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Mkay, before I start I want to clarify that the reasoning for this thread being in the Prep forum is because I was buying bulk food from WinCo and thus these are the results for all to share.
Alrighty...so my mylar bags came in, and I wanted to run to WinCo and buy a 5gal bucket and fill it with flour. However, I didn't want to pay for the weight of the bucket with the GAMMA lid along with the flour.
First thing I did was locate a manager and get the "okay" to proceed...
So, I grabbed two buckets and two GAMMA lids...lined one of them with my mylar bag and filled it with flour. After taking all of WinCo's whole wheat flour (which almost filled up my bucket) I threw on the GAMMA lid and ran to the checkout.
Here is where it gets interesting...
I estimate that the bucket contained about 45-50lbs of flour; however, I found an important fact about WinCo, their scales only go up to 30lbs. So, I'm a paratrooper- I figure "adapt and overcome, hooah!" An idea emerges...aren't there other scales in a grocery store? So, off to the deli we go!
Those scales only go to 30lbs as well...I estimate that there are probably meat scales in the back that go above 30lbs; nevertheless, the manager wasn't game past this point.
No worries, I figure I'll just put half and half in my buckets and just make both buckets flour (off to my truck to get another mylar bag).
Well here is where it gets interesting...after being charged with the flour, the teller had no idea how to subtract the weight of the buckets. So I took the loss (it was only a couple bucks anyways) and checked out.
Conclusion: If I want any more of bulk food, I will have to pack it in the supplied bags and buy it in small increments. So basically I'm going to have to pull out those small clear bags, put a twisty tie on it and buy it by a couple pounds at a time.
Lessons Learned:
1. The bulk food containers inside WinCo are not as full as they seem. Although they are about three feet tall, they are only about a foot deep (basically enough to fill a 5gal bucket). If there was a food scare, this would not last long.
2. GAMMA lids are worth their weight in gold. Being able to go back into a bucket and seal it back up again is invaluable.
3. This method is still less expensive than buying a bucket of food online and paying for the shipping (since the weight is going to be about 45lbs per bucket).
4. An empty 5gal food bucket from WinCo w/ a Gamma lid weighs 3.12lbs.
I posted this so you guys could learn from my experience...happy hunting.
Alrighty...so my mylar bags came in, and I wanted to run to WinCo and buy a 5gal bucket and fill it with flour. However, I didn't want to pay for the weight of the bucket with the GAMMA lid along with the flour.
First thing I did was locate a manager and get the "okay" to proceed...
So, I grabbed two buckets and two GAMMA lids...lined one of them with my mylar bag and filled it with flour. After taking all of WinCo's whole wheat flour (which almost filled up my bucket) I threw on the GAMMA lid and ran to the checkout.
Here is where it gets interesting...
I estimate that the bucket contained about 45-50lbs of flour; however, I found an important fact about WinCo, their scales only go up to 30lbs. So, I'm a paratrooper- I figure "adapt and overcome, hooah!" An idea emerges...aren't there other scales in a grocery store? So, off to the deli we go!
Those scales only go to 30lbs as well...I estimate that there are probably meat scales in the back that go above 30lbs; nevertheless, the manager wasn't game past this point.
No worries, I figure I'll just put half and half in my buckets and just make both buckets flour (off to my truck to get another mylar bag).
Well here is where it gets interesting...after being charged with the flour, the teller had no idea how to subtract the weight of the buckets. So I took the loss (it was only a couple bucks anyways) and checked out.
Conclusion: If I want any more of bulk food, I will have to pack it in the supplied bags and buy it in small increments. So basically I'm going to have to pull out those small clear bags, put a twisty tie on it and buy it by a couple pounds at a time.
Lessons Learned:
1. The bulk food containers inside WinCo are not as full as they seem. Although they are about three feet tall, they are only about a foot deep (basically enough to fill a 5gal bucket). If there was a food scare, this would not last long.
2. GAMMA lids are worth their weight in gold. Being able to go back into a bucket and seal it back up again is invaluable.
3. This method is still less expensive than buying a bucket of food online and paying for the shipping (since the weight is going to be about 45lbs per bucket).
4. An empty 5gal food bucket from WinCo w/ a Gamma lid weighs 3.12lbs.
I posted this so you guys could learn from my experience...happy hunting.