Silica gel

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Carl V

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Carl
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Does anybody know if it is still possible to buy small packs of silica gel?

I have just had a look at Jessops' website and they are there, but when I phoned up my local store they said they had no such thing (in a kind-of laughing tone). I explained it was on their own website but got nowhere.

Cheers,
Carl.
 
welcome to the ever-so-slightly parallel world of Jessops!
 
Carl, how many do you need ? I've been collecting them :D....
 
I was thinking of around three or four. I have two camera bags, the larger one may need two and I would think one would be enough for the small one.

I still have some of my lens boxes in the loft, and I thought there may be some in them but there was nothing.
 
I use this company at work for packaging supplies. They have what you need :)

LINKY


EDIT: Just realised you're only after a few so they might not be quite what you want after all!
 
I number of people selling amounts on eBay. I tend to collect mine when I buy shoes (or my wife buys a new handbag). Luckily she buys lots of handbags.

Chris
 
Here you go, this might be more like it :)

LINKY

HTH :)
 
For the people that store them, they only have a limited shelf-life as they're constantly absorbing moisture from the atmosphere. You can probably renew them by keeping them in an oven on a very low heat for an hour or two to drive off the water.
 
Thank you Grendel for that link - much appreciated. :thumbs:

And many thanks to everyone for their replies too. ;)
 
Should I be putting silica gel packs in my camera bag, or is it only if you are off somewhere hot etc.?
 
It's always advisable to keep a couple of packs in your bag all the time, even if it's in storage. I recently bought a larger bag so I need a couple more for that. The one I had in my smaller bag somehow ripped open and spilt out all the contents.
 
Just use rice to absorb the moisture. Once it's saturated it can make for an emergency snack too.
 
Sure I spotted a bag of the stuff in my local Staples:thinking:
 
Go to a handbag shop, have a look at hand bags and take them from there.
 
you could probably get a low quantity for cheap on ebay... 7dayshop do them I think, but they're pretty expensive...
 
Silica gel is a waste of time in a camera bag. Save your money.
 
Thank you all very much for your replies.

Can't think for the life of me what happened to the original ones that came with the gear I've bought over the years. :thinking:
 
CSB said:
Whys that?

I collect them but you can buy them on ebay cheap enough.
Click to expand...

As sson as they're exposed to the atmosphere they're absorbing moisture, with bags that size it doesn't take that long for them to become saturated so they won't absorb any more moisture. You can dry them out again by baking them in an oven (I don't recommend trying this at home) but as soon as you take them out of the oven they start abosorbing moisture again and so the cycle repeats. I've no idea why manufacturers bother with them especially in such tiny quantities.
 
Silica gel does not, nor will it ever, absorb water anywhere near as much as it adsorbs. As an adsorber of water vapour it is ideal to chuck in your camera bag, 1g typically has a surface area of about 800m^2 for vapour to adsorb to.

There is also nothing wrong with drying silica gel packets in an oven at home.
 
What's the weight of the average bag of silica gel manufacturers supply?

How long will it take for that bag to become saturated (approximately, as it will depend on the humidity of the environment it is exposed to)?

I'm not seeing that silica gel is useless but people don't seem to understand that it doesn't work forever and that it has to be 'recharged' through drying out.
 
Got to agree with Kev. Unless the bag is sealed (no air transfer possible) then you're wasting your money.
 
I shoved a few in after I got caught in a rainstorm but I use them if I have them ie they came from some packaging somewhere
 
Silica gel is great for absorbing moisture in a SEALED enviroment only, once in a camera bag it will pick up moisture quickly. A cheap alternative, as said above is rice - if you nuke it in the microwave first it works for longer. Every time you open the bag though the air will change bringing in more moist air so I wouldn't bother myself except for storage purposes.
 
Just a good thing to have in your bag if you do find them in a handbag or pair of shoes after all they are free just chuck the old ones away with your old trainers and put the new one in ....its not doing any harm but could be getting rid of moisture ....problem solved
 
Once saturated silica gel cannot absorb any more moisture. The bags can break and that stuff can be dusty too.
 
RJL2005 said:
Once saturated silica gel cannot absorb any more moisture. The bags can break and that stuff can be dusty too.
Click to expand...

So just chuck it and replace ....geez its free with nearly everything you buy wheres the problem :shrug:
 
Whilst a camera bag is not a sealed environment the air flow through the zip will be reduced enough to make the silica gel worthwile. Whilst it may not be 100% effective at reducing moisture in your bag it will be better than nothing
 
Dangermouse1964 said:
So just chuck it and replace ....geez its free with nearly everything you buy wheres the problem :shrug:
Click to expand...

The point being is how do you know the new stuff your putting in isn't saturated already? If it makes you feel better then great, but don't be under any illusion that it's doing any good.
 
You used to be able to get it with an indicator patch that turned blue when it was saturated. We used it for drying wellies on the farm. Then you baked it till the patch went white again. These were cloth bags that held about 8 oz.
 
I would just like to thank everybody for their replies and suggestions. I am grateful to you all. :thumbs:

Carl.
 
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