5 gallon bucket endurance question...

[Nao57]

You have lots of questions, this is good. It shows that you care and want to learn, so ask whatever you need, we will be happy to help.

Thank you very much.

 

[Beekissed]

If wanting to protect them from UV rays, maybe some of that nifty tarp paint that @Mike CHS uses to protect his tarps would extend the life of the average bucket.

So far I've noticed that the heavier white buckets last longer than the thinner buckets that are specific to hardware stores like Lowes or Home depot. But, invariably, if a 5 gal. bucket is going to fail me it's always from a split in the bottom, right in the middle. Not sure if that is a weak point on all these buckets, as there seems to be a small toot there, likely due to how the plastic is pored or molded? So, it doesn't seem to have much to do with exposure to the outdoors, as many of those that split have never spent a lot of time outside.

I think it's more likely that the plastic degrades due to age and temperature fluctuations, combined with the hardness or type of use, rather than exposure to the UV light.

 

[Stephine]

We have mainly metal buckets around the farm - the galvanized ones last forever. I use second hand plastic buckets (5g pickle buckets from the local market) which I get for free for things like chicken waterers, where the metal ones wouldn’t work. Those buckets are 5 years old and going strong (except for the blasted handles, those break easily, but I replace them with thick wire).