Sealing mylar bags in a bucket

Been doing buckets for several years now and I sometimes have problems when filling the bucket almost to the top then ironing the bag closed.The problem is getting the gamma lid on with the air pocket on top of the bag when almost full.A guy on the survival podcast suggested poking a small hole in the bag below the seal and using he vacuum tube on a food saver to get all the air out.I tried this tonight and used a small block of wood and the point of the iron to seal the hole.This seemed to work well as no air was left in the bag and the lid was easy to put on.You have to keep your finger over the hole until your ready to seal it to keep to from getting air back in.Just a possible tip,any thoughts?

You could wait for the O2 absorbers to do their thing. They will pull a partial vacuum if you give them time.

^^^^^^^^This^^^^^^^^^ Place O2 packets, push out as much air as you can, seal with iron, let them do their thing, place lid.

Just a thought, haven't tried this technique but in theory it seems like it might work.

Take a piece of plywood, plastic, metal, or whatever, cut it into the diameter of the bucket. Then cut a slot down the center. (Make it look like a big coin slot.) Feed the end of the bag through the slot, gently push down to remove the air, fold and seal bag. Then carefully remove this piece and move on to the next bucket. (Might consider adding a handle or two for that step.)

Like I said, might work, might be worth the effort. Hope it helps.

Badger