watson.fawkes - 17-4-2011 at 16:39
I picked up some of these screw top pails locally. They are Life Latch® New Generation Containers, from M&M Industries. They're quite good, much better than the
pictures indicate. As the name indicates, they have a screw-on top. It's not more than 180° of rotation from the point the screw catches to
when the lid is closed tight. The screw action seats the top lip of the pail into an O-ring in the lid, assuring an air-tight seal. In addition, the
top of the pail has a ratchet gear around its top circumference. The lid has a matching pawl that engages the gear, locking the lid in place once
sealed. This means the lid won't loosen over time from thermal cycling or random handling. The pawl and its integral thumb release are the little red
bit of plastic you can see in the photos.
The pail and lid are HDPE, so there's good material compatibility for many chemicals. Lacking a proper acid storage cabinet, I'm storing bulk acids in
them. A one gallon jug of Rooto sulfuric, for example, fits just fine in the 5 gallon size. Since they have a positive seal, they're also good for
storing bulk quantities of hygroscopic substances. I've also been transferring bagged materials materials into them. The 6.5 gallon size will take a
50 lb. sack of most moderately-dense materials with no leftovers.
As for buying them, the manufacturer's web site has a distributors map. The larger sizes are also carried by Uline.
Not that folks here really require it, but there's also a slot in the lid that matches up with one around the strengthening top ring of the pail, so
that a cable tie can be looped around the whole thing for tamper evidence. The Uline site also has links to drop tests (here's one) where they fill them with sand and drop them from four feet.
smuv - 17-4-2011 at 17:24
I agree, I have been shipped reagents in pails like this. They are very good quality. I think this style container is the standard for bulk
reagents, a lot of large quantity stuff we received where I worked (like celite and sodium sulfite) were also shipped in these style pails. So if you
look hard enough or know someone who works in a lab, you might be able to get these free!