Question 1

How many would you need to use in a 5 gallon bucket for storing beens and rice and other such dry goods ?

Accepted Answer

A five gallon bucket contains 18,927.06 cc (ml) of volume.
The listed size of the packet is the volume of oxygen that will be absorbed by the packet. But, remember oxygen is only about 1/5 the volume of air, so you don't need to absorb that full volume (if you did, you would need 9 2000ml packets), and your product would also take up volume, though that is trickier to measure. 
Not taking into account product volume, two 2000ml packs should more than absorb the 3880ml of oxygen in an empty bucket. One could assume that the product would replace half that volume (beans use less volume than rice, e.g.), but two should give a comfortable margin of safety in case they don't live up to specs anyway.

Question 2

Just received mine and there are no instructions or expiration date on them. How ling are they good for?

Accepted Answer

It IS a matter of date, because they have a short shelf life.  Oxygen absorbers comes in two types, B and D. Type B is for food that has some moisture in it (like beef jerky) to activate the packet. They have a useful shelf life of about 1 year from manufacture if they are properly re-sealed after opening the original packaging. Type D is for dry foods (rice, beans, grain, pasta). They have their own source of moisture to facilitate activation, and they have a shelf life of about 6 months from manufacture even when properly re-sealed.  Type B will not work for dry food applications because there is insufficient moisture to activate them.  I know this from product literature and (sadly) personal experience.  Unfortunately, this product is not labeled for type, so we don’t know if it will work for dry food application. Maybe the supplier can comment on type B or D.

Question 3

does the higher the cc level mean that they are stronger?and also do these things last forever or do they need to be replaced after so long?

Accepted Answer

The higher cc level means they can remove more oxygen from the sealed product. The larger the bag you are sealing, the more air can fill the spaces in between the food particles. There are some excellent resources on the internet which correlate bag size and proper cc’s to use to effectively remove the oxygen. If your product is sealed against air intrusion (Plastic still allows air to slowly seep in. You should be using Mylar or glass.) and you use the proper size for the job, once the oxygen is spent, the chemical reaction stops. If you introduce more air, you may need to add a new oxygen absorber.

Question 4

What are the dimensions for 50 cc in inches?

Accepted Answer

1 x 2 inches at most but these are 500cc packets not 50.

O2frepak100CC(100Packets) Food Grade Oxygen Absorbers Packets for Home Made Jerky and Long Term Food Storage,With Oxygen Indicator In Vacuum Bag and 3 times Oxygen Absorption Capacity

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