SILICA GEL TREATMENT-OVEN THERAPY?

I have used silica gel to eradicate condensation under the lens of my TK75 and now another torch seems to fit that category.So I bought some more packets[50] because I need more, mostly because of the reason below!

I was told by a few members to put the packets in the oven at around 250/300F for about an hour to make sure all the moisture is out.I did that.

Here is the million dollar question! Are you suppose to put the packets in the oven ONLY ONCE or repeat the process after a few applications?

The reason I ask is I bought 10 packets 5 months ago and after a few applications I repeated the process and put them back in the oven to draw all and any moisture out again! Today when I took them out of the oven 7 out of the 10 packets had their seams coming apart with the beads pouring out! I am guessing I put them in the oven about 6 times.Apparently and understandably so, heating them several times has weakened the seam which probably has a minimal amount of glue or some other substance!

They are not that expensive but it would be helpful to know the "Correct Oven Method" so my new batch can possibly last longer!


Thanks ,,,,,,,,,,,,WHAT IS THE RIGHT WAY TO MAINTAIN THE SILICA GEL PACKETS??!!! :thumbsup:

i put my silica gel packs at the microwave 40-50 seconds high and you will notice the moisture from the silica pocket comes out repeat the process until the packs are dry

Capolini said:

I have used silica gel to eradicate condensation under the lens of my TK75 and now another torch seems to fit that category.So I bought some more packets[50] because I need more, mostly because of the reason below!

I was told by a few members to put the packets in the oven at around 250/300F for about an hour to make sure all the moisture is out.I did that.

Here is the million dollar question! Are you suppose to put the packets in the oven ONLY ONCE or repeat the process after a few applications?

The reason I ask is I bought 10 packets 5 months ago and after a few applications I repeated the process and put them back in the oven to draw all and any moisture out again! Today when I took them out of the oven 7 out of the 10 packets had their seams coming apart with the beads pouring out! I am guessing I put them in the oven about 6 times.Apparently and understandably so, heating them several times has weakened the seam which probably has a minimal amount of glue or some other substance!

They are not that expensive but it would be helpful to know the "Correct Oven Method" so my new batch can possibly last longer!


Thanks ,,,,,,,,,,,,WHAT IS THE RIGHT WAY TO MAINTAIN THE SILICA GEL PACKETS??!!! :thumbsup:

Click to expand...

Reactivating Silica Gel in Microwave



Google search

Reactivation Instructions

Norm

Heat's going to be there no matter how you remove the water, you could use lower heat over longer time, like a food dehydrator, probably longer lasting. My main experience with desiccants was for removing moisture from wave guides for RADAR.

Years ago, my mother had silica sand that she used for drying flowers. She would put it in the oven to remove the moisture, let it cool, and put flowers in it. She did this for years, in fact, she probably still has the same sand. Don't know if this helps.

Rice also works for drying things. That has save one or two of my cell phones that have gone through my washer...

If you prefer to use a regular oven to dry your silica gel, you can get it in perforated metal canisters. The smallest are about the size of a deck of cards.

Thanks everybody for the suggestions.

NORM: I TRIED PLAYING THAT VIDEO 4 TIMES. IT PLAYS IN SUPER SLOW MOTION FOR 6 OR 7 SECONDS AND STOPS?:thinking:


EDIT: I BELIEVE IT IS MY "PLUG INS" AND/OR COMPUTER. I TRIED WATCHING SOME OTHER YOUTUBE VIDEOS I SAVED AND THEY DID THE SAME THING!

EDIT #2!!! Everything is in order!! I shut computer down,,,,ALL YOUTUBE AND OTHER VIDEOS NOW WORK!!

Thanks again,,,,this microwave method seems to be a very fast, simple and effective way to reactivate my silica gel packets!!!:thumbsup:

Anything over about 150F will eventually dry out the packets, but the hotter the faster. Super hot temperatures (above about 300C/570F) can permanently ruin the silica gel. Another consideration is that the dye in some indicating silica gels (ones that change color with water saturation) is ruined at somewhere around 125 - 150C/255 - 300F, and unless the case material is metal, you're likely to melt the package material if you get it too hot. Except for some indicating silica gels where 250F is more conservative, 275F is a good compromise, and won't melt most packets. (Some metal canned products recommend as high as 350F.) The required time can range from one to many hours, mostly depending on how large and thick the bag or packet is, and of course the temperature. What I do is weigh them on a digital scale (now available very reasonably -- a Harbor Freight unit is adequate), put them in the oven, and pull out and weigh again about every hour. When the weight stops decreasing, they're dry. Once you do this a time or two with a given packet type, you'll know how long it takes. I just recently dried out a couple of fat 900g bags at 275F. The packets weren't fully saturated, and the total weight drop was about 16% of the weight of the silica gel. In the two hour period from 5 to 7 hours after starting, the drop was 3%, and it dropped only 2% in the next 3 hours. So at 7 hours they were essentially dry. Thinner packets dry much faster.

You can find a lot more information on the web by googling

drying silica gel

or similar text.

c_c

"I have used silica gel to eradicate condensation under the lens of my TK75 and now another torch seems to fit that category.So I bought some more packets[50] because I need more, mostly because of the reason below"

Hi: just curious as to the procedure for removing the condensation using the silica gel??.....do you place the light in a plastic baggie,along with some gel packs and close up,or some other method? I might have to do this some time. Thanks,HB

Hot Brass said:

"I have used silica gel to eradicate condensation under the lens of my TK75 and now another torch seems to fit that category.So I bought some more packets[50] because I need more, mostly because of the reason below"

Hi: just curious as to the procedure for removing the condensation using the silica gel??.....do you place the light in a plastic baggie,along with some gel packs and close up,or some other method? I might have to do this some time. Thanks,HB

Click to expand...

I put the packets in the battery tube while torch is NOT in use. I also Put the battery carrier w/ batteries in a tupper ware sealed container w/ a silica gel packet. The reason I also treat the batteries is because a few occassions my TK75 had condensation under the lens even w/ the battery tube treatment.

I got Three gram packets that work perfect for the TK75 and my NEW TN32 which had condensation under the lens a bit after using it the first time. It was on LEVEL 6[Turbo] continuously when I noticed it at 30 minutes,,it could have started at 10 or 15 minutes for all I know like my TK75 USE TO DO! Silica Gel treatment/maintenance works very well.

I have not had one issue in over 3 months w/ my TK75 since I have done this.

If you want more info. on this, you can get it on my thread from last year. A lot of people helped out and participated. If you read more than 100 posts you may see repetition and go a bit nuts!!! lol!!!

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...5-quot-Condensation-Fog-under-lens-again-quot

Thanks a lot! HB

I dry small Silica Gel sachets, as used with medicines, by storing in a jar over Calcium Chloride pellets - it's slow but no heat is needed.

You can get cheap Calcium Chloride pellets at the supermarket, by looking for refills for dehumidiers for use in cupboards e.g. Damp Rid.

Calcium Chloride pellets is such a good desiccant that it will continue to absorb moisture even when the pellets are wet.

MikeAusC said:

Calcium Chloride pellets is such a good desiccant that it will continue to absorb moisture even when the pellets are wet.

Click to expand...

Yes, it's used for ice melter when it's too cold for salt to work. The stuff is so damn good at removing moisture from the air, that it will leave pavement wet until you wash it away (when the weather warms up and you can wash it off). It's kind of annoying, because it refuses to release any of the moisture, which is why it always remains wet once it has done its job.

Oh, and BTW, I'll throw out yet again that rice is NOT a good desiccant. It will only absorb moisture it is in direct contact with, so is useless for drying out the inside of electronics. Will electronics dry out when left in rice? Yes, they will, just as they will dry out when left in open air. The rice is a placebo.

I've never tried using calcium chloride to dry out electronics in a sealed jar, but it sounds like it might work. Just don't let it touch your device.

I just bought a new Fenix light and am seeing what I think might be condensation on the reflector but not the lens. In the picture below, is this the condensation you guys are talking about or is what I have something else?

About the rice thing.

I stick my silica bags in a bag of rice in a ziplock and stick that in a south window for a day or two. The 10 minute rice soaks up water like a sponge.

Can't tell ya how many small gadgets that got dunked were revived using rice in the greenhouse method.