← Grain and flour storage H56-03 · Module 3 of 7 · Pages: 20 · Worksheets: 7

Bins, barrels and sacks

Which container for which grain and how much it holds, what is food-safe, how to seal grain airtight, how to arrange containers and keep them going year after year

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Bins, barrels and sacks

In short

  • A grain container must be food-grade, dry and clean, with a lid that seals. Where there are rats, metal only.
  • A 200 L drum holds roughly 150 kg of wheat or maize, a 120 L drum 85 kg, a 30 L bin 22 kg.
  • Never containers that held fuel, oil, paint, pesticides or chemicals, even washed.
  • Sealed airtight, dry grain runs out of oxygen and the insects in it die. The condition is grain at no more than 13 % moisture.
  • Containers on pallets or shelves, 10–15 cm (4–6 in) off the floor, 20–30 cm from the wall, with a gangway for inspection.

What's inside

Chapters

  1. Which container for what
  2. What a container must do
  3. Plastic: light, but not for rats
  4. Metal: safe from rodents
  5. Glass and jars
  6. Sacks: for transport and the short term
  7. Airtight storage
  8. Where and how to arrange containers
  9. Filling, cleaning and rotation
  10. A homemade grain chest
  11. What to do when a container fails
  12. Common mistakes
  13. Printable checklist

Worksheets

  • Capacity calculator
  • How many containers you need
  • Container budget
  • Container inventory
  • Larder and shelf plan
  • Container labels
  • The container year

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