Underground Caching

7/29/2019 Underground Caching

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Underground CachingRich “Raspy” Shawver

So you have decided it might be prudent to sequester some items under the earth and out

of sight for times of trouble.

As to the type of trouble you are expecting, well simply fill in the blank. Banking system

crashes from recent headlines, natural disaster, war, terrorism or infrastructure collapse.Take your pick or add something new.

The next step is to determine what you will desire to cache, as the size of the largest

object will establish the minimum size of your cache. If you want to stash an SUV it willrequire a considerable vault. Then again a couple of rolls of coins needs only an inch or

so in diameter by a foot or two long.

Do you want a single large cache or multiple much smaller caches? IMNSHO, I go withthe philosophy based on not having all of ones eggs in a single basket. Stuff happens.

Caches can be lost, found by others or damaged. Having several spread out will increasethe odds of recovering something when it is needed. Also smaller caches are easier to

install with less chance of being noticed by others. That SUV sized one will probably

require major digging equipment, a backhoe at the very least or weeks of hand shovelingmaybe some blasting. Use a crane to lower the vault into the hole or you could build one

in place over a few weeks. Unless you then build a swimming pool over it to hide the

reason for the work someone is likely to question what is going on. In a very rural area

you might get away with it. In even a modest small town urban setting forget it. The nextday some homeland security personnel are likely to show up asking questions of terrorist

involvement. Even if the vault is empty they will probably keep an eye on you. Smalltube type caches can be planted in the middle of the night with minimal tools and noise.

So what should you cache?

Money, but then again what kind should it be? Forget bills. There are pictures of

Germans between the 2 world wars going to bakers with wheelbarrow loads of large

denomination bills to trade for a single loaf of bread. And most day after books and

movies foretell of the worthlessness of paper money. Except for maybe being use aswiping paper after a bowel movement. In which case it really would be worth the paper it

is printed on. Regular coinage, nah. They would only be worth there metal content, which

ain’t that much to begin with. Gold and silver coins or even small bars might work. Butare very heavy. There are some that might accept them as trade for goods or services.

Some will be fascinated with the glitter of gold. Just remember to keep them small

because making change is unlikely. Small gems are smaller and easier to carry and might be worth something to some. Some of the Jewish people that escaped Germany just

before WW II literally walked out with small fortunes in gems in hollowed out heels.



Trade Goods

Here the choice is up to you. Whatever you think would be the most valuable. The bestidea would be small relatively inexpensive items you can find. Cheap now but they

would be irreplaceable without modern manufacturing capacity. Think along the lines of

things during the Middle Ages or even the colonization of America. What items weredear to them and what modern equivalent items are around now? Read a little history or

even historical fiction to see what life was like and what they didn’t have or was very

expensive.

Sewing needles, pins and safety pins would always be good trade goods small and cheap

you could buy and store thousands in very little space for very little cash. Buy a couple of

packs at each shopping trip. Sewing thread you might be able to trade 20 or 30 yards for an ear of corn, a potato or even a small game animal. Buy the large bulk spools. Along

the same line modern monofilament and fly lines. To go with the line think hooks and

lures. Think what they would be worth if you couldn’t walk into your local bait shop and

pickup a few. Especially considering that fishing might be a prime food source. Thenagain that would depend on your location in a desert they wouldn’t be that useful.

Small hand tools might be a good idea but their present prices probably would make them

too expensive to store very many. Along the same lines think hardware Nuts, bolts,

screws and nails.

Disposable lighters would be necessary for yourself along with an ideal trade good. Who

won’t need a reliable means of starting a fire?

Vacuum or nitrogen packed heirloom [non-hybrid] seeds would always be good

especially some of the more exotics varieties. Rare food will bring premium prices when

they can no longer be shipped around the world. While as time passes they will loseviability even with only a small percentage left the first couple of generations could be

grown strictly for seed production until you have enough to trade for food production.

You might even think of invest in starting a small greenhouse now to start production andsave your own seeds for rotating storage.

Spices and other flavoring might be extremely valuable. Think of no more pepper or

vanilla. Salt is necessary for life itself and is vital in preserving meats withoutrefrigeration. Salt and pepper were worth their weight literally in gold at one time. Most

spices we now use come from the far corners of the globe and will no longer be available

without the current available shipping systems. Try making your own favor extracts andgrowing your own spices and saving seeds.

What about storing rechargeable batteries and a couple of solar recharge stations? Notonly can you trade the batteries but also your customers will have to return and trade for

repowering them.



These are a few thoughts on possible items that could be cached to get the thoughts

flowing. But what you store is up to you depending on your perceived needs and

available finances.

Personal Gear

This would be items for your own use and not for trade. While these could be nearly

anything what most people think of are firearms and ammunition. Those would be a

personal choice.

Storing things

Since what you intend to store thing in such a hostile environment as under the earth.You will need to make provisions to protect your supplies and provisions. Because things

can and probably will go wrong. Anyone remember Mr. Murphy. It is best to plan this

protection in multiple layers. I would recommend 2 layers as an absolute minimum. 3

would be about the norm. More than this might be redundant but depending upon your level of paranoia or the size of the container extra layers might be advisable. With

especially large caches items should be packaged in progressively smaller packages sothat you only have to open and breach the protection so as to expose and remove the

minimum needed at any one time.

The enemies of long term storage especially underground are water and oxygen. Both of

which promote rust in metal objects and mold or rot in soft goods and food items.

Pulling that rifle you were counting on and finding a ruined rusted mess could be

disastrous. It might just disrupt your entire day or at least spoil your attitude for anextended period of time. Obviously your first line of defense against the elements is the

cache container itself.

For the last line of defense I recommend that that anyone considering long term storage

of any kind invest in vacuum packing equipment. The vacuum bags come in pre-cut sizes

and also continuous rolls. This way you can seal almost any reasonably sized object witha custom bag. While there is a limit on diameter the length can be anything that is easily

handled. By removing the air you can greatly extend the life of whatever is to be stored.

Take a rifle as an example. Prepare the rifle by lightly oiling or all the way up to acomplete Cosmoline bath. Make a bag large enough to fit. Toss in a desiccant bag along

with the rifle. Draw the vacuum and seal. It is now ready to place in storage. To increase

your success it is best to do your packing on a dry day.

Yes I included a moisture absorbing desiccant bag. It can’t hurt and may help. Even

though the vacuum should remove any moisture why take chances. I’m a belt andsuspenders type of person.

What is a desiccant packet you may ask? If you ever open any electronic equipment you

may have noticed one or more “paper” packets. These are Silica gel wrapped in a in a



paper like material that allows moisture to pass through it to the gel. While you can

purchase these packets they tend to be rather pricey. Being resourceful you can even

make your own for a lot less. For the outer covering you can use teabags or coffee filters.You don’t want it floating around loose. Cut to the desired size fill with gel and staple

shut. Two teaspoons full will give you about an ounce of gel. You can purchase Silica gel

in most hobby, art or craft stores. I’ve even seen it in Wally World’s craft section. Theysell it for crafters drying flowers and usually labeled as such. Another source is Tidy Cat

Crystals or similar cat litter crystals. Sold anywhere cat litter is sold. Read the label

looking for 100% or there about Silica Gel beads. 1 ounce packet is supposed to protect asealed container abut 6 gallons or a little over ¾ of a cubic foot in size. That is about 22

liters for you metric types. This will give you a rough idea the size packet or number of

packets you will need for your caches. You can always tweak the packet size to fit your

need. I prefer several small packets to a single large one.

Let us suppose you were interrupted, didn’t get the lid on tight or simple forgot and your

gel was exposed to high moisture conditions and its moisture absorbing capacity has been

used up. Have no fear it can be restored to full usefulness. Simply bake it in your oven.150 to 200 degrees for 3 or 4 hours should do the trick nicely. Again I remind you this is

best done on a day of low humidity. The higher the humidity the longer it will take andthe gel will reabsorb some moisture from the air. Kind of defeats the purpose of the

exercise.

Building the Cache

Large storage vaults. Depending upon the size desired there are a number of pre-made

structures that are already designed for underground use that can be modified and adaptedas a bulk storage chamber. A concrete sewer vault is very good. And who is going to

question installing a new sewer system. That is unless you are on city sewer. Then

government inspectors might come around. No it is not icky despite the name if it is newand never used. Concrete water pipe used for storm water drains. OK, we’re talking

sewer pipe. Fiberglass and steel tanks designed for below ground fuel storage.

Galvanized culvert pipe comes in sizes from a foot or so to over twenty feet in diameter.Here is an example this can be used.

http://www.nogw.com/download/2005_cellar3.pdf

Across the web there are tons of examples of how to build underground fallout shelterssuch as this. http://www.captaindaves.com/nuclear/FAMILY.pdf

You can always build your own. Pour a slab, build a box or dome with block or poured in

place in a hole and cover over. Why do I mention domes? Because curved structures arestructurally stronger to support the weight of the earth.

One thing to think about is that concrete and cement are porous. That means any structure below ground needs to be sealed. There are many products designed to “waterproof

basements. You simply paint these compounds upon the inner walls. They are usually

polymer [plastic] compounds not regular paint. Coming from the underground home


http://www.captaindaves.com/nuclear/FAMILY.pdf


http://www.captaindaves.com/nuclear/FAMILY.pdf



industry many such homes are quite literally wrapped in plastic sheeting. You could even

fiberglass the interior and exterior. Just remember dry is good damp or wet is bad.

Small Caches

As I recommended earlier multiple small caches are preferred for anything other than bulk storage. Less loss if a cache is lost to you for whatever reason. While almost

anything that can be sealed can be buried as a cache. Such things as ammo cans and

plastic buckets are common. I believe that the PVC pipe cache is the most ideal. PVC pipe is specifically made to be buried. It is easily worked with simple hand tools. While

not cheap it is relatively inexpensive.

Pipe caches are easily and unobtrusively buried. They should be buried vertically rather than horizontally. This minimizes their surface signature both in the original hole dug and

from various types of searches. Ground penetrating radar only has a target of a few inches

versus a couple of feet long to spot. If you cache metallic objects such as weapons metal

detectors only have the end rather than the length to see.

Instead of a shovel you use a posthole digger or auger to make the hole. Cut out a circleof turf to replace when finished. Bore the hole. Drop the tube in the hole and back fill.

Cap with the turf plug. Then dispose of the displaced soil usually by scattering. This can

be done almost anywhere or at any time virtually unnoticed if you time thing right. Thisis especially nice if you are planning a new fence. You simply dig the hole deeper drop

the tube back fill some and insert the fence post. The pole acts as cover and as a marker

for future reference. Even with old fences you can pull a post install the cache and

replace the post. But almost any place can use this method with a little care.

Building a pipe cache

Typically the largest single item you will cache will be a rifle or shotgun. Depending

upon its size it will require a 3 or 4 inch in diameter roughly 3 feet long. Make sure it is

long enough to fit before you cut. Although for smaller items you can usecorrespondingly smaller pipes. The tube can be sealed two ways. Permanently or easy

opening. Permanently you simply glue on pipe caps. This type then has to be cut or

broken to open. These are single use only type tubes. For the “easily” opening type you

replace, usually the top cap, with the more expensive cap. It consists of a threaded capthat has a screw in plug. These plugs normally have a molded square nut on top. To

remove the plug you can use either a large pipe wrench or strap wrench. An emergency

strap wrench can be made from a belt or piece of strapping and either a piece of pipe or stick. The belt is doubled over. The loop is wrapped around the nut. The handle is

wedged along side the nut under the belt. The tag ends of the belt are held along side the

handle. This can supply the leverage needed to open the tube.

I actually advocate the double tube type cache. This is for two reasons. First it supplies

additional protection. Second it is easer and quicker to recover the cache. A second tube

is manufactured the same way as the first except that it is large enough to hold the first



tube. That means a 4-inch tube to hold a 3-inch tube and a six incher to hold a 4-inch

inner tube. Sure you can occasionally find 5 inch PVC but 6 inch is much more common.

With a single tube you have to practically dig the entire tube up to remove it. With the

double tube setup you dig down to the cap. Then you open it and pull out the inner tube.

Then it can either be opened on the spot or use the tube as a handy carrying package to beopened later at your convenience. In either case you will want some type of handle to

help with pulling it. The best method for a handle is a nylon [it won’t rot] strap sewn or

even screwed into the tube below the end cap with a loose strap over the top or you couldtie on nylon or poly rope.

When making an outer you will want to install a vacuum breaker. If the outer tube leaks

the water at the bottom can make it almost impossible to pull the inner cache. A small pipe is run from the top to the bottom to allow air to get to the bottom. I find that brake

line is ideal for this. It is small diameter, very strong and being made of stainless steel

will last a long, long time. A small dab of silicon caulk at the top will hold the vent in

place nicely.

Now you have an outer PVC pipe an inner one and the contents are vacuum sealed in plastic. You have tossed desiccant packets in the bags and more in the tube. Sounds like

enough protection. And it probably is. But there is one more layer you can add if you

want. That is to flood the inner, outer or both tubes with CO2 to remove regular air meaning oxygen with an inert gas. The most common source of CO2 is dry ice, which is

a trade name for solid CO2. CO2 has two useful characteristics. It is an inert gas, which

doesn’t react with materials. It is slightly heavier than air. This means it will fill a

container from the bottom up displacing the air within it.

There are a couple of ways to fill your tube with the gas. As the ice sublimates I one

container you can pour it into the top where it will sink to the bottom. This is real pain todo so not recommended. You can do it the same way people home store grains and other

products. With everything ready to go you place a few chunks of dry ice in the bottom of

the container. Put something over it to protect the stored items from the intense cold.Load your items. Wait for the tube to fill. Then cap it. Two things. First make sure all the

dry ice has dissolved before sealing tings up. If you don’t pressure can build up to

dangerous levels and rupture the casing. Has anyone heard of a dry ice bomb? Not good.

As long as you do not agitate the tube any excess gas will simply spill over the top butthe needed gas will stay in the tube. This way you can let it sit a while to ensure the ice

has completely melted. The second thing is how do you know if the tube is full. A lit

candle placed near the mouth of the tube will be put out as the gas spills out. A third waywould be to have a container with a hose tapped in near the bottom. Run the hose to the

bottom of the cache. Place your gear into the tube. Pour dry ice into the container. As it

sublimates the gas will flow down the hose and fill the cache. Again the candle trick willtell you when it is full. Pull out the tube and cap. This is especially useful when doing

several tubes. Do not try to speed things up by adding water to the dry ice. As with

making fog or those Halloween punches the vapor you see is water vapor entrained in the

CO2. CO2 is invisible. And you don’t want to add water to the cache.



How do you figure the quantity of dry ice needed to do the job? Well it is going to take a

bit of math. First you need to know the volume of the cache. Then how much space thestored items will take up. Figure roughly they will fill half to three quarters of the space

depending on how tightly things are packed. From the MSDS form dry ice expands 554

times from solid to gaseous form. So call it 500 times. A 1 cubic inch of the ice will fill aspace of 500 cubic inches with gas. It is always best to generate a bit more gas than

needed rather than run short.

There is another way to generate CO2 without dry ice. From grade school science

experiments if you mix baking soda with a mild acid, usually vinegar, you produce CO2.

How much gas is generated by this method would have to be determined by experiment.

This method would work well with the bucket and hose method to fill the cache previously mentioned. You might want to mount the hose connection somewhat higher in

the container.

This should give you some insight on the whys and wherefores of caching.

Underground Caching

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