salmo
Well-known member
Does anyone know how long a bottle of Top Ride lasts? I have some that must be15 years old. It still works and does not seem to be damp or clumped up.
R
RLeep2
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2009
- Messages
- 1,465
I would think if the stuff has been closed up in the bottle and isn't clumpy, it ought to work nearly into perpetuity. I have a couple of bottles of the older style Top Ride (crystals only) and they seem to work fine. I'd think the same would go for the newer version of Top Ride (crystals that look like somebody dumped a half a bottle of Frog Fanny in with them..) as well.
So long as it has been closed up in the packaging provided, I'd think it would work fine..
So long as it has been closed up in the packaging provided, I'd think it would work fine..
Bamboozle
Well-known member
You can revitalize silica gel crystals when they become water logged & soaked by drying them out in conventional oven at the lowest setting available. Just pour them out on a baking sheet pan, pop them in the oven and let them "bake" for 15 or so minutes.
Ever since Theodore Gordon was in knickers, I've been using a product made by Cortland called Dry-Ur-Fly to dry my soaked flies. Dry-Ur-Fly is very fine silica gel crystals with NO other floatant added. After drying, I treat my flies with the floatant of MY choice.
Although I have extra in my gear bag, there were many times after a rainy day of fishing dry flies, I dried the Dry-Ur-Fly crystals I used that day in the oven back at the cabin. They are fresh as a daisy when done!!
BTW - If you want cheap plain silica gel for drying flies, look for the product sold to crafters and florists for drying flowers.
Ever since Theodore Gordon was in knickers, I've been using a product made by Cortland called Dry-Ur-Fly to dry my soaked flies. Dry-Ur-Fly is very fine silica gel crystals with NO other floatant added. After drying, I treat my flies with the floatant of MY choice.
Although I have extra in my gear bag, there were many times after a rainy day of fishing dry flies, I dried the Dry-Ur-Fly crystals I used that day in the oven back at the cabin. They are fresh as a daisy when done!!
BTW - If you want cheap plain silica gel for drying flies, look for the product sold to crafters and florists for drying flowers.
R
RLeep2
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2009
- Messages
- 1,465
I wonder if you couldn't do basically the same thing a lot quicker by nuking them in a microwave. I'll bet you could.. I've been wearing two hearing aids for over 40 years (since I was in my mid-20's) and I have several of these screw top plastic hearing aid dryers that employ silica crystals. The directions on all of them say in order to recharge the crystals, put them on very low in a conventional oven for 10-15 minutes as you noted OR nuke them on half power in an 1100 watt microwave for 45 seconds to one minute. Either way works pretty well..
