How to Manage Silica Gel Sachets

[witzcowitz]

Many plastic-box type GCs are prone to internal condensation.    The lid gaskets of plastic food boxes are often incapable of achieving an hermetic seal, thus expansion followed by contraction of internal air will inevitably draw in moisture-laden external air,  hence condensation inside as soon as the external temperature drops.     

 

Silica Gel Sachets are very useful adjuncts for keeping the inside of your GCs dry and the log books able to be written upon  ...  assuming the GC is either reasonably sealed or adequately protected from direct weather.    The usable life of one pack of silica gel sachets will depend upon the efficiency of the lid seal and the temperature range to which the GC is exposed.   This means that regular maintenance visits to your GC should be carried out as agreed to in the Terms and Conditions when signing up to use the geocaching.com website facilities,  until a life -expectancy determination has been made.    Logically, by keeping lid seals clean and in good condition the time between visits will be lengthened.

[geoawareUSA9]

I find it preferable to use containers that keep water out, such as an ammo can with a functioning rubber gasket seal or a PET preform tube. Silica gel can actually work to draw moisture into improperly sealed containers. But if this works for you and your hide, more power to you.

[+cerberus1]

8 hours ago, witzcowitz said:

Many plastic-box type GCs are prone to internal condensation.    

 

Silica Gel Sachets are very useful adjuncts for keeping the inside of your GCs dry and the log books able to be written upon  ... 

 

Please let us all know how your cache that was placed this month holds up long-term.  Thanks.  

If you found a few, you'd realize that if the containers wrong, you could stop after work each day and still have issues...

We like ammo cans; most our regular hides were/are ammo cans.  If you ever noticed, the military doesn't put silica packs in them for a reason.

We've yet to find a cache, metal or plastic, that had silica packs inside that didn't end up with issues from the soaked wad meant to protect.

[+niraD]

8 hours ago, witzcowitz said:

This dessicant system is ideal for keeping the internals of reasonably protected Geocaches completely dry - providing Geocache owners are prepared to visit their sites to carry out the maintenance for which they sign up. Experience suggest too few accept that responsibility.

 

My wife and I have used desiccant packets for seed saving.

 

For the desiccant packets to be effective, the container must be perfectly sealed. Any dirt or grime on the seal will compromise the effectiveness of the desiccant packets. How many geocache containers are perfectly free of dirt or grime on the seal?

 

The packets need to be rather large. For a 4-cup container, we used a packet that held about half a cup of desiccant. The little packets included with various products are totally inadequate. How many COs would use desiccant packets large enough to matter?

 

The packets need to be recharged frequently. We had to recharge ours after opening our seed-saving container 2 or 3 times, and this was for a container used indoors, in a relatively low-humidity part of the country.

 

I don't see desiccant packets being effective in a geocache, no matter how obsessive the CO is with maintenance visits.

[+kunarion]

2 hours ago, niraD said:

 

My wife and I have used desiccant packets for seed saving.

 

For the desiccant packets to be effective, the container must be perfectly sealed. Any dirt or grime on the seal will compromise the effectiveness of the desiccant packets. How many geocache containers are perfectly free of dirt or grime on the seal?

 

The packets need to be rather large. For a 4-cup container, we used a packet that held about half a cup of desiccant. The little packets included with various products are totally inadequate. How many COs would use desiccant packets large enough to matter?

 

The packets need to be recharged frequently. We had to recharge ours after opening our seed-saving container 2 or 3 times, and this was for a container used indoors, in a relatively low-humidity part of the country.

 

I don't see desiccant packets being effective in a geocache, no matter how obsessive the CO is with maintenance visits.

 

+1

 

To dry a rose, you need a quart paint can full of silica gel for one rose.

 

I've seen desiccant pouches opened into containers.  So now there are slimy pellets all over the wet items.  I also tried to dry a wet log book by placing it alone into a ziplock bag with a lot of dessicant (sockfuls), and those got dumped out onto the water.  It was a bucket that somehow developed large amounts of water, so it was pretty hopeless.  But the cachers don't seem to care if they make a mess for the CO to clean up.  That's what makes "desiccant" even less useful.

 

But for a small container, try placing a few absorbent (not shiny) business cards at the bottom of the container.    With a cache that gets a little water, the cards can be rather soaked, while the rest of the items can remain OK.  If you're checking on it anyway, simply swap out the cards.  It's a lot less work than "restoring" silica gel.  But you'll still need to swap out Swag and the log book/sheet when it gets moldy, "waterproof" or not.

[+lee737]

I've seen a lot of silica gel packets in a lot of caches, generally damp insides too. They just don't work sorry. You would need enormous packets, and they would need to be changed more often than anyone I've ever seen maintain a cache.

I try not and rely on any single container - and will have the logbook inside a smaller waterproof container inside the main one whenever possible, even bison tubes/preforms. One exception - our local hardware store used to stock these pelican type polycarbonate containers - we just checked one of ours that was submerged in a riverine flood for several days, and the insides were eat-your-dinner-off pristine. I trust those - the only problem is I don't trust the average cacher to close them properly! :O

[+cerberus1]

19 hours ago, lee737 said:

One exception - our local hardware store used to stock these pelican type polycarbonate containers - we just checked one of ours that was submerged in a riverine flood for several days, and the insides were eat-your-dinner-off pristine. I trust those - the only problem is I don't trust the average cacher to close them properly! :O

Would those happen to be Plano Stowaways?   In testing, they were the only low(er) end plastic containers we found that came close to ammo cans.

[+lee737]

4 hours ago, cerberus1 said:

Would those happen to be Plano Stowaways? 

Maybe.... here we know (knew?) them as 'Tactix'..... the hardware had them for $8 previously, I wish I had bought a case of them..... 

https://www.amazon.com.au/Tactix-320070-Small-Water-Proof/dp/B00N6JDLHQ

[+Mysterion604]

I just get mine from finished vitamin bottles*, those sometimes shipped with electronics, and also those found in those rapid COVID test kits (you know they are sterile coming out of the box at least).

 

(*never use vitamin C or B for this or the containers - strong smelling and will attract animals.)

Edited November 5, 2022 by mysterion604

[+vw_k]

When I worked for a company that handled computer equipment I could get my hands on as many large silica gel packets as I wanted (as large as peanut packets, I couldn't close my hand around them).

If the container let in water even these wouldn't help.

Spending extra on a good container is the best way in my opinion.