# Salt Pellets



## Elinor0987 (May 28, 2010)

Lately I've been looking for an inexpensive way to get salt and add it to my food storage. There are bags of what is called "system saver" salt that you add to water tanks to soften the water and reduce mineral deposits on pipes. Some of them have extra ingredients like detergents added, but others don't have the extra chemicals. I've looked at a few websites and there are some that are listed as 99.5% and 99.7% pure salt. The cost is about $4 - $5 for a 40 lb bag. The only downside that I can see is these salts don't have iodide added, but for canning purposes I would avoid that kind of salt anyway. It seems like a good way to store salt inexpensively and I'm wondering if I'm missing something here. Has anyone tried that kind in food and what are your thoughts on that kind of salt?


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## kyredneck (Aug 12, 2012)

Seems pure enough; is it rock salt? Or has it been pelletized some way?

IMO, it'd be worth 5 bucks to have a bag of that around.


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## Elinor0987 (May 28, 2010)

kyredneck said:


> Seems pure enough; is it rock salt? Or has it been pelletized some way?
> 
> IMO, it'd be worth 5 bucks to have a bag of that around.


I think these are in pellet form. Either way, I would end up crushing them into a powder. I have sugar beet seeds that could provide a renewable source of sugar in a prolonged economic collapse, but no way to get salt without bartering once I run out of what I have already. We don't have any salt water around here so extracting salt from the water isn't an option.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

Many places that sell the "Pellets" also sell the "Rock Salt" for use in water softeners.

I opted for the rock salt just for the reason that the pellets(as a general rule) contain other ingredients besides salt. Five bucks for 40 pounds of salt was something I couldn't pass up.


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

I don't know about the salt used for water softeners but the salt used for saltwater swimming pools is made by Morton & says "suitable for human consumption" right on the bag. We pay around $6-7 bucks for a 40 pound bag.


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## timmie (Jan 14, 2012)

tsrwivey said:


> I don't know about the salt used for water softeners but the salt used for saltwater swimming pools is made by Morton & says "suitable for human consumption" right on the bag. We pay around $6-7 bucks for a 40 pound bag.


what about salt from the co-op for mixing with cattle feed?


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Davarm said:


> I opted for the rock salt just for the reason that the pellets(as a general rule) contain other ingredients besides salt. Five bucks for 40 pounds of salt was something I couldn't pass up.


I have known several people that have used plain ol' water softener rock salt to cure and preserve meats as well as to can with.

As far as I can remember, the pellets have nothing in them that is harmful.

The MSDS for softener pellets says 99.97% salt. 
The last .03% is Sodium hexametaphosphate, which is found in foods like artificial maple syrup, canned milk, cheese powders and dips, imitationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_hexametaphosphate cheese, whipped topping, packaged egg whites, roast beef, fish fillets, fruit jelly, frozen desserts, salad dressing, herring, breakfast cereal, ice cream, beer, bottled beverages, etc
http://www.cargill.com/salt/static/DM305906.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_hexametaphosphate

Good tip on the swimming pool salt.


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

Some (all) of the salt used for water softeners can contain a small amount of dirt. If you look closely you can sometimes see small black particles in the salt. Not saying it is bad or dangerous in any way but just saying it is likely there. I would use it without any hesitation.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

hiwall said:


> Some (all) of the salt used for water softeners can contain a small amount of dirt. If you look closely you can sometimes see small black particles in the salt. Not saying it is bad or dangerous in any way but just saying it is likely there. I would use it without any hesitation.


Simply a by-product.... salt *does* get mined from underground


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

timmie said:


> what about salt from the co-op for mixing with cattle feed?


I have no idea, sorry! We have a saltwater pool so we just keep about 3 years worth of salt for it in the 40 pound Morton "safe for human consumption" kind. It's $6-7 a bag & 10 bags would likely last us nearly a lifetime. We have probably 20 bags. When it's that cheap & easy to get the stuff for humans, there's no real motivation for me to take a chance on anything unknown.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

Maybe I missed something. I am wondering about why you would want to use this instead of Morton's table salt, or other salt varieties? You can purchase a 25# bag of salt for less than $4.00. I have seen it at Sam's, Costco, and other places. For less than $20 you can have 125 pounds of salt. That actually seems very reasonable to me.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

weedygarden said:


> You can purchase a 25# bag of salt for less than $4.00...


WOW! Not around here you can't, and the salt mines in Louisiana are only a couple hundred miles away from here!!


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## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

I try to keep 2 extra bags of salt on hand to top off the water softener. 

Best case scenario I have 2 bags plus what's in the brine tank.

Worst case I have what's in the full brine tank.

SHTF I'll have enough salt to last us a long while.


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## Elinor0987 (May 28, 2010)

Thanks everyone for the advice. This year my focus on food storage will be the nonrenewable items and for everything else I'll buy the seeds and replace what I have already as it's used up. The cheapest salt around here is 33 cents for a 26 oz can, and the average price is between 40 to 90 cents, depending on where you buy it and whether you buy the generic or name brand. I've noticed the cost of spices is going up and the cost of salt will probably go up soon too. If I can get a few bags of salt now at a decent price then it will save me a bunch of money in the long run.


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## Elinor0987 (May 28, 2010)

LincTex said:


> WOW! Not around here you can't, and the salt mines in Louisiana are only a couple hundred miles away from here!!


I haven't seen bags of regular table salt anywhere. I have a Sam's club membership and at the store they only have the cans packed together. If I finally do find some the price will probably be a lot higher.


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## ZoomZoom (Dec 18, 2009)

weedygarden said:


> Maybe I missed something. I am wondering about why you would want to use this instead of Morton's table salt, or other salt varieties? You can purchase a 25# bag of salt for less than $4.00. I have seen it at Sam's, Costco, and other places.


That's the way it is around here. Our local grocery store carries them as well.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

LincTex said:


> WOW! Not around here you can't, and the salt mines in Louisiana are only a couple hundred miles away from here!!


Current price at my local Sam's Club $3.98 for a 25# bag.

I feel like I should have a dozen or so of these. For $50 I could have 300 lbs. My biggest challenge is carrying the bag!


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

This is the link to Sam's Club. You will need to type in your zip code to see the closest location. Then in the search, type in 25# salt. It will tell you if it is available at your Sam's Club or not.

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/homepage.jsp?selectedTab='allProducts'

I advocate for my stores to carry products I use or want to use. Some stores have a product request form to fill out. I have done this for several products at different stores. If your local store does not carry the salt in 25# bags, you can request it. Can't hurt to ask!


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## farright (Mar 25, 2010)

all i u for cooking is pool salt because i is similer to kosher in size and is 99percent pure i also have water softener salt for the system that is pure salt also. I store plenty of both.


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## LilRedHen (Aug 28, 2011)

timmie said:


> what about salt from the co-op for mixing with cattle feed?


As long as you get plain salt and not mineral or sulphur salt it is fine. The Rooster brought me a 50 lb bag once that he got at the dumpster. It had never been opened and came from the local feed store. I used it for canning for several years.


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