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Post by templeton on May 14, 2013 19:06:53 GMT -5
I'm going on extended holiday. I have lots of fresh seed that I need to store. I don't have enough frig or freezer space. I intend packing my seed into a 20 litre plastic food bucket with air tight lid in the cellar. I read that oxygen scavenger sachets are mostly iron filings. I don't have time to source some. Could I just use an envelope of iron filings in the sealed seed bucket? And is there a cheap, supermarket-available substitute for silica gel? T
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Post by steev on May 14, 2013 19:35:23 GMT -5
For silica gel, you might try baking rice, then sealing it in jars to cool, then adding it to your buckets, loose, before sealing the bucket, or even in bags, hot; maybe better.
Iron filings? Would steel wool work?
Extended holiday? What a concept! I should try that. Enjoy!
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Post by templeton on May 14, 2013 20:00:53 GMT -5
Nice suggestions, Steev. T
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Post by oxbowfarm on May 14, 2013 20:20:47 GMT -5
Here's a place.I think the average grinder fillings don't have enough surface area to do the job, but it probably depends on what you made the fillings with.
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Post by steev on May 14, 2013 20:24:32 GMT -5
Dunno 'bout "nice"; could work, though.
Going sommeres sweet for holiday?
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Post by templeton on May 15, 2013 19:05:44 GMT -5
Thanks Oxbow, but I'm probably leaving before they could get them to me. Next time.
Steev, Ive finally cast off my middle class 'save everything for a rainy day' mentality, taken my long service leave, blown the bank account by purchasing the 4X4 twincab, loaded it up with recovery gear and spares, and am heading off to the desert and Kimberley in search of elusive grasswrens for 3 months. I will have to interrupt the trip with a 2 week break in Broome to meet my students and do a bit of teaching, walking the Lurujarri Trail north of Broome along the beach with Traditional Owners. Tough job, but someone has to do it. Should be home in time for early spring plantings. I might see if i can post links to my SPOT locator beacon maps somewhere for those who wish to feel jealous.
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Post by steev on May 15, 2013 20:44:14 GMT -5
Sweet. I don't need to know where you are to feel jealous.
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Post by templeton on May 16, 2013 17:34:23 GMT -5
Sweet. I don't need to know where you are to feel jealous. I might do it anyway ;D T
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Post by richardw on May 17, 2013 0:45:15 GMT -5
Iron filings? Would steel wool work? When i first started reading this thread i also thought steel wool,this would work if it was dipped water first but then how much would you need for a 20 litre plastic food bucket?? Hey T you enjoy ya trip ok
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on May 17, 2013 1:56:52 GMT -5
When i first started reading this thread i also thought steel wool,this would work if it was dipped water first but then how much would you need for a 20 litre plastic food bucket?? [(20 Liters air X 28% oxygen in the atmosphere) / (22.4 Liters/Mole)] * 32 g Oxygen/Mole ==> 8 grams oxygen per bucket. So it would take 19 grams of Iron to combine with that amount of oxygen to form rust. I presume that the rust could scavenge whatever moisture it needs from the seeds. If half the air has been displaced from the container by the contents, then you'd need around 9.5 grams of iron. When I have used oxygen scavenging packets in the past, they get warm to the touch if exposed to the air, I presume that the iron filings are milled to a very fine powder without the presence of oxygen. (I can leave steel wool on the shelf and it doesn't get hot or immediately turn to rust.)
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Post by templeton on May 17, 2013 2:55:03 GMT -5
Thanks Joseph, I was mulling over the molar calculations, and couldn't delve that far back into my memory. Wiki reckons that something like NaCl is added to the mix to pull in the water to help the reaction. I might try a combo of iron in a packet,, and soda syphon CO2 to replace some of the O2.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2013 19:55:15 GMT -5
There are lots of tutorials for homemade absorbers, online and a Youtube, and they're pretty much variations of your idea.
I thought it was interesting that the iron filings not only take water out of the container, but absorb air in the reaction. This causes a partial vacuum.
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Post by templeton on May 17, 2013 22:39:44 GMT -5
Thanks Degzing. Youtube is a bit of an online blindspot for me, dunno why. T
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Post by 12540dumont on May 18, 2013 14:28:33 GMT -5
Templeton, the easiest I've found for desiccant is clean cat litter.
When I ordered desiccant on line it has the exact same ingredients as clean cat litter. I put the cat litter in old seed envelopes, or sew them into cloth bags.
Cat litter is at every grocery store (here). Look for the one that's clay and skip the scent.
Have a wonderful time. xxoh
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on May 18, 2013 15:42:57 GMT -5
In the laboratory we used Calcium Sulphate as a desiccant. I've often thought that I could take pieces of sheetrock (easily obtained and same ingredient), dry them in the oven, and use them as desiccant for seed storage. But my climate is so dry that I haven't worried about it.
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