Thread: Tools in chest sweat

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All my wrenches and everything inside my tool chest sweats bad. Nothing hanging on the walls sweats, none of the drill presses and machinery, just in the drawers of the chest. I have tried dessicant cans, gunsafe Goldenrod, Venting garage more, insulating the walls, 24hr heating isn't an option for me.

Mostly happens mid-morning when the sun hits building.

Any help is appreciated before all my Snap-On tools become rust piles.

Thanks, Rick L.

yep may shop sweats very bad some times. is the box sitting on a cement. sounds like you needed more air to move thru the tool box ? very small fan blowing on it ?

What kind of lining are the tools sitting on. Have you tired a dehumidifier?

You're obviously workin' em too hard.

Leave the drawers open, or put a light fixture close to the cabinet and leave it on at night. Pull the cabinet away from the wall might help, too.

Originally Posted by restorod

you're obviously workin' em too hard.:lol::lol::lol:

:d:d:lol::lol::lol::lol:

Pat, I'm gonna try your airflow idea. I am going to put a hole on the back of the box with a 6" air hockey table fan.... Keep yer fingers crossed !!

Air hockey fan!?? That'll blow the lid open! Overkill, I think. A computer fan would probably do the trick.
The cause of the sweating is changes in temp. The tools cool off overnight, then when you run the furnace they don't warm up as fast as the air does, and condensation happens. Throw a blanket over the box when you leave the shop at night, might help.

Lucky you don't live in Florida, we have to spray our stuff with WD40 pretty often to keep them from rusting. Even our drill presses and other tools get that way in our high humidity.

Don

Air hockey fan!?? That'll blow the lid open!

not blowing in.... sucking air out... can you imagine a Hovercraft toolbox ?

Drill some holes in the back and the sides of the drawer - this should provide enough ventilation unless you are living in a very high humidity area like Florida.

The only true solution is to keep the tools warm enough that they don't condense the moisture from the air - whatever that might entail. Otherwise, as Don said, wipe them dry, spray some inhibitor on them and do it as often as necessary. Or, you could move to a dry climate like Las Vegas ; it's so dry here that you could strike a match just by waving it in the air.

SUCCESS !!! The fan did the job. Everything nice and dry.

I took a 4" hole saw, and made a hole. Bolted fan overtop the hole to suck air thru. Hallelujah, I'm glad that's stopped.

Thanks for everybodys input.

Rick L.

I got that trouble tooooo! But in whole garage! In chests and out of chests. But----
I got a kinky garage! It's an old greenhouse, like people use to grow plants etc. I only heat it when I'm out there and temps are too low to work in. But sun shines in (lots of days) and warms air up. So, tools (all metal) sweats. I just turn the other cheek. haahaa. Perley