Effective Drypacks

[Inayat Noor]

I am keeping my enlarger (Saunders LPL 4 X 5) in my garage. I live in Jupiter, FL and concerned about the humidity in our garage. I have looked into drypacks and am unsure which ones to get. The enlarger is wrapped in a breathable hood and the garage is cooler than outside but not air conditioned. I would keep the dry pack inside the hood. I would appreciate any recommendations.

Thanks,

Jim

[C. D. Keth]

I have used the pelican brand ones that come in a flat can. They have worked well and I like that it gives you a color patch to tell when it is recharged (in a warm oven).

[morecfm]

Could you store the smaller, more sensitive components in a conditioned space? Thanks for the reminder. I have a couple of enlargers in an unconditioned room destined to become conditioned and turned into a darkroom. I ought to pull the condensers and lenses into in-house storage to prevent fungus. I don't think the Omegas would otherwise be affected as they are cosmetically challenged anyway.

[Inayat Noor]

I keep all other components in an AC environment. Only the enlarger is in the garage.

[Mark Woods]

Get a small dehumidifier and keep it in the breathable hood. I have one in my darkroom and it works great.

[Oslolens]

Weapon safes are the worst place for rust, unless a stocking filled with cat sand is placed inside and renewed whenever humid air comes in. Mold thrives in the dark, so keep the light on ;)

Big Wehman, Toyo 5x7" and a small Chamonix

[HMG]

I have used the pelican brand ones that come in a flat can. They have worked well and I like that it gives you a color patch to tell when it is recharged (in a warm oven).

IMO, with those Pelican ones, you pay a lot for packaging and a brand name. Indicator Silica Gel is pretty much a commodity (https://www.amazon.com/Premium-Orange-Indicating-Industry-Standard/dp/B01MQYGRVV/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=silica+gel&qid=1582153013&sr=8-5). If you don't have the enlarger "sealed" from the outside air, I don't think any amount of desiccant will help.

These desiccant packs can be "renewed" with a long bake at low temp.

[Drew Wiley]

Get a machinery cover. These need to breathe. You apparently realize that. Underneath you can put a little portable desiccant container like Dri-Out. Some of these have built-in fans; but the powder desiccant itself needs to be periodically replaced once it has dissolved. The powder is fairly cheap and available at many hardware stores, but don't ever let any of it touch any part of your equipment itself. Indicator Silica Gel is too expensive and inefficient for anything but small sealed containers, and would need to be frequently baked out. Products like Dri-Out and Damp Rid seem to contain calcium chloride, but I'd have to check the MSDS to be certain.

[Greg]

I'd check with your local auto body and custom auto shops. They usually have great solutions for addressing humidity problems. My local shop totally recommended multiple dehumidifiers running 24/7.

[Drew Wiley]

Hope you don't mind a massive utility bill if dehumidifiers are running full time.

[esearing]

oil repels water. Spray some WD40 on a rag and wipe an extremely thin layer over any exposed metal as part of your cleaning ritual, maybe a tad more on screws that would tend to rust. However, I pulled an old Besseler MX and its matching table out of a barn here in Georgia that had sat in its plastic cover for 20+ years with minimal rust. Dust is a bigger problem than rust, so get a cover or use an oversized trashbag and leave the bottom open. Maybe even build a 3-piece clamshell box out of cedar and plywood [ I ] that clamps to the base. Cedar cigar box for the lenses.

[Drew Wiley]

WD-40 is a junk product. Moisture gets trapped under it. You want a lube called LPS (but not their contact cleaner).

[Ohio]

I don't know if Boeshield (https://boeshield.com/)would work for an enlarger, honestly. I use it for woodworking and metalworking equipment, and it works great. Not cheap, though. You could ask them if T9 would work for your application.