Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Sean
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Technically a good idea especially depending on your climate
DampRid contains salts: Calcium Chloride, Potassium Chloride & Sodium Chloride.
what are called hygroscopic halides as they like to absorb water (moisture)
However they would have a limit that after awhile they don't work anymore and cannot be regenerated (easily).
As for being in a safe, once you take the moisture out, that should be it unless you open it again.
IMHO - I would prefer a bag(s) of silica gel which you can regenerate periodically. That's what you usually see with electronics & health products
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Hopefully someone with knowledge can elaborate on this, but I've read on several occasions that fireproof safes are not what you want for stamps, as they release a fire-retardant foam that will ruin the material you're trying to protect.
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This is actually a gun safe that has nothing that is emitted, only the fire-resistant lining, which looks to me to be fire proof drywall. I figure they will at least be a little safer in there than on the bookshelf in case of a fire.
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Hi Everyone;
I just heard on the news with Scott Pelley that Governor Gerry Brown is passing statewide
water rationing! Go figure huh?
To address your concern Sean, you need to Google suppliers of silica gel. The Problem is,
this...most retail suppliers like Staples sells only 10 packs or 3-10 gram pouches. Most of
these retail items aren't much bigger that a salt/pepper pack you get at McDonalds, for
seasoning your fries.
Don't bother with those small packages, they are not as effective and are too useless when
trying to regenerate.
I have several pack of silica gel that range from 2-4 or more ounces. to put into prospective
1 ounce = 28 grams, so a 4 ounce bag of silica gel would be the same as about 37 of
the 3 gram pouches. The retail packages are packed in paper sometimes. The larger packs
are packed in tyvek and are easily reused. They are placed in an oven (NOT MICROWAVE)
at 245ºF for 16 hours. You should only have to do this once or twice yearly at most. I would
recommend 3 or 4 packs in your safe. I have a metal cabinet and use that amount plus I air
condition the room to hold down the humidity.
I got my silica gel as samples, because the companies I contacted did not sell retail, and
the only stuff I could find locally was not good quality. So they sent me these as free
samples, and asked only that I pass on what my research learned from my use to other
stamp collectors and preferable in a public forum such as this. He said that it was better
advertising than money could buy. I think he was also a stamp collector!
The package I have in front of me right now says: Desi Pak from SÃœD-CHEMIE, in Germany.
There is a stateside source and here is their phone number:
(505)864-6691, and (800) 989-3374 in Belen New Mexico. If you google silica gel in
Belen NM, you will probably find a web site also.
It was years ago that I got these as samples and that is all the info I have at this time.
Hope this helps Sean.
Just chillin'....
TuskenRaider
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I think a gun safe was seen as preferable, so hopefully that'll eliminate that foam risk for you.
There are also desiccants you can buy from places like Home Depot and Lowe's (perhaps for basements or cellars?). That might be an option for you, too, and probably in larger quantity and hence more affordable.
I don't know if there would be a risk of using too much desiccant. I know that when the hot Santa Ana winds blow here and the humidity drops to a low of around 4-5%, stamps curl and don't "relax" again for a long, long time. I've gotten to where I don't handle stamps on those days, as you can take a stamp out of a glassine envelope and watch it almost immediately curl. Some stamps of an era (I'm thinking of South Korean stamps of the 1960's) almost curl as if they've been rolled up.
-- Dave
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I have lived in Southwest Florida for just at 40 years, which is naturally blessed with high humidity and have never had trouble with any of my stamps being affected by humidity. The stock books and albums are normally closed and sitting upright on the shelves. I have many mint stamps in glassines that have never given me any heartaches either. The only time I had any problems was when I was new to collecting and bought a few dollars worth of plate blocks from a fellow in KCK, back in 1963 and put them in a coffee can with a plastic lid on it, only to discover that they were all stuck to the glassines when I next looked at them, around 1985 or so. I believe it is bad for mint stamps to be stashed away in an air-proof container and feel they do need some air to "breathe", as it were. I also store my albums in a gun safe, but it does not have a fire lining inside. I'm sure that if there is a fire in the house, the paper items in the safe would be ruined, even if they did not burn completely.
Mike
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My suggestion would be to check a cigar supply store and get a little humistat. My desktop humidor has a little stick on humistat that tells me when I need to add water to the reservoir. I know you're trying to lower, not raise, the humidity, but the gauge would serve you just as well. It won't take a lot of desiccant if you rarely open the safe, and a BUNCH if you open it frequently on humid days. It really depends on your target humidity and the ambient humidity.
I keep my collection in a separate climate controlled closet. I added a small return air vent so it keeps air circulating when the heat or A/C are on. If my house burns to the ground or is hit by an F5 tornado, I will lose my collection, but being able to easily access it and enjoy it makes that risk acceptable to me. However, I can also see the logic behind using a fireproof safe to store your collection. My question would be: What is the optimal humidity to store a stamp collection?
Lars
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Thank you everyone for the info. I think I will get a humidity gauge to monitor it.
Sean
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I am going to be storing some of my albums in a safe. To control excess moisture, I bought a little canister of a product called DampRid. Does anyone else use similar products or have an opinion?
Sean
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03:33:41pm
re: Moisture control
Technically a good idea especially depending on your climate
DampRid contains salts: Calcium Chloride, Potassium Chloride & Sodium Chloride.
what are called hygroscopic halides as they like to absorb water (moisture)
However they would have a limit that after awhile they don't work anymore and cannot be regenerated (easily).
As for being in a safe, once you take the moisture out, that should be it unless you open it again.
IMHO - I would prefer a bag(s) of silica gel which you can regenerate periodically. That's what you usually see with electronics & health products
Login to Like
this post
re: Moisture control
Hopefully someone with knowledge can elaborate on this, but I've read on several occasions that fireproof safes are not what you want for stamps, as they release a fire-retardant foam that will ruin the material you're trying to protect.
Login to Like
this post
re: Moisture control
This is actually a gun safe that has nothing that is emitted, only the fire-resistant lining, which looks to me to be fire proof drywall. I figure they will at least be a little safer in there than on the bookshelf in case of a fire.
Login to Like
this post
re: Moisture control
Hi Everyone;
I just heard on the news with Scott Pelley that Governor Gerry Brown is passing statewide
water rationing! Go figure huh?
To address your concern Sean, you need to Google suppliers of silica gel. The Problem is,
this...most retail suppliers like Staples sells only 10 packs or 3-10 gram pouches. Most of
these retail items aren't much bigger that a salt/pepper pack you get at McDonalds, for
seasoning your fries.
Don't bother with those small packages, they are not as effective and are too useless when
trying to regenerate.
I have several pack of silica gel that range from 2-4 or more ounces. to put into prospective
1 ounce = 28 grams, so a 4 ounce bag of silica gel would be the same as about 37 of
the 3 gram pouches. The retail packages are packed in paper sometimes. The larger packs
are packed in tyvek and are easily reused. They are placed in an oven (NOT MICROWAVE)
at 245ºF for 16 hours. You should only have to do this once or twice yearly at most. I would
recommend 3 or 4 packs in your safe. I have a metal cabinet and use that amount plus I air
condition the room to hold down the humidity.
I got my silica gel as samples, because the companies I contacted did not sell retail, and
the only stuff I could find locally was not good quality. So they sent me these as free
samples, and asked only that I pass on what my research learned from my use to other
stamp collectors and preferable in a public forum such as this. He said that it was better
advertising than money could buy. I think he was also a stamp collector!
The package I have in front of me right now says: Desi Pak from SÃœD-CHEMIE, in Germany.
There is a stateside source and here is their phone number:
(505)864-6691, and (800) 989-3374 in Belen New Mexico. If you google silica gel in
Belen NM, you will probably find a web site also.
It was years ago that I got these as samples and that is all the info I have at this time.
Hope this helps Sean.
Just chillin'....
TuskenRaider
Login to Like
this post
re: Moisture control
I think a gun safe was seen as preferable, so hopefully that'll eliminate that foam risk for you.
There are also desiccants you can buy from places like Home Depot and Lowe's (perhaps for basements or cellars?). That might be an option for you, too, and probably in larger quantity and hence more affordable.
I don't know if there would be a risk of using too much desiccant. I know that when the hot Santa Ana winds blow here and the humidity drops to a low of around 4-5%, stamps curl and don't "relax" again for a long, long time. I've gotten to where I don't handle stamps on those days, as you can take a stamp out of a glassine envelope and watch it almost immediately curl. Some stamps of an era (I'm thinking of South Korean stamps of the 1960's) almost curl as if they've been rolled up.
-- Dave
Login to Like
this post
re: Moisture control
I have lived in Southwest Florida for just at 40 years, which is naturally blessed with high humidity and have never had trouble with any of my stamps being affected by humidity. The stock books and albums are normally closed and sitting upright on the shelves. I have many mint stamps in glassines that have never given me any heartaches either. The only time I had any problems was when I was new to collecting and bought a few dollars worth of plate blocks from a fellow in KCK, back in 1963 and put them in a coffee can with a plastic lid on it, only to discover that they were all stuck to the glassines when I next looked at them, around 1985 or so. I believe it is bad for mint stamps to be stashed away in an air-proof container and feel they do need some air to "breathe", as it were. I also store my albums in a gun safe, but it does not have a fire lining inside. I'm sure that if there is a fire in the house, the paper items in the safe would be ruined, even if they did not burn completely.
Mike
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
re: Moisture control
My suggestion would be to check a cigar supply store and get a little humistat. My desktop humidor has a little stick on humistat that tells me when I need to add water to the reservoir. I know you're trying to lower, not raise, the humidity, but the gauge would serve you just as well. It won't take a lot of desiccant if you rarely open the safe, and a BUNCH if you open it frequently on humid days. It really depends on your target humidity and the ambient humidity.
I keep my collection in a separate climate controlled closet. I added a small return air vent so it keeps air circulating when the heat or A/C are on. If my house burns to the ground or is hit by an F5 tornado, I will lose my collection, but being able to easily access it and enjoy it makes that risk acceptable to me. However, I can also see the logic behind using a fireproof safe to store your collection. My question would be: What is the optimal humidity to store a stamp collection?
Lars
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this post
re: Moisture control
Thank you everyone for the info. I think I will get a humidity gauge to monitor it.
Sean
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