Desiccant Help

[mike5123]

Where can you buy Desiccant in bulk inexpensive?
Is this stuff reusable?
Thanks

 

[Slugless]

I haven't done comparison shopping but:

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/GNS022-55291-2143.html

Some of the stuff I have came from a chemical supply house. It's just silica gel. Should be cheaper there but won't have any fancy colors to tell you when it's spent. It just gets kinda rock candy brown color, lightens up some during regeneration. I don't know whether if you regenerate it all the way it will return to the original white color.

It can be regenerated in your oven. The only problem I've had is the oven temp overshooting and crisping the edges of the little packets that some silica comes in

I've put bulk gel in a double layer of old dress socks. Untie them, dump the gel in a cookie pan & heat in the oven. I forget the exact temp & time, something like 16 hrs at 250 deg for the packet stuff. You can probably be more aggressive with the bulk stuff. (I'm certain you can but don't know the best home process, I'm familiar with industrial hot gas regeneration)

Don't breathe in any silica dust if you do the bulk thing. I don't know if silica gel is the type of silica that's bad for your lungs (silicosis) but I'm not going to take a chance.

 

[rangerruck]

you might go by some big box electronic stores, and see if they throw out
any of their packs, out in the garbage. Free.

 

[Wolfgang2000]

Hit Wally world and get the tidy cat crystal cat litter. It's a giant jug of silica crystals. Really cheap and works well.

 

[eliphalet]

Tidy cat is 100% silica, works great.

 

[Roadwild17]

Get a job working on 345KV circuit breakers. They come with 3 to 5 one liter bags in each operator cabinet. 3 cabinets per complete breaker. 5 breakers changed out last month, I'm set.

 

[SJG26]

do a search here too--------------otherwise---use the "flower-drying-crystals" from a Franks/Michaels craft store......................fine powder and really absorbs well----place in a gym sock and hang.

 

[woad_yurt]

Sno-Melt, the stuff you scatter outside on icy pavement, is hygroscopic (sucks water out of the air.) It's cheap, too, in Lowe's, Home Depot, etc. Stick some in a sealed container with a peeled banana. You'll end up with a speck of banana concentrate.

 

[Ohio Rifleman]

This place might be good for you too. Shipping is free.

http://silicagelpackets.com/index.htm

 

[JediJJJ]

I have two I keep in my safe. Both of them are rechargeable just by plugging them in. Recharge them every two weeks or so. There is a window where you can see the color of the gel change and know when to do it. Next time I'm in the basement I'll get the info on them. I remember one says Remington and I bought it at Cabelas. Bought the second, larger, unit later on Amazon at a lower price.

Found the link for the one from Cabelas...

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...&parentType=index&indexId=cat20799&hasJS=true

 

[Tom609]

Check here: http://www.marketworks.com/storefro...00000095558415&sfid=59167&c=359328&i=10344405

 

[dmazur]

http://www.gracedavison.com/products/adsrbnts/descpkg/teltalea.htm

This is a reusable silica gel in a 4"x2"x1/2" perforated can. (With a window) The granules are blue when fresh, pink when absobing and clear or white when saturated. A couple of hours in a toaster oven at 350 degrees dries them out for re-use.

IMO, the bags are convenient, and the silica gel contents is probably reusable, but the whole thing burns when you try to dry it! The can doesn't.

 

[heritageguy]

Midway USA www.midwayusa.com. Search on "silica gel".

 

[jrfoxx]

Ace hardware still sells the old buckets of Damp-rid, which I've never used for gus, but it has orked very wel for me for other appications.Pretty cheap too.That said, I've have heard a lot of good feedback on the Tidy cat, which would be even cheaper, and had in much larger quantities.'Twer I to need some dessiant, I'd personally be giving that a try.