Strong 5 Gallon Buckets

NickfromWI

NickfromWI

King of Splices
Joined
Mar 30, 2005
Messages
4,992
Location
Snowless California
We use em to haul soil away from trees that have excess soil piled around them. I've broken a few because the shitty wire handle just pops out. They aren't over loaded. We load them so a person can carry two of them up stairs without killing their shoulders. Yet still, they break.

I'm trying to find a better option. We get our buckets from Lowes or other local hardware stores and they are around $4 each. In googling for a better option I'm not finding anything that gives any reason for me to think it will be better than what we have.

Do you guys have an idea that may be better? I either need a better bucket or something better than a bucket than I am just not thinking of yet.

love
nick
 
Use the buckets a lot here ourselves for mulching and what not. Rope storage as well (not in the same work buckets).
NAPA has been giving some away here for free and they are sturdy.
I am going to also be switching over to a 10 or so gallon trash can. Both for larger hanks of rope and moving debris and mulch.

http://trashcansunlimited.com/pro898364.html

BruteContainerwithlid.jpeg
 
Firehouse Subs offers their empty pickle buckets for sale for $2 and the money goes to a charity.

Or Stephen's idea on the Rubbermaid Brute cans is also good. Look for local restaurant supply houses to find them in smaller sizes.
 
Thanks Al... I have been shooping about for them. Some people want an arm and a leg for em. There is one distributor that has yellow ones. I would love those for rope as I could also incorporate them into caution areas during work. I'll check and see if they have them as well.
 
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  • #6
I can't tell from the pic but is this 10 gallon bucket the type of thing that guy could easily carry 2 by grabbing one of those those side handles?

love
nick
 
The standard plastic buckets they ship just about anything in them like pickles ,cake icing, ketchup .Often times bakeries ,resteraunts like Arbys sell them for two bucks a pop .

The steel ones they ship driveway sealer and roofing tar etc .Probabley more sturdy but you have to deal with the tar residue .Not really a good option unless they were new unused .
 
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  • #10
Oh. Those a standard plastic ones are not tough enough to handle hauling soil. The handles keep giving out. Heavy clods of soil weigh enough that we only half-fill the buckets and its a hefty enough load if you are carrying two at a time.

Metal tar buckets you say? Lemme look into this.

Isn't there an app that can do this?

love
nick
 
FWIW they make a more heavy duty plastic pail they call a haz mat bucket for around 8 bucks a pop .--Google ---

Well yeah I guess if you're moving dirt with them an old tar or paint bucket wouldn't be such a big deal .Fact that be the case you could probabley find a driveway sealer person or a painter and get a pick up truck full for a case of beer .It's just something they throw away any way .
 
Nick,
Find a drywaller and get some of their empty joint compound buckets (Sheetrock brand by Letica Corp. in Rochester, Michigan are the sturdiest I have found).
The handles are much thicker wire and unless you crush them sideways they don't tend to crack and they d0 a fine job.
Joint compound is denser than dirt (hmm, ...I've ben accused of that, too?!?) and they hold up better than the cheapo Home Depot/Lowe's type buckets...
 
Al Smith said:
FWIW they make a more heavy duty plastic pail they call a haz mat bucket for around 8 bucks a pop .--Google ---

Well yeah I guess if you're moving dirt with them an old tar or paint bucket wouldn't be such a big deal .Fact that be the case you could probabley find a driveway sealer person or a painter and get a pick up truck full for a case of beer .It's just something they throw away any way .
Click to expand...
They all still use the same metal rod handles, though.
 
We haul dirt & rocks in 'em all day long and have NEVER had a handle go bad. I've got a guy with a barnfull of 'em and he sells them for $1.00 each. They're clean and he has other sizes of containers, too. He's in NEastern Vermont, but I'm guessing that they could be shipped. I'd have to make inquiries regarding the costs.
 
Get a hand truck with solid tires too. Then you can fill 2 or 3 buckets and pack them out at one time with less back stress. $35 A tire is cheap in the long run. Other outfits I worked for paid me alot of money over the years to air up wheel barrow tires.
 
sotc said:
Get a hand truck with solid tires too.
Click to expand...
On that plus wheel barrows there is another alternative .Simpley inner tube those little tires .Believe it or not they make tubes that small .Once installed they seldom ever leak like those cheapo tubeless tires they come with .
 
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  • #18
Wheel barrow will not work for us. Most of our clients are in the Hollywood hills and we deal a lot with very long stair cases. The dolly is a good idea that I've been considering. I'm sure a person could stack and move 4 buckets on a dolly faster than they could do two trips back and forth to the truck.

I just got get out there and find me a good dolly!
 
Check out Wesco...

http://www.wescomfg.com/

I got one of their aluminum handtrucks back in 1986.
It is still going strong (except for an S-curve imparted when I was rolling a 600 lb log across a lawn and tripped and it bounced on the frame)
They make cylinder handtrucks, too which would fit the curve of the stacked buckets so you wouldn't have to strap them in place...
 
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  • #20
THANKS PAT!!!! They look great, you know I'm a fan of aluminum vs steel, and their website says they have a local dealer about 20 minutes from me!!!

Soil moving aside, we've been meaning to get one for a while. This is gonna rock my world!
 
Sears sells laundry soap in large plastic buckets. We use an empty gallon milk jug, leave the handle but cut the other side top off, fill it from the bucket to keep close to the washing machine.

Sometimes they have the same product but only in cardboard boxes. We don't buy it then. Wait for the next batch in a bucket.

Takes a while to use all the soap, but when it's gone... free bucket.
 
Hand trucks come in many sizes ,shapes and price ranges .I have three myself ,an old oak railroad baggage cart that will probabley move a ton but it weighs a ton itself . An aluminum deal with solid tires that isn't worth a pinch of coon chit and a steel one .

The later came from Lowes with air filled tires which climb stairs very well or traverse a muddy lawn and will hold at least 3-400 pounds if you've got enough azz to move that much and all for under 50 bucks .
 
Nick,

These linemans bags made by Klein Tools are bulletproof. http://www.restockit.com/canvas-buc...88969&ci_sku=409-5109&kw={keyword}&adtype=pla They are canvas and tough as nails, I am sure once you got past the idea of getting em dirty they would handle as much dirt as you can and the thick rope handles are sure to hold up and be easier to carry.

They also make the best cabling buckets money can buy! There are cheaper models available at Harbor Freight but the Kleins are they best. Availiavle with/without spliced swivel snaps in the handle as well.
 
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