Foam nugget packaging discovery...

robtherake · Jul 15, 2014

Around Easter time, I won some posh chocolate, which arrived cosily packaged in those ubiquitous foam nuggets. Handy, I thought, for future packaging needs.
Anyway, the wife decided she wanted the box for something, so the nuggets were transferred to a plastic bag for later use.

The foam looked rather familiar, and moreover, had a sticky feel to it...surely it couldn't be, could it? A test sample dissolved under the cold tap in seconds, so I assume - unless there are other soluble foams in regular use - that, along with the choccies, there must be 50 quids worth of PVA nuggets. Bonus

Amazing what people throw away, isn't it? One man's rubbish...

sam vimes · Jul 15, 2014

robtherake said:
Around Easter time, I won some posh chocolate, which arrived cosily packaged in those ubiquitous foam nuggets. Handy, I thought, for future packaging needs.
Anyway, the wife decided she wanted the box for something, so the nuggets were transferred to a plastic bag for later use.

The foam looked rather familiar, and moreover, had a sticky feel to it...surely it couldn't be, could it? A test sample dissolved under the cold tap in seconds, so I assume - unless there are other soluble foams in regular use - that, along with the choccies, there must be 50 quids worth of PVA nuggets. Bonus

Amazing what people throw away, isn't it? One man's rubbish...

Just be wary of using proper polystyrene foam nuggets. They really don't disolve well!

I now have visions of a load of blokes hanging around their company's receipt and dispatch departments, going through empty boxes.

I've seen some suggestion that those packing nuggets, and the exact same fishing PVA nuggets, aren't really PVA at all. They are ruputedly some kind of potato starch concoction. That may explain why they are cheap enough to be used as packing. It doesn't explain the price the tackle companies sell them for though.

rubio · Jul 15, 2014

Crazy what ya can find to spend money on sometimes.
However not all packaging is the same in my experience. I threw out a bag of them I had been using exactly the way dissolving foam does. Disappointingly the new box I retained didn't work(and no they weren't polystyrene).
Hang on to them good uns boh

maggot_dangler · Jul 15, 2014

sam vimes said:
Just be wary of using proper polystyrene foam nuggets. They really don't disolve well! I now have visions of a load of blokes hanging around their company's receipt and dispatch departments, going through empty boxes.

I've seen some suggestion that those packing nuggets, and the exact same fishing PVA nuggets, aren't really PVA at all. They are ruputedly some kind of potato starch concoction. That may explain why they are cheap enough to be used as packing. It doesn't explain the price the tackle companies sell them for though.

From what i remember form some years ago they are very similar to those puffed wheat snacks in makeup but just made using wheat that has been marked as unfit for consumption so make fine packaging material ..

BarryC · Jul 15, 2014

Another thing to bear in mind is that mice love them.
I did the same as you and kept a load in a carrier bag.
I knew I had a mouse in the workshop but did'nt realy mind. Kept everything out of his way that I thought would be in danger.
Next time I went to the nuggets all gone.
Thought he might have used them to make a nest, search all over and no sign.

Maggot danglers post explains it.

symonh2000 · Jul 15, 2014

maggot_dangler said:
From what i remember form some years ago they are very similar to those puffed wheat snacks in makeup but just made using wheat that has been marked as unfit for consumption so make fine packaging material ..

I know of someone who used to eat them. He worked in the R&D department of a company I used to work for, and whenever he felt hungry he would grab a handful of the wheat based packing material, add some salt and get stuck in.

peter crabtree · Jul 15, 2014

I used to receive many parcels filled with similar chips.
If the package got wet in transit the whole lot turned to mush.
Anyway, can someone enlighten me on their use fishing wise?

sam vimes · Jul 15, 2014

peter crabtree said:
Anyway, can someone enlighten me on their use fishing wise?

Carpers tend to use them. One reason to use them is to mask a hookpoint when fishing an area covered in a bit of light weed. Another is help prevent a hook and hookbait sinking into light silt on the cast. The third is to use as an indication as to where a hookbait is lying. They tend to pop up to the surface as they melt off the hook. I'm sure that there are more uses, but they are the ones I'm familiar with.

Philip · Jul 15, 2014

like a few others i have been lucky enough to happen across the wheat versions from time to time rather than the polysyrene ones, including a recent "jackpot" find of a giant cardboard box filled with thousands of them (an old box that had been carrying computer equipment for anyone interested)

the issue i have however is that they tend to dissolve too quickly. in anything but the shallowest water i think they come off well before you hook sinks to the bottom so although they are still good for showing where your bait has landed, i am not convinced they really helpto mask it from weed if you see what i mean

robtherake · Jul 16, 2014

sam vimes said:
Carpers tend to use them. One reason to use them is to mask a hookpoint when fishing an area covered in a bit of light weed. Another is help prevent a hook and hookbait sinking into light silt on the cast. The third is to use as an indication as to where a hookbait is lying. They tend to pop up to the surface as they melt off the hook. I'm sure that there are more uses, but they are the ones I'm familiar with.

It's useful to fold a piece over the hook point if you're placing both lead and rig in a solid PVA bag, so you can be fairly sure that the point hasn't been masked by any of the components in your bag mix.

---------- Post added at 17:05 ---------- Previous post was at 17:03 ----------

Philip said:
like a few others i have been lucky enough to happen across the wheat versions from time to time rather than the polysyrene ones, including a recent "jackpot" find of a giant cardboard box filled with thousands of them (an old box that had been carrying computer equipment for anyone interested)

the issue i have however is that they tend to dissolve too quickly. in anything but the shallowest water i think they come off well before you hook sinks to the bottom so although they are still good for showing where your bait has landed, i am not convinced they really helpto mask it from weed if you see what i mean

Are the wheat nuggets identical in appearance to the ones we buy? These ones are pure white.

nicepix · Jul 16, 2014

I bought a battery for the camper van and it came packed with several slabs of high density foam that can be turned into float bodies. Have you seen how much they sell that stuff for?

robtherake · Jul 16, 2014

nicepix said:
I bought a battery for the camper van and it came packed with several slabs of high density foam that can be turned into float bodies. Have you seen how much they sell that stuff for?

Result! Very nice indeed.

Philip · Jul 16, 2014

the wheat ones i see are generally a more sort of yellow colour to the tackle shop ones but i have seen others that look the same to me anyway. generally if its brilliant white ina packaging box its usually polystyrene but sticking em under a tap will let you know for sure...

mark brailsford 2 · Jul 17, 2014

It's the chocks I'm concerned about Rob, were they Thorntons? If they were I would have thrown them in the bin!

I have a few friends that work in the Thornton factory (it's local to me) and they will not touch the stuff

robtherake · Jul 17, 2014

mark brailsford 2 said:
It's the chocks I'm concerned about Rob, were they Thorntons? If they were I would have thrown them in the bin!

I have a few friends that work in the Thornton factory (it's local to me) and they will not touch the stuff

No, mate, they were Hotel Chocolat, and very nice, too. I also won a giant Thornton's bunny, but by that point was sick of the sight of the stuff, so the rest of the family fought over that one.

BTW, what is it about Thornton's that's so off-putting?

kenpm · Jul 18, 2014

We often get poly package fillers in various colours and the wheat based package filler usually in white or a sort of beige colour,easy way to tell is lick them and the wheat based dissolve but the poly do not.

Nobby C (ACA) · Jul 25, 2014

One use I have for them is by using a long baiting needle I thread them lengthways on a soft hooklink and that prevents tangles on a cast. It does restrict the aerodynamics somewhat but it works for me.

Foam nugget packaging discovery...

robtherake

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sam vimes

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rubio

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maggot_dangler

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BarryC

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symonh2000

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peter crabtree

AKA Simon, 1953 - 2022 (RIP)

sam vimes

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Philip

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robtherake

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nicepix

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robtherake

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Philip

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mark brailsford 2

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robtherake

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kenpm

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Nobby C (ACA)

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