poohzilla
Member
Give me a place to stand and a long-enough lever, and I will invariably break the lever.
Posts: 1,050 
Location: New Hamster
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Post by poohzilla on Jan 2, 2021 15:46:47 GMT -5
I was perusing the general run of email the other day, and came across this article, entitled something to the effect of doing stuff on the cheap. It's actually a little old, but one of the ideas struck me as interesting. It involved the use of a specific type of cat litter (ours go outside and perform on a "don't ask, don't tell" basis, so I've been out of touch with that market...) as a dessicant. This is of some interest to me, as I live in New Hamster, which is dampish, my basement is probably suitable for storing cigars, and those little packets are expensive. Here's the article: gunsmagazine.com/odd-angry-shot/2012-on-the-cheap/It all looks good except emptying the teabags. There are empty ones available from Amazon and Walmart, oddly enough, and the price isn't prohibitive. Given the collective and individual expertise of this group, however, there has to be some less exotic material lying about that would do the job of containing the stuff. I had considered cheesecloth, but I'm sure I'd have kitty litter strewn about in short order. Now, I realize that you guys out west may have trouble identifying with the moisture issue, but it's a real thing here. Maybe I should just bake some of it into some of my cookies... Thanks ! |
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bob
Member
I'm too old to be nice but never too old to learn!
Posts: 1,457
Location: Northern California
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Post by bob on Jan 2, 2021 16:46:58 GMT -5
I was wondering why they (cookies) were so dry yet they repel Hacker's coffee! You are right at least for me the local humidity is relatively low most of the time ,I have no rust issues normally so I don't have any insight in to desiccants.
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SnapShot
Member
Jeep & Mocha "Remembering Patches, always"
Posts: 699
Location: Finally free from the Republic of Kalifornia!
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Post by SnapShot on Jan 2, 2021 18:51:26 GMT -5
What's Humidity?
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Post by hacker54 on Jan 2, 2021 21:28:07 GMT -5
Pooh interesting on the Kitty litter and tea bags. Now I'm wondering (hope I don't get lost) if non scented dryer sheet would work as all you have to do is form the size of the packet that you want. They work to filter the dust when using a vib case cleaner and also seem to be porous enough to let the dessicant work. Just a thought to ponder on.
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poohzilla
Member
Give me a place to stand and a long-enough lever, and I will invariably break the lever.
Posts: 1,050
Location: New Hamster
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Post by poohzilla on Jan 17, 2021 18:04:43 GMT -5
Update. I have become an authority on kitty litter, although the cats at Chez Pooh believe the world is their litter box... I found a generic at Petco that is the silica base. One of the virtues of the product was that it came in two sealed bags. A little goes a long way, I have found. (Brand name was Scoop Free.) It had no discernable scent.
I tried Hacker's idea of the dryer sheets-I pulled a used one out of the laundry, and when I tried it, it didn't seem to be really permiable. Also, it had to be secured-wasn't sure about glue or heat (the latter in my case probably causing a house fire, which would annoy the cats...) I ordered some empty tea bags through walmart. Cost was something like a nickel a piece, and a lot more convenient-dump the stuff in, and tie it off. Even I can handle that ! I've got some in several boxes, such as contain magazines and the like. I did leave one out on some scrap paper to see if it collected moisture and dumped it in a puddle.
A couple of my local friends are going to get containers of cat litter with a few tea bags-it will be interesting to see what they come up with. I'll keep you posted.
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poohzilla
Member
Give me a place to stand and a long-enough lever, and I will invariably break the lever.
Posts: 1,050
Location: New Hamster
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Post by poohzilla on Mar 3, 2021 11:59:00 GMT -5
Update: Six weeks into the deployment, more of the containers in the loading area have the packets. The experimental one has shown no signs of depositing collected moisture, so it's looking like it's safe to use. Still monitoring...
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gws
Member
Posts: 969
Location: NW New Mexico
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Post by gws on Mar 6, 2021 19:32:47 GMT -5
I was told that "Scoop Free" had been infused with catnip.....which attracts cats.....and it especially makes them want to pee in excitement. Like some dogs do when they are excited when you get home from work. Let's hope they don't pee on your guns.  Oh, wait.....it's April not March Fools Day.....sorry.... |
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poohzilla
Member
Give me a place to stand and a long-enough lever, and I will invariably break the lever.
Posts: 1,050
Location: New Hamster
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Post by poohzilla on Mar 7, 2021 12:29:01 GMT -5
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gws
Member
Posts: 969
Location: NW New Mexico
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Post by gws on Mar 7, 2021 14:48:39 GMT -5
Here in New Mexico, that's what you get when grandkids spill a cup of water on your paper cutter and then don't tell you about it for weeks.
Then you have to replace the cutter.......I feel for you people in wet country...... kids & grandkids probably won't get the blame. On the other hand you have lawns that stay green without putting thousands dollars worth of water on them each summer. Here you get fined for letting your lawn die and look ugly, or you get fined for using too much water in drought years.....so many people replace their lawns with gravel and rocks...ugh.
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poohzilla
Member
Give me a place to stand and a long-enough lever, and I will invariably break the lever.
Posts: 1,050
Location: New Hamster
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Post by poohzilla on Mar 8, 2021 19:42:17 GMT -5
Greg, there are tradeoffs wherever you go. My problem with the cats is they *like* guns. Sora, the guy in the Hunter Orange outfit, is one of the few cats in New Hamster unworried about coyotes-he favors the 300 Whisper. Pippin, in stalker gray, likes to snuggle up with an Enfield. You see, I'm not prosperous enough to own a gun dog, so I have a couple of guncats around...   |
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gws
Member
Posts: 969
Location: NW New Mexico
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Post by gws on Mar 9, 2021 21:51:03 GMT -5
Well, Pooh, I like most animals.....even gun cats......and we've had a few around the house in our earlier life and I liked em a lot, until my daughter became violently allergic to cat hair. Then we had to find good homes for them. Dogs?.....would love to try that out, but I'm a small town dude, with only a city lot, and that's not fair to a hunting dog. The little dogs who don't care, have to be babysat.....and I'm not one of those either. So I just enjoy other peoples dogs. Would be different if I was on a couple of acres at least....Then I'd want a Setter, or a Retriever.....I think.
Now speaking of New Hamsters.......I had one of those when I was 8......until he jail broke one night and decided my bed....down where my feet slept....was a great place to hide, snuggle up, get warm and sleep.........but he woke me up about 3 AM and I came out of that bed like a rocket ship! Gave him away to my best friend the next day......
Now skunks, snakes, badgers, and bears........I don't care so much about.....Mountain Lions neither.....
But scary? The worst scare I ever had was camping out in the New Mexico mountains with a scout troop, and a bull elk came charging in our camp in the middle of the night, bugling, crashing through the trees, and just raising hell. Sounded like a freight train! Scared the holy hell out of all of us!......til screaming scouts came flying out of their tents and scared the hell out of him! Yup....that was my second night camping with scouts as a brand new scoutmaster a long time ago.....became a 15 year adventure....  never lost a scout....thank goodness... |
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never lost a scout....thank goodness...
My daughter came from Missouri, my son and grand son, my wife and I had a nice dinner of grilled "porter house" pork chops, corn on the cobb, my son, G'son and I share 10/5. G'son is 4 minutes early though @ 10/4.
Pooh I hope you find to right house . 
