Ye Olde "Sock Stuffed With Rice" method of dehydration

And they don't get meal-worms in them!

rc

Wouldn't it be easier and cheaper to just dump the rice and put a new pile in? I mean, having the oven on for an hour plus the time it takes to get it out/put it back in all factors in.

Just a thought? You can get a pretty large bag of rice at wholesale clubs...

Wouldn't it be easier and cheaper to just dump the rice and put a new pile in?

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Wouldn't the big bag of rice be just about the same humidity level as the sock full of rice?

Seems the only way to get perfectly dry rice in the sock would be to dry it first.

rc

What about a box of Arm And Hammer baking soda?...corn starch?...

Wouldnt they all readily absorb moisture?

I'd imagine though, that rice would work much more gooder in a salt shaker than baking soda or corn starch.

salty

Find yourself a Petsmart (or similar type pet store) and see if you can find the Tidy Cats Crystals or ExquisiCat Pearls cat litter. Its just silica gel beads. They come in 14lb containers. Don't get the kind with the little blue crystals in it. There should be some that is only silica gel beads.

Or just get one of these?

http://www.campingsurvival.com/hysigelde900.html

It will suck the excess mosture out of Angelina Jolie's lips!
And tell you when it's done doing it!

rc

I had one of those, briefly. Note that the ad says enclosed space.

"protects 66 cubic feet of enclosed space"

My safes aren't enclosed, there's a crack around the doors and the crystals needed recharging every few days. Okay, sure, one big safe was in a very damp basement, but one of those boxes and one big tub of flower-drying crystals from the craft store simply couldn't keep up.

Maybe if your house is air conditioned year round, but I like the windows open and the humidity blowing through. Of course today there is no humidity and the sky is clear. Ha, just checked, 80* F and the humidity is 58.

I now have 3 Golden Rods and they just keep working.

John

I had one of those, briefly. Note that the ad says enclosed space.

"protects 66 cubic feet of enclosed space"

My safes aren't enclosed, there's a crack around the doors and the crystals needed recharging every few days. Okay, sure, one big safe was in a very damp basement, but one of those boxes and one big tub of flower-drying crystals from the craft store simply couldn't keep up.

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On the other end of the spectrum, I have one of those in a "30 gun" sized safe sitting in a finished basement in Utah, next to a 55 gallon tropical aquarium and I haven't had to recharge it in over 2 years.

Of course today there is no humidity and the sky is clear. Ha, just checked, 80* F and the humidity is 58.

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It's a bit humid here today, 84* and 28% humidity.

Is there a shortage of silica gel too?

Gentlemen: If I may offer a suggestion as a retired chemist. Check out Ebay and other Google sites for Indicating(blue) silica gel. Get some small (1/2 pt?)canning jars and place window screening over the jar's mouth and srew on top. screw top. But first fill each small jar half way with the silica gel and place in gun cabinet or safe. When the blue color changes to pink it is sturating with moisture and needs to be recharged in an oven. A 1/2 hour or so in a metal tray will recharge it. It can be done over and over again. I've been using six of these makeshift containers for over 25 years now with complete success. BTW, siica gel is sold commercialy under the name of "Drierite" by the W.A. Hammond Co. www.drierite.com Make sure your buy the blue indicating silical gel, and not the white non indicating. Both will work but the indicating is much better.

Couple questions...

How long does the silica gel work before it needs recharging?

does more gel mean it will keep the safe drier for the same amount of time, or keep the same "dryness" for a longer period?

The reason I ask is I am in the military and deploy for months at a time. I live alone, with no family nearby, so no one is available to check/change the silica gel for the duration of my deployment.

Do not buy the Blue Silica Gel, this stuff is bad. It contains Cobalt Chloride which is bad for environment is causes cancer. It is banned in the UK and must be handled and disposed of as Hazardous Material in the UK. Just get the "White" Non-Indicating or the Orange Indicating (Cobalt Free) Silica Gel!

Here is a link to the Orange Silica Gel:

http://www.silicagelpackets.com/loose-silica-gel/

bill, you're right. I didn't know this, and did some searching, and the blue appears not so good.

Billwright-interesting info. As a profession I do environmental air sampling (from smokestacks), and a couple years ago we were mandated by USEPA to use 100% blue indicating silica gel in our sample trains (an impinger full of blue turned mostly pink negated a test run, and had to be repeated).
I have 30 lbs. in a bucket that is 3 parts white to 1 part blue for home use, since we couldn't use it for field testing.
I think I'll look into this further. Thanks for the heads up.
Most of my concern has been the dust from pouring it into other containers.

I,ve lived in S. Fla. for 23 years now. All I have ever used is "charcoal briggets". When they start to get a white sheen on them--throwem away and put in another handful. Works great.

Rice would not work for absorbing humidity in a safe. Have you ever seen rice" bloat" from humidity sitting in your kitchen cupboards that is full of humidity?
Leave the rice in the kitchen for cooking

Does anyone ever use the little 15W electric Golden Rods that were so popular years ago?

I have a one in my safe. A lightbulb will do the same thing as a Golden Rod

I don't use it for de-hydration but I do use it for pain relief. I have osteo-arthritis and put the "sock" full of dried rice kernels into the microwave for about a minute then place it on the aching joint. The damp heat works wonders.