How much silica gel do I need for a 4.6L airtight dry box?
Asked 12/29/2018
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I have a 4.6L airtight dry box for camera gear and want to know roughly how much silica gel to use. I opened a silica gel sachet and placed the beads in a small open container inside the box to improve moisture absorption. Is there a good rule of thumb for how many grams to use in a box this size?
Originally by user80881. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user80881
7y ago
2 Answers
5
A 5 liter container will have about .1g of water at 100% humidity at room temperature.
Each time you open the container most of the air in it will mix with room air. If your environment is 80% humid then the silica gel will adsorb about .08g of the water. Silica gel saturates at about 40% of its weight but to keep things dry you should limit it to 10% or less.
So, for your box, 10g of silica gel will keep things quite dry for about 15 openings or so. More if your room averages 50% humidity, less if it's really humid. You can re-use silica gel by heating it at 250F for a few hours which drives most of the water out.
Originally by user58107. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user58107
7y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
For a 4.6L dry box, about 10g of silica gel is a reasonable starting point.
A box this size contains only a very small amount of water vapor in the air. At room temperature, a 5L container at 100% humidity holds about 0.1g of water, so each time you open the box and exchange air, the silica gel only needs to absorb a fraction of a gram depending on your room humidity.
As a rule of thumb, 10g should keep a 4.6L box quite dry for roughly 15 openings in a fairly humid environment. If your room is drier, it will last longer; if it’s very humid, it will need recharging sooner.
Silica gel can absorb a significant percentage of its own weight in moisture, but for better drying performance it’s best not to let it get close to full saturation. More silica gel simply gives you more margin and longer time between recharging.
You can usually reuse it by drying it in an oven at about 250°F (around 120°C) for a few hours.
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