Bizarre Bear Vault Issue....Twice

[DayTrip]

I have had a BearVault 450 and 500 for going on 8-10 years now. The 450 is the one I usually backpack with but it does not get a lot of use, maybe twice a year. The 500 I've used a handful of times car camping at Baxter (at the walk in sites). So, last weekend I went up for what I planned to be an overnight so I brought the vault. Went in and out of it all day without incident. Lid screwed and unscrewed freely. With the winds I decided to head back instead of bivying. I get to the car, go to unscrew it to grab some snacks for the late night drive and the lid won't budge in any direction (it was not in the "locked" position - tabs weren't the problem). So I wrestle with it without success for about 10 minutes and gave up. And when I say stuck I mean STUCK, like I had epoxied it shut.

I emailed BearVault SUN morning, read all the disclaimers and decided because of the age and not having proof of purchase there was probably not going to be a warranty claim. So I hoisted it over my head and smashed it on my garage floor. It shattered. Even with the lid now destroyed and no longer a complete circle I still cannot even pry any of the plastic out of the threads. It does not appear anything is caught in the threads. It is just fused on there. MON I got a reply from BearVault to try putting it in an oven at 150 deg F because the plastic expands at different rates and that should free it up. Good info for next time....

....and that next time was today (not even a week later). I'm packing up for the weekend and grab my 500 to pack up and the lid is stuck the exact same way. WTF!! It is in a cool, dry closet away from light and typical humidity and hasn't been used since Summer 2022. Has anyone run into this? Does the plastic degrade in some way as time goes by and stick together? I've never had an issue with them and in the span of 7 days both of mine fail. I have zero confidence in the unit now. Could be potentially catastrophic being out on a trip and randomly having this happen. Thought it was crazy that it happened once. Twice seems pretty statistically amazing.

 

[peakbagger]

Not sure about a bear vault but various "plastics" will cold weld. Usually it is differential expansion and contraction. Anyone who as stacked empty dry wall buckets on occasion will get two that will not come apart. Wait until cold day and our hot water over the outer bucket and it usually comes loose..

My standard fix for plastic that is sticking is a very light application of silicone grease to both surfaces. Apply a very small amount, all you want to do is "wet" the surfaces. Its also a great fix for things that are sealed with O ring (like liquid fueled MSR fuel pumps).

The cheapest source for silicone grease is buy a tube of dielectric grease at a car parts store.