Help me create a small moisture free(ish) zone

[longshlong]

Hello everyone first post here and i am looking for a solution to a problem.

I am attempting to use some water based paints for my business as i do custom painting on crash helmets. I am currently running into difficulties with the paint absorbing too much moisture from the environment of my workshop and ruining (at times) the paintjob.

 

I have to create an area on a relatively low budget for now, where i can put the helmets/panels to sit where the moisture cannot attack the paint.

 

At present i am thinking of utilizing an old fridge/freezer (turned off of course) in the hopes that my predictions of it being a generally tightly sealed and insulated unit that this could be a viable solution.

SOOO i am asking for some scientific knowledge before i drag this fridge in to my workshop and attempt this technique. In theory is this likely to work?

If not, are there any other solutions which may work where i could create a moisture free area on a budget?

 

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

 

[swansont]

You can use a desiccant* to absorb the moisture, and or use a dry gas to displace it (e.g. nitrogen) in your sealed space (in the latter case you need to purge and vent before sealing). Just sealing up a volume won't necessarily give you a dry environment. All that will accomplish is preventing additional moisture from getting in, but there can be a lot of water in the air you already have.

 

*There are some products that are re-usable. You need to bake them to drive the moisture out. Some change color as they absorb water. Silica gel is pretty cheap.

[CharonY]

Depending on how large it needs to be and how many helmets you need to store at the same time, using smaller, sealable boxes with a large amount of desiccants could be more effective. As swansont, said, sealing is only part of the problem, you still need to get the moisture out, first. And every time you open it, you get moisture in again.

So if you have several helmets ready at the same time, a large box, such as a fridge with a good volume of silica gel (you can get them in large packs) could work. But if you have them ready one after the other, it may be worthwhile to store them individually in a smaller (helmet-sized) dry box.

Also, using silica gel with moisture indicator helps a bit as you can see when the silica has absorbrd too much water.

 

A step up would be to include a humidity sensor to see of your enclosure is dry enough.

Edited March 8, 2016 by CharonY

[StringJunky]

Make a tall cupboard with a hermetically sealed door and construction, apart from a gap, or vent, at the bottom of the door and a vented outlet with a good extractor fan at the top The idea is to have constantly moving stream of normal air passing over the products to keep them dryish and reduce/inhibit absorption because it's too windy. You might have to be careful not to dry the paint out too fast, so a variable speed fan might be the way to go to balance things. I would imagine on humid days the fan would need to be faster than on a dry day. If it works the fan speed could be linked to a humidity sensor to automatically maintain optimum performance.Would this be useful?

Edited March 8, 2016 by StringJunky

[John Cuthber]

...reduce/inhibit absorption because it's too windy. ...

Increased airflow will increase the rate at which water in the vapour phase exchanges with absorbed water. That's why tumble driers have fans.

 

A sealed "ziplok " bag round each helmet with a little silica gel would work a lot better.

However, if you want somewhere to dry them then you need a a big closed box, and in that box you need a fan to circulate the air, and a desiccant to strip water out of it. A refrigerator is a reasonable choice (especially if you can find a glass fronted one like they use for drinks in bars and shops).

[Acme]

Hello everyone first post here and i am looking for a solution to a problem.

 

I am attempting to use some water based paints for my business as i do custom painting on crash helmets. I am currently running into difficulties with the paint absorbing too much moisture from the environment of my workshop and ruining (at times) the paintjob.

 

I have to create an area on a relatively low budget for now, where i can put the helmets/panels to sit where the moisture cannot attack the paint.

 

At present i am thinking of utilizing an old fridge/freezer (turned off of course) in the hopes that my predictions of it being a generally tightly sealed and insulated unit that this could be a viable solution.

 

SOOO i am asking for some scientific knowledge before i drag this fridge in to my workshop and attempt this technique. In theory is this likely to work?

 

If not, are there any other solutions which may work where i could create a moisture free area on a budget?

 

Thanks in advance for any input.

If you are sealing the fridge then the desiccants mentioned by the others will work. Without the desiccants the moisture evaporating from the paint can saturate the trapped air and may even condense on the fridge interior or helmets.

 

Another option is to use a dehumidifier in the fridge or other closed off space you make. This small dehumidifier is rated for a 110ft²* room, consumes only 22.5 watts and only costs $60. >> Eva-Dry EDV-1100 Petite Dehumidifier

 

*Presuming a 7 ft. ceiling the volume would be 770 ft³

[longshlong]

This is all extremely helpful thanks very much. For now i think i'll try some big sealed containers with some silica gel and see how i get on with that. It's only on certain jobs with a particular type of paint we are having the problem, so the idea of small boxes will probably suffice at present.

Once again, thanks a lot for all the helpful comments and i'll update in a few days when we have (hopefully) some success.