Need advice on rechargeable dessicants

[hipower]

Ok...with all the choices on Amazon and e-bay...I'm totally confused. I'm changing some of my ammo storage around and am looking to store more in cans than before. Will be using the standard 556 cans and will have them stacked on a homemade shelving unit instead of the old safe I had stored bulk ammo in. Although will still be in the same room, I am concerned about the humidity in my area and around my home specifically. So...help would be appreciated.

I'd like to know what specific products some of you guys use for can storage.

The pillow type looks interesting, but what size? 2-3 gram bag per can? What kind of life can I expect with them? How well do they recharge in oven or microwave?

And most important...do they leave an odor in oven or microwave? That could get me thrown out of the house if it does.

Edited August 30, 2017 by hipower

[hipower]

No thoughts for the old fat man?

[Ronald_55]

I heard, I just don't have the answer.  I have the same question though.

Edited August 30, 2017 by Ronald_55

[MacGyver]

I like the ones you can recharge in the oven - seems like I do around 250 for several hours.  I've had some for years.  

I don't know about how many or how much.  I'd guess your use case will dictate that.  Just check them pretty regularly.  They're cheap enough in bulk that you could probably afford to use more than are strictly necessary if you're worried about it. 

[tbenedict]

I have two of the rechargeable (by plugging in) Snap-on unit for my safe that seem to work fine in my safe.  I put the fresher one on the top shelf and older on the bottom.  Then recharge and rotate one every few weeks.  Tractor Supply usually sells them for a reasonable price.  Think I have one from them and one from Amazon.

 

[Danger Rane]

I haven't ever used the soft packs, so I have no feedback on those. I buy the 40 gram rechargeable canisters from Midway (probably available on Amazon as well) and they fit perfectly into my ammo cans. I put one canister (similar in size to an Altoid tin) in each ammo can. It's taken a couple years to weed out which cans have good seals and which ones don't, but I am able to go 6-8 months without recharging the dessicant in my long term storage cans. My cans with crappy seals I keep in the garage, these are my cans that see more use and usually get recharged every couple months or whenever I notice the dessicant has changed color. I can fit about 10 of these canisters on a cookie sheet and "recharge" them in the oven in a couple hours. I have not noticed any smell left behind in the oven, and more importantly neither has my wife

[Sunfish]

Those bags last and last they have a slight Oder but it does not linger. 200 for a hour works for me I keep them in the safe along with a golden rod.   

[tnhawk]

I've always used an oven at 225-250 degrees to recharge them.

 

[peejman]

I've gotten away from rechargeable  desiccants. I get 2 lb tyvex bags from work.  I toss one in the bottom of the safe about every year. 

When I did use rechargeable bags, I put them in the oven at about 250 for a couple hours.  No noticeable smell. I would not put them in the microwave. 

[chances R]

I use the small rechargeable (oven) bags.  Put them in the brass I have cleaned in closable plastic jars.  no  problems.

[TNMTBik3r]

I made my own rechargeable bags. Buy a 5# bag of dessicant at Hobby Lobby or similar, and some mesh bags (think they were wedding gift bags or similar with a drawstring). 

Dump however much you want in the bags and tie off. I've been using them for a couple years now. I place the bags on a cookie tray in the oven at 230* to recharge (could likely use a higher temp from all I have read).

[MemHeli]

I'm using ones like this.  I like the volume of product - that's what it's all about in my opinion.   Slightly lengthening the time between recharging.  I recharge every other month in the oven.  No odor of any kind.  Bake toss her back in the safe.  Since my safe is indoors, and my A/C does humidity control, this is really doubling up for me, but I like to watch the stuff turn colors anyway.  Seems to work well for me as I've had no indications of moisture.

[Bubba Fett]

I picked up a 4-pack of "Reusable Car Dehumidifier" pillows at either Sam's Club or Costco a few years back.  I keep two in my safe, one in my car and one in the cabinet I store my ammo in.  

https://www.amazon.com/Zarpax-LV-A300-Reusable-Dehumidifier-Single/dp/B00PZ3VC36

The blue dot turned white on the one at the top of the safe within a few days of putting it in, but none of the others had ever changed from blue.  When I introduced grandpa's rabbit gun to the safe (which had been in a laundry closet since the 70's) both in the safe turned pink within a few days.  I've been nuking them per the instructions on the back every time they turn pink (twice each now) and they're finally staying blue for about the past week.  Around the same time I moved my ammo into my uncle's old navy footlocker (looks way cooler in the office than the Ikea cabinet did!) and it is starting to turn pink, too.  I'll probably be nuking it this weekend.

Dad got four of the same at the same time I got mine (I gave them to him for his birthday.  Ain't I thoughtful?), and he has had to nuke the one safeguarding his ammo once since he added some old milsurp ammo to his cabinet a while back.

I'm pretty confident they do the job reliably, given the factors involved whenever they have changed color.  So I trust them.

PS: After my trunk opened during a rain storm, I moved all four packets into the trunk of the car for a week after to help everything dry out.  I was nuking all four ever day as they'd turn pink within a few hours of putting them in the trunk.  They left behind a "dry" smell that reminds me of old cardboard but I've never noticed that in the gun safe.

Edited September 29, 2017 by Bob Lee

[hipower]

On ‎9‎/‎1‎/‎2017 at 12:13 PM, jonathon1289 said:

I made my own rechargeable bags. Buy a 5# bag of dessicant at Hobby Lobby or similar, and some mesh bags (think they were wedding gift bags or similar with a drawstring). 

Dump however much you want in the bags and tie off. I've been using them for a couple years now. I place the bags on a cookie tray in the oven at 230* to recharge (could likely use a higher temp from all I have read).

I may do that next time. Thanks.

I actually used my Amazon Prime and bought some of the individual packs to get started. The 55 unit/ 5 gram packs. I throw one in each can that has ammo that is still in original packing, 2 in those with loose rounds.

Edited September 29, 2017 by hipower

[hipower]

1 hour ago, Bob Lee said:

I picked up a 4-pack of "Reusable Car Dehumidifier" pillows at either Sam's Club or Costco a few years back.  I keep two in my safe, one in my car and one in the cabinet I store my ammo in.  

https://www.amazon.com/Zarpax-LV-A300-Reusable-Dehumidifier-Single/dp/B00PZ3VC36

The blue dot turned white on the one at the top of the safe within a few days of putting it in, but none of the others had ever changed from blue.  When I introduced grandpa's rabbit gun to the safe (which had been in a laundry closet since the 70's) both in the safe turned pink within a few days.  I've been nuking them per the instructions on the back every time they turn pink (twice each now) and they're finally staying blue for about the past week.  Around the same time I moved my ammo into my uncle's old navy footlocker (looks way cooler in the office than the Ikea cabinet did!) and it is starting to turn pink, too.  I'll probably be nuking it this weekend.

Dad got four of the same at the same time I got mine (I gave them to him for his birthday.  Ain't I thoughtful?), and he has had to nuke the one safeguarding his ammo once since he added some old milsurp ammo to his cabinet a while back.

I'm pretty confident they do the job reliably, given the factors involved whenever they have changed color.  So I trust them.

PS: After my trunk opened during a rain storm, I moved all four packets into the trunk of the car for a week after to help everything dry out.  I was nuking all four ever day as they'd turn pink within a few hours of putting them in the trunk.  They left behind a "dry" smell that reminds me of old cardboard but I've never noticed that in the gun safe.

Interesting. I didn't see these...another possibility for the next order.