On 1/8/2019 at 6:18 PM, kayb said:A full pound of silica dessicant to dehumdify a dorm fridge? Is there a rule of thumb on how much dessicant per cubic foot of space and/or pound of product? I'd have no idea where to even begin with amounts.
I use one pound of food safe silica gel in a 5 cubic foot chest freezer.
One pound was the most cost effective amount I could get via ebay at the time of purchase.
I didn't do any special calculating in terms of cubic feet and such.
I don't think it's possible, there are too many variables to consider—too little food safe desiccant is the biggest potential problem, IMO.
With my set-up, the humidity controller starts a fan when the humidity rises above target.
The fan —a 12v PC fan—blows air through the food safe silica gel 'pillow' thus lowering the humidity in the chamber.
The food safe silica gel is dried in a very slow oven or dehydrator—usually, every few days.
Not a big deal.
I don't cure huge batches.
Desiccant drying frequency will vary depending on several factors—amount of product being cured, type of product, relative humidity, etc.
This system is much more sensible than a compressor based dehumidifier.
HTH
