Condensation in Toolboxes

[dillza_69]

I have just made some under tray toolboxes, I have made them so the are waterproof including the seals on the doors. I finding im getting a lot of condensation on the inside of the boxes. How can i prevent the condensation, i tried putting a breather in each box but it made no difference. Any ideas?

[Jeepo]

Maybe some cloth or carpet or something to absorb the moisture? I doubt you could stop moisture entering because its probably entering in the air whenever you open the doors.

[KiwiBacon]

Vent in the top, drain in the bottom.

[BundyRumandCoke]

Why not get some silica gel crystals. There is a product on the market, thats designed to draw humidity out of wardrobes, to stop clothes going mouldy. Closet Camel or Damp Rid are 2 that come to mind.

[shakes]

Why not get some silica gel crystals. There is a product on the market, thats designed to draw humidity out of wardrobes, to stop clothes going mouldy. Closet Camel or Damp Rid are 2 that come to mind.

or be super budget and raid a shoe shop.

[chimpboy]

Double walls, weep holes in the bottom, silica gel. Just some thoughts. The problem comes up in other areas (eg cabinets with electrical gear in them) and even with all the effort in those fields there don't seem to be a lot of really great solutions.

[dillza_69]

cheers for the reply,
I did think about those silica gel type products but wasn't sure if they would be enough. If i completely dry out the tool boxes after about a week there is a puddle of water in the bottom of them. Will give it a go

[Foo on patrol]

Get some chalk.

When the chalk absorbs the moisture, you just pull it out and put into the sun to dry out and reuse over and over.

[poppywhite]

Learn to live with it.
Run a incandesent light globe. The heat generated prevents condensation. Is what is sometimes done for paper storage for photocopier. Wont do the battery much good though.
Dont think there is an answer here toolbox condensation is a bit of a pain and inconvienence. Maybe move to a dry arid area of the country but think it still happens there.
Sorry I cant be more constructive

[mnemonix]

http://www.bankstowngunshop.com.au/prod ... duct/19950" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;?

[Guy From Nowhere]

You might feel tempted to use other dessicants to adsorb moisture, such as sodium hydroxide or calcium chloride. However, steer clear of both of these as they make our stainless steel laboratory benchtops rust - imagine what they would do to your toolboxes.

The suggestion to use silica get is a highly effective one. You can buy this stuff in a 15kg bucket (http://www.jamesluke.com.au/silica-gel. ... bgodJlCllw).

The lifespan of the silica gel is also quite large. We work on 8 years, but the following reference suggests 10 years (http://www.stogiefresh.com/journal/Ciga ... C9098.html). either way, the benefit to cost ratio is quite high.

The upside of silica get is that you do not need to worry about electronics to run it (i.e. incandesant globe) or modifying your toolboxes (vents and drains). Simply put the slica gel in a box with a gauze side and hey presto problem solved. You may need to experiment with the ammount you use though. An easy way to do this is to estimate the amount of moisture caused by sweating - say 25 ml of water for arguments sake. Put this in the bottom of a coke bottle (top and neck cut off) and leave it over night (this will give you an idea ove moisture adsorbing capacity in realtime and in a controlled environment). If you are still sceptical try it with the water container in the tool box and your ute parked in the sun during the hottest part of the day. If the silica gel does not adsorb the moisture, then up the ammount of beads. Easy? Yep!

Enjoy,
GFN

[shakes]

another option is to make a water trap in the bottom of the box. so when the water does pool it has somewhere to sit, that still keeps tools mostly out of harms way.

[chimpboy]

another option is to make a water trap in the bottom of the box. so when the water does pool it has somewhere to sit, that still keeps tools mostly out of harms way.

Hmm, like a false floor made of perforated steel or something?

[KiwiBacon]

But.
Pooled water will keep the humidity up. Possibly causing rust.

[Guy From Nowhere]

But.
Pooled water will keep the humidity up. Possibly causing rust.

Exactly! You will find that most of the damage is caused by the hu,idity, rather than pooling of water. A false floor may help if the sweating is so bad that pooling occurs, but I highly doubt you would get that much condensation, and you would still require a dehumidifying device. I couldn't find much infor on the Remington dehumidifier that someone posted earlier. I would still head towards silica gel (it really isn't very expensive).

[shakes]

But.
Pooled water will keep the humidity up. Possibly causing rust.

pain in the ass but drop the water every few days/whenever its an issue? on top of running silica gel and keeping a healthy dose of WD spray up on what ever is kept in there?

I've never ran tool boxes like that so dont really understand how bad it is.

[chimpboy]

Would a material other than metal help? It may sound silly but I am wondering if a wooden floor or something might help.

[KiwiBacon]

Condensation happens when warm air gets cooled below the dew point. The worst case obviously is warm moist air in contact with a cold and smooth surface (just like a bathroom mirror with the shower going).

You can prevent condensation by keeping the temperature up (a bit pointless heating toolboxes), only allowing dry air in (depends on where/how the toolboxes are used) or by allowing enough air movement through them that they never have trapped air which is below it's dew point.

Silica gels etc aren't really solving the condensation problem, they're just dealing with the result. I suggested vent and drain because it does both, keeps the air movement and allows any trapped moisture to drain.
This is a major problem with machinery in areas like freezing works process rooms which are both cold (usually 4-6C) and get turned into a steam room 2-3 times a day with washdown.
Some of the guys kept trying to seal cabinets and machines tighter to stop air getting in, the result was always it filling up with water. I eventually convinced them that shield and drain was the only sensible option (the non sensible option was pumping freeze dehumidified air in).

[BundyRumandCoke]

Condensation happens when warm air gets cooled below the dew point. The worst case obviously is warm moist air in contact with a cold and smooth surface (just like a bathroom mirror with the shower going).

You can prevent condensation by keeping the temperature up (a bit pointless heating toolboxes), only allowing dry air in (depends on where/how the toolboxes are used) or by allowing enough air movement through them that they never have trapped air which is below it's dew point.

Silica gels etc aren't really solving the condensation problem, they're just dealing with the result. I suggested vent and drain because it does both, keeps the air movement and allows any trapped moisture to drain.
This is a major problem with machinery in areas like freezing works process rooms which are both cold (usually 4-6C) and get turned into a steam room 2-3 times a day with washdown.
Some of the guys kept trying to seal cabinets and machines tighter to stop air getting in, the result was always it filling up with water. I eventually convinced them that shield and drain was the only sensible option (the non sensible option was pumping freeze dehumidified air in).

In that case, vent and drain, instead of just a vent, ventilate it properly, use a 12 volt computer fan to force air through the toolbox. And you could go even further and draw the air through an air cleaner so its ventilated with filtered air.

[Guy From Nowhere]

I understand how condensation works (it is a part of my job), and I realise that the ventilation and drain method will work to some extent. However, I think there are two issues with this as a solution (1) overengineering (they are toolboxes, not the millenium falcon) and (2) how do you propose that ventilation will stop the moisture collection due to a frost/rainy-weather (you could run fans, but again this is overengineering in my opinion).

You might suggest that silica gel is simply dealing with the problem, but in the end adaptation can be just as good as mitigation in some situations (this is one of these situations).

I have just started using silica gel (i.e. last night) in my 1982 WB ute. It has a Brocky black 308 V8 stroked/bored to 355. The tranmission tunnel gets hot enough to make your feet sore when wearing runners. Lately, the weather has been bloody wet and the nights covered in mist; add to this a temperature averaging 23 degrees C, and you get a whole lot of humid air and a ute load of condensation. This problem was so bad that I was able to collect 100 ml of water from the windsreen and side windows in the ute cab. I put 1 kg of silica gel in there last night and have not had a problem since. This is just dealing with the problem, but is a bunch load cheaper than installing airconditioning and adeqaute ventilation.

I guess the solution comes down to how fancy/hom much money/how much time you want to allow.

Cheers,
GFN

[CWBYUP]

....in my 1982 WB ute. It has a Brocky black 308 V8 stroked/bored to 355...

Photos ?


Are the tool box being sealed so you can drive thru water ?

[KiwiBacon]

I understand how condensation works (it is a part of my job), and I realise that the ventilation and drain method will work to some extent. However, I think there are two issues with this as a solution (1) overengineering (they are toolboxes, not the millenium falcon) and (2) how do you propose that ventilation will stop the moisture collection due to a frost/rainy-weather (you could run fans, but again this is overengineering in my opinion).

Condensation in a frost is never an issue. The air is very dry in frost conditions.
In the rain, you're probably worried about leaks rather than condensation. There's no need for a fan in either situation. Just make sure the lid doesn't seal completely and make sure the lowest point has a drain.

Unlike the inside of your ute, toolboxes aren't heated or cooled, so condensation amounts aren't going to be comparable.

I don't really see the problem. There's no such thing as "overengineering", only "overcomplicated". The more engineering work you put into a problem, the more simple and elegant the solution becomes.

[dillza_69]

Are the tool box being sealed so you can drive thru water ?

Yes.

I have put 2 500gm silica gel bags in each box to see how they go

[Guy From Nowhere]

Condensation in a frost is never an issue. The air is very dry in frost conditions.
In the rain, you're probably worried about leaks rather than condensation. There's no need for a fan in either situation. Just make sure the lid doesn't seal completely and make sure the lowest point has a drain.

I was more refering to moisture from a frost building up inside a toolbox - this has happened to me many times, which has always lead to sealing the box leading me to some serious ulessons on condensation The vents I am picturing are relatively large and would allow any moisture in the air to flow through; am I picturing something I should not be? Do you have a picture of the same? I am genuinely interested.

CWBYUp - there is not much to see, just VN injection/heads sitting on top of a black block but I will see what I can do (only one though as it is a thread on condensation....not gnarly engines).

GFN

[KiwiBacon]

I was more refering to moisture from a frost building up inside a toolbox - this has happened to me many times, which has always lead to sealing the box leading me to some serious ulessons on condensation The vents I am picturing are relatively large and would allow any moisture in the air to flow through; am I picturing something I should not be? Do you have a picture of the same? I am genuinely interested.

Nah, no relevant pictures from me. If there's a rubber seal on the lid, I'd just cut away sections of it in places that won't get water driven or splashed into it. That's the vent. The drain would be some nicely positioned drill holes.