Drying frozen books

Caroline Bendix <bendijack2 [at] aol__com> writes

>I have been using the ArchiPress vacuum packing machine to good
>effect for drying wet books that have been frozen but have a number
>of books which are too larger to fit the chamber of the machine.
>Rather than buying another machine, I would like to see whether it
>is possible to use a vacuum pump combined with a compression bag or
>similar, i.e. a bag with  an in-built valve, and oxygen scavengers
>instead. I understand that using  such bags with a household vacuum
>cleaner can result in damage to the vacuum  cleaner, as they are not
>designed for this purpose, hence the possible use of a vacuum pump.
>Does anyone have any experience of this method?

I see no reason why you cannot use a the vacuum pump on your
existing machine. You needn't buy another machine; you can have
someone set up a bypass system so you can use the existing pump
(it's easy, really, but be sure that a water filter is in the line).

A vacuum cleaner may not be up to this job if you need a lot of
compression, but this may not be the case. Vacuum cleaners they can
perform surprisingly well under some circumstances. I don't see how
a vacuum cleaner could be damaged, unless it drew in water (a "wet
vac" would solve this). I'm not a vacuum cleaner technician, and
would consult with one before committing to its use.  They are often
available used at very little expense, so it is not costly to
experiment.

Regardless of how you create the vacuum, you will need some further
advice on how to best create a vacuum in the oversize bag (there are
a few tricks, feel free to contact me if you proceed down this
road). You may also find that valves are not needed, but if they
are, they should not be difficult to source, and may be reusable.

As a seller of Ageless oxygen absorbers, I would NOT recommend their
use. They are not recommended for use in tightly fitting vacuum
envelope, and will not create a vacuum.

Jerry Shiner
Keepsafe Microclimate Systems
416-703-4696
800-683-4696


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 23:28
                 Distributed: Friday, February 5, 2010
                       Message Id: cdl-23-28-005
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