I have an ammo can full (appx 1200 rds) of .223 but have nothing to absorb moisture.  Where is the best place to buy the dessicant packs?

Try Dry Pak Industries at www.drypak.com.

If you have cats, use ExquisiCat Pearl Fresh.  It's pea sized dessicant.  I'm using it in my vault and ammo supply.  Works good for the cats too.

CCI Mini-Mag works great for cats, too.  

You can go to a local pharmacy and ask the nice pharmacist to save the little dessicant packs that come in the pill bottles. Or you can get them at gunshows. At one point I had a ton of them that I didn't use, but was unable to sell them on AR15. Even when I priced them super cheap, ie, 25 cents apiece for decent sized ones, the shipping cost always drove people away...one can hardly give the things away it seems.

What 4jury said, or any other "crystal" or "pearl" type cat litter.  It's all dessicant-that's how it works.  And it's CHEAP compared to commercial dessicant.

http://www.desiccantcity.com

(desiccant, not dessicant)

You can get a cheap dessicant at Walmart in the chemicals section. It will probably not work as well as a lab grade that you can get from the net.

Two common lab desiccants are calsium sulfate (drierite) and magnesium perchlorate.

I use the drierite a great deal.  The indicating stuff is nice as it turns from blue to a purple/pink color when it is exhausted.   It is normally 3-4 bucks a pound.  It can be regenerated too, but generally isn't worth it.

Also, most desiccants can loose most of their potential by being kept in an open atmosphere for just a few minutes.  Many people do not use desiccants correctly and end up not getting the protection they think they are getting.

Quoted: Many people do not use desiccants correctly and end up not getting the protection they think they are getting.

care to elaborate on the correct use? I'm assuming keepign things in a sealed container?

I buy my dissacant at boating supply stores.  The packs are a little large but better to big than too small.  The prices aren't that bad either.

Quoted: I have an ammo can full (appx 1200 rds) of .223 but have nothing to absorb moisture.  Where is the best place to buy the dessicant packs?

Heres the best place to get decent prices on dessicant:

http://www.uline.com/Browse_Listing_1001.asp?desc=Kraft+Bag+Clay+Desiccants

I use the S-1058 in my ammo cans. One bag is more than enough for a 50 caliber can. 300 bags for $52.

Quoted: Quoted: I have an ammo can full (appx 1200 rds) of .223 but have nothing to absorb moisture.  Where is the best place to buy the dessicant packs? Heres the best place to get decent prices on dessicant: http://www.uline.com/Browse_Listing_1001.asp?desc=Kraft+Bag+Clay+Desiccants I use the S-1058 in my ammo cans. One bag is more than enough for a 50 caliber can. 300 bags for $52.

Gotta check that out.  How is it packaged?  Is every bag sealed separately?  I don't want to expose 300 bags to the atmosphere when I need 30 today.  Thanks.  

tag

Quoted: I have an ammo can full (appx 1200 rds) of .223 but have nothing to absorb moisture.  Where is the best place to buy the dessicant packs?

Most hearing aid suppiers have bottles of pearl shaped dissicants that is used for drying out hearings aides after a days use.  The one I use has several blue pellet mixed in with a greater number of white, some 100/1 ratio.  These blue pellets, when they all appear white, determine when it's time to recharge the dissicants by heating in your oven.  If you have a means you could sew the whole lot on a bit of flour sack and drop the pack into your can.  The name is Hal-Hen Super dri-aid.his
http://www.halhen.com/cgi-bin/info.cgi?id=2579&ls=dc~B~8

Quoted: Quoted: I I use this both for my storage of ammo and drying out a pair of 3500.00 hearing aides each night. http://www.halhen.com/cgi-bin/info.cgi?id=2579&ls=dc~B~8

Wow, I hope it wasn't the ARs that ruined your hearing.  Those must be some good hearing aids for that amount of money.  Must work well.  Good luck

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I have an ammo can full (appx 1200 rds) of .223 but have nothing to absorb moisture.  Where is the best place to buy the dessicant packs? Heres the best place to get decent prices on dessicant: http://www.uline.com/Browse_Listing_1001.asp?desc=Kraft+Bag+Clay+Desiccants I use the S-1058 in my ammo cans. One bag is more than enough for a 50 caliber can. 300 bags for $52. Gotta check that out.  How is it packaged?  Is every bag sealed separately?  I don't want to expose 300 bags to the atmosphere when I need 30 today.  Thanks.

They come in a sealed 5 gallon drum. You can open em, and seal the drum back up. Every time you open the drum you will expose em to oxygen. this isnt a problem, but you need to keep the number of times you open/close it to a minimum. Also quickly open then close it. These can also be reactivated by drying em in an oven.

you can do what I do, it may not be the best way but I go through the wifes/parents/my own shoe boxes and look for the dessicent packs and use a few of thoose for each ammo can

Quoted: What 4jury said, or any other "crystal" or "pearl" type cat litter.  It's all dessicant-that's how it works.  And it's CHEAP compared to commercial dessicant.

+eleventy billion.

Works as good as any you'll buy, is cheap, and if you happen to take a dump in your ammo stash, well, you figure it out.

I use Rice never any problems for the last 10 years

If you want free packs--then head to your local walmart.  They have tons of hunting clothes on sale and the jackets all have a packet in the left front pocket.  They said that I could take all that I want...

they are about 1.5"x1.5"--fairly good size

tag

Quoted: tag

www.sorbentsystems.com/

Decent products, prices, and they ship fast.

And honestly, just toss a pack in on a dry day and close the can.  If you have rubbed off all of the overspray off of the rubber seal, hit it with 303 Protectant, and are not living in a swamp (or here in lovely Houston, where we sometimes see catfish doing the backstroke through the summer air on really bad days), you will be fine.

Well, I'm not in Houston but is Pasadena close enough?

Quoted: Well, I'm not in Houston but is Pasadena close enough?

About the same, I think.  Just run the AC for a while to dry out the interior air.  Remember to use 303 on the gasket to keep it supple.  You will need to let the 303 dry for a few hours before closing the case up.  You can get a bottle at West Marine, if you have one close to you.

The 303 I am talking about is 303 Protectant.  Works far, far better than Armor-All.

www.303products.com/tech/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=428&CFID=1835050&CFTOKEN=5570031

Anyone tried drying the desicant packs out in a microwave oven???  I get near my wife's oven again and she may stick my head in - and it's electric!  Won't tell you how I messed her oven up.

Quoted: Anyone tried drying the desicant packs out in a microwave oven???  I get near my wife's oven again and she may stick my head in - and it's electric!  Won't tell you how I messed her oven up.

This story is not going to have a good ending.  Woman get mad when you do stuff to their stuff.  Same as guys.

Quoted: Quoted: I have an ammo can full (appx 1200 rds) of .223 but have nothing to absorb moisture.  Where is the best place to buy the dessicant packs? Heres the best place to get decent prices on dessicant: http://www.uline.com/Browse_Listing_1001.asp?desc=Kraft+Bag+Clay+Desiccants I use the S-1058 in my ammo cans. One bag is more than enough for a 50 caliber can. 300 bags for $52.

Thanks jaymeister99.   Thats a great place to order from.  I needed another 20 packs and my boating supply store was out so I sent my order in to your source yesterday at 5:30PM.  Damn, it got from PA to my house in RI in 16 hours UPS ground.  It cost me less than 20 packs would have at the boating supply store and I will have 280 packs left.   I will be a popular guy the next time I go to my gun club.  Free dessicant for all.  Thanks again for the good info.

Rice

Quoted: Quoted: Many people do not use desiccants correctly and end up not getting the protection they think they are getting. care to elaborate on the correct use? I'm assuming keepign things in a sealed container?

Sorry for the delay.

If you are not putting it in an airtight sealed container, you are not doing yourself any good by using desiccants in the first place.

Silica gel desiccants are very effective when they are new  But if you are slow, you can loose up to 50% of  their capacity when you are first putting them into something.  They can be regenerated pretty quickly in an oven at about 130 degrees C overnight.  Calcium Sulfate desiccants like drierite tend to be cheaper, but are hard to regenerate and a little slower at taking up water initially (I think).

The less time you leave the desiccant exposed, the more capacity it remains and the better protected your items will be.  Even well sealed containers have a way of leaking, and water vapor drifts around pretty easily.  I suspect that many people are using depleted desiccant and not aware that it is depleted or its capacity is reduced to a point that it isn't doing them much good.

The best desiccant I have used is actually concentrated sulfuric acid.  We were actually using it test humidity effects on gunpowders.  Based on the amount of water in the acid you can control the humidity of an inclosed space fairly well.

http://www.desiccare.com/Default.htm

I saw in my latest "Blue Press" Dillon is selling some. Just like all their products its a little spendy. 4oz. bag/$4.95 or 2oz. bag/$2.95.

Stang

We all need desiccant for our ammo storage and other uses. My favorite is the kind that is blue when dry and almost clear when saturated. This type is usually found at gun shows in zip-lock bags of 100 small white envelopes with a semi-clear stripe on the back for inspecting the color of the desiccant. The really great thing about this type is that it can be re-used by drying in an oven. The really tricky thing is exactly how to do that - here’s how.
Most kitchen ovens have two or more racks – set the lower rack about 6” above the lower heating element and cover it in heavy-duty foil. Set the next rack about 6” above the lower rack. Pre-heat the oven to 200F – no hotter. Lay out the desiccant packs on a coated (anti-stick) cookie sheet pan – one layer, stripe side up. ‘Cook’ for about two hours or until all the stripes appear dark blue. You can then crack the oven door and let everything cool for a few minutes until you can handle the packs with your bare hands. As soon as possible, put the packs in a heavy-duty ‘freezer’ zip-lock bag (the pack corners are sharp and will put holes in a thin sandwich bag). Push the air out and seal it. As the packs cool, the remaining air will contract and tighten on the contents. The packs will store this way for some time, or you could place them into service right away. I use three or four packs in an ammo can and replace them yearly.

Note: The temperature controls on kitchen ovens vary greatly. You may want to test a couple of packs to see if they melt at 200 on your dial. Adjust your temperature setting accordingly. Cooler is definitely better than hotter in this case. The desiccant itself won’t melt, but the packs will – I think they’re made of Tyvek for gas permeability. I have tried the microwave, which works to heat the desiccant, but too much moisture remains for it to be effective.    

This is exactly the info I've been looking for.  Thanks, guys.