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Moisture


Leleboo_05

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I'm about to place a small cache out. The container would be watertight, but i was wondering if there was anything i could put in (besides the log book lol) that would absorb moisture. I was thinking like the little crystal packets in bags of beef jerky and similar. I'm not worried about large amounts of water, just wanted to cut down on some condensation inside the container. The weather in alabama changes by the hour lol.

 

Has anyone ever tried this before? Success or no?

 

Thanks!

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For one thing, if it was packaged with beef jerky, it is going to smell like beef jerky and you will have most every critter in the area eating away at the cache container!

 

There is little you can do to prevent interior condensation. Any gel-pack would soon become saturated and useless -- unless of course, you attend to it on a daily basis. BTW, logbooks absorb just about the same amount of moisture.

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Those things really only hold a very small amount of moisture and once absorbed - they can't do anything more. Unless you intend to go replace it regularly, they just don't help very much.

 

I have had some watertight containers out for up to 8 years through 112 degree summers with 85% humidty and -30F winter days. No moisture inside.

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If it stays dry here I would expect it to stay dry just about any where else.

With a few exceptions, perhaps :rolleyes:

 

Something you may want to consider - those dessicant packs are meant to reduce moisture within a tightly sealed item (e.g. sealed plastic bag). Cabinets that are designed to keep camera from high humidity, for example, are active systems (they're electrically operated).

 

So, if it is for long term use, silica gel / dessicant packs are not going to work. If it is short term, instead of using the dessicants, when you're visiting the cache, just do whatever maintenance is necessary.

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As has been pointed out earlier, the silica gel packets work in a well-sealed environment. To do this, place the cache items in one or two freezer bags and the log in its own freezer bag. Place a silica gel packet in each bag and put the bags in the cache container. For a 1-quart freezer bag, look for unused packets that contain 3 to 5 grams of silica gel; packets that have been used for other purposes are probably exhausted or don't have enough silica gel. The more silica gel in the packet, the less frequently the packets need to be changed. I find that a 5-gram packet easily lasts a year in New England; I swap them out each fall -- after the summer's humidity has gone. Your results may vary, depending on local humidity and the frequency of the cache being opened. People who sell coin collecting supplies sell the packets on eBay; a common brand name to search for is "Sorb-It."

Edited by dbrierley
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