B-ionic 8 gallon buckets

[ptrusk]

Anyone purchase b-ionic in the 4 gallon buckets? Does it come premixed? The gallon jugs are a pain to mix and I am wondering what the deal is with these? I use about 8 gallons (4 of each) per year. Buying by the bucket is essentially 8 gallons for the price of 6, but is it a hassle mixing/dispensing? I have several empty 1 gallon containers.

 

[Snoopy 67]

They are the same as the 1 gallon just a bigger container.

 

[4roaming]

I picked up the five gallon bucket size recently. It was annoying that the buckets leak a bit so I lost a little of the concentrate. Probably didn’t help that they were delivered upside down with UPS pretty much ignoring the right side up labels. Besides that little annoyance after I wiped them down and salvaged the few tablespoons of spilled concentrate they mixed up really fast and the buckets have a little pop up pour spout that makes pouring them very clean and leak free. I would order again but I will probably write ESV a suggestion to make these containers a little more spill proof. It would be nice if they would sell it dry and just let us add the water.

 

[Ancient Mariner]

They are shipped in the 4 gallon buckets but in concentrate form. Just add RO/DI water to get the proper concentration. I use distilled water I buy from the grocery store. In cold weather, the alkalinity part crystallizes out of solution. So you might have to warm it up a little (or just wait a while) after adding water to get it all back into solution.

I refill the 1 gallon bottles using a glass measuring cup. Its pretty easy but can be messy if you spill some. Just take your time. They store well.

 

[redfishbluefish]

I use to buy them years ago....they come dry. You need to add four gallons of RO/DI. The reason I stopped buying them is that one bucket leaked. Luckily it was in an unfinished basement. When I wrote them, I heard crickets.

I now use Randy's original two part recipe, baking the baking soda and using driveway melt. Cost me a couple bucks a year.

 

[redfishbluefish]

I didn't mention....the bucket leaked from a crack that appeared in the bottom of the bucket.....very poor quality buckets.

 

[ptrusk]

Thank you all your insight. I didn't consider the package donkeys handling.

I now use Randy's original two part recipe, baking the baking soda and using driveway melt. Cost me a couple bucks a year.

Used this years ago with great success. As time goes by, I seem to have less and less time for DIY endeavors so just adding water works for me. Curious though, since the cold weather is one again upon us, the home improvement stores should be fat with driveway melt. I think that I used to use dowflake. What brand do you use?

Thanks again,
Paul

 

[redfishbluefish]

Thank you all your insight. I didn't consider the package donkeys handling.



Used this years ago with great success. As time goes by, I seem to have less and less time for DIY endeavors so just adding water works for me. Curious though, since the cold weather is one again upon us, the home improvement stores should be fat with driveway melt. I think that I used to use dowflake. What brand do you use?

Thanks again,
Paul

Would have preferred using Dowflakes, Randy's recommendation, but I could not find that when I was looking over fifteen years ago. So I went with Preston Driveway Heat, which I can't get any more.....but SWI Winter Heat is made by the same company and appears to be the same stuff.

Note that these have less associated water (anhydrous calcium chloride ) and therefore only requires two cups per gallon for Recipe 1.

And I get Arm&Hammer Baking Soda at Sam's Club...somewhere in the area of 13 pounds for maybe 7 bucks or so.

 

[ptrusk]

Would have preferred using Dowflakes, Randy's recommendation, but I could not find that when I was looking over fifteen years ago.

I lived in Jersey 15 years ago. Remember the Home Depot Southdown sand?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I lived in Jersey 15 years ago. Remember the Home Depot Southdown sand?

I still have some ziplock baggies of it unused.