5 Gal bucket handle mods

[Shadowdog500]

I wonder if I'm the only one who finds some irony in buying a $7 handle replacement for a $3 bucket.
Not that I'm not guilty either...

It does seem odd to put a better handle on a $3 bucket, but the origional bucket handles dig into your hand when you are carrying a heavy load. In addition the regular handles break to pieces and falls off long before the bucket dies.

 

[Sumboodie]

I just put gloves on.
Deal with hundreds of oil pails a week.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I just put gloves on.
Deal with hundreds of oil pails a week.

Yes, it appears you are dealing with new buckets with pristine handles as a means of moving them, not using them repeatedly as a "tool."

 

[acer66]

Like in the tool hack thread said I slide short pieces of 3/4 or 1” pex over the handles.

A slightly bowed/curved 1” pex works best for me.

Guess I also read here not trying to be a hero and fill the buckets to the brim with concrete.

Especially when tip toeing on freestanding basement block walls to core fill them.

GJ delivered big time (once again) for me on that one.

 

[Sumboodie]

Yes, it appears you are dealing with new buckets with pristine handles as a means of moving them, not using them repeatedly as a "tool."

Many of them don't have the plastic part.

Gloves are enough, but I've been dealing with pails for years, so probably just built some cushion in my hands.

 

[Jgaz]

Slightly derail: We use a lot of buckets doing trail work at the park where I volunteer.
Ive gotten empty buckets twice from a painting contractor that lives in the neighborhood.
He can’t recycle the paint buckets because they might have a thin layer of dried paint in them!

Ive gotten about 30 buckets from him. His paint buckets beat a HD or Lowe’s bucket all to heck.
They are much stronger and the handles seem to last waaay longer.
Might be a source if someone needs a few strong buckets for very little, if any money.

Some of the trail work we do might require us to put 15 or 20 buckets of fill (mine tailings) into the bed of the pickup, drive as close to the washout as we can get, then carry the buckets the rest of the way by hand.
For this I use a split piece of Pex that will slip over the original handle if it still exists. I keep the Pex in my camelback pack and just transfer it to whichever bucket I’m carrying at the time

 

[Skyman]

Scrap of PVC has always worked well for me. Seems to last forever.

 

[mike93lx]

I have found that by the time the handles are failing, the buckets are as well, so replacement handles haven't come up for me, but I like the idea of making a bucket more comfortable to carry and I have some 3/4 pex scraps around. I'll have to give it a try

 

[Bert_]

I have found that by the time the handles are failing, the buckets are as well, so replacement handles haven't come up for me, but I like the idea of making a bucket more comfortable to carry and I have some 3/4 pex scraps around. I'll have to give it a try

Depends on what you use them for. If you are carrying the same buckets daily or multiple times a day with feed or dirt you will break the handle long before the bucket.

 

[mike93lx]

Depends on what you use them for. If you are carrying the same buckets daily or multiple times a day with feed or dirt you will break the handle long before the bucket.

Absolutely, no argument there. I am not carrying around lots of stuff in buckets. My heaviest usage tends to be from mixing mortar and thinset during tiling projects, otherwise I'll grab a wheel barrow to mover material around.

 

[Bert_]

Absolutely, no argument there. I am not carrying around lots of stuff in buckets. My heaviest usage tends to be from mixing mortar and thinset during tiling projects, otherwise I'll grab a wheel barrow to mover material around.

Buckets work good for some feed products. Easy to draw a line on the side for measuring the same every time.

It was about the easiest way to get dirt up a flight of stairs. My project wasn't big enough to justify setting up something fancier.

If you have buckets around you can find endless uses for them.

 

[FrankLee]

I bought these and like them. They feel good in the hand. They are two halves that snap together.

^This^

Snappy-Grip Handles

I've had these on my car-wash buckets for 15 years.

^

 

[gleman]

Slightly derail: We use a lot of buckets doing trail work at the park where I volunteer.
Ive gotten empty buckets twice from a painting contractor that lives in the neighborhood.
He can’t recycle the paint buckets because they might have a thin layer of dried paint in them!

Ive gotten about 30 buckets from him. His paint buckets beat a HD or Lowe’s bucket all to heck.
They are much stronger and the handles seem to last waaay longer.
Might be a source if someone needs a few strong buckets for very little, if any money.

Some of the trail work we do might require us to put 15 or 20 buckets of fill (mine tailings) into the bed of the pickup, drive as close to the washout as we can get, then carry the buckets the rest of the way by hand.
For this I use a split piece of Pex that will slip over the original handle if it still exists. I keep the Pex in my camelback pack and just transfer it to whichever bucket I’m carrying at the time

If your supermarket has a bakery, the white buckets they use are pretty sturdy too!