[meteorite-list] Meteorites and Humidity: Some Questions . . .

From: Linton Rohr <lintonius_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2010 22:59:11 -0800
Message-ID: <9A1B10CB24954891941AD0EFD99A973A_at_D190TH71>

Hello Gracie and List.
I live in southern California and I had, up until recently, been thinking I
should be fairly immune to humidity and rust problems. Wrong! I've got a few
irons starting to show a little rust and some pallasites (Brenham mainly)
with more severe problems.
I think desicant would go a long way in helping you. Just make sure you get
a color coded, rechargeable type, so you can see when it's moist and dry it
in the oven.
I would definitely recommend Bill Mason's kit, which you linked us to. I
recently purchased one from Bill, at the Tucson show. I've yet to break it
out and put it to use, but was impressed with the demo that I got from Bill.
I'm a relative novice with this topic though, so wait and see what others
have to say. Best wishes.
Linton

----- Original Message -----
From: "gracie" <gracie at sheverb.com>
To: "MeteorList" <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Friday, March 05, 2010 5:41 PM
Subject: [meteorite-list] Meteorites and Humidity: Some Questions . . .


> Hello Met List!
>
> Quick background info:
>
> About six or eight months ago, I began a meteorite collection. (I am so
> completely hooked.) I store them primarily in Riker boxes and some in the
> jewel cases they arrived in. I live in north central Florida and except
> for my air conditioned home, I don't have the meteorites in any other
> climate controlled container or cabinet. I'm noticing a few of the irons
> (Miles especially) and one or two of the stony irons to appear a little
> rustier than when they arrived.
>
> I've read the good information here
> (http://www.meteoritemarket.com/preserv.htm), but still have some
> questions.
>
> Given my location, is it unreasonable for me to expect that simply
> purchasing (and consistently replacing) desiccant for each Riker box and
> jewel box will stave off rust? I love having my meteorites on display and
> the notion of squirreling them away in airtight tupperware makes me sad.
> That being said, I would prefer to protect them than have them ruined by
> humidity.
>
> There are a number of places I can purchase desiccant online. Is there a
> preferred or recommended location?
>
> Finally, is a kit like this worth my time and money?
> http://www.bhigr.com/store/product.php?productid=453
>
> Thanks so much for your help!
> Gracie
>
>
>
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Received on Sat 06 Mar 2010 01:59:11 AM PST