Never trust a 5 gallon pail...

D

dkemppai

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Went to horrible freight to buy four gallons of evaporust, and a couple of 5 gallon pails the other week.
Cleaned a big piece of chain in them and set them aside. Now, keep in mind I was very gentle lowering the chain into the pail. But wasn't too worried, I've got 5 gallon pails loaded full of logging chain that have held up to that for ever. I've seen buckets FULL of copper pipe fittings and nuts and bolts be manhandled for decades without issue. Even the big tumbler I made uses a 5 gallon pail. That was full of this chain and about 50 lbs of driveway gravel, rotating for about 6 hours without a problem.

HorribleFreight.jpg

This horrible freight pail, however decided to spring a leak. Who knows when. And let a whole bunch of my brand new evaporust run into the floor drain. Needless to say, I wasn't happy. Unloaded my whole vocabulary of unkind words at that bucket.

I think what happened, is the molding process leaves a little teet at the bottom center of the bucket. That sticks down below anything else around it. With any weight in the bucket that point load will crack the pail. The stupid thing is, that chain soaked in that pail for 2 days. It was only after the chain was removed that it leaked.

The really stupid thing, this is a MADE in USA pail!
 
dkemppai said:
Went to horrible freight to buy four gallons of evaporust, and a couple of 5 gallon pails the other week.
Cleaned a big piece of chain in them and set them aside. Now, keep in mind I was very gentle lowering the chain into the pail. But wasn't too worried, I've got 5 gallon pails loaded full of logging chain that have held up to that for ever. I've seen buckets FULL of copper pipe fittings and nuts and bolts be manhandled for decades without issue. Even the big tumbler I made uses a 5 gallon pail. That was full of this chain and about 50 lbs of driveway gravel, rotating for about 6 hours without a problem.

View attachment 459649

This horrible freight pail, however decided to spring a leak. Who knows when. And let a whole bunch of my brand new evaporust run into the floor drain. Needless to say, I wasn't happy. Unloaded my whole vocabulary of unkind words at that bucket.

I think what happened, is the molding process leaves a little teet at the bottom center of the bucket. That sticks down below anything else around it. With any weight in the bucket that point load will crack the pail. The stupid thing is, that chain soaked in that pail for 2 days. It was only after the chain was removed that it leaked.

The really stupid thing, this is a MADE in USA pail!
Click to expand...
Take it back to HF and explain to the manager what happened, they may comp you a few gallons of Evaporust.

John
 
matthewsx said:
Take it back to HF and explain to the manager what happened, they may comp you a few gallons of Evaporust.

John
Click to expand...
Yep, talked to a manager on the phone. They're going to cover the loss. He works again on Friday, I'll stop in then...

Turns out the loss was just slightly more than a gallon. So if they replace a gallon and refund the pails I'll be happy with that.

Need to find a source of better pails now.
 
Empty 5-gallon buckets from hydraulic fluid are very sturdy. I have several in my shop and often use them for purposes similar to yours. I've never had one leak even with very heavy metal parts in them. If you live anywhere near a farming community or have a heavy equipment facility nearby, they'll probably give you all the buckets you want.

Regards
 
dkemppai said:
I think what happened, is the molding process leaves a little teet at the bottom center of the bucket. That sticks down below anything else around it. With any weight in the bucket that point load will crack the pail.
Click to expand...

More likely because it's made from poor quality recycled material. Most polyethylene buckets are so tough you could spend all day trying to crack one and never succeed. The tramp materials that make their way into recycled stock make them brittle and less resistant to chemical attack.

Also, I wouldn't put too much faith in a Made in USA mark........especially at HF. They'll never win any truth in advertising awards. That might just mean that's where they snapped the wire handle on.

Best,
Kelly
 
@682bear FireHouse subs. Never heard of them before: "No Location near you.". Lol!

@kcoffield These have a "Made in USA" and company name and contact info 'proudly' molded into the bottom. I think they are legit USA made, but maybe to HF spec. You may be right about the recycled materials stream.

Side question. Are you the Kelly Coffield doing the metal casting on youtube?
 
Burger King will sell pickle buckets for a buck or two.

Yes, lots of plastic stuff made in USA these days. Some very good, some built to a price point.

John
 
Made in USA has some pretty strict regulatory baggage attached.
www.ftc.gov

Complying with the Made in USA Standard

Introduction Basic Information About Made In USA Claims The Standard For Unqualified Made In USA Claims Qualified Claims Comparative Claims The FTC and The Customs Service Other Statutes What To Do About Violations Introduction The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is charged with preventing
www.ftc.gov www.ftc.gov
www.ftc.gov

FTC Issues Rule to Deter Rampant Made in USA Fraud

The Federal Trade Commission finalized a new rule that will crack down on marketers who make
www.ftc.gov www.ftc.gov
 
Even “trusted” pails can’t be trusted.

I grabbed a 5 gal that I’ve had for a while the other day to wash the truck and filled it halfway with soapy water.

Got halfway up the hallway and the handle snapped, which caused the bucket to drop and then split its side wide open.

New curse words were created that day…..damned plastic!
 
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