[NHCOLL-L:1356] Re: Large glass bottles

[Amy Estep]

John,

Our curator, Dr. Janalee Caldwell, gave me a brief history of the pails
that I want to share.  They have been used in our collection for almost
10 years (since 1992).  Only one (out of nearly 50) has ever cracked and
this happened just after the move to a new facility a couple of years
ago so Dr. Caldwell thinks it was damaged during the move.  The lids of
the containers are made of polycarbonate just like the pails
themselves.  The pails work very well for us.  You're right that the
lids' seals are a drawback; however, they do snap on very tightly.
Also, since the containers are clear, we can easily monitor evaporation
during frequent collection walk throughs.  In our experience,
evaporation does not seem to be a big problem.  We store the pails in
the collection room stacked two high (which probably helps the seal on
the bottom pail).  They are kept in the dark most of the time so UV
light is not an issue for us.  The bottoms of some are scratched a bit,
most  likely from the move, but otherwise they are still in great shape
despite being 10 years old and having undergone a cross campus move.
They are very durable.  The temperature in our collection is kept
constant (for the most part) so that is not a problem.  I don't think
our collection would be exposed to the fumigation you mention, but I
would have to check with our IPM specialist to be sure.  I think the
best feature of the pails is that they are clear.  The one serious
limitation may be the expense.  I think Cambro listed them at about
$30.00 so I think they would be around $40.00 from a vendor.

Hope this information is helpful.

Best wishes,
Amy