On Fri, 23 Nov 2007 12:58:36 -0600, "Rob Fraser"
FraserRacing"AT"RobFraser.Net wrote:

Guys,

I have a bunch of tubes of 36" filler rods for all sorts of different
materials and I'm not going to be using my gear for a while due to an
upcoming back surgery in Jan. I am thinking of just making some 6" dia PVC
pipe with a threaded tops and a capped bottoms and sealing them well. What
I'm wondering is should I put desiccant packs in the tubes and/or put
Schrader valves on them and vacuum evacuate the air out or purge them with
nitrogen gas or another gas to prevent or slow down degradation of the
filler. I sometimes see that I have dulled filler and I just wipe them down
with steel wool or MEK on a shop towel. Just looking to protect my
investments. Any ideas or things you use to protect your fillers? I am not
about to dump $15.00 on the store bought cute little 36" containers for rod
when I can make it for pennies on the dollar and do it better.


Thanks gang,

Rob


Fraser Competition Engines
Chicago, IL.

Your approach should work well, purged and backfilled with dry N2 or
argon. Rather than the cost of threaded ends and plugs, I'd bet that
caps sealed with duct tape would suffice nicely.

I've found that spools of MIG wire keep well in an ordinary large
ziplock freezer bag purged and backfilled with argon. I know that
polyethylene is not completely impermeable to oxygen or water vapor,
but the approach seems to work for at least several years.

If you can find mylar or saran (polyvinylidene fluoride) sheet stock
and a heat sealer, making bags of that purged with argon or N2 and
then heat sealed should be excellent archival storage.

Don Foreman wrote:

On Fri, 23 Nov 2007 12:58:36 -0600, "Rob Fraser"
FraserRacing"AT"RobFraser.Net wrote:

Guys,

I have a bunch of tubes of 36" filler rods for all sorts of different
materials and I'm not going to be using my gear for a while due to an
upcoming back surgery in Jan. I am thinking of just making some 6" dia PVC
pipe with a threaded tops and a capped bottoms and sealing them well. What
I'm wondering is should I put desiccant packs in the tubes and/or put
Schrader valves on them and vacuum evacuate the air out or purge them with
nitrogen gas or another gas to prevent or slow down degradation of the
filler. I sometimes see that I have dulled filler and I just wipe them down
with steel wool or MEK on a shop towel. Just looking to protect my
investments. Any ideas or things you use to protect your fillers? I am not
about to dump $15.00 on the store bought cute little 36" containers for rod
when I can make it for pennies on the dollar and do it better.


Thanks gang,

Rob


Fraser Competition Engines
Chicago, IL.

Your approach should work well, purged and backfilled with dry N2 or
argon. Rather than the cost of threaded ends and plugs, I'd bet that
caps sealed with duct tape would suffice nicely.

I've found that spools of MIG wire keep well in an ordinary large
ziplock freezer bag purged and backfilled with argon. I know that
polyethylene is not completely impermeable to oxygen or water vapor,
but the approach seems to work for at least several years.

If you can find mylar or saran (polyvinylidene fluoride) sheet stock
and a heat sealer, making bags of that purged with argon or N2 and
then heat sealed should be excellent archival storage.

Vacuum packing with a FoodSaver would probably work fine for MIG wire or
stick rods, the long TIG filler might be a bit awkward, but probably
still workable.

Pete C. wrote:
Vacuum packing with a FoodSaver would probably work fine for MIG wire or
stick rods, the long TIG filler might be a bit awkward, but probably
still workable.

There are vacuum food saver "bags" that come as a roll & you cut off the
length that you need. Here's one:
http://totalvac.com/accessory/parts/01-0029-01.html
22 feet x 8" wide, $11.95

Bob