Drying the Silica Gel


berryalien

New Member
Sep 5, 2010
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Hi all,

Just wanna check, if I were to dry the pink silica gel (cotaining cobalt chloride, which may cause cancer) in an oven that I use to bake my food.

Is it alright?

Or I shld just throw away after it is saturated with moisture?

ANy other ways to dry the gel??

Please help!!

Thanks!:cool:
 

Hi all,

Just wanna check, if I were to dry the pink silica gel (cotaining cobalt chloride, which may cause cancer) in an oven that I use to bake my food.

Is it alright?

Or I shld just throw away after it is saturated with moisture?

ANy other ways to dry the gel??

Please help!!

Thanks!:cool:

Well you already said that its cancer causing, doesn't that answer your question? or you rather take the risk?

Silica gel is not that expensive and a bottle can last for some time, so i would rather buy new bottles instead of reconditioning the old ones.
 

why not buy a dry cabinet and save your headache on this?

an entry level dry cabinet cost only $118 and electricity bill wun cost you more then $5 per month.
 

hmms just to check... is the silica gel really cancer causing? as in... the fumes emitted when drying them in the microwave is it? cos i've never been aware of such a thing... intuitively all thats released when drying shld be water vapour?
 

hmms just to check... is the silica gel really cancer causing? as in... the fumes emitted when drying them in the microwave is it? cos i've never been aware of such a thing... intuitively all thats released when drying shld be water vapour?

Only the blue ones are, they turn to pink when wet. The silica gel is not cancer causing but the cobalt chloride causing the colour change is. So if you manage to get yr hands on the orange or colourless kind you don't have to worry about this.
 

It really amaze me that, for a bottle that cost $3.50 , one would rather take the risk of being expose to a agent that could potentially be cancer causing. My health is definitely worth more than the $3.50. Which is why I got myself a cheap $118 piece of equipment , that free myself from the risk, and low running cost.

Just buy less 2 BW filters, or dun buy the 50mm F1.8, one will be able to afford the dry cabi.

I really hope that the schools will start teaching decision making, after teaching CBA ( Cost Benefit Analysis ) so that probably my future kids and their peers will be able to think and decide for themselves.
 

It really amaze me that, for a bottle that cost $3.50 , one would rather take the risk of being expose to a agent that could potentially be cancer causing. My health is definitely worth more than the $3.50. Which is why I got myself a cheap $118 piece of equipment , that free myself from the risk, and low running cost.

Just buy less 2 BW filters, or dun buy the 50mm F1.8, one will be able to afford the dry cabi.

I really hope that the schools will start teaching decision making, after teaching CBA ( Cost Benefit Analysis ) so that probably my future kids and their peers will be able to think and decide for themselves.

i see your point, but i'd like to respectfully point out the considerations people may have for using silica gel... for example, when it is impractical to be lugging a drycab around. i was in this scenario when i was based overseas for 6 months... so unavoidably silica gel proved to be a convenient substitute. so thanks for the info on the differences between the blue gel and others! :)
 

i see your point, but i'd like to respectfully point out the considerations people may have for using silica gel... for example, when it is impractical to be lugging a drycab around. i was in this scenario when i was based overseas for 6 months... so unavoidably silica gel proved to be a convenient substitute. so thanks for the info on the differences between the blue gel and others! :)


There are differences between using Blue silica ( and dispose of them when they turn pink ) , using blue silica and intenting to reheat them in a microwave that TS is also using to bake, and using non blue silica.

I am also still using silica for my underwater camera system . But I am not that dumb to expose my health to cancer causing agent by reheating blue silica in something that I will cook my food with. I just buy non cobalt silica.

When you have been to the brink and back, trust me, you will seriously be mindful of your health. No amount of $$ can bring back your health. For a $3.50 bottle of blue silica, Yes , its dumb to me , for anyone to reheat.For the price of less than a MacDonald meal, one can get a brand new bottle. Maybe one will not die instantanous from reheating them. But if it is a known risk and one can do something to avoid that risk, I would .

Non cobalt silica are not expensive. Its cheap and easy to get online. Just google for it.
 

i see your point, but i'd like to respectfully point out the considerations people may have for using silica gel... for example, when it is impractical to be lugging a drycab around. i was in this scenario when i was based overseas for 6 months... so unavoidably silica gel proved to be a convenient substitute. so thanks for the info on the differences between the blue gel and others! :)

and how much percentage is this? ;p most of us are immobile in singapore.
 

i see your point, but i'd like to respectfully point out the considerations people may have for using silica gel... for example, when it is impractical to be lugging a drycab around. i was in this scenario when i was based overseas for 6 months... so unavoidably silica gel proved to be a convenient substitute. so thanks for the info on the differences between the blue gel and others! :)
have you consider buy a dry cabinet over there, and dispose it before you return?
 

they never heard of such a thing :bsmilie:

Same thing in most of California. It gets so dry that for some things like guitars, we need to get humidifiers to make sure the wood won't crack.

In Shanghai it is the reverse. In the months of May June and July, it gets so bad that mold will even grow on my leather jackets and shoes.
 

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