Camera Case Desiccants
Jan 20, 2019 14:41:00 #
Oh no. Another thing to put on the list of things to clutter up my camera bags, right next to front lens caps and UV filters. I live and work in a rain forest, (Southeast Alaska) My camera gear gets wet all the time. When I get home I just take everything out of the bag and leave it sitting on the counter overnight. Magic, all the moisture is gone. Forty two years here and never a sign of mold or whatever on any camera or lens.
...Cam
...Cam
Scruples wrote:
I would like to share a recent photography hack that offers peace of mind. I went into my local pharmacy and asked the pharmacist if he could collect the plastic pill bottle desiccants. He didn't mind doing so since he knew I was a photographer. I threw some of these sealed plastic desiccant fans into my camera bag and tool box. They absorb moisture and humidity. Every month or so, I replace them. I never have any more issues of condensation or mold growth.
Jan 20, 2019 15:40:03 #
If you feel better using desiccants then by all means use them. I have to tell you though I have some of the top name cameras, Hasselblad, Leica, Nikon, Canon and Pentax from the monsoons in Vietnam, upstate NY, Alaska, Western Washington, Colorado, California coast, North Carolina and Idaho over 70 years. I have used those cameras in some bad weather too. I have never noticed any mold on any camera equipment, ever.
Dennis
Dennis
Jan 20, 2019 19:23:56 #
I've been throwing a few silica desiccant packets into my protective lens bags for about 30 years now. I can't honestly say if they help or not, but I've never had a condensation or fungus problem with any lens I've ever owned. Actually, I stopped changing them out about 10 or 12 years ago and still have never experienced any problems so my guess would be that any water vapor adsorption they provide is probably miniscule but also harmless (as long as they don't tear open which has also never happened to me).
I suppose their effectiveness could be "tested" by also using those little cobalt chloride impregnated "humidity indicator disks" which are blue when dry and turn pink when humidity is present.
I suppose their effectiveness could be "tested" by also using those little cobalt chloride impregnated "humidity indicator disks" which are blue when dry and turn pink when humidity is present.
Jan 20, 2019 22:43:24 #
rook2c4 wrote:
I simply go to the nearest dollar store when I need desiccants, and buy a dehumidifier tub for a dollar. Those tubs are filled with desiccants - an entire bucket of that stuff!
This is what they look like:
http://www.hollar.com/products/dehumidifier-disposable-moisture-6-3-oz
You can pop off the lid and take out as much desiccants as required. Or leave as is and place the tub and your equipment together into a sealed plastic bin.
This is what they look like:
http://www.hollar.com/products/dehumidifier-disposable-moisture-6-3-oz
You can pop off the lid and take out as much desiccants as required. Or leave as is and place the tub and your equipment together into a sealed plastic bin.
If that's like Dri-Z-Air and DampRid, it contains loose calcium chloride
(white flakes or balls) -- the same chemical that is used to de-ice roads
on the US East Coast.
Calcium chloride is extremely corrosive to many metals, particularly to steel
or copper, if it comes into contact with them. Excess water + calcium chloride
solution accumulates in the bottom of the tub, so one has to be careful not to spill it.
I use Dri-Z-Air and DampRid tubs in the modular freight container I use for storage,
and even in my camera cabinet. But keep the stuff off your camera if you don't want
it to look like a rusted-out Chevy.
The dessicant packs used for medicines, foods and cameras contain silica gel.
Jan 21, 2019 09:26:58 #
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silica_gel
Silica gel's high specific surface area (around 800 m2/g) allows it to adsorb water readily, making it useful as a desiccant (drying agent). Silica gel is often described as "absorbing" moisture, which may be appropriate when the gel's microscopic structure is ignored, as in silica gel packs or other products. However, material silica gel removes moisture by adsorption onto the surface of its numerous pores rather than by absorption into the bulk of the gel."
"Once saturated with water, the gel can be regenerated by heating it to 120 °C (250 °F) for 1–2 hours..."
Silica gel's high specific surface area (around 800 m2/g) allows it to adsorb water readily, making it useful as a desiccant (drying agent). Silica gel is often described as "absorbing" moisture, which may be appropriate when the gel's microscopic structure is ignored, as in silica gel packs or other products. However, material silica gel removes moisture by adsorption onto the surface of its numerous pores rather than by absorption into the bulk of the gel."
"Once saturated with water, the gel can be regenerated by heating it to 120 °C (250 °F) for 1–2 hours..."
Jan 22, 2019 19:32:21 #
DirtFarmer wrote:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silica_gel br br i... (show quote)
For silica gel packs, the recommended temperature varies, depending on the pastic material
used to enclose the gel. Manufacturers will usually make a recommendation for maximum
tempoerature.
Also, it's not a bad idea to use a slightly lower temperature (allow a margin of safety), ince
over thermostats and oven thermometers are often inaccurate. Too low a tempoerature means
the gel packs take longer to dry out; too high a temperature means the plastic melts or catches
fire.
Jan 22, 2019 20:15:39 #
a6k
Loc: Detroit & Sanibel
An earlier post mentioned the indicator beads which are blue when dry, gradually move toward pink when saturated. I use them in a produce which is intended for keeping aircraft engines rust free and includes a small air pump. When my new engine arrived and it was several months before it was to be installed, it arrived with fake plastic spark plugs filled with the desiccant and the indicators. They were blue when they arrived and gradually turned pink. I installed the dryer and it gradually turned them blue again.
The beads need as much as two hours in a convection oven, in a layer less than .5" thick and (I use) a temperature slightly above the important 212 degrees F. The color tells me when they are done and I quickly put them into the sealed jar which has an input side for damp air and an output side for the dry air. If you don't get them very dry they are probably from less useful to useless. Obviously. And tip: they don't melt at that temperature. A lower temp would work but it would thus need to take longer. It's pretty basic that the off-gassing of water vapor will proportionally faster at a higher temp.
While I've never used them for camera gear I am certain that properly used they would work well.
The beads need as much as two hours in a convection oven, in a layer less than .5" thick and (I use) a temperature slightly above the important 212 degrees F. The color tells me when they are done and I quickly put them into the sealed jar which has an input side for damp air and an output side for the dry air. If you don't get them very dry they are probably from less useful to useless. Obviously. And tip: they don't melt at that temperature. A lower temp would work but it would thus need to take longer. It's pretty basic that the off-gassing of water vapor will proportionally faster at a higher temp.
While I've never used them for camera gear I am certain that properly used they would work well.
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