Author Topic: Disiccants for keeping wood dry  (Read 2010 times)

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Offline Badger

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Disiccants for keeping wood dry
« on: May 30, 2018, 06:27:55 am »
  Has anyone here used desiccants instead of heat for keeping bows dry? I was reading up on common desiccants and they seem like a perfect solution. Calcium chloride granules are cheap and easy to get. They can be dried out and reused if necessary also. Might create a problem of getting wood to dry not really sure.

Offline Marc St Louis

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Re: Disiccants for keeping wood dry
« Reply #1 on: May 30, 2018, 06:37:01 am »
The thought did cross my mind years ago but I never followed through with it.  Those little desiccant packs you get are silicon dioxide and are usually just thrown away, I had the thought of keeping them and using them for that purpose
Home of heat-treating, Corbeil, On.  Canada

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Offline Badger

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Re: Disiccants for keeping wood dry
« Reply #2 on: May 30, 2018, 06:41:56 am »
  From what I have been reading it doesn't take near as much desiccant as I would have expected. A small amount will actually keep a closet dry.

Offline Aaron H

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Re: Disiccants for keeping wood dry
« Reply #3 on: May 30, 2018, 06:54:26 am »
I was thinking about this same thing the other day.  I believe some of those mini dehumidifiers use this same concept

Offline osage outlaw

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Re: Disiccants for keeping wood dry
« Reply #4 on: May 30, 2018, 06:59:36 am »
I use them in my ammo box.  I don't see why it wouldn't work for bow storage. 
I started out with nothin' and I still got most of it left

Offline Badger

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Re: Disiccants for keeping wood dry
« Reply #5 on: May 30, 2018, 07:01:31 am »
  Charcoal, plaster of paris, coffee creamer, all kinds of things will work, I think dried out coffee grounds would even work.

Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: Disiccants for keeping wood dry
« Reply #6 on: May 30, 2018, 07:08:18 am »
I use them in my roll around tool box in the garage. When I consider how much moisture could be a 6 foot long piece of wood, I'm not sure those tiny bags would do much. Unless you saved about 100 of them.
Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.

Offline ksnow

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Re: Disiccants for keeping wood dry
« Reply #7 on: May 30, 2018, 07:19:53 am »
I keep 5 pound bags of it in my garage tool box and my gun cabinets.  You'd have to have a lot of it and keep the staves in a fairly tightly sealed room.

Kyle

Offline Pat B

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Re: Disiccants for keeping wood dry
« Reply #8 on: May 30, 2018, 08:12:27 am »
When I was in Colorado elk hunting Kenneth and I kept our bows in a PVC tube with uncooked rice in it as a desiccant. It rained every afternoon and we were camped near a stream with very little sunlight so it was very humid. We were hunting with selfbows and sinew backed bows and never saw any decrease in power due to the moisture.
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline BowEd

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Re: Disiccants for keeping wood dry
« Reply #9 on: May 30, 2018, 08:20:14 am »
I kept 8 [2 sinewed] bows inside a sealed type PVC tube with a few bags of those at an event I stayed at for 4 days.It rained a lot 3 of those days.I did'nt exactly weight test the bows but I did'nt feel any or much at all reduction in draw weight.


BowEd
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Ed

Offline Bayou Ben

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Re: Disiccants for keeping wood dry
« Reply #10 on: May 30, 2018, 10:05:58 am »
I just bought one.....

I'll let you know how it works.  I plan to just leave it in my hot box (without the light bulbs on)
« Last Edit: May 30, 2018, 10:22:34 am by Bayou Ben »

Offline osage outlaw

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Re: Disiccants for keeping wood dry
« Reply #11 on: May 30, 2018, 10:21:40 am »
You need to disable the link.  It's against PA rules
I started out with nothin' and I still got most of it left

Offline Bayou Ben

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Re: Disiccants for keeping wood dry
« Reply #12 on: May 30, 2018, 10:22:54 am »
Sorry, wasn't aware of that.  I took it off.

Offline Pat B

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Re: Disiccants for keeping wood dry
« Reply #13 on: May 30, 2018, 10:31:36 am »
Ben, read the rules just so you won't make the mistake again.   :OK
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline Bayou Ben

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Re: Disiccants for keeping wood dry
« Reply #14 on: May 30, 2018, 10:50:27 am »
Pat, I read the rules when I first signed on, and I just re-read them.  I interpreted the rules as no link posting if you are promoting the item to sell it or trying to get someone to your website. 
I just wanted to give a visual to what I was talking about, but no problem I won't post links anymore.