Camera Case Desiccants (Page 2): Most new gear is sealed in cellophane or some other type of airtight wrapping, unlike your camera bag. An unsealed bag with dessicant is just as...

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Delderby wrote:

Many / most manufacturers of photo equipment include little bags of dessicant in their boxes - these I save and place in my bag. Are there perhaps different types of dessicant?

Most new gear is sealed in cellophane or some other type of airtight wrapping, unlike your camera bag. An unsealed bag with dessicant is just as effective as turning on the air conditioner in your car and driving around with the windows open. The dessicant is only effective in an environment that is sealed.

Chadp Loc: Virginia Beach

Gene51 wrote:

More than likely these dessicants don't absorb moi... (show quote)

👍 agreed. I used to design desiccant dehumidifiers. Unless you are regenerating your desiccant material by heating it and then quickly putting them in a sealed plastic bag with your camera then they are doing nothing to keep moisture out of your equipment. The exception would be if the desiccant material has always been in a dry environment before you put it in the bag. But the bag has to be air tight either way.

Country Boy Loc: Beckley, WV

Sounds like a lot of work - maybe not for nothing but there are better ways. You don't know if the packets are already moist when you get them but you can purchase desiccant devices that have colored panels to let you know when it is time to dry them and some can be baked and some are electric but with them it is a controlled environment. Additionally if not in a sealed container it is a waste of time to me.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

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.

I use the following product and never have to worry about replacing anything. It also works perfectly.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1348545-REG/ruggard_edc_120l_electronic_dry_cabinet_120l.html?sts=pi-ps

jgudpns Loc: Pensacola, FL

Of course Amazon has a plenitude of desiccant packs in all shapes and sizes (and prices), and will deliver to your door!!

lamontcranston

Gene51 wrote:

Most new gear is sealed in cellophane or some other type of airtight wrapping, unlike your camera bag...The dessicant is only effective in an environment that is sealed.

I have bought quite a few pieces of photographic and electronic gear (cameras, lenses, etc.) in the recent past few years and they have all contained packets of desiccants in them. None of them were in "sealed bags". I have also purchased expensive firearms, machine parts, and metallic items, all of which were packaged with desiccants in them, and NONE of them were in "sealed bags". I think the manufacturers of these items have well-educated engineers working for them that have advised them that it might be a good idea to enclose these desiccants with their products to protect them in shipping and storage. I'm not an engineer but I'll go with the manufacturers who recommend these simple items to offer some level of protection against rust, corrosion, mold, etc. It's a cheap and easy way to possibly save an expensive repair bill down the line.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

I store gear that is not in current use in plastic storage tubs, and throw desiccant packs in with them. I generally replace them when I review and swap out any gear in the spring, while the humidity is low, but if I take something out in the humid summers I throw new packs in then too. I don't know whether it helps, but it's pretty cheap insurance.

Andy

stu352 Loc: MA/RI Border

Back in the day we used a desiccant that would change color to keep our small electronic devices dry during the cold part of environmental tests. Bright blue was dry, and it would change to a light violet when "full". A few minutes in the microwave oven in the cafeteria would dry it out for the next test. Not during lunch, of course...

olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

If the desiccant is sealed up with the gear, it helps. In an unsealed environment it would be quickly overwhelmed here in Florida. A/C keeps my gear safe inside. In our old RV we had 4 of the large DampRid buckets and they would be full of water within 2 weeks, dump/drain em, let em dry a while in the sun, repeat, I don't remember how often we refilled them with new DR desiccant....RV never smelled musty though, they did their job!

sodapop Loc: Bel Air, MD

Used that in our laboratory desiccators. It was called Ascarite.

stu352 wrote:

Back in the day we used a desiccant that would change color to keep our small electronic devices dry during the cold part of environmental tests. Bright blue was dry, and it would change to a light violet when "full". A few minutes in the microwave oven in the cafeteria would dry it out for the next test. Not during lunch, of course...

Strodav Loc: Houston, Tx

I live in SE Texas where humidity is a major concern for metal surfaces and for mold and mildew. It is very common to wake up to 78 degrees Fahrenheit at 96% humidity in the summer. Normal indoor humidity is usually somewhere between 55% - 58%. I store my camera bodies and lenses in smaller cabinet with a desiccant I got at a local hardware store. Label says is Silica (SiO2). Basically, its quartz, which is a big parts of sand. Just gives me peace of mind. I don't use it in my camera bags / backpacks as I figure the second I open the bag, it floods with moisture.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

Many years ago I got some dessicant containers designed to be placed in a container to keep things dry. They were an aluminum box with holes in it to allow the air to get into the dessicant. Embossed on the aluminum container were instructions to refresh the dessicant. I believe it called for a 275F oven for 3 hours.

Correction: 280F for 2 hours

(Download)

Desert Gecko Loc: desert southwest, USA

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.

You could just move to the desert.

Did you know you can re-use those desiccant packs? First of all, you should store fresh ones in an air-tight container. After you've used them for a spell in your camera bag, don't throw out the old ones. Keep them, and when you have enough to make it worth the trouble, place them on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven. If your oven has a pilot light, they should dry out in a day. If your oven has an igniter, turn it on to 150 degrees and leave the desiccants in for about 15 minutes to dry them.

You can google this for confirmation or other methods. Oh, and you can buy bulk desiccant packs online if your dealer cuts you off. They come in all shapes and sizes costing anywhere from a few pennies each to fifty cents or more depending on size and quantity (yes, some are large enough to soak up a small swimming pool).

Yours is not a bad idea for anyone unfortunate to live in a humid environment.

ewforbess Loc: San Antonio, TX

I have a desiccant pack made for a gun safe that plugs in when the crystals change color when it is due to be dried. Never thought of using it for my camera equipment though!

timcc Loc: Virginia

When I traveled to Costa Rica and was constantly moving from hot/humid outside to AC inside, I would put the lenses in ziploc bags and seal them with a desiccant pack inside before going indoors.

Any humidity/condensation in the bag would be absorbed by the pack. I would then warm the lenses still in the bags before opening them outside. Seemed to work well.