Anti condensation for containers

[arther dailey]

So from experiance whats the best anti con. bags/sachets to use in containers, mines sort of insulated but it sweats and drips in the gaps , its full so just want to know whats the best sachet type bag that actually works , no power to it so cant use de humid . thanks

 

[Ross365]

I think the most common ones are either silica gel or molecular sieve, and both of those can be used and regenerated by baking them in an oven. If you wanted really dry (like the gap between panes of double glazing) I think you'd go for sieve, but for more general use, silica gel may be the one to go for. If you're talking shipping container, you're going to need trays with a fair surface area.

 

[arther dailey]

yup shipping container,cheers

 

[MCKDAVID]

won't work very well, as ross said, to have any chance of success, you'll need a lot of the dissicant. Probably best option is to complete the insulation if possible, and ventilation by grilles will be about the best you can realistically achieve.

 

[Screwdriver]

Last time I was looking for a supply of silica gel desiccant, I think I ended up finding some farm supply where you could only get it in 25kg sacks. No good for me but might be a good place to start if you're trying to keep a steel container dry (you'll need a LOT of it!).

 

[Ross365]

Yes, I agree with MCKDAVID, ventilation would probably be good; installed as high as possible. Without any power, this is a big ask.

 

[Kram]

I bought some sieves and sillica gel, found they are rubbish for adsorbing from humid air*, dont waste your money. An open 25kg sack of rice willl absorb more water than the adsorbents and, in theory you could still bake in oven repeatedly and reuse.

* Sieves are good submerged in a liquid, to pull water out of fuel or ethanol, but in air its just too slow.

 

[knighty]

do you have power? a small fan will do more than the silica gel ever will (120mm computer fan will be enough)

if there's no power, get a small solar panel and use it to power a 12v computer fan

 

[arther dailey]

won't work very well, as ross said, to have any chance of success, you'll need a lot of the dissicant. Probably best option is to complete the insulation if possible, and ventilation by grilles will be about the best you can realistically achieve.

its full, havent got space to completely empty to fully insulate as cant leave whats in it out in the open over night ..

 

[arther dailey]

do you have power? a small fan will do more than the silica gel ever will (120mm computer fan will be enough)

if there's no power, get a small solar panel and use it to power a 12v computer fan

solar and fan sounds quite do able,thanks

 

[arther dailey]

I bought some sieves and sillica gel, found they are rubbish for adsorbing from humid air*, dont waste your money. An open 25kg sack of rice willl absorb more water than the adsorbents and, in theory you could still bake in oven repeatedly and reuse.

* Sieves are good submerged in a liquid, to pull water out of fuel or ethanol, but in air its just too slow.

I have a 10 kg bag of rice , so I will use half of that on a tray and see if it helps at all.ta

 

[500e]

Think bigger

 

[Screwdriver]

You would probably need a tray the same size as the floor. False ceiling perhaps. You'd still have to maintain it by replacing saturated product and never open the door else the atmosphere will equalise with the prevailing humidity.

That's why your shed becomes soaked if there's a warm day after everything's become chilled.

I would go with some other method but you did ask specifically for a desiccant...

 

[arther dailey]

You would probably need a tray the same size as the floor. False ceiling perhaps. You'd still have to maintain it by replacing saturated product and never open the door else the atmosphere will equalise with the prevailing humidity.

That's why your shed becomes soaked if there's a warm day after everything's become chilled.

I would go with some other method but you did ask specifically for a desiccant...

not so much desicant, just its full and I dont/cant empty at the moment , think I will hve to run a extention out and get a dehumidifier .

 

[Craigrob]

powered would definitely be better but we have a similar situation in Edinburgh with uninsualted containers used for storing theatre scenery. It doesn't get used much so not got the same problem with new, damp air getting in. But when we do move it we have 5 exhaling bodies heaving the stuff in, usually in the rain! And our are not insulated.
We've used the Kamp caravan dehumidifiers eg Kampa Damp Buster Dehumidifier - Wow Camping which seem to work well. You can buy the crystals in bulk and the price is decent. It seems to change the water into a solution which wont re-evaporate you will need to empty the tubs out however.
Worth a shot, they're not expensive.

 

[arther dailey]

Interesting , the only question would be calcium chloride is very much a rusting agent , will it give of fumes and rust everything ? or does an item need to be imersed for that to happen. thanks

 

[awemawson]

When I stored our household goods in a 40 foot container in the farm yard during our house rebuild, I put in a commercial dehumidifier (of the sort used by builders to dry out new builds) with the water collection drained though a hose to the outside (20 mm hole drilled in side of container). I wired the mains to it via a cheap humidistat and we had no condensation issues. I now rent the container out to the builder who did the rebuild!