Receiving objects from tropical climates

Karen Potje <kpotje<-at->cca<.>qc<.>ca> writes

>Also, does anyone out there have experience in using silica gel in
>crates or other packing methods to prevent objects from developing
>mould during long ocean transport?

We do this frequently and especially when things are travelling
overseas.  I have built racks using common powder-coated wire
shelf-racking to contain the standard Art Sorb "cassettes" but the
shipping industry makes packets with self-adhesive tape that can
secure to the sides of the crate like this company:

    <URL:http://www.drypak.com/desiccants%28CI%29.html?

Oxygen absorbers would eliminate mold, but if the object are large,
that would be unwieldy because the system must be truly sealed.

Big crates will need a lot of gel to be effective.  One must
calculate the volume of space and make plans for "extra" space in
the crate to accommodate the silica gel so that some air-movement
for effectiveness of the material.  Maybe you can condition the gel
to an "intermediary" humidity level to help the object slowly
acclimate to your less humid conditions during transit.

We have lined crates with Marvelseal and gasketed the openings to
seal them better, but it seems to me that in this instance you would
not want to over-seal the crate.

Clara Deck
The Henry Ford
The Henry Ford
20900 Oakwood Boulevard
Dearborn MI 48124


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 28:32
                 Distributed: Friday, January 16, 2015
                       Message Id: cdl-28-32-004
                                  ***