Cache containers

[+Team_Vod]

So far I have come across 6 different types of cache containers.

 

1. Official geocache container with the green geocache label on the lid. The one I found has an official yellow cover geocache log book in it and is plenty large for swag.

 

2. Small metal Bison tube. Only enough room for a small rolled up log.

 

3. Small plastic tube with cap with a magnet taped to it. I have noticed with this style the log tends to get wet very easily and only enough room for a small rolled up log. This has been one of the most common I have found.

 

4. Prescription medicine bottle of various sizes. One was not covered in camo tape, another is. Depending on how well this type is kept sealed and how well it is placed it also tends to get wet on the inside and is vulnerable to being affected by the elements such as sunlight and the cold. One I came across seemed pretty brittle. Depending on the size of these determines if they have swag or enough room for swag.

 

5. This one I can only describe as looking like the threaded top of two plastic bottles were inverted and glued together and the bottle caps were screwed on but one was glued so it cannot be un-threaded. I have come across two sizes of these. The larger are gray in color and a smaller one is green. The inside of this style looks to have something that looks like hardened sealant of some sort. It is not flat on the bottom. This style only has room for a log. This has been one of the most common style I have found.

 

6. A book. I kid you not one of the cache containers is a hard cover book at the public library. Part of its title is "Biology". After so far into the book the pages are neatly cut as to hollow out the book so it can be used as a cache container. To retrieve the cache a geocacher first has to find the location of the book and pull a fake book with a photocopy of the book cover on a foam block and take it to the reference desk to ask for the actual book. This is the largest size cache container I have come across so far. Lots of swag items. This is the only one I have come across so far that has had a pens/pencils in it.

 

7. Magnet key holders. These have room for small swag items and a log.

 

Of these I think the book is by far the coolest one. Of course it has to be kept inside because it is paper, but I still think it is a cool cache container.

 

From what I understand there can be actual ammo cans, coffee cans, and even buckets used as cache containers. Has anyone ever found something as large as a 5 gallon bucket being used? How would something like that be hidden? What about wooden boxes such as cedar chests or even heavy steel tool boxes or steel storage boxes? I ask because from what I understand there are no set in stone requirements for containers just very helpful recommendations and guidelines. In fact I think it even says a container can be anything that hold objects.

[+Touchstone]

Nothing set in stone. Weatherproof is a good idea. The largest container I've found was basically a metal footlocker. It was hidden in an old redwood stump.

[+GeoTrekker26]

It's all in the name: 45 GALLON CACHE. Look through the gallery.

[+Harry Dolphin]

I found four ammo cans today on a three mile hike in the Newark Watershed! I have found two five-gallon buckets. Neither were waterproof.

[+kunarion]

From what I understand there can be actual ammo cans, coffee cans, and even buckets used as cache containers. Has anyone ever found something as large as a 5 gallon bucket being used? How would something like that be hidden? What about wooden boxes such as cedar chests or even heavy steel tool boxes or steel storage boxes? I ask because from what I understand there are no set in stone requirements for containers just very helpful recommendations and guidelines. In fact I think it even says a container can be anything that hold objects.

A friend has one of the oldest caches in the county where I live. It's a 5-gallon paint bucket and for years had the factory snap-down paint bucket lid. The container would always get a lot of water inside, a gallon or more of standing water. And that lid was hard to close and super hard to open. So I set up a Gamma Lid for him, which seals with an O-ring. I also set up a similar bucket in my back yard, and didn't open it for 4 months. Both buckets still accumulated the same large amount of water. The buckets are cool and all being huge, but waterproof they ain't. A bucket will get water inside due to condensation in humid places, and its size seems to force water past the seal, due to air pressure changes. Oh yeah, and also, people seem to not know how to close it properly.

 

Regular-sized ammo cans can be bought for $12 or less. If you're very lucky, someone may buy pallets of them and sell them locally (shipping costs will kill you). They have a solidly clamping lid and a specially designed rubber seal. They're designed so they don't leak. But once people open them in the rain, or close a ziplock bag in the seal, water gets in, but the seal won't let it out. It's another container that cachers can't figure out how to open or close, but they have similar problems with just about any container. Cachers trouble with hand-eye coordination.

 

Hide a paint bucket in a place where passers-by won't bother it. The one in my example is among boulders surrounded by brush, by a lake, so fishermen are busy fishing. Of course, the situation changed over time, but the plan was to place it in a quiet spot.

 

Hide other big containers in places where cachers might dare to go, but where people playing in the park don't tend to venture. One way to check a hide idea (which I use a lot) is to place the "regular" sized box where you think best (with a couple of trinkets, maybe), then wait a few months without activating it as a cache. If nobody bothers it, that's a good sign.

Edited May 22, 2016 by kunarion

[+T.D.M.22]

A cache container can be anything. Literally. It's not "can this be a cache" it's "how can it be a cache" Ammo cans. Buckets. Small toys. Things made from PVC pipe. Actual logs and branches from trees. Things made to look like a berry. Seen one cache that someone made with a bison tube, ,agents, and a door lock. Placed on a metal door, it looked like it belongs there. I've found a 55 gallon drum. And even a small building (about the size of a 1 car garage) although technically the building wasn't the cache, it was set up for a while themed thing.

[+TheAuthorityFigures]

Has anyone ever found something as large as a 5 gallon bucket being used? How would something like that be hidden?

Yup. GC5EHA1, in this case, it was sunk in the ground up to the lid which was flush with the ground. Technically it violates guidelines, but folks just love massive caches like this.

[+Team_Vod]

Wasn't the very first cache container a 5 gallon bucket that was buried in the ground by the grandfather, Dave Ulmer, of geocaching?

[+kunarion]

Wasn't the very first cache container a 5 gallon bucket that was buried in the ground by the grandfather, Dave Ulmer, of geocaching?

Yes. It was called a "Stash". He even put a can of food inside it.

 

The oldest Geocache in Georgia is also a 5-gallon bucket, in a hole up to the lid. It floats in the hole at times. There's a secondary container inside to help keep things dry.

[+Team_Vod]

Wasn't the very first cache container a 5 gallon bucket that was buried in the ground by the grandfather, Dave Ulmer, of geocaching?

Yes. It was called a "Stash". He even put a can of food inside it.

 

The oldest Geocache in Georgia is also a 5-gallon bucket, in a hole up to the lid. It floats in the hole at times. There's a secondary container inside to help keep things dry.

 

So if the very first geocache was actually buried in the ground when and why was a rule created against it? Why not have the rule/guideline state need to check with owner, municipality or governing body of the location for permission to bury the cache?

[+kunarion]

Wasn't the very first cache container a 5 gallon bucket that was buried in the ground by the grandfather, Dave Ulmer, of geocaching?

Yes. It was called a "Stash". He even put a can of food inside it.

 

The oldest Geocache in Georgia is also a 5-gallon bucket, in a hole up to the lid. It floats in the hole at times. There's a secondary container inside to help keep things dry.

 

So if the very first geocache was actually buried in the ground when and why was a rule created against it? Why not have the rule/guideline state need to check with owner, municipality or governing body of the location for permission to bury the cache?

Over time, guidelines were added when really bad problems developed with buried caches. And because monkey see monkey do. So to speak.

[+barefootjeff]

These are containers I've used on some of my themed hides.

 

 

On others I've just gone for the common Sistema clip-lock plastic containers (our equivalent of the US Lock'n'Lock). Your imagination is the limit.

 

Jeff

[+niraD]

Has anyone ever found something as large as a 5 gallon bucket being used? How would something like that be hidden?

The first cache I found was a plastic footlocker, lowered into a hollow redwood stump. The top of the stump was even with the trail, and the plastic footlocker was turned on end and lowered into the hollow. It didn't seal very well. Everything inside was damp. (Condensation of fog provides a significant portion of a coastal redwood tree's water needs.)

 

I've also found some large size ammo cans. IIRC, they were ammo cans originally used for mortars, and had a volume of about 6 gallons. They worked well. One was painted to look like concrete, and was placed under a footbridge, next to its concrete foundation. Another was painted green and placed in a bush, near the owner's place of work, so he and his coworkers could keep an eye on it.

 

I don't recall ever finding an actual 5-gallon bucket. It doesn't surprise me that others have found them full of water though. I've used them as part of a "poor man's dry bag" on whitewater canoe trips, but the bucket provided only structural protection. The two 4mil plastic bags inside provided the waterproof seal.

 

What about wooden boxes such as cedar chests or even heavy steel tool boxes or steel storage boxes?

I've found a couple wooden puzzle boxes. These were kept inside a sealed bag, inside a sealed plastic container, in a sheltered location, and they still showed signs of moisture damage.

 

In fact I think it even says a container can be anything that hold objects.

Yeah, pretty much. I've seen any number of custom caches that used oddball containers that worked for that specific cache's unique requirements. One of mine (now archived ) used a wide-mouth water bottle:

 

 

And here's a section from the beginners tips that I've posted before: "[Look] at some of the cache containers available online. For example, check out the cache containers sold by Groundspeak. Also, take a look at the Pictures - Cool Cache Containers (CCC's) thread in the forums, and check out some geocaching videos on YouTube."

[+noncentric]

From what I understand there can be actual ammo cans, coffee cans, and even buckets used as cache containers. Has anyone ever found something as large as a 5 gallon bucket being used? How would something like that be hidden? What about wooden boxes such as cedar chests or even heavy steel tool boxes or steel storage boxes? I ask because from what I understand there are no set in stone requirements for containers just very helpful recommendations and guidelines. In fact I think it even says a container can be anything that hold objects.

Almost anything can be turned into a geocaching container. Deciding what things to use requires some consideration. Obviously, a huge consideration is how watertight the container is. No one likes opening a container to find a sopping mess. Another big consideration is whether the container looks harmless - think bomb scare. Creating a geocache that resembles a pipe bomb or grenade is a bad idea and may result in the cache being 'neutralized' by the local bomb squad.

• Ammo cans - yep, found quite a few of these. Usually on hiking/biking trails. These are great containers to use for caching, although it's advisable to paint over the military/ammo markings to minimize 'bomb squad scares' in case it's found by muggles.
  
• Coffee cans - yep, found a couple of these. These are usually pretty poor at keeping out water. They can also be problematic if they still smell like coffee, since critters may get curious and 'relocate' the container.
  
• Buckets - yep, found a couple of these. This one is pretty famous. I've also found one that used a cat litter bucket as its container. These are notoriously bad at keeping out water, so they either need to be well protected from the elements or utilize additional containers inside.
  
• Other 'larger' containers that come to mind: the 'trunk' compartment of a tractor, a rocket box (an ammo can that fits a rocket), a lock-n-lock type container hidden inside a tree stump (large enough to hold a cuckoo clock).

[+Wet Pancake Touring Club]

From what I understand there can be actual ammo cans, coffee cans, and even buckets used as cache containers. Has anyone ever found something as large as a 5 gallon bucket being used? How would something like that be hidden? What about wooden boxes such as cedar chests or even heavy steel tool boxes or steel storage boxes? I ask because from what I understand there are no set in stone requirements for containers just very helpful recommendations and guidelines. In fact I think it even says a container can be anything that hold objects.

And, in your OP, you seem to be limiting yourself to recycling containers from other purposes. Some build their own. Check out WVTim on youtube for gadget caches. And then there is this, an ammo can that you can walk inside of.

[+KatnissRue]

Here is one of mine hidden in a library.

 

 

It's a hollowed out book with a working clock on the front. Themed after a time traveling character from a series that I like.

[+Claystalker]

I found a small trailer once that was padlocked and the combo was on the license plate. It was in a storage unit parking lot.

[+The A-Team]

Has anyone ever found something as large as a 5 gallon bucket being used?

I own one. It's been a while since I checked on it (I'm going to very soon), but there haven't been any issues reported like those described by others here. I must have gotten lucky.

 

I also own a 200-litre (55-gallon) barrel cache. It has a locking lid with an excellent seal, so it works great as a waterproof cache container.

 

How would something like that be hidden?

With much consideration. It took a while to find the right kind of area to hide a 5-gallon bucket or a 55-gallon barrel. Since it's pretty hard to hide a huge barrel (you can't just cover it with some sticks and leaves!), I made sure to camouflage the barrel to make it less obvious (see the gallery photos). It's also hidden in a wooded area, off the beaten track where it's unlikely for muggles to stumble upon it. Even then, at least one muggle has managed to find it while ducking into the bush to relieve himself.

[+lee737]

We recenty found a 2000 cache in a nearby forest. It is a 5 gal bucket (20L) - buried to the ground surace and covered in leaf litter. The CO had used an approach I hadn't seen - rocks in the bottom, presumably to provide a 'sump' area, and a second container on top of the rocks holding the logbook/TBs etc. The original logbook was in place, dry as a bone. GIven this forest would be as damp a place you can imagine around here, it was quite shocking to find such an old log, and so dry... Its certainly a good idea to use a container-in-container especially for regular sized and above.....

[+narcissa]

We recenty found a 2000 cache in a nearby forest. It is a 5 gal bucket (20L) - buried to the ground surace and covered in leaf litter. The CO had used an approach I hadn't seen - rocks in the bottom, presumably to provide a 'sump' area, and a second container on top of the rocks holding the logbook/TBs etc. The original logbook was in place, dry as a bone. GIven this forest would be as damp a place you can imagine around here, it was quite shocking to find such an old log, and so dry... Its certainly a good idea to use a container-in-container especially for regular sized and above.....

 

Unfortunately, caches like that are pretty rare because of the guideline about burying caches. But it is sometimes kind of neat to find oldies that got grandfathered in. I'm always amazed at how well some of them hold up.

[+Ant89]

Good way to hide a large cache is to put it somewhere that it will fit into the environment. A 30l barrel could be hidden in plain sight if made to look like a game bird feeder as an example.

 

 

Just remember to seal up any holes you make in the sides.

[curlingfan11]

Has anyone ever found something as large as a 5 gallon bucket being used? How would something like that be hidden?

The first cache I found was a plastic footlocker, lowered into a hollow redwood stump. The top of the stump was even with the trail, and the plastic footlocker was turned on end and lowered into the hollow. It didn't seal very well. Everything inside was damp. (Condensation of fog provides a significant portion of a coastal redwood tree's water needs.)

 

I've also found some large size ammo cans. IIRC, they were ammo cans originally used for mortars, and had a volume of about 6 gallons. They worked well. One was painted to look like concrete, and was placed under a footbridge, next to its concrete foundation. Another was painted green and placed in a bush, near the owner's place of work, so he and his coworkers could keep an eye on it.

 

I don't recall ever finding an actual 5-gallon bucket. It doesn't surprise me that others have found them full of water though. I've used them as part of a "poor man's dry bag" on whitewater canoe trips, but the bucket provided only structural protection. The two 4mil plastic bags inside provided the waterproof seal.

 

What about wooden boxes such as cedar chests or even heavy steel tool boxes or steel storage boxes?

I've found a couple wooden puzzle boxes. These were kept inside a sealed bag, inside a sealed plastic container, in a sheltered location, and they still showed signs of moisture damage.

 

In fact I think it even says a container can be anything that hold objects.

Yeah, pretty much. I've seen any number of custom caches that used oddball containers that worked for that specific cache's unique requirements. One of mine (now archived ) used a wide-mouth water bottle:

 

 

And here's a section from the beginners tips that I've posted before: "[Look] at some of the cache containers available online. For example, check out the cache containers sold by Groundspeak. Also, take a look at the Pictures - Cool Cache Containers (CCC's) thread in the forums, and check out some geocaching videos on YouTube."

 

What this cacher said. Pintrest, YouTube, even online stores including the official Geocaching Store have 'ideas'

[+ByronForestPreserve]

I have a five gallon bucket cache. I've described it before, and Kunarion, I got the Gamma Seal for it based on your original post (the results weren't yet in). The bucket is under a fake plastic boulder, and set up so that when in place, the bucket is upside down (lid down) and off the ground. It has remained beautifully dry for just over two years. I've never even seen it damp, and as it's just outside my work office, I check on it often.

 

About a year ago I put out a deck storage box. It's big. Like 30 gallon storage big, and painted like a pirate treasure chest. I did put a second container inside for the log and swag--the company claimed the box is waterproof, but it's definitely not watertight, nor even insect-tight. Still, it seems to be pretty dry inside.

 

The last large one I'm going to try is a pet food storage container. It looks like a small barrel and has something like the Gamma Lid. "Guaranteed" water tight, and pretty easy to open and thread closed. We'll see about that one. Not sure yet about cammo, either.

 

Anyway, SUX VR 40 Rider, anything and everything can be used as a geocache container. Some of those things probably shouldn't be used, but are anyway.

[+Trucker Lee]

Any container that seals can have problems with condensation. Humid air gets in when open, when the container cools the moisture condenses on the walls. With this in mind, I am experimenting with wicking condensation back to the outside and remaining bug proof. Wish us all luck with this.