Bought a 7x7 plastic shed. I want to keep metal stuff there. What are
practical ways to keep it from rusting. I am thinking to do two
things:

1) Spray it with LPS-2 from a spray bottle
2) Have a 100 watt light bulb pn all the time.

Would this work? Any experience with this?

i

In article ,
Ignoramus10202 wrote:

Bought a 7x7 plastic shed. I want to keep metal stuff there. What are
practical ways to keep it from rusting. I am thinking to do two
things:

1) Spray it with LPS-2 from a spray bottle
2) Have a 100 watt light bulb pn all the time.

Would this work? Any experience with this?

i

What type of floor? One of the biggest problems you will have if it
doesn't have a vapor proof floor is moisture coming up from the ground
and condensing on your metal items.

CP

On 2010-10-10, Jon Anderson wrote:
On 10/10/2010 12:04 PM, Pilgrim wrote:

What type of floor? One of the biggest problems you will have if it
doesn't have a vapor proof floor is moisture coming up from the ground
and condensing on your metal items.

I learned this the hard way, though rust wasn't the disaster, it was a
very old bookshelf made of laminated hardwood, that delaminated from
moisture. I made a new floor for the shed, putting the flooring on
pallets I scrounged for free. This allows free circulation of air under
the shed and solved the moisture problem for good.

My shed has a plastic bottom and it shands on a solid concrete
foundation.

i

On 10/10/2010 12:04 PM, Pilgrim wrote:

What type of floor? One of the biggest problems you will have if it
doesn't have a vapor proof floor is moisture coming up from the ground
and condensing on your metal items.

I learned this the hard way, though rust wasn't the disaster, it was a
very old bookshelf made of laminated hardwood, that delaminated from
moisture. I made a new floor for the shed, putting the flooring on
pallets I scrounged for free. This allows free circulation of air under
the shed and solved the moisture problem for good.


Jon

On Sun, 10 Oct 2010 14:43:26 -0500, Ignoramus10202
wrote:

Bought a 7x7 plastic shed. I want to keep metal stuff there. What are
practical ways to keep it from rusting. I am thinking to do two
things:

1) Spray it with LPS-2 from a spray bottle
2) Have a 100 watt light bulb pn all the time.

Would this work? Any experience with this?


I'll work MOST of the time. Most of the time it takes very little to
keep the inside above the dew point. Then there's those few to several
days a year it won't be enough.

I'd suggest first build it up so water don't come in. Then I'd get a
small de-humidifier on a humidistat.

Karl

On Sun, 10 Oct 2010 14:43:26 -0500, Ignoramus10202
wrote:

Bought a 7x7 plastic shed. I want to keep metal stuff there. What are
practical ways to keep it from rusting. I am thinking to do two
things:

1) Spray it with LPS-2 from a spray bottle
2) Have a 100 watt light bulb pn all the time.

Would this work? Any experience with this?

Can you say COSMOLENE?

--
Ask not what the world needs. Ask what makes you come
alive... then go do it. Because what the world needs
is people who have come alive. -- Howard Thurman

Ventilate and air movement and keep the dew from setting within.
The best thing other wise and likely as well is to wrap or cover it.

Dew doesn't fall, it deposits. If you get dew on the windshield then
it will dew in the shed. If there is a nominal amount - consider the
tape that is used on water pipe - put it around the metal to heat the
stack.

Martin H. Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
"Our Republic and the Press will Rise or Fall Together": Joseph Pulitzer
TSRA: Endowed; NRA LOH & Patron Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot's Medal.
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Originator & Charter Founder
IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member. http://lufkinced.com/

On 10/10/2010 2:43 PM, Ignoramus10202 wrote:
Bought a 7x7 plastic shed. I want to keep metal stuff there. What are
practical ways to keep it from rusting. I am thinking to do two
things:

1) Spray it with LPS-2 from a spray bottle
2) Have a 100 watt light bulb pn all the time.

Would this work? Any experience with this?

i

On Sun, 10 Oct 2010 14:43:26 -0500, Ignoramus10202
wrote:

Bought a 7x7 plastic shed. I want to keep metal stuff there. What are
practical ways to keep it from rusting. I am thinking to do two
things:

1) Spray it with LPS-2 from a spray bottle
2) Have a 100 watt light bulb pn all the time.

Would this work? Any experience with this?

i


Hey Iggy,

A fan. A fan left on constantly, and blowing on the metal.

Brian Lawson

On Oct 10, 12:43*pm, Ignoramus10202 ignoramus10...@NOSPAM.
10202.invalid wrote:
Bought a 7x7 plastic shed. I want to keep metal stuff there. What are
practical ways to keep it from rusting.

1) Spray it with LPS-2 from a spray bottle

No. It's a good cleaner, but the residue it leaves isn't as
protective as wax would be. Wax or paint aren't enough, either,
that's why Cosmoline was invented. Boiled linseed oil
is a suitable wipe-on finish, I like it for my shovels and
such (does the handles good, too).

2) Have a 100 watt light bulb pn all the time.

Better, but... in case of condensing conditions (dewdrop
formation), the dew forms on whatever's coldest. That might
be the floor, the walls, or the steel items. The light bulb
might heat too much the items you don't want protected
(the floor and walls) which would endanger the items you
DO want to protect. By the time you add insulation to
the heat source, it's not just a shed any more.

Dehumidifier sounds like a good solution, but (trust me,
I've tested) the compressor/coils type generally
freezes up at any temperature under 60 degees, so most
places this won't work year-round. Electric bill is
gonna get high, too.

If you can put plastic bags around the items, and put some
dessicant inside, THAT would work.

On 2010-10-11, Jon Anderson wrote:
On 10/11/2010 9:05 AM, whit3rd wrote:

If you can put plastic bags around the items, and put some
dessicant inside, THAT would work.

For that matter, Tupperware tubs work great too. I sorta forgot to get
one tub of yard sale stuff back in the shed last year. It spent the
whole winter under the deck with half an inch of water trapped in the
lid. Nothing inside rusted, and nothing had been treated in any way to
prevent rust. So long as stuff goes in dry and it's not humid, tubs with
halfway decent sealing should provide good protection.

That's how I store my blacksmithing stuff, plus it is oiled, no rust
whatsoever.

i

On 10/11/2010 9:05 AM, whit3rd wrote:

If you can put plastic bags around the items, and put some
dessicant inside, THAT would work.

For that matter, Tupperware tubs work great too. I sorta forgot to get
one tub of yard sale stuff back in the shed last year. It spent the
whole winter under the deck with half an inch of water trapped in the
lid. Nothing inside rusted, and nothing had been treated in any way to
prevent rust. So long as stuff goes in dry and it's not humid, tubs with
halfway decent sealing should provide good protection.


Jon

whit3rd wrote:
On Oct 10, 12:43 pm, Ignoramus10202 ignoramus10...@NOSPAM.
10202.invalid wrote:

Bought a 7x7 plastic shed. I want to keep metal stuff there. What are
practical ways to keep it from rusting.



1) Spray it with LPS-2 from a spray bottle


No. It's a good cleaner, but the residue it leaves isn't as
protective as wax would be. Wax or paint aren't enough, either,
that's why Cosmoline was invented. Boiled linseed oil
is a suitable wipe-on finish, I like it for my shovels and
such (does the handles good, too).


2) Have a 100 watt light bulb pn all the time.


Better, but... in case of condensing conditions (dewdrop
formation), the dew forms on whatever's coldest. That might
be the floor, the walls, or the steel items. The light bulb
might heat too much the items you don't want protected
(the floor and walls) which would endanger the items you
DO want to protect. By the time you add insulation to
the heat source, it's not just a shed any more.

Dehumidifier sounds like a good solution, but (trust me,
I've tested) the compressor/coils type generally
freezes up at any temperature under 60 degees, so most
places this won't work year-round. Electric bill is
gonna get high, too.


Not sure about your 60 degree limit, I bought a dehumidifier about 17
year ago and it was rated to operate down to +3 C, one of the reasons I
bought it, it has run as expected every year since without maintenance,
except clearing the filter, and has certainly run near freezing on many
occasions. I've bought another since and it's going well. My electric
bill isn't excessive and my machine toools are rust free.


If you can put plastic bags around the items, and put some
dessicant inside, THAT would work.

Come to think of it, I do have a military dehumidifier for M2 tanks,
that can work in warm as well as sub-freezing weather. Maybe I should
use it.

i

On 2010-10-11, David Billington wrote:
whit3rd wrote:

[ ... ]

Dehumidifier sounds like a good solution, but (trust me,
I've tested) the compressor/coils type generally
freezes up at any temperature under 60 degees, so most
places this won't work year-round. Electric bill is
gonna get high, too.

[ ... ]

Not sure about your 60 degree limit, I bought a dehumidifier about 17
year ago and it was rated to operate down to +3 C, one of the reasons I
bought it, it has run as expected every year since without maintenance,
except clearing the filter, and has certainly run near freezing on many
occasions.

How old was the one which was freezing up? Normally, that is a
sign of either inadequate airflow, or more likely, low Freon. (The lower
the pressure, the lower the temperature at the evaporator side.) I
don't know whether any home dehumidifers are made with refill
connections and valves, however.

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
Remove oil spill source from e-mail
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

On Oct 10, 1:43*pm, Ignoramus10202 ignoramus10...@NOSPAM.
10202.invalid wrote:
Bought a 7x7 plastic shed. I want to keep metal stuff there. What are
practical ways to keep it from rusting. I am thinking to do two
things:

1) Spray it with LPS-2 from a spray bottle
2) Have a 100 watt light bulb pn all the time.

Would this work? Any experience with this?

i

LPS-3 is the stuff, not -2. More like spray-on cosmoline. LPS-2 is
more like a lube. I use -3 on tools stored in the shed during fall
and winter.

A lot depends on where you are, if it's the Southwest, you'd have to
really work at it to get stuff to rust. Next to the sea, it's going
to rust no matter what you do, just a matter of how much. A concrete
floor will contribute to humidity build-up, sealed is better. If you
can have an elevated and ventilated floor, things will be much
better. Might be some solar heating panels would help, the b-in-l has
exactly that setup in his big tool shed. Wouldn't take much to warm
up that small a space.

In any case, you're probably going to be resorting to LPS-3 or
Boeshield.

Stan

On Oct 11, 6:56*pm, "DoN. Nichols" wrote:
On 2010-10-11, David Billington wrote:

whit3rd wrote:

* * * * [ ... ]

Dehumidifier sounds like a good solution, but (trust me,
I've tested) the compressor/coils type generally
freezes up at any temperature under 60 degees

Not sure about your 60 degree limit, I bought a dehumidifier about 17
year ago and it was rated to operate down to +3 C

* * * * How old was the one which was freezing up?

About 10 years old; it might be that I've had a succession of cheapos,
but three (Kenmore on the outside, LG on the inside) models had
similar
behavior. The electric usage, too, was high (about $10-$30 per
month).
These had humidistat mechanical controls, I imagine a timer-cycle
unit could
handle the frost problem easily.

On 2010-10-14, whit3rd wrote:
On Oct 11, 6:56*pm, "DoN. Nichols" wrote:

[ ... ]


* * * * How old was the one which was freezing up?

About 10 years old; it might be that I've had a succession of cheapos,
but three (Kenmore on the outside, LG on the inside) models had
similar
behavior. The electric usage, too, was high (about $10-$30 per
month).
These had humidistat mechanical controls, I imagine a timer-cycle
unit could
handle the frost problem easily.

Not really. The problem is lower refrigerant pressure, which
results in a colder expansion coil (the cooling coil). When it is low
enough, the expansion coil is cold enough so humidity from the air
condenses on it and instead of following gravity to the drip pan, it
instantly freezes -- and somewhat insulates the coil from the air. This
progresses until the air can't flow through the coil -- so the thing
keeps running and consuming electricity, while not condensing much
humidity at all.

Yes -- with a long enough off cycle, the frozen water will melt
and run off -- but the duty cycle will be long enough so it will do
little dehumidification.

Do yours have valves to allow checking the pressure and topping
off the refrigerant? Depending on the age, you might need a license to
get the proper refrigerant (if it is any Freon, it is a controlled
substance these days because of the ozone layer hole. :-)

Good Luck,
DoN.

--
Remove oil spill source from e-mail
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---