rice = 34-36 lbs.
- Wheat = 34-36 lbs.
- Cracked Wheat = 25-28 lbs.
- Popcorn (unpopped of course) = 34-36 lbs.
- Corn = 32-36 lbs.
- Cornmeal = 22-27 lbs.
- Flour = 23-25 lbs.
- Rolled oats = 15-19 lbs.
- Macaroni = 16-23 lbs.
- Powdered Milk = 22-25 lbs.
- Sugar – white = 29-34 lbs.
- Sugar – brown = 30-36 lbs.
- Salt = 36-38 lbs.
- Navy beans = 35-38 lbs.
- Whole or Split peas = 33-35 lbs.
- Black Beans = 33-35 lbs.
- Lentils = 30-33 lbs.
- Black eye peas = 30-33 lbs.
There you have it and I hope it helps. Remember to use food grade buckets when storing your food. On a side note I picked up an empty paint bucket from Home Depot because it had a recycle symbol with a 2 in it. I have read that you can assume if you see that then the bucket is food grade but I did some research and found conflicting reports so I called the manufacture and they confirmed the the paint buckets they sell are NOT food grade. This should let you know that you can’t just trust the recycle symbol on a bucket. Verify with the manufacture before using any bucket you are unsure of. A common sense rule would be if it has the recycle symbol with a 2 and you know it previously held food then it should be safe (insert evil smiley for stating the odvious).
January 16th, 2009 at 9:40 am
[...] How much of X will fit in a 5 gallon bucket « Everyday Prepper One of the most common search phrases that leads people to my site is “How much of x will fit in a 5 gallon bucket”. So for your conveince here is the information that I have gathered from both books, the internet and personal experiance. [...]
January 16th, 2009 at 9:44 am
I have actually filled the buckets and have a slightly more accurate set of numbers with calorie count at:
http://www.bearridgeproject.com/2008/07/food-storage-real-numbers.html
Flour is the hardest to gauge.
January 16th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
I can get a twenty pound bag of flour in a five gallon pail with a little room left over.
What? No ammo count for five pound pails? WAAAAAA (Just kidding- I’m in a whining mode today.)
Shy
February 1st, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Thanks for this info… It helped us when figuring out replacement cost for insurance for my grandma’s food storage after a housefire.
February 2nd, 2009 at 7:35 pm
I also called the bucket company that supplies Home Depot. They were VERY helpful and said the orange universal painters bucket you referenced was not tested for food grade consistency. They said they couldn’t think of a reason you couldn’t use it for same if heat-sealing your dry goods in mylar inside the bucket. Their generic response is “It’s not food grade, thank you {CLICK}”. But I spoke at length and he (the VP of production for LEAKTITE) said he doesn’t see why it would be an issue. Just thought I’d pass it on…I thought the plastic bucket was more for pest control and another barrier against elements/sharp edges and such that would split a sealed mylar bag. Don’t know how anything could leech thru mylar. Cheers all! No offense just information sharing…
June 10th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
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