TargetTalk

Both of them are silica gel.

So "tidy cat" kitty litter desiccant in nylon lady's low sock hose = Hill pump dry-pac?

seamaster, don't you mean that Tidy Cat Litter contains silica gel? Surely it isn't entirely silica gel. Is the Hill dry-pac 100% silica gel? If it is, then I imagine you can buy SG in bulk and save some $$

Don't understand the lady's hose thing (relating to the Hill Pump).

There are are many such products. One of the common ones in Norwegian hardware stores is "Torr-ball", it's probably sold all over the world:

http://www.sailormall.net/cleaning-pain ... /torr-ball

Don't bother to Google dry ball ;-)

I've worked a lot with silica gel, and I have Hill Dry-Pak pellets that I'm still finding all over when a refill pack burst in shipping. They are totally different.

Silica gel is clear, and the crystals typically have a fairly smooth glassy finish. The dry pack material is a tan-ish brown, and is in much smaller, round porous-looking pellets. There are a variety of materials that can be used as desiccant. Silica gel is totally reversible with gentle baking. The Hill pump stuff presumably is a one-way deal.

Read the info on Tidy Cat.

It said it is PURE silica gel, low dust content.

So, I guess I don't have to put them in lady's low sock to prevent dust granules.

Gwhite wrote:I've worked a lot with silica gel, and I have Hill Dry-Pak pellets that I'm still finding all over when a refill pack burst in shipping. They are totally different.

Silica gel is clear, and the crystals typically have a fairly smooth glassy finish. The dry pack material is a tan-ish brown, and is in much smaller, round porous-looking pellets. There are a variety of materials that can be used as desiccant. Silica gel is totally reversible with gentle baking. The Hill pump stuff presumably is a one-way deal.

OK, so the Hill Dry-pac stuff is perhaps some kind of clay?? If so, I guess the question becomes is it alright to use silica gel (Tidy Cat) in the Hill pump? I suppose you could talk to Hill but I can imagine what they'd say ;) (I don't imagine they would be too pleased to lose the sales!)

The problem with the Hill pump is that it has to dry the air out quickly as it is sucked through the Dry-Pak. I'm not sure that silica gel works that fast. Yes, it absorbs moisture, but unless it is pulverized a lot finer than the stuff I've worked with (which are crystals ~ 1.5 mm in diameter), it may not have enough surface area to strip all the moisture out as it goes by.

This may seem a bit far-fetched, but how about having a portable electric heater by the side of the pump while you're pumping? I guess there will be no moisture, only warm air going into the gun...

Warming the air won't help and might make things worse. Any moisture in the air to begin with will still be there after it is warm and heating the air increases its capacity to hold water. The problem with moisture in the air gun cylinder is that as air is bled off it cools and the water condenses creating the potential for corrosion. If anything, cooling the air, i.e., running it through an air conditioner, would dry it out (which is why you should run your car's air conditioner with your heater when you are trying to defog your windshield). But I still wouldn't putz around with it.

I have a couple of questions : How much does the Hill pump dry-pac cost? What does a new cylinder cost? What is it worth not to worry about having a cylinder rupture at pressure?

Roger