Flex seal for buried ammo cans?

[BogWalker]

I've got a few ammo cans that are as wide as .50 cals, but much longer and taller. They're really impractically large for my uses. I don't want to sell them, so I figure they would make a good container for a buried cache. They're big enough to fit just about anything short of an AK in; I could probably throw a complete AR parts kit into one.

They've got rubber seals on them, but they had evidently been exposed to heat as the seals had lightly melted the cans shut. I could do a water seal test in the backyard pond, but I want to make sure they're sealed well.

I've got two cans of that spray on flex seal from Rural King sitting around from a previous project. What do you guys think about spraying this around the can seals once I close it up? Would take a bit of work to get open, but that's far less of a concern than water getting in. I hate to do it, but the best places I have to bury them are potential flood zones.

Anyone else just buried ammo cans? How'd you go about sealing them and their contents? Must find some desiccants. Favorite brand of paint for can exteriors?

Do flood zones affect frost line by any method?

 

[Double T]

I'm fairly certain flex seal didn't work for water stuff my mom tried using it for.

dump the ammo in a 5 gallon bucket. Seal it. And then use roofing pitch to waterproof it, coat the entire dang thing.

 

[wolfman]

No matter how good the paint is, steel when buried will rust. Considering how thin ammo cans are, you would probably only get a couple of years of being water tight, before the possibility of rust through would occur.

 

[BogWalker]

No matter how good the paint is, steel when buried will rust. Considering how thin ammo cans are, you would probably only get a couple of years of being water tight, before the possibility of rust through would occur.

Paint won't slow it down considerably?

 

[actaeon277]

I think the problem is, it only takes a weak spot to compromise rust protection. Would be better off with pvc.

 

[wolfman]

Paint won't slow it down considerably?

Only if there is no defect of any kind. Where ever there are 2 pieces of metal welded or bonded together, there is the potential for a thin spot or void in the finish. Even a small scratch will allow moisture to get under the paint, and corrosion to start eating the metal. Just remember that ammo cans are built to be disposable/expendable, so the paint although better than nothing, isn't even close to the quality of an automotive finish.

 

[indychad]

I think I would try to pack everything inside so that if it did rust the contents would not be ruined. I also would consider spray undercoating applied to the outside. After a few good coats of that, I would caulk the lid closed and be happy that I have a stash.

 

[Cpt Caveman]

2 words, bed liner. Its pricey but man that stuff is bomb proof. You'd have to cut it away from the lid and hasp to get it open but I bet it wouldn't rust.

 

[Trigger Time]

You can make new gaskets. Or the old ones will probably still hold. I wouldn't rely on spray stuff. I'd make new ones

 

[Tactical Dave]

Large PCV with caps and the purple glue that pumbers use. Far easier to burry and won't rust or leak... After all its deigned to keep water in or out....

 

[docapos]

from my experience a good rust resistant spray paint will go pretty far with an ammo can, just check out some geocaches if you don't believe me.

also think about waterproofing the individual material with trash bags or vacuum bags(the cheaper harbor freight kind) that way you get layers of protection

 

[dirtfarmerz]

Large PCV with caps and the purple glue that pumbers use. Far easier to burry and won't rust or leak... After all its deigned to keep water in or out....

Why would anyone want to bury a gun or ammo? It's purple primer with PVC glue and the whole package is cheap. You get the diameter you need and cut to length. You can stick a rifle in it or just ammo. If you're going to do this, find a place that is sandy and high ground, not a water soaked bog. Ground drains = no worries + easier to dig up if it's frozen.

 

[eric001]

Second that idea of high ground, if for no other reason than something waterproofed and airtight would eventually float its way up and out of the soil if it was waterlogged or flooded for long enough. If you're going to cache something, I'm pretty sure you'd like it to still be there when you went looking for it at some later time. Also, PVC is for all intents and purposes effectively permanently waterproofed once correctly glued closed--just keep in mind that you would have to physically cut through it to get that glued cap back off, and the bigger pipe diameters are correspondingly thicker and tougher to get back open.

 

[Zoub]

If the can and the air inside it, even the contents to some degree are "warm" when you seal it, as it cools down that will also help to pull a tighter seal. Of course you need to seal it while it is still warm. As it cools it will contract pulling the lid tighter.

 

[wolfman]

Second that idea of high ground, if for no other reason than something waterproofed and airtight would eventually float its way up and out of the soil if it was waterlogged or flooded for long enough. If you're going to cache something, I'm pretty sure you'd like it to still be there when you went looking for it at some later time. Also, PVC is for all intents and purposes effectively permanently waterproofed once correctly glued closed--just keep in mind that you would have to physically cut through it to get that glued cap back off, and the bigger pipe diameters are correspondingly thicker and tougher to get back open.

Seal a hacksaw blade inside a piece of 3/4" thin wall water pipe and duct tape it to the outside of the larger pipe. This way you will have easy access to a tool to get the larger pipe open.

 

[dudley0]

Why not use threaded end cap? Seal it with teflon or dope and it should hold out... or so I would think. As long as it is all below the frost line.

 

[silentvoice71]

Coat with it spray on bed liner. Prime it with good rust stop primer then coat it with bed liner.... Stops rust and its durable!

 

[Leo]

Any single layer protection system will have problems. If you do the best you can with each layer, you will be far better. Plastic bag seal everything in the can. Wrap the plastic bags in wax paper and seal with wax. Plastic bag seal it again. Put those bundles into the can. Make sure the can is sealed well and plastic bag seal the outside of the can. Wrap the whole mess in multiple layers of tar paper to keep soil movements from poking holes in the plastic.

I stashed a can like this in the ground in 1995 just in case. I dug it up in fall of 2006 before I moved to Texas. There was a couple of drops of water that had made it to the outside of the can and made a little surface rust, but everything inside the can was dry.

 

[irishfan]

I have never been a fan of burying a metal object such as an ammo can. A 4-6" PVC tube with a can on one end and a threaded cap on the other will give you the same storage with better water resistance. Also, don't be afraid to vacuum seal your contents with a food saver as it is an extra layer of protection. Finally, you can use roofing tar if you absolutely feel you need an extra layer of protection on the ends as it will hold but you really don't need it if you seal the PVC correctly.

Of course this works if you decide you want to bury something which I would never do