Shop Rice

[RIMSPOKE]

JUST THROWING THIS IDEA OUT THERE .

I HAVE HAD SOME RUST PROBLEMS WHEN THE RIGHT ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS COME MY WAY .
WATER WILL CONDENSE ON THE SHOP FLOOR & MANY METAL SURFACES .

THINGS THAT I THOUGH WERE SAFE CAN START RUSTING RIGHT INSIDE CABINETS .
I DO TRY TO KEEP THEM SPRAYED DOWN WITH FLUID FILM BUT YOU CAN'T CATCH EVERYTHING .

TOOLS HAVE NEVER RUSTED INSIDE MY GERSTHER BOXES BECAUSE THE WOOD ABSORBS THE HARMFUL MOISTURE .

I WAS WONDERING IF A LITTLE BIT OF RICE CAN HELP IN THE METAL CABINETS .
THE MOISTURE ABSORBING PROPERTIES OF DRIED RICE ARE WELL KNOWN .

I HAVE PLACED A FEW OPEN TRAYS OF RICE IN SOME OF THE CABINETS AS PART
OF MY CHEAPSKATE MOISTURE CONTROL SYSTEM . NOW WE WAIT FOR THE MICE .

 

[stupoty]

You could put it in old jam jars with holes pierced in the lid to help avoid spillage and discourage and mice etc.

I've seen and have had friends use "De Humidifiers" from the pound shop, their basicaly a big tub silica crystals that you stick in the back of wardrobes or cupboards that get a bit damp. They seem to fill up with water after a while so I guess their doing something.

Stuart

 

[Tony Wells]

Should work. Probably need to change it monthly, I'd guess. Just need to keep an eye on it. I tend to toss all the silica gel packs I receive into various drawers. Once a year I bake them dry again. No rust problems.

 

[P T Schram]

Should work. Probably need to change it monthly, I'd guess. Just need to keep an eye on it. I tend to toss all the silica gel packs I receive into various drawers. Once a year I bake them dry again. No rust problems.

Every tool I deliver with a desiccant pouch the pouch comes home with me. I store them in once-used mason jars. The seal is good enough for storing desiccants, but not food.

Warm them up in the jar, when it cools, it's sealed.

 

[ch2co]

Just microwave the rice every couple weeks, keeps it nice and dry. Or get some silica gel I think it has a better absorptivity than rice.
I've never had these problems unless I leave tools outside in the rain which doesn't happen around here very often.

CHuck the grumpy old guy

 

[David VanNorman]

I have heard that moth balls will keep the rust away. I just keep heat in my shop.

 

[RJSakowski]

I've had condensation and I've had mice. I'll take the condensation any time. After a more than thirty year battle in this century old house, I have finally closed up all the mouse access points. It has been more than sixteen months since there have been any signs of mice in the house. They ruined thousands of dollars worth of tools, equipment, and instrumentation over the years.

Silica gel is an excellent desiccant if you rejuvenate it periodically. When I worked in a chem lab, we used silica gel to keep our samples dry. It had a cobalt chloride indicator which turned from pink to blue when the silica gel was saturated. We rejuvenated it by heating it in a 150ºF oven. Once silica gel has saturated, it isn't effective at controlling humidity. In high humidity situations it doesn't take very long to reach saturation. Once saturation is reached, you are essentially setting up a constant humidity environment. If you are using it without an indicator it is better to err on the conservative side and rejuvenate it on a regular basis. It also functions best in a sealed environment where ingress of moisture is limited.

 

[Eddyde]

OP,
Curious, what are the "right atmospheric conditions", Is your shop in a basement? When I bought my house it had severe moisture and mold problems in the basement. Especially in the summer months when warm humid air would hit the cool walls and condensation would occur. At first I used electric dehumidifiers, they worked but running them 24/7 starts to add up. Finally, I insulated all the walls and the problem disappeared.

 

[planeflyer21]

Should work. Probably need to change it monthly, I'd guess. Just need to keep an eye on it. I tend to toss all the silica gel packs I receive into various drawers. Once a year I bake them dry again. No rust problems.

Rimspoke, this is the same method I use here. Just make sure the silica packets do NOT touch a metal surface which you are trying to protect! It will develop a rust spot.

My shop is outdoors, recycled silica packs placed in each drawer and along painted machine surfaces. In my experience, the silica packs' moisture content varies up and down with the humidity conditions.

 

[mws]

Silica Gel works very well to achieve a very, very low humidity environment. Unfortunately, anything but a well sealed container is pointless as silica gel has very, very low capacity.
Calcium Chlorite (Sold as Damp-Rid) has much greater capacity and can be used in semi-open environments like closets and draws. Is the humidity level low enough to keep a cold piece of steel dry? I dunno. I have seen where a bucket of Damp-Rid has collected enough water that it overflows. So they need to be looked after.
I also have some luthier friends who need to dry guitar fingerboards to extreme dryness and they use a kitty litter which contains Silica Gel (white with blue crystals (I'm trying to find a brand name but they didn't recall). The description sounds a little like the calcium chlorite but they assure me it's not. It too is reactivated by baking in a low oven.
RJ,
Are you sure it wasn't 150 C. I've rejuvenated lots of Silica Gel in my lab days and I don't think 150F would do the job unless in a vacuum.
I have resorted to running a dehumidifier in my shop during the spring and fall months where evening's cool temps and daytime dampness cause the problem. One thing to look after, covers the whole shop.