[DougW]

If you are born in S.E. Texas you come standard with gill plates. If you move here later in life you will acquire them after the first full summer you spend here.

What I did... is add desiccant to the tubes...

I got these off of Amazon. I paid just a tad more to get them in vapor proof package.

20200702_165046 by Doug Wei, on Flickr

Then I just stick one in the cap of each tube...

20200702_165056 by Doug Wei, on Flickr

And change them once a month or so.... They can be re-conditioned by baking in an oven for a few hourse - so I read.

[v5cvbb]

I put together a bunch of the 1.5" tubes a few days ago. I feel they seal better than the shipping tubes so it should help some. I'm considering the desiccant packs as well. Did you glue those in DougW?

[TraditionalToolworks]

I put together a bunch of the 1.5" tubes a few days ago. I feel they seal better than the shipping tubes so it should help some. I'm considering the desiccant packs as well. Did you glue those in DougW?

Kevin,

I was gonna make some of those also, but the at the last minute decided to order the Blue Demon tubes from Baker Gas as I was getting some 4643 filler. They were about $52 for a set of 5. I have one Rod Guard, hope the Blue Demon are as nice. The thing that's nice about this is when open they expose about 1/3rd of the tube, so you can easily get rod out.

I also bought a set of 4 x 3-way dividers for the Blue Demon tubes on ebay, kind of pricey at $15 w/shipping for some 3D Printed dividers, but I don't have a 3D printer.

The tubes hold 10# of filler each and are about 2" in diameter, at least that is what my Rod Guard is. They also have a rubber sealer when the top is snugged on which prevents air from entering.

When I saw cj's setup I realized I could make my own but the tubes wouldn't come out nearly as nice. Looks like he's got the Rod Guards from ZTFab.

[DougW]

I put together a bunch of the 1.5" tubes a few days ago. I feel they seal better than the shipping tubes so it should help some. I'm considering the desiccant packs as well. Did you glue those in DougW?

No, I did not glue them in. Next time I hit Lowes/Home Depot I'm picking up some stiff aluminum screen, or something similar, and will cut round pieces that I can push in the the cap to retain the desiccant packs but I'll still be able to remove them for replacement on a regular basis.

[Spartan]

Running a dehumidifier in your shop can also help. I bought one from the hardware store for about $150 and it's been running non-stop in my shop for about 6 years now. Drain line pipes the water right outside, and it's fairly quiet. It's shocking how much water that thing pulls out of the air in my shop each day, especially when it's humid. Great for protecting equipment also.

Edit: To clarify, it's "on" non-stop, but not necessarily running all the time. Only runs when the humidity hits the point you set it to. Usually keep mine set at 55%.

[v5cvbb]

I left my tubes almost 1" long with desiccant in mind. I was thinking of a retention method as you mentioned DougW.

Alan, I have some scrap 2" I was thinking of rigging a divider to keep some of my most used stuff and leave the others sealed more. I'll check out those you mentioned for ideas.

My welding shop is actually the back of the open barn. Dehumidifier is not an option.

Thanks guys.

[VA-Sawyer]

My welding shop is actually the back of the open barn. Dehumidifier is not an option.

Thanks guys.

Hot in the summer, cold in the winter, and 'just right' about 4 days a year.
Been there, did that, threw away the T-shirt.