Hi Jim,
I wanted to share with others of how I make my own desiccant packs. Go to a craft store like Michaels and in the flower department you can buy a box of silica gel that is used for drying flowers. I then get a box of family sized tea bags (these are twice the size of regular tea bags but any size will work) Use needle nose pliers to remove the staple that holds on the little piece of cardboard used to squeeze the bags, empty out the tea and use a spoon to now fill the empty tea bags with the silica gel. Re-staple. They are now ready for ammo cans, food buckets etc. [The loose tea can of course be saved to use is a tea-steeping ball.] – Just a Jarhead
James:
We don’ need no steenkin’ silica desiccants!
Go to most any building site or building supply store and ask for some wall board (a.k.a. gypsum board or “sheet rock”) scraps. For various reasons, there is almost always some pieces around. The builders or store owner will be happy to get rid of them for free.
Peel the paper off one side and cut the wall board into pieces to fit the containers that you’re using. A piece about the size of a 3×5 index card will protect a .5 0cal ammo can or #10 can with capacity to spare
Bake the wall board pieces in the oven at 150 degrees F for a couple of hours to dry them out, and put them warm into your containers and seal.
Gypsum is extremely hygroscopic, and will suck every every bit of moisture from the air in a sealed container. This can be used to protect stored electronics, optics, books, etc as well.
This approach is low tech, extremely inexpensive, and easy. My kinda solution. Cordially, – John N.