And here's another , I get all or most of my supplies from one or the other http://www.brent-krueger.com/silica.html rzage
Any dessicant will have to be either replaced or recharged. I prefer the latter. And I want recharging to be easy; none of this oven-baked deal. So I use EvaDry. A small plastic case one plugs into the wall for a few hours, then remove it from the wall and put it in the safe. Very easy, gets me down to 16-18%rh. Google. E-bay. Amazon. "EvaDry".
I buy mine at the gun store people buy it to keep their "powder dry" added bonus; buy a gun to protect your coins.
Any specific product recomendations? I don't want to be recharging every week, nor do I want to spend alot. Thanks
rzage; thanks! its one of my crown jewels TheNoost; I buy these little tins with desiccant in them (you recharge them in the oven)the amount of time they last depends on the size of the space they are in. I have had them last a year in a largish safety deposit box. If you have a large space that you keep the coins in, or something very "leaky" expect to recharge them more often (no matter what method you use)
The frequency of recharge depends on a number of variables. Size of airspace in the safe, wetness of ambient air, amount of dessicant, desired dryness of air... Recharging is so effortless I just plug one in once a week and put it in the safe the next morning. EZ. I've got three EvaDrys in all, so there are always at least two fresh ones in there. With my rig, any given one gets recharged about once every third or fourth week. They have an color-change indicator to show how dry the dessicant is.
Be sure to measure the humidity. If you have a leaky space, you could be messing with all this dessicant, but only drop your humidity from 50% all the way down to 49%. What a waste of time ! If you don't measure the humidity, you can fool yourself into thinking you're in good shape when you're not. Here is a google search for "humidor hygrometer". For less than $20 you'll know where you stand. http://www.google.com/search?source...rlz=1T4RNWN_enUS270US270&q=humidor+hygrometer Be sure to get one that has a "max / min / reset" feature; when you pull it out of the safe, it's measuring humid outside air - not the inside of the safe - so it looks more humid than what your coins are sitting in. You want to know the history... what was the %rh when the safe was closed. The "minimum" value tells you that (what was the driest air since the last time you reset, which you do every time you open the safe).
Thanks I never thought of that , I figured if it stayed blue long enough it was doing it's job . rzage
My teacher for "Coin Care, Conservation and Preservation Methods" ANA Mini-Seminar was very much in favor of using plain cheap white rice. After a period of time throw it away and replace with fresh dry rice. Very cheap and hassle free. On the topic of hygrometers, he recommended that they be electronic, not a metal "spring" type.
The problem with rice is that once it absorbs a small amount of water, it is attractive to microorganisms and insects. If it was in a closed environment, maybe it would be OK, but I wouldn't use rice myself. Jim
buy a lot of shoes. jk one time i was riding my bike behind a drug store and i saw a spilled/broken box of hand sized dessicant bags all over the ground next to a dumpster. maybe you should ride your bicicle behind a drug store.
