Oxygen absorbers ...... news to me!

[skippy]

So I have been doing some research .... and what I found quite astounded me.

Oxygen absorbers...... thats what heat packs are!
So those little Hotties, mycoal hand or foot warmers, hot hands are all oxygen absorbers.
Now at 250ml volume for most of them and some at 500ml volume they are 10 times the size of the little oxy absorbers you buy from the states.
10 x the size and 7.99 for 20 of them ..... thats the equivelent of 200 oxy absorbers for 7.99!
Am I missing something here, can we use these things?


Skippy

[Brambles]

Yes you can, a lot of folk accross the pond do. I wasn't sure if there was any difference in price for us here though. I'm not sure you could split the hotties into smaller packages without ruining their ability to absorb oxygen.

[WhiteWolf]

[nickdutch]

Iron Filings are also another oxygen absorber (used In special sealed packs to keep the iron filings away from the food surfaces) in military MREs

[Bladerunner]

So if oxygen absorbers are virtually the same as hand warmers, do the absorbers get warm like the hand warmers?

I know the oxygen is turned into rust by some chemical reaction and I have seen that video before. The guy in the video is a star. Have you been to his youtube site? He has some great vids on there. I spent a whole night once looking at his vids, cracks me up.

Be lucky (and cosey)

[skippy]

So if oxygen absorbers are virtually the same as hand warmers, do the absorbers get warm like the hand warmers?

from what I read .... yes they do but they are much smaller so not as long / warm a reaction.

[Rayman]

How do you use an oxygen absorber?

Do you fill a bucket full of rice, drop an absorber on the top, then fasten the lid down?, cant be that easy eh?

[WhiteWolf]

How do you use an oxygen absorber?

Do you fill a bucket full of rice, drop an absorber on the top, then fasten the lid down?, cant be that easy eh?

You put your prep, rice, pasta, wheat or whatever into a mylar bag which is best placed into a bucket or other type of container. Then having roughly worked out the air that would be left in the bag throw in enough absorbers to remove the O2 from the bag once you have heat sealed the mylar bag. Wait a few hours to make sure the O2 has been removed then whack the lid on the bucket.

Here is just one of dozens of YouTube vids of how to do it.



Regards

WW

[Rayman]

Nice info, thanks WW