Moisture munchers

[DandyDon]

SkipperJohn and DD have been great cheerleaders for DampRid - but if you check Post #6 - you might find who really suggested this method originally. (I'm having a really bad day at work and could use a pat-on-the-back)

Yeah, weren't my idea...

 

[SkipperJohn]

SkipperJohn and DD have been great cheerleaders for DampRid - but if you check Post #6 - you might find who really suggested this method originally. (I'm having a really bad day at work and could use a pat-on-the-back)

A pat on the back and a drink!! I am nothing more than a cheerleader and yeah, it's a GREAT idea! Although I have 3 packs of MM's I am still using my first one with the other 2 constantly living in my boneless ribs plastic container with my first batch of damprid which just wont quit! Further, the MMs seem to rejuvenate in only 2 or 3 days meaning with 3 MMs you can cycle through them and always have 1 at the ready!
(for those of you traveling, I wrote DAMPRID on the container in case any security ppl opened my luggage and saw this container of suspicious white powder)

 

[gypsyjim]

There is a way to rejuvenate Moisture Munchers.

1. Go to Home Depot and buy a container of "Damp Rid" - the small size, about a pint.
2. Open it up and insert your spent Moisture Munchers into the white material.
3. Put a piece of plastic wrap across the top and put the lid back on.
4. Put the container inside a big ziplock plastic bag (gallon size works best)
5. Let them sit for about a week or until you need them - pull them out and put them back into the bag they came out of. They will be DARK blue.

Steps 3 and 4 are necessary to preserve the Damp Rid - if you don't do it, the Damp Rid will suck moisture out of the air and be bad in a couple of weeks. Even though I think it can be rejuvenated in the oven - but I've never tried it.

I've probably rejuvenated 15 Moisture Munchers about 10 times each this way using the same container of Damp Rid - total cost about $5. And I've never seen even brand new Moisture Munchers this blue.

PS - DandyDon - have you ever tried upgrading the "firmware" on your Vivitar 5340s?

As you said. I did read your post at the time, but Don and I had an ongoing discussion, so that stuck in my mind. And I also don't remember after all this time who originally gave me the oven drying temp and time combination here on SB several years ago, either!

Like you I found DampRid took about a full week to completely rejuvinate the pink capsules, which works well when I'm not short of time. On Bonaire, where I'm doing 20+ dives in the week, the oven drying method has been a life saver though.

Each method is a tool that serves it's purpose, and from now on DampRid will be a part of my U/W camera gear bag! Going to be really nice to NOT have to run and dry out caps just before a dive, knowing they will still be blue when I'm starting to pack for a trip!

 

[TN Traveler]

I usually travel with a plastic bag with about a cup of DampRid inside it. I put my rejuvenated Moisture Munchers back inside their original "zip lock" plastic bags - about 4 to a bag - and take enough of these so I have enough for one for each diving day (in my case, since my wife also has a SeaLife camera - it takes about 3-4 small bags). I store the small bags inside the bag with the DampRid and then add another bag over the whole mess.

Each morning I grab one small bag and take out 2 Moisture Munchers and put the small bag with the 2 unused caps back into the Zip Lock with the DampRid and put the pink caps back directly into the DampRid. This way I always have bright blue Moisture Munchers to use each day and by the end of the week, the first one's I used can be used again, if needed.

Sorry about the need for a "hug" on Friday - just one of those days.

 

[DandyDon]

I usually travel with a plastic bag with about a cup of DampRid inside it. I put my rejuvenated Moisture Munchers back inside their original "zip lock" plastic bags - about 4 to a bag - and take enough of these so I have enough for one for each diving day (in my case, since my wife also has a SeaLife camera - it takes about 3-4 small bags). I store the small bags inside the bag with the DampRid and then add another bag over the whole mess.

Each morning I grab one small bag and take out 2 Moisture Munchers and put the small bag with the 2 unused caps back into the Zip Lock with the DampRid and put the pink caps back directly into the DampRid. This way I always have bright blue Moisture Munchers to use each day and by the end of the week, the first one's I used can be used again, if needed.

Sorry about the need for a "hug" on Friday - just one of those days.

No problem; great to hear from you again here....

You don't use MMs in your strobes? Even when I used a Canon camera for back-up, I stuck one in there - altho I only used it a couple of times.

I keep my fully recharged MMs separate from those rejuvenating, but I do keep some Damp Rid with both to keep them blue. I never would have bothered with all this had new ones stayed new until used, but they started turning on me as soon as I started a new pack - and now we have heard from divers who have bought new kits with pink MMs. Anyway, I just use 2 pint ziplocks, marked "ready" and "used" with a third of the DR in the ready bag until the end of the trip.

 

[TN Traveler]

Although I have a strobe - I have not used it as often as I should. When I first got it I had some problems getting it to work consistently and SeaLife replaced it and reset the flash link - so it works now with no problems. But I found that as long as I am not too deep, I can use the camera without the strobe and then use PhotoShop and get good pictures.

Those times I have used the strobe my results have been spotty - not the fault of the strobe, but of the operator. I really need to spend some time perfecting my technique with the strobe and plan to do that on my next trip to Curacao in December. This is a "must" before my first liveaboard trip in May - since it will involve deeper dives.

I do put a MM in the strobe when I use it.

So much to learn and so little time to learn it!!!

 

[gypsyjim]

Although I have a strobe - I have not used it as often as I should. When I first got it I had some problems getting it to work consistently and SeaLife replaced it and reset the flash link - so it works now with no problems. But I found that as long as I am not too deep, I can use the camera without the strobe and then use PhotoShop and get good pictures.

Those times I have used the strobe my results have been spotty - not the fault of the strobe, but of the operator. I really need to spend some time perfecting my technique with the strobe and plan to do that on my next trip to Curacao in December. This is a "must" before my first liveaboard trip in May - since it will involve deeper dives.

I do put a MM in the strobe when I use it.

So much to learn and so little time to learn it!!!

EXACTLY my own experience when it came to the strobe! I found after using the DC500 for all this time with out the strobe, now that I have the strobe working correctly I simply prefer to use the camera without it! More compact, so I tend to "tuck" the camera aboard when I dive, even when I'm not planning on any real photo work. With the strobe on, the dive becomes a photo centered dive, simply because the larger set up forces me to limit any other activities.

 

[Maximum Overdive]

I would personally like to extend my thanks and gratitude for this little tidbit of information, I have modified it to fit my personal liking. When I'm at home I have a mason jar with a sponge on the bottom and the damprid on top with submerged moisture munchers and when I go on the boat I have one in a plastic jar. I've told many people about it. I didn't like the oven method as you risk damaging the munchers, the other way you can have many on standby ready to go. Thanks again TN this trick really helped, any more good ideas?

 

[flyingfrawg]

DampRid is great *BUT* it is Calcium Chloride (CaCl2), which like its cousin Sodium Chloride, is corrosive I am always a little hesitant to use it in a way that would get inside delicate equipment. If you can isolate the Munchers from the CaCl2 dust or liquid, then it is very useful. Packing the zip-sealed Muncher envelope in a heavy Zip-Loc bag with some DampRid is a good travel option and should prevent some contamination. Still, if you have any doubt other ways to solve the problem exist.

Here another nice method for regenerating Moisture Munchers:
Use a fruit/vegetable/jerky drying unit such as the American Harvest SnackMaster - Run the unit over night with only one shelf installed. One shelf will probably hold about 100 munchers. They will go deep blue over night and can be repacked in the original muncher packet if the zip-seal still is intact. I have found that packing 5 to 8 units in a sack and placing that in a small heavy Zip-loc pouch will allow the munchers to stay dry and blue for several months even when it is very humid.

By the way... those drying units make great munchies for surface interval enjoyment as well!

Enjoy!

 

[DandyDon]

Good point FF. I only carry 10 to 20 on a trip, but can't keep them blue without DD. Once a packet is opened, they start.

I do clean each one on my T-shirt before inserting, but there is still a risk I guess.