Billy Guttery:

I am a certified HVAC-R technician and although I have not been active for years because of my knees, I still have all my equipment which includes a 2-stage vacumn pump and a refrigerant recovery unit.

These items by themselves should remove sufficient air and water vapor so that inert gas is not even necessary. I mention the inert gas specifically for people with home type vacumn units.

Carbon dioxide in dry ice form is recommended on a web site dealing with long term storage of powder and grain foods in sealed containers.

That site recommends putting dry ice at the bottom of cans or plastic containers and hand agitating the contents occaisionally so that the air is expelled as the dry ice goes directly to a gaseous state. Since carbon dioxide is heavier than air, the air will tend to be displaced and flow over the top of the container. They recommend that when you see the dry ice practically gone, you lay a sealing type cover on it loosely so that air movement does not allow the air to work its way back into the container. When you feel the dry ice has evaporated, screw down the lid.

I have heard of wheat and corn in Pharoahs tombs being made into edible bread and the corn sprouting when planted which leads me to suspect that it is moisture in the air that does the most damage and not the air itself.

Bountyhunter