Home safes: Do any of you put Silica packs inside your safes?
Early_Milled_Latin_America
Posts: 6,474 ✭✭✭✭✭
If so how many and for how long before changing them? Were in the safe do you put them? Do you use glass jars and just put them inside or other methods?
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Is silica gel dangerous for cause if exposed?
This is what I use. Reheat when % rises above 42%. JMO
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
How about these are they OK? How many would I need to put in my safe and how long before changing them? Do I just put them in a glass bowl all in the same place (I mean 1 bowl with a few packs inside)?
Yes, I never throw these things away.
I don't use them. I I figure than any 1935-S Lincoln that survived in spot-free red condition from the time of the Great Depression will probably continue on in such a state, especially while protected in a safe deposit box by an airtite or a kointain for its foreseeable future.
Whit
How about these are they OK:
So they are good for how long? I cannot imagine forever.
I think a lot will depend on where you live. I live in the desert and it’s not even that humid when it rains. When I was in Oklahoma, it would have been very important and if you’re in an even more humid place (Houston, Louisiana, Florida, maybe some PNW places) it’ll be more important.
As for the life of the packets, no real clue, but I’d imagine if you had a handful of them they’d last for a year or so. Change them out with your smoke detector batteries.
How many depends, in part, on the size of your safe. Many manufactures will make general recommendations about volume. Example
How long depends on humidity conditions. Silica gel stops being effective when it can no longer absorb any more moisture.
There are two general types of silica gel used for dehumidification - non-indicating and indicating. Reference
The Wisesorbent product you are asking about is non-indicating (i.e., the beads do not change color when they need to be 'reactivated/dried'). In contrast, the product @jesbroken shared appears to be indicating (i.e., the beads change color when they need to be 'reactivated/dried').
Note - there are other ways to monitor humidity levels in the safe (e.g., indicator cards, and hygrometers).
FWIW, Wisesorbent indicates that the silica gel in the product you posted can be 'reactivated/dried', but not the packaging. Reference
John Albanese recommended putting copper pennies in your safe. I use this as a secondary measure. Eva Dry dehumidifiers have color indicators for when they need to be dried.
Yes, you can buy "indicating silica gel". The basic formula we use in our labs at work contains cobalt chloride, which is blue when dry and turns pink when wet. It usually comes as loose pebbles, which you'd need to pour into some kind of bowl or open jar. Those orange beads pictured above would use some other chemical as the indicator.
Silica gel is fully rechargeable; just put it in a regular oven under 100 deg C (NOT a microwave oven!) for an hour or so and you're good as new. Again, having indicating gel helps here in determining whether the re-drying is complete or not. It takes many decades of constant re-use - and the absorption of all kinds of odd, weird chemicals - before the gel is no longer fit for purpose. But without some kind of indicator, you're really just guessing as to whether or not the gel is exhausted, or whether or not the re-drying is complete.
How quickly you'd need to change depends on several factors:
- how large the volume is that's being dried;
- how much silica gel you're using;
- How humid the air is to start with;
- How airtight/air resistant the safe is.
The answer could range from "every few days" to "every six months". You won't know, unless you have some kind of indicator in there with the gel.
Does it harm coins? No, silica gel won't outgas anything, not even the indicating types. I've observed some weird toning/corrosion chemical reactions when the gel has been packed in a jar and kept in direct contact with the coins for several years, but as long as you don't do that, you should be fine.
Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations"
Apparently I have been awarded the DPOTD twice.
I live in an area of low or moderate humidity. When I had a small safe, moisture was a real problem. Papers would become damp seemingly overnight. Small safes also are not particularly safe. Get a big safe with a good fire rating, too heavy and secure for the usual burglar to handle, and use a product as described above. I’ve not had to be meticulous with moisture after installing a large safe. If a large safe isn’t practical I would stick with a SDB. JMO
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B098ZB33DP
These work really well for gear and things where humidity can be an issue
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
This Silica comes with a indicator. When blue silica is good to go. When it turns pink time to put it in the oven for 3 hrs at 240 degrees to dry it out and reactivate it. It comes in a box and the indicator gauge sits on the end of box.
Every time it is reactivated it is good as new. No need to buy new product all the time. I have used the same boxes for years.
I use the rechargeable ones as well. They have a colored indicator that tells you when it needs to be recharged. Never had issues with coins or guns that are stored in the safe.
Thanks for this @GRANDAM
I was just about to a Wizard order
"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working" Pablo Picasso
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Yep, works great. Toss them when the get to be no longer little pellets and clump up.
There's also been talk over the years about using common household rice in confined spaces. Placed in fine mesh bags.
Does it give off harmful fumes?......who knows!
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )