last shopping trip

HI Tadeo----Try Honeyville.com the have Ox Absorbers-----Shalmar

USA Emergency Supply - they're on the internet. Nice people to deal with.

Shalmar, went to honeyville.com and could not find.  I'll try USA emergency supply.  Thanks to both of ya.

You're welcome. Good catch Shalmar and SusanT - Honeyville Grain have great prices on oxygen absorbers. Going to order some myself today. I couldn't find mylar bags though, but USA Emergency Supply have the large ones reasonably priced.  

I use a round piece of wood (an old oar, actually) and a non stick iron. I've had no problems with it, therefore it's officially foolproof. Some people use a flat piece of wood, but this method works for me. Set the iron on high (linen/cotton) and don't be too gentle. I run over it a few times until I have a seal about 1/2" wide and it's always held. I did put some photos on a picture sharing site that I took a little while ago. Hope they explain it better.

USA Emergency Supply. They have large bags that fit nicely into a 5 gallon bucket (or a 6 gallon if you can find them cheap). I can't remember the size, but they're the largest non ziplock ones they carry, and they have enough material left above the seal to allow you to write a description of the contents and the sealing date on them with a marker pen. Remember to carefully pull as much air out with a straw to give the O2 absorbers as little oxygen as possible to work with. A day after I've sealed the bag it's pulled down so hard around the contents you can make out individual grains of rice.

Yep - just wash them out and they should be fine. I've even used the square buckets that unscented cat litter comes in. The mylar bags punture easily, so all the buckets are for is protect the bag and provide a physical barrier to prevent rats and the like getting to the food (which is unlikely as the mylar seals the smell inside so they don't even know it's there).

Just checked their site. The O2 absorbers are quite a bit more more expensive than the ones I just got from Honeyville Grain, but the mylar bags are cheaper than the ones I've bought in the past from USA Emergency Supply (I use the 20" x 30" size). Thanks for posting that - some good info on their site. I wouldn't bother with the sealing equipment they have though - a non stick iron does the same thing for a lot less.  

Wow - just checked the site out. They're pretty hardcore, aren't they? The cat litter thing is about desiccants. They're used to absorb moisture. Some people do it because food in a low or zero oxygen environment with too high of a moisture content can allow micro-organisms to grow that are extremely dangerous. You can use desiccants, or you can just dry the food out before you package it. Here in So Cal the humidity is so low most of the time I didn't bother. Cool site though - I'll have to check it out when I have more time.