The graph is from a silica gel company so is probably fairly accurate. But it could be it’s for a different form that doesn’t hold quite as much? I don’t know but yeah, it shows about 37% water weight at 100%.
But actually it really doesn’t matter for our purposes. Anyone operating near 100% humidity is way too humid. And unless you are comparing between desiccants, the actual shape of the curve doesn’t really matter. What matters is that as humidity increases, water content increases. Beyond that there’s nothing really critical about the curve shapes.
It’s the exact same argument on not knowing that curve shape with filament. It also behaves like a desiccant — just a very weak one. We just know that certain humidity values mean corresponding water contents. Reduce the humidity and eventually you reduce the water content.
That’s a really solid point I hadn’t fully considered — the molecular-bonding moisture being permanent is something I didn’t realize. And the heat-cycle degradation is a good reminder too. Your setup (sealed cabinet + membrane dehumidifier + recirculated desiccant dryers) sounds like the endgame — how long have you been running it, and do you track the RH it holds?
Good data point — 24-25% in a 180L cabinet sounds like a solid baseline. Do you find the active drying keeps it stable year-round, or does it creep up in humid months?s
Since we’re sharing setups — here’s my current corner. Printer on top of the sealed cabinet (top’s solid, zero wobble while printing), 40 spools inside, and the display has been sitting at 25% RH / 27°C all week. Prints have been boring in the best way since I set this up. Anyone else running a cabinet + printer combo?
Haha fair catch — the timeline reads worse than it is. I’ve genuinely been cycling through methods — small sealed boxes, bags, you name it — which is exactly why that comparison thread was all over the place. The big cabinet only just arrived a few days ago; when I consolidated everything I found way more than the ~15 in active rotation — unopened spools I’d forgotten about, a few stashed in drawers, and a buddy also sent a batch over around then. Once it all came out of the bags it was 40 total. The “all week” was loose wording — the display’s been steady at 25% since I sealed it up a couple days ago. Setup’s still evolving, so I get the confusion. Appreciate you keeping me honest!
