This is a message from the Museumpests List. To post to this list send it as an email to [email protected] To unsubscribe please look at the footer of this email. ----------------------------------------------------------- Dana -
In addition you need to realize that boxes of archives are very dense - and that paper is very good insulator. In fact, shredded paper is used to insulate houses in northern climates. Given that, it is not surprising that it took time to reach the the desired temperature. Be patient - the method works. Gretchen Anderson Conservator Carnegie Museum of Natural History ________________________________ From: [email protected] [[email protected]] on behalf of [email protected] [[email protected]] Sent: Saturday, March 10, 2012 8:58 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [pestlist] Freezer Trucks This is a message from the Museumpests List. To post to this list send it as an email to [email protected] To unsubscribe please look at the footer of this email. ----------------------------------------------------------- Dana - First of all, the temperature does not have to reach -20F in 4 hours. It should reach 32F in 4 hours. That's sufficient. The reason you use a truck capable of maintaining -20F, is it will reach the desired 32F in 4 hours. Once the liquid in adults, larvae, and eggs reaches a freezing temperature, ice particles form and destroy the cellular structure of the living organisms. Unless you're dealing with "book worms", which I doubt you are with archival records, any insects found in these materials will certainly be killed. When freezing anything, you're trying to beat insects from forming natural defenses to freezing. I think your process worked fine. Have you found any live insects? I have had plenty of sucessful freezing episodes with freezer trucks, containers, and warehouses. Tom Parker -----Original Message----- From: dana senge <[email protected]> To: pestlist <[email protected]> Sent: Sat, Mar 10, 2012 8:41 pm Subject: [pestlist] Freezer Trucks This is a message from the Museumpests List. To post to this list send it as an email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> To unsubscribe please look at the footer of this email. ----------------------------------------------------------- We recently tried using a freezer truck to process a large number of boxes of archives. Record boxes were stacked in rows with 12" gaps between the rows to allow for air circulation. We placed a datalogger in the center of one of the boxes of archive materials (in the center of the truck) and another outside the boxes to measure the temperature of the air in the truck box. The results were surprising. We had been informed that the truck would go down to -20 degrees F in 4 hours. Our data loggers showed that it took 10 hours for the air in the truck to go from 44 degrees F to -15 degrees F, and the temperature inside one of the record boxes took ~96 hours to drop from 70 degrees to -15 degrees. (The boxes had been in a 72 degree environment before being placed in the truck box). It appears that the starting temperature of the boxes of paper was more difficult to reduce than I expected. And the truck never achieved the desired temperature. We are very disappointed in these initial results and are trying to figure out if there is a different strategy for using a freezer truck, or if this is just not feasible for freezing densely packed materials, such as paper packed in a record box. We are discussing packing boxes half full and packing the truck to allow for even more air circulation. But it seems that getting to the goal of -20 degrees F in 4 hours may not be feasible. Does anyone have any positive experiences working with a freezer truck for processing a large quantity of materials? Especially dense materials such as wood or boxes of paper? Thanks, Dana Senge Assistant Conservator National Park Service Intermountain Region Museum Services Program Tucson, AZ 85745 520-791-6432 [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To send an email to the list, send your msg to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> To unsubscribe from this list send an email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> and in the subject put: "unsubscribe" - no quotes please. You are receiving the Pestlist emails in standard mode. 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