Silica Gel or Moisture Absorber

[Hans Tucker]

Ok I know that this subject has been done to death, but I want to ask the question:

"Do you use Silica Gel Packs or Moisture Absorber in you Telescope Case/s."

Reading the information on the website it states silica-based products can only absorb 20-40% of their weight whereas moisture absorber for use in packaging and storage will absorb up to 280% of its own weight in moisture.

https://www.silicagel.com.au/supersorb-moisture-absorbers/125gm-pouch-3-pack

[alan meehan]

i use Moisture Absorber on all my scopes and works well but need regular changing more so with this weather we have been having

[leon]

Yep, sure do use the stuff, in all my camera gear and some bigger ones in my camera cupboard at home.

You would be surprised how much moisture is in a house.:eyepop:

Leon:thumbsup:

[glend]

My big scope (ED150), resides in a dry room in my house, as have all my previous scopes except my 16" Dob. The dry room has a couple of the large dessicant canisters from Bunnings. The scope normally resides in it Geoptik bag, which is left open.
I have in the past used various dessicant products designed for scopes (which basically means they are expensive), including the Farpoint focuser inserts that are suppose to dehumidify the interior of the tube. I find nothing is better than having a dry room, obviously you need to have the room for that.

PS I have an observatory, and ran a dehumidifier in there for several years, but it's just not very effective, the dry room works much better imho.

[Dave882]

I’ve got a few different things going at once. A small dehumidifier (cheapo from AliExpress from memory) in my man-cave / scope storage/work area goes 24/7 and pulls a few litres of water out of the air each week.

I also have about 100g of gel beads (harvested from a bunch of smaller rechargeable packs I got off eBay) tied off inside a fabric pouch and inside a 2” tube in the visual back of my scope. This is especially important if I’m leaving the rig setup outside or else I get condensation inside my sct corrector plate. When they change colour I stick them in the oven to recharge.

In my larger cases I use these things: https://www.silicagel.com.au/rechargeable-dehumidifiers
The thing I love about them is that they are rechargeable in the oven and have an indicator that tells you when that’s required.

I honestly don’t think silica gel bags are enough to keep even a small room dry. I say that based on what I pour out of the dehumidifier each week- there’s no way the silica could soak up that much.

[doug mc]

I purchased a pack of colour changing silica gel beads online. They change from blue to pink when they have absorbed moisture. You spread them out on a tray in the oven, set at 120 degrees for an hour or two, and they recharge back to blue. I have a pair of Nikon aculon binoculars ( not water proof) in a sealed clip down plastic food container with the beads on a small tray. I have two aluminium silica gel canisters coming soon, and will use them in the eyepiece and the binocular boxes.

[By.Jove]

Make sure your "moisture absorber" isn't calcium chloride, that isn't friendly with aluminium, and aluminium coatings.