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Home Forums 68kMLA Long Term Storage — #14
Post #14 by Bunsen
Source Forum68kMLA
CategoryHardware
Post DateWed, 16 Nov 2011 - 09:44
Original URLhttps://68kmla.org/bb/threads/long-term-storage.24084/
Post
is the suggestion to use silica desiccants for general storage, or to put inside a ziplock baggy to seal up with the battery?
I was thinking general storage, however ...

The storage unit is climate controlled so humidity should not be an issue.
Ah, ok. Silica gel would be entirely redundant then - depending on what humidity level your storage unit is set at. I'd ask.

I'm not sure I understand e vacuum sealed issue ... Isn't oxygen the active catalyst to corrosion? Wouldn't depleting 02 actually inhibit corrosion?
Oxygen is the reactant. Water is the catalyst. In a dry environment, corrosion is greatly reduced. It only takes a miniscule amount of O2 to corrode board traces; a sealed bag would hold more than enough. But without moisture, it won't happen. And it's much easier to exclude or absorb moisture than oxygen.

I was thinking of whole Macs and circuit boards in bags, not specifically batteries. In a storage situation without climate control, sealed bags and some kind of moisture absorbant is probably the safest approach - unless you're able to store them in pure nitrogen, say ;)

batteries in tupperwear-like plastic tubs. My assumption was that the plastic was thick enough to contain an acid leak. what is the alternative? Glass?
Well, sure, glass jars would contain any acid spill, but this occurs to me - do you want to contain any spilled acid, close to the battery, and other batteries in the same container, where it could possibly damage as-yet undamaged ones?

My suggestion (possibly over the top): Cover the base of the container with a half-inch to an inch of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). That will both absorb moisture (and smells) and (being a base, the opposite of an acid) instantly and harmlessly neutralize any acid that falls onto it. Put the batteries down on that in a single layer.

mp.ls