Ammo Box Reliability

[swampratt]

I never thought I needed ammo boxes and gave many away to friends for free.
Years later I find they are handy for tool boxes in the boat and trunks of my cars.

I thought heck 3 bucks on sale I will get some plastic Harbor freight ones.
I have bought more than 10 of those and gave some to friends and one guy keeps his small ratchet straps in them.

I will no longer be buying those plastic ones.
I have had the hinges break off from too much weight. Sockets and wrenches in them and sitting in the trunk of a hot car I suppose killed the plastic.

Just yesterday I went to get tools from a box I had filled and left in the front of the shed.
My shed is an open front shed and does get some rain in it and on stuff.

I opened that perfectly sealed closed plastic ammo box and seen condensation on the inside of the lid and looked down and sockets are wet.
Darn thing is not water proof at all, there was water in the bottom.
Tools getting all rusty.

Now I wish I had all those military steel boxes back.

Do your steel boxes let water in ?

 

[Forgalspop]

I never thought I needed ammo boxes and gave many away to friends for free.
Years later I find they are handy for tool boxes in the boat and trunks of my cars.

I thought heck 3 bucks on sale I will get some plastic Harbor freight ones.
I have bought more than 10 of those and gave some to friends and one guy keeps his small ratchet straps in them.

I will no longer be buying those plastic ones.
I have had the hinges break off from too much weight. Sockets and wrenches in them and sitting in the trunk of a hot car I suppose killed the plastic.

Just yesterday I went to get tools from a box I had filled and left in the front of the shed.
My shed is an open front shed and does get some rain in it and on stuff.

I opened that perfectly sealed closed plastic ammo box and seen condensation on the inside of the lid and looked down and sockets are wet.
Darn thing is not water proof at all, there was water in the bottom.
Tools getting all rusty.

Now I wish I had all those military steel boxes back.

Do your steel boxes let water in ?

I have both the military steel boxes and a few Harbor Freight plastic cheap boxes. Never had a problem with either, but then again I have never left them out in the rain or in a damp environment. The Harbor Freight small ammo boxes don't hold as much as the steel military ones and so the Harbor Freight ones I have don't have much weight in them. "Keep your powder dry."

 

[HiredHand]

The steel ones with a good seal don’t seem to let anything in. Dad even mounted one to the fender inside my old Ford pickup with all the basic tools. It was really handy.

 

[turkeyrun]

Never had a problem with either, but then again I have never left them out in the rain or in a damp environment. "Keep your powder dry."

Back when steel shot was instituted for waterfowl, we found a guy in our duck lease, that had a metal, military .50 cal can full of lead loads. He took the can to his blind and when he left, set the can inside the blind, under the water.

I hunted with him, last week of season. Shocked, when he pulled the can up. More shocked, when it was completely dry.

Almost as shocked as he was, when I left, telling him he was illegal and would not be in the lease next season.

 

[Catt57]

I have a couple Harbor Freight boxes and several Plano plastic boxes. The Harbor Freight ones I have don't have the rubber seal in the lid. The Plano ones do have a rubber seal and I've never had an issue with moisture in them.

 

[swampratt]

MY HF boxes have a rubber O ring seal in the lid.

I will need to post some trades for ammo boxes it looks like.

Or just buy them.. That works also.

 

[dennishoddy]

Those .50 cal ammo boxes have many uses. I've seen lots of fly fishermen using the racks on top of their vehicle so the fly rod can be inserted with the reel attached and not broken down between trips in the NW states.

Saw one guy that had modified a .50 cal ammo can for the reel portion using 2" plastic PVC to accomplish the same thing for 1/8 the price of the factory model pictured above for $600 and it actually looked really good, not redneck the way he built it.
I've also seen the .50 ammo cans used on ranges as waterproof lighting switch covers, and the list goes on.