Encore Plastics 5-Gallon White Plastic Bucket Lid

An unexpectedly wonderful purchase

My husband and I had nine food-grade buckets that were just what we needed in every way except for one thing--I couldn't open them. At first, I must confess that I didn't believe it would be possible to replace the traditional-style lids with ones that spin open, especially since the buckets were a different brand and slightly different style. Boy, am I glad to report that these lids more than fulfill our expectations. They are very easy to open, yet seal completely. And you just can't beat the ...

Engineering Evaluation

Brilliant idea but in execution falls short of miraculous - though I'm still evaluating. Kept out the micro bears for 6 days of canoeing but air/water seal much in doubt. Benefit from redesign? Seal relies on o-ring (gasket) compressing evenly between smooth o-ring groove in lid and smooth bevel in outer ring. Unfortunately o-ring groove has flash (largely unavoidable injection molding flaw) at 4 quadrants. (Is not smooth). Also quality of parts mate at o-ring is questionable, risking no o-ring...

Lids

using on sap buckets for making syrup. The other kind of lid is hard to remove when its cold. We can drill a small hold on a high spot on the lid and push our hose from the tree into it. Should work good, easier to remove the lid to dump into the big collection tank. However, we do use ''do it best buckets'' as the brand that Lowes has are very brittle when cold and break. We are hoping that these lids do not have that problem. We only purchased 30 and will see how it goes this winter befo...

Beware if you want lid that is airtight/leak-proof

These Encore lids are packaged as "Gamma Seal Lids". I purchased several of them on different occasions for long-term food storage. Unfortunately, I eventually discovered that, despite the product's claim, all the lids I bought are not airtight or leak-proof. The rim of this bucket lid fit securely on my buckets but the seal between the screw-down lid and the rim leaked badly when I finally tested the seal by placing water inside. It appears from inspection that manufacturing defects in the plas...

Forget the rubber mallet

Hammering on the outer ring with a mallet just makes it pop off on the opposite side. What finally got the ring installed (and was much less trouble than the mallet) was putting the bucket on the floor, sticking a length of 2 by 4 across the ring and leaning on it, gradually applying almost my entire body weight till it finally snapped down on either side. Then rotate bucket and do it again till the ring was in place all the way around.

Gamma lid

I purchased gamma lids unfortunately, I did not know how to put it on the bucket. I went to Lowes and the store rep showed me how to take a rubber mallet to attach the ring. Once the ring was applied the lid screws on leaving air tight. The main part to know here, if you have never used this type of lid as it is not a snap on lid you will have to apply the ring to the bucket and it will look like it will not fit it has to be applied on with a rubber mallet. Great...great product this part of my ...

FOR DRY GOOD STORAGE ONLY!!

Despite what a contractor/customer may tell you, these are not for storing fluids of any type inside of a metal pail. They are not for storing paint. They are not for storing, or transporting hazardous materials. Do not use these lids for this purpose, despite what a customer may or may not tell you. Do not do these things even if said customer walks into your office and drops them on your desk saying they, "Should work". They do not work for shipping hazardous materials. Do not attempt to...

Wow! Great for rotating food

This is one of those new products that you really enjoying buying and using. We buy teff flour in the 25lb bag and deposit it into a 5 gallon food safe container. My wife did not enjoy opening and closing the old style lids so I bought her a lid opener. This too requires a bit of a struggle. Upon seeing this lid I knew instantly I had to have one. Taking it home I displayed it for my wife and immediately placed it onto our flour container. Now she really has no issues unscrewing the cap, scoopin...

Don't go canoe camping without it!

Five gallon buckets make perfect floating suitcases for overnight canoe trips. With this durable, secure lid that doesn't break like cheap lids, I keep my down sleeping bag and hammock dry. The ability to screw the lid on and off makes easy access... I can even open and close the lid with my gloves on. Toss a pad on top and you have a stool. I love this lid so much I've bought 5. Our BSA troop parents are starting to buy them too. Can't beat a durable lid in the wild... There isn't a store to bu...

Not an airtight seal as advertised.

Could see space between the o-ring gasket on the lid and to where it's supposed to sit when screwed down. The cheap $1.40 lids were more airtight than these. While customer service did reply they were no help. They said their lids aren't meant to be waterproof and to keep them covered. When I asked about the my lid not being airtight, they just quoted their literature on how wonderful the double gasket system was.