Silica Gel Use

[dhl]

Hello,

Any tips on using silica gel in safes? I've bought a type that has the silica crystals in a cloth pouch inside a cardboard box with a moisture indicator card. When the indicator card turn's pink the instructions say to put the pouch in an oven at 240-degrees for 3-hours.

When the pouch come's out of the oven should I immediately put it into the cardboard box and return it to the safe? It seem's if I let it cool so it doesn't get the carboard box hot it would also pick up a lot of moisture at the same time. I guess I shouldn't be worried about the silica hurting the cardboard box. I figure the reason not to put the entire box in the oven is because it would dry it out and make it brittle. Also, should I worry about the hot silica in the safe creating moisture or will it just pick up whatever is already in there to pick up?

Any words of wisdom?

Thank you,

Joe

[SemiAutoSam]

Just let it cool enough to get it into the box and once its cool enough I put mine into a large plastic bag and then I store it in a 30 caliber ammo can that is totally devoid of moisture.

hope this helps.

[shonc99]

I used the Damp-Rid from Home Depot until I got a Goldenrod. The tubs of damp-rid last quit awhile and can also be found at Mall-Wort. I would recommend the Goldenrod though if you have a hole in the back of the safe where you can run the cord to plug it in. From then on, no more worries about humidity evrrr

[Guns R Tools]

I thought the golden rod just circulated the air thus reducing the chance of condensation on the metal surfaces. But not removing the actual moistures like silica or damp-rid.

Perhaps both would be best bet.

[metalhead357]

Whatever you do- DONT get the wet silica gel or the Damp rid water on any surface-- the stuff is not 'just water' and is really rather corrisive

[xrMike]

Whatever you do- DONT get the wet silica gel or the Damp rid water on any surface-- the stuff is not 'just water' and is really rather corrisive

Yes, Damp-Rid is 100% calcium chloride, which is a salt. So yeah, the water that drips down under the Damp-Rid is corrosive to metal.

I don't think silica gel (silicon dioxide) is corrosive though, but I could be wrong. Cool thing about the silica gel is that you can re-use it by drying it out in your oven.

[shonc99]

The goldenrod is actually a heater that keeps the temp in the safe just above the outside temp to keep condensation from forming. All it takes is just a few degrees temp difference to keep the moisture out of the air. It's best to get a rod as big as possible for maximum effect. Midwayusa has them for the lowest price if you are interested. You just run the cord out the back hole (if your safe has one), plug it in and voila, no more moisture. HTH

[dhl]

Hi,

Where should the box of silica gel be placed in a safe? Is it reasonable to assume that moisture will be heavier and the silica should be placed on the safe floor or as low as possible, or doe's it really matter? Would it work just as well if it went on an upper-shelf?

Thank you,

Joe

[metalhead357]

Hi,

Where should the box of silica gel be placed in a safe? Is it reasonable to assume that moisture will be heavier and the silica should be placed on the safe floor or as low as possible, or doe's it really matter? Would it work just as well if it went on an upper-shelf?

Thank you,

Joe

If its the lil' packets- I throw 'em everywhere inside. When I used to use the damp rid buckets I'd put in on the floor of the safe. Now I dont use nothin' and just grease up the guns better It gets "aired out" enough from me opening the thing 1000X a day