I'm wondering what, if any, desiccants people use around their tools
and in their tool boxes and stuff like that. Sure, it's prudent to oil
or wax tools, but a desiccant should also help.

Any suggestions for a desiccant natural or otherwise?

wrote:


I'm wondering what, if any, desiccants people use around their tools
and in their tool boxes and stuff like that. Sure, it's prudent to oil
or wax tools, but a desiccant should also help.

Any suggestions for a desiccant natural or otherwise?

I live in a natural desiccant -- the Sonoran desert. Humidity around 10%
most of the time.

Not sure how to export it though


--

There is never a situation where having more rounds is a disadvantage

Rob Leatham

"Mark & Juanita" wrote in message
m...
wrote:


I'm wondering what, if any, desiccants people use around their tools
and in their tool boxes and stuff like that. Sure, it's prudent to oil
or wax tools, but a desiccant should also help.

Any suggestions for a desiccant natural or otherwise?

I live in a natural desiccant -- the Sonoran desert. Humidity around 10%
most of the time.

Welcome to Yuma.

Not sure how to export it though

We call that snowbird season.

On Jan 4, 8:44*pm, wrote:
I'm wondering what, if any, desiccants people use around their tools
and in their tool boxes and stuff like that. Sure, it's prudent to oil
or wax tools, but a desiccant should also help.

Any suggestions for a desiccant natural or otherwise?

I was just reading (and I forget where...) that some kitty litter is
actually a dessicant. Check the brand, but the picture that was with
the article was the "clumping" kind of kitty litter. I know not if
that is the difference between bentonite and dessicant kitty litter.

If it is a dessicant, you should be able to "recycle" it by placing
in an oven for a bit. I don't know if a microwave will allow the
humidity to escape or not, but a regular old-school oven should have a
vent.

Best of luck!

On 2010-01-05, xparatrooper wrote:
On Jan 4, 8:44*pm, wrote:
I'm wondering what, if any, desiccants people use around their tools
and in their tool boxes and stuff like that. Sure, it's prudent to oil
or wax tools, but a desiccant should also help.

Any suggestions for a desiccant natural or otherwise?

I was just reading (and I forget where...) that some kitty litter is
actually a dessicant. Check the brand, but the picture that was with
the article was the "clumping" kind of kitty litter. I know not if
that is the difference between bentonite and dessicant kitty litter.

If it is a dessicant, you should be able to "recycle" it by placing
in an oven for a bit. I don't know if a microwave will allow the
humidity to escape or not, but a regular old-school oven should have a
vent.

Best of luck!

Locally here in Finland we have a cat litter brand that is made from silica
gel. Very useful as a dessicant and not liked by cats. It is large whitish
crystals and can be regenerated in oven (temperature 120 C, 2 hours, vent
open). Unfortunately it doesn't have moisture indicator (cobolt cloride) so
the regeneration must be done more often.

seismo malm

On Jan 5, 12:44*am, wrote:
I'm wondering what, if any, desiccants people use around their tools
and in their tool boxes and stuff like that. Sure, it's prudent to oil
or wax tools, but a desiccant should also help.

Any suggestions for a desiccant natural or otherwise?

Tidy Cats crystal cat litter.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...st.html?cat=53

put it in a pair of pantyhose or knee highs.

In article , wrote:

I'm wondering what, if any, desiccants people use around their tools
and in their tool boxes and stuff like that. Sure, it's prudent to oil
or wax tools, but a desiccant should also help.

Any suggestions for a desiccant natural or otherwise?

Any dessicant needs to be periodically replaced, or renewed by heating. My
solution is to run a dehumidifier year-round in the shop.

On 01/04/2010 11:44 PM, wrote:

I'm wondering what, if any, desiccants people use around their tools
and in their tool boxes and stuff like that. Sure, it's prudent to oil
or wax tools, but a desiccant should also help.

Any suggestions for a desiccant natural or otherwise?

I live in a relatively dry climate, but if necessary I'd use the silica
cat litter for closed containers, and a dehumidifier for the shop in
general.

No matter what desiccant you use, it will be most effective in an
airtight enclosure.

Chris

On Tue, 5 Jan 2010 00:09:45 -0800 (PST), xparatrooper

I was just reading (and I forget where...) that some kitty litter is
actually a dessicant. Check the brand, but the picture that was with
the article was the "clumping" kind of kitty litter. I know not if
that is the difference between bentonite and dessicant kitty litter.

Actually, I use clumping kitty litter for my cat, so I've got lots of
unused litter on hand. I'll seal some in a porous bag and give it a
try.

Thanks.

Just what I need, cats crapping in my tools chest!

On Jan 5, 12:09*am, xparatrooper wrote:
On Jan 4, 8:44*pm, wrote:

I'm wondering what, if any, desiccants people use around their tools
and in their tool boxes and stuff like that. Sure, it's prudent to oil
or wax tools, but a desiccant should also help.

Any suggestions for a desiccant natural or otherwise?

I was just reading (and I forget where...) that some kitty litter is
actually a dessicant. *Check the brand, but the picture that was with
the article was the "clumping" kind of kitty litter. *I know not if
that is the difference between bentonite and dessicant kitty litter.

If it is a dessicant, you should be able to "recycle" *it by placing
in an oven for a bit. *I don't know if a microwave will allow the
humidity to escape or not, but a regular old-school oven should have a
vent.

Best of luck!

wrote the following:
I'm wondering what, if any, desiccants people use around their tools
and in their tool boxes and stuff like that. Sure, it's prudent to oil
or wax tools, but a desiccant should also help.

Any suggestions for a desiccant natural or otherwise?

Rice is a natural dessicant, that's why it is used in salt shakers to
keep the salt from clumping.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

On Jan 5, 3:09*am, xparatrooper wrote:
On Jan 4, 8:44*pm, wrote:

I'm wondering what, if any, desiccants people use around their tools
and in their tool boxes and stuff like that. Sure, it's prudent to oil
or wax tools, but a desiccant should also help.

Any suggestions for a desiccant natural or otherwise?

I was just reading (and I forget where...) that some kitty litter is
actually a dessicant. *Check the brand, but the picture that was with
the article was the "clumping" kind of kitty litter. *I know not if
that is the difference between bentonite and dessicant kitty litter.

If it is a dessicant, you should be able to "recycle" *it by placing
in an oven for a bit. *I don't know if a microwave will allow the
humidity to escape or not, but a regular old-school oven should have a
vent.

That stuff is silica gel, which is just what you need. Guys into
firearms storage use it all the time.

willshak wrote in
m:

Rice is a natural dessicant, that's why it is used in salt shakers to
keep the salt from clumping.


Just spread the last of the rock salt from last year on the driveway. The
rice kept it from forming a big clump quite effectively.

We've got ice thanks to rain changing over to snow. :-(

Puckdropper

On 06 Jan 2010 03:25:11 GMT, Puckdropper
Rice is a natural dessicant, that's why it is used in salt shakers to
keep the salt from clumping.

Just spread the last of the rock salt from last year on the driveway. The
rice kept it from forming a big clump quite effectively.

Any particular type of rice recommended?

wrote in
:

On 06 Jan 2010 03:25:11 GMT, Puckdropper
Rice is a natural dessicant, that's why it is used in salt shakers
to keep the salt from clumping.

Just spread the last of the rock salt from last year on the driveway.
The rice kept it from forming a big clump quite effectively.

Any particular type of rice recommended?

We just got the cheapest stuff from Walmart. If you spend any more than $2
on enough to handle a 50# bag of salt, you might as well just buy the salt
when you need it. (It was a lb or two.)

I'm tempted to say it was a long grain white rice.

Puckdropper

On Jan 4, 9:44*pm, wrote:
I'm wondering what, if any, desiccants people use around their tools
and in their tool boxes and stuff like that.

The old-fashioned solution was a block of camphor (like moth
balls, it made an odor and dwindled, but it outgassed and made
a moisture-repelling film on the nearby objects).

Dessicants are good for a short period of time, until they reach
their full moisture saturation (then, they're in need of
regeneration).
Calcium sulphate (white granules) with indicators (probably
of the cobalt chloride type, blue-purple when dry, turning pink
when saturated) is the best solution; bake it dry when it
indicates pink.

Like lots of folk, I operate a dehumidifier; it can remove 50 pints
(per day?
or maybe per week?) and only needs occasional emptying. When my
humidity-indicating weather gizmo shows 60 percent relative humidity,
I empty the dehumidifier (the full-tank condition shuts it down, so
it never operates more than a day or three from when it's emptied).

On Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:44:14 -0500, wrote:


I'm wondering what, if any, desiccants people use around their tools
and in their tool boxes and stuff like that. Sure, it's prudent to oil
or wax tools, but a desiccant should also help.

Any suggestions for a desiccant natural or otherwise?


A box of sidewalk caulk. WD40 works too.

In article , wrote:
On 06 Jan 2010 03:25:11 GMT, Puckdropper
Rice is a natural dessicant, that's why it is used in salt shakers to
keep the salt from clumping.

Just spread the last of the rock salt from last year on the driveway. The
rice kept it from forming a big clump quite effectively.

Any particular type of rice recommended?

I always use uncooked white rice in my salt shakers, same thing as my mother
and my grandmother used...

I can tell you from my cooking experience that white rice absorbs water *much*
more readily than brown rice. I'm not sure why -- I assume that's because
there's no bran on white rice -- but I know that it takes three to four times
as long to cook brown rice as white. After simmering for fifteen minutes, a
potful of white rice is done cooking, with all the water completely absorbed,
but it takes 45 minutes to an hour for that to happen with brown rice.

On 01/06/2010 05:36 AM, Phisherman wrote:
On Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:44:14 -0500, wrote:

Any suggestions for a desiccant natural or otherwise?

A box of sidewalk caulk. WD40 works too.

Sidewalk caulk, eh? I didn't know they needed to be sealed. Do you
just do the edges, or the cracks as well?

Chris

On Wed, 06 Jan 2010 11:20:47 -0600, Chris Friesen
wrote:

On 01/06/2010 05:36 AM, Phisherman wrote:
On Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:44:14 -0500, wrote:

Any suggestions for a desiccant natural or otherwise?

A box of sidewalk caulk. WD40 works too.

Sidewalk caulk, eh? I didn't know they needed to be sealed. Do you
just do the edges, or the cracks as well?

Chris


Chalk, sorry. Spell checkers dont get everything.

wrote in message
...

I'm wondering what, if any, desiccants people use around their tools
and in their tool boxes and stuff like that. Sure, it's prudent to oil
or wax tools, but a desiccant should also help.

Any suggestions for a desiccant natural or otherwise?


Saltines. Broken/Crumbled, not finely ground, in an open jar.

On Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:44:14 -0500, wrote:


I'm wondering what, if any, desiccants people use around their tools
and in their tool boxes and stuff like that. Sure, it's prudent to oil
or wax tools, but a desiccant should also help.

Any suggestions for a desiccant natural or otherwise?

Calcium Chloride. Non-"salt", or "calcium" road salt. A bucket of it
will soon be sitting in water.