a question about using desiccant

[davidb]

hey everybody, this might be a stupid post, but i have looked through tons of forums on the use of desiccant and cant find anything on how to use it besides "just throw some in your safe".

i read a post on another forum about a guy who had made his own, and placed it in his safe without putting it in to a container to catch the accumulated moisture, which caused his rifle to rust.

i have a couple of those silica packs that come with electronics sitting loosely in my ammo can/closet where i store my guns, should i take them out and put them in some sort of container or are the packets designed to keep in the moisture they absorb?

thank you,
david

[Hopalong]

I use the Eva Dry re-chargeable de-humidifier

When the beads change color, plug the thing in until they change back

Simple, inexpensive, and seems to work well.

Check them out on Amazon, read the reviews, and decide for yourself

[g_conway]

Desicant is only usefull when the storage enclosure is not opened very often.
The stuff is not magic, and it takes a while to remove the moisture from the air ( also depends on volume of air and amount / condition of desicant.

Most desicants can be restored to almost new condition just by cooking in a oven at 230 degrees for about 15 minutes.

[davidb]

hey guys thanks for the replies, but what im asking is, is it okay to leave the small silica packets that come in electronics loosely in my ammo cans? i have heard of some desiccant systems that leak the water they absorb after theyre full. i would hate to open my can and see that the silica packs had leaked all over my ammo

[g_conway]

hey guys thanks for the replies, but what im asking is, is it okay to leave the small silica packets that come in electronics loosely in my ammo cans? i have heard of some desiccant systems that leak the water they absorb after theyre full. i would hate to open my can and see that the silica packs had leaked all over my ammo

You are getting some bad information, or not fully understanding what has been said.

NO desicant can "leak water." Once as desicant is FULL (which is dependant on current temp.) the most it can do is add a VERY small amount of humidity to the air if the temp. rises enough. That is how a desicant is recharged, bake dry and re-use.

If you are using New or recharged packs, in a sealed container, that remains closed most of the time, you will not have a problem.

The packs that come with most equipment are low quality, and will need to be baked before re-use, but they will work for ammo cans after that.

[davidb]

oh okay yeah i was under the impression that they might leak the moisture once completely full, thank you for that info i'll bake them tomorrow and throw them back in.

[billwright]

Your best to stick with "Silica Gel". Desiccant is like a family name, there are Clay Desiccants, Silica Gel Desiccants, stuff like the Damp Rid, etc.

But Damp Rid and some others turn into a goo substance and will leak. Silica Gel is a solid bead, even when absorbed with moisture it will remain dry to the touch. It will only release moisture after heating about 230 degrees F (so it is reusable if heated in oven, etc.).

I suspect the reason the guy's gun rusted is the Silica Gel was spoiled or non-active anymore. Silica Gel will absorb up to 40% of it's weight in moisture and then will stop absorbing. You might need to look at one of these Moisture Indicating Silica Gel Canisters, works great in my safe:

http://www.silicagelpackets.com/dry-packs-dehumidifier-products-canisters-boxes/dry-packs-silica-gel-dehumidifier-canisters-40-45-750-gram/dry-packs-750-gram-silica-gel-steel-canister-dehumidifier-moisture-protection-rechargeable-scented-available.html

[Yemff]

he likely got rust because the desiccant probably absorbed all the water it could, so it was still very humid in his safe.

[VictorFranko]

[The Gleam]

hey everybody, this might be a stupid post, but i have looked through tons of forums on the use of desiccant and cant find anything on how to use it besides "just throw some in your safe".

i read a post on another forum about a guy who had made his own, and placed it in his safe without putting it in to a container to catch the accumulated moisture, which caused his rifle to rust.

The bold part; are you sure the story wasn't referring to calcium chloride?

That is a product that dissolves by extracting water from the air - leaving a good deal of water in its wake, where a catch-can must be used. Dri-Z-Air is the most common brand found, and I have used it when setting up a new safe, but yes, you must be very careful to prevent it from spilling on any kind of metal. It won't waste any time causing nasty rust/corrosion, even on stainless.

Dri-Z-Air crystals are like a moisture-absorbing-magnet as it pulls the moisture from the air. When the crystals have grabbed all the moisture they can hold, the liquid will begin filling the bottom of the unit and the crystals will dissolve.

http://drizair.com/faqs.html

I have never had water emit or rust come from desiccants, their systems, or silica-gel packs. I have even had silica-packs touching metal and have never caused rust. I don't recommend that as anything is possible, just as it's logical to always wiping off fingerprints on your blued guns. But it's happened, and no issues arose with the desiccant packs touching my guns.

[GMG]

I use the Eva Dry re-chargeable de-humidifier

When the beads change color, plug the thing in until they change back

Simple, inexpensive, and seems to work well.

Check them out on Amazon, read the reviews, and decide for yourself

#1 ^^^

[tdyoung1958]

I buy an 8 pound bag of Pet Pride cat litter, which is one hundred percent Silica Gel crystals, and then I pour some into a cheap disposable plastic dish with a snap on lid. The lid has holes punched in it so that the crystals can absorb what moisture is in the air.

When the crystals in the plastic container get soggy, I put them on a disposable tin cookie sheet and stuff it in the oven for a couple of hours at 200 degrees, then pour them back into the plastic dish.

You lose some in the process, but an 8 pound bag, currently about 8 bucks at Safeway or $6 at Wally World, lasts for nearly ever. I'm still working on a bag I brought with me from PA when I moved to NV before coming to CA.

[johnthomas]

At work, we have the desiccant in clear plastic cylinders, it is blue and turns pink when full of water. I empty them out in a cookie sheet, dry them in the oven and they turn blue again. I gave some to a guy at work, he put them in a clean dry sock with no holes and hung in in the safe, works great.

[223556]

I use 2 of the Pelican 1500D desiccant.
It changes from Blue to Pink and you just bake in your oven for 3 hours or so until its dry.

http://www.dehumidifierreview.net/pelican-1500d-desiccant-silica-gel-dehumidifier.php