Desiccant for gun safe

peddler

Just bought 3 lb. of desiccant at a gun show and its looks like it sealed in a paper package. Bag says: Desiccant, activated, bagged, packaging use and static dehumidification, reactivation time in bag 16 hours at 245*f. Am I supposed to leave in paper bag when I put into gun safe? Thanks

nmyers

I think that you want to cut open the paper packaging, & throw it away.

If you check out desiccant on Brownell's website, you will see that desiccant packaged for gun use comes in a cloth bag or a metal canister with tiny holes. Yours should be inside a cloth bag; if it's loose, well, you accidentally bought loose desiccant intended for repackaging. If it's loose, you will need to buy or fabricate a cloth bag to hold the desiccant.

Neal

EDIT: Usually, desiccant only needs to be in the oven for 2-3 hours; I can't imagine the need for 16 hours.

peddler

Thanks, I could not see how moisture got though the thick paper.

1sgret

I was a telephone cable splicer for years after the Army. We used desiccant in brown heavy paper bags. The bags were placed in paper insulated cable splices to absorb any moisture in the splice closure.

It always worked fine in my safe, but I did not try to reuse it.

I use the desiccant devices that you plug into an outlet to "recharge" them.

I've also discovered the "closet dehumidifiers" sold at the Dollar Tree stores. They are a one use item, but work really great. When the white absorbing material is gone, you discard them. They are clear plastic so you can see all the water they remove. They last at least three months & cost $1.00. My safes have a humidity level of 45% using them.

Snigley

We use a lot of dessicant to keep the instrumentation I work with moisture free. It comes packaged in heavy paper packets that help it absorb moisture. I would doubt that you actually need to remove the packaging yours came in if it is actually heavy paper. Just don't forget to regenerate it fairly often or it becomes worthless.

casper1947

I have several bags of:
ENGELHARD DESICCITE 25 TYPE I
REACTIVATION TEMP IN BAG 245~275F
REACTIVATION TIME 12 HOURS

THESE ALSO SAY "Desiccant, activated, bagged, packaging use and static dehumidification"
These were in shipping containers of electronic equipment.

oh and not to forget the safety note:
"NOT EDIBLE. THIS MATERIAL IS NOT EDIBLE AND IS NOT A PART OF THE FOOD OR OTHER PURCHASED PRODUCT"

littleperk

A little something I do as well. One of my medications comes with a little pack in the bottle. When the medicine is used up, I throw these in the gun safe.

mstrblaster

I once acquired a lot of dessicant that came in clear plastic bags. I get lots of cookies and candies in those ornamental tin cans (especially around this time of year). I popped a bunch of holes in the lids and put the dessicant in when I have finished all of the goodies. That makes it a lot easier to recharge in the oven.

Man, 16 hrs seems like a long time. Mine are 3 hrs at 325....

tsr1965

Once upoin a time, I run the R&D lab for an HVAC/RAC major components manufacturer. We made all kinds of brass shut off valves for split systems, along with accumulators, and filter driers, for the liquid lines, and suction sides.

We tested the components we used, and tried several different dessicants, but mostly molecular sieve. We did test for moisture absorbtion, by putting it in an oven for 24 hours, then weighing it, using it for a specified amount of time, with a known amount of water in the system, then weighing the sieve again. To totally dry it, it takes 24 hours at near 300 degrees. 16 hours at 250 degrees, will get you to about 80-85% dry.

The paper that it is housed in, is most likely a porous bag designed to let moisture infiltrat it. I would not "recharge" it in the oven in this bag. You would do well to get a quart sized, clean paint can, and prefforate it, and use that for recharging, and for use too.

Best