Fighting moisture/ Desiccant packets in tool box

[Michael_in_DE]

How is everyone fighting moisture? I have a basement/garage in the North East not far from the coast, so after finding a tad bit of surface rust on some rarely used tools in my box I have decided I need something.

I have seen some pics of tool box layouts where guys are selling tools and have some Desiccant packets strewn in randomly.

Is that what you suggest? Advice? Things to avoid? i searched briefly but it was mostly a secondary subject.

Thanks guys,
-Mike

 

[Dingleburry]

I do the same thing. Dont know if it works or not as i havent really monitored it at all
You can bake them and reuse also.

 

[kythri]

I started putting camphor blocks in my toolbox drawers this past fall - seems to have alleviated the majority of surface rust issues that plagued me every winter.

 

[SantaAna12]

Does dessicant lose its effectiveness when heated/dried?

 

[Mr_B]

What I do when away and not using tools over winter is mist them over with wd40 and lay back in box.
Also found changing drawer liner made massive difference as old perforated style liner was holding more surface moisture over a new smooth tool box foam I found to replace it . Found spanners wiped /misted with wd40 stay perfect on shark teeth plastic racks.
Desiccant is useful but short span of real effectiveness in an out building scenario .
I had no trouble in last 3yrs since spent bit of money and effort dealing with it better .

 

[visionguru]

How is everyone fighting moisture? I have a basement/garage in the North East not far from the coast, so after finding a tad bit of surface rust on some rarely used tools in my box I have decided I need something.

I have seen some pics of tool box layouts where guys are selling tools and have some Desiccant packets strewn in randomly.

Is that what you suggest? Advice? Things to avoid? i searched briefly but it was mostly a secondary subject.

Thanks guys,
-Mike

Desiccants can be saturated with moisture quickly. Unless you seal the tools in a plastic bag, desiccants won't help much.

A wipe down with WD-40, clear paint...etc. might be more effective.

 

[JimNC]

For second home tools that don't get used but once or twice a year I keep them in a sealed 5gal bucket with a desiccant pack. They are all wiped down with an oily rag before going into storage.

Another possible idea is to build a tool cabinet that is reasonably airtight and add a goldenrod to keep the tools slightly warmer than the rest of the basement, that'll keep the rust away.

 

[Michael_in_DE]

I think I'm just gonna get better about light oil/WD40, and used a Desiccant as well. The link below provides Desiccant that indicates when they are half saturated and they can be heated and reused.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019NN1GBG/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[My Old Tools]

You can microwave desiccant packs too. I bought a gallon can of them from McMaster Carr for my underwater camera housing.

 

[Bretny]

I live in the northeast too. Just get use to it of pull everything out and oil it once a year.

 

[kythri]

Does dessicant lose its effectiveness when heated/dried?

No, that's the process to rejuvenate it. It absorbs water. Baking it dries it out/evaporates the water so that it can be used again.

 

[Al Borland]

The stuff I use every 5 years goes in a plastic bag with a dessicant pack. Main toolbox in the garage has a large plastic bag over it thru the winter. Keeps the condensation down.

 

[dnschmidt]

I live in Phoenix, what's rust?

 

[KnurledNut]

I live in Phoenix, what's rust?

Here, metal rusts.
There, rubber and vinyl "rusts".

 

[mmason7764]

I use Eva-Dry:

https://www.amazon.com/Eva-dry-E-333-Renewable-Dehumidifier-2-PACK/dp/B00LVN7BM0/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1502318259&sr=8-6&keywords=eva+dry

All my boxes have O-ring seals since they are kept in the back of the truck (kinda a long story).

For a shop a dehumidifier helps, I have used the appliance refrigeration style.

Coating on tools helps, furniture wax is the best I've found:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000DIWIM/?tag=atomicindus08-20

It dries hard and does not leave the tool sticky like a lot of coatings.

 

[PFSard]

I live in Phoenix, what's rust?

It's the stuff I find on a lot of tools at garage sales and estate sales. LOL These people must use a special process to create it.

 

[Ray-CA]

I get a 5-lb box of the packs from my daughter every 18-months or so. Just toss a couple in each drawer and throw them out maybe twice a year.

Ray

 

[tym]

I run a dehumidifier in my basement. Without that, in the summer it can easily get to 70%+ humidity! I keep it under 60% now and that seems to work. Ideally I'd keep it around 45% for optimal rust prevention, but my electric bill would be nuts.

 

[joseywales]

MEOW! My plan is to install a dehumidifier, but until then kitty litter crystals are the ticket. Too dry is not good also. This kitty litter, which I use in my cigar humidor, as do many others. Exquisicat http://www.petsmart.ca/cat/litter-a...rystal-low-dust-formula-cat-litter-20097.html

It should keep it about 55-65% humidity. Please don't ask me how, because I don't have time to type it out. Google it, there's plenty of reading out there.

Fragrant-free or unscented is what we use in humidors, obviously to protect the flavor of the cigar. If you want a peach smelling hammer, then go for it. But I went with scent free.

For now, I just cut the bottom third of empty 12 or 20 ounce water bottles, filled them, and tossed them in the tool box drawers. Where they didn't fit, I just used coffee maker filters.

In my humidor, i used tiny fans, old battery powered air-freshners, powered by their D cell batteries. That keeps air moving, intermittently, in the humidor. That shouldn't be required here. Folks trust thousands of dollars of cigars to these crystals and it's very economical.

If anyone can think of why this wouldn't work, I'd like to hear it. Again, it's a temp solution for me, but there are certain cabinets where I might leave the crystals, even after I get the dehumidifier in place.

 

[Stadger]

A piece of chalk works well as a desiccant and it's cheap.

 

[Gittgo]

I live in Phoenix, what's rust?

Denny. Its kinda like red sand but really really sticky.

 

[larry_g]

Desiccant works best in a sealed container. If in free air it will soon saturate and become ineffective. If you have non-mobile tool boxes then a heat source in the tool box will help. Rusting usually starts with condensation. Warm wet air will condensate on a cold surface. Keeping the tools warm prevents condensation. A small incandescent light bulb will work as well as some of the heaters for gun safes.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[rlitman]

I started putting camphor blocks in my toolbox drawers this past fall - seems to have alleviated the majority of surface rust issues that plagued me every winter.

+1 Camphor is a Volatile Corrosion Inhibitor.

You can get VCI infused plastic bags that will guarantee the contents remain corrosion free, or VCI paper to wrap things in.

You can also get chips of VCI infused cardboard to place into toolbox drawers (or tackle boxes) to prevent rust. This will work MUCH better than removing moisture.

Here's an example:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AYN8JDS/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Michael_in_DE]

Thank you gentlemen, after reading reviews on camphor blocks, looks like a lot of guys save their tools this way. I'll probably use a combination of both.

 

[joseywales]

Not sure the camphor addresses mildew, such as on rubber handles, does it? My Bridgeport screwdrivers and some of the rubber handles on my mallets had white spots on them, as did one of the drawer liners. That's what tipped me off, so I went with moisture reduction, instead of just rust prevention.

 

[woody 73]

I got hell for it (it will not work blah ,blah, blah) but an old post of mine some time back.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=350695

 

[rlitman]

Not sure the camphor addresses mildew, such as on rubber handles, does it? My Bridgeport screwdrivers and some of the rubber handles on my mallets had white spots on them, as did one of the drawer liners. That's what tipped me off, so I went with moisture reduction, instead of just rust prevention.

I don't believe it does. But FYI, there are many molds out there that will grow just fine in low humidity environments. Lens fungus comes to mind. Heck, mold was found to be growing on the outside of Mir space station parts.

If your tools are getting moldy, just clean them. So long as they're not made of a material that supports mold growth, it is more likely that the mold is on the surface.

I got hell for it (it will not work blah ,blah, blah) but an old post of mine some time back.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=350695

Silica gel is silica gel. The issue is that silica gel has very little capacity for water absorption. Less than it's own weight. So it works well, in a well sealed container. But once it's been out in the air for some time, it's already reached equilibrium with its surroundings.

If you want to re-use the packets, you need to bake the water out of them. You can put them in a 250 F oven for 5-6 hours. But use an electric oven, because the inside environment of a gas oven will be too humid (combustion byproducts and all that). Even so, they won't make much of a difference in a toolbox, unless it has a gasketed lid. If your toolbox resembles my Snap On, Kennedy, Homack, Hout or similar ones, the drawers just don't seal well enough for silica gel to make a difference.

I do however have a 5-lb bag of dry silica gel in my gun safe.

 

[JohnDeere1]

Those little packets don't work for **** don't rely on them I have many in each of my 13 drawers and it doesn't work one bit I have to spray everything down with wd40 or light oil and my box is in my garage attached to my house which is insulated and only 3 years old I keep a fan on or use the AC. I can put a new tool in my box like a pair of pliers and 1 week later rust if I don't oil them that's the only thing that works period! There's no rusty tools in my box I clean everything and keep it all soaked with oil the worst for rust is Thu inside of sockets I just had to clean alot of mine with clr and now my box has 0 rust. I believe if you have rusty tools in your box no matter drawer that **** spreads like cancer or Thu plague try to keep your tools rust free and oiled.