Open Forum

​Hello Everyone,

I am curious if anyone out there uses a reusable anoxic chamber that is on the smaller side- (approx. 2' x 2' x 2').  We make custom envelopes for objects out of Marvelseal for one-time use treatments, but I feel like it would be awesome to have an anoxic chamber designed to be used over and over (similar in concept/design to a freezer with door).  It seems like most of the commercial anoxic chambers I am seeing online are on the larger side.  If anyone knows of a company that manufactures "smaller" sized anoxic chambers, can you let me know?    

I have kicked around the idea of trying to construct one myself out of a durable sheet material lined with Marvelseal.  It seems like the most critical/problematic part of the design would be the gasket material around the door seal.  Has anyone constructed an anoxic chamber with a door that successfully maintained the <0.1% oxygen environment?  Do you remember what type of gasket material you used?

If anyone has any thoughts on this, they would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Todd Holmberg

------------------------------
Todd Holmberg
Collection Maintenance Technician
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Minneapolis MN
------------------------------

Todd,
I forwarded your message to the gentleman who runs our own CO2 chamber and he had this to say:

True Anoxia using gases like Nitrogen or Argon is very unforgiving of the required O2 level so you are right that an effective reusable seal is the challenge. There are some good resources and IPM folks available at museumpests.net where you might find something. There is also a good email list there where you could put this question if you haven't already checked it out. We at Historic New England use CO2 which is often lumped in with anoxic treatments but it does not require such low O2 levels since it is the CO2 not low O2 which is doing the work. There is much more wiggle room on the CO2 concentration numbers for treatment so the seal isn't as critical. We have a reusable chamber with about a 10 year life span. If you'd like to discuss CO2 further feel free to be in touch directly.

His contact is Adam Osgood and can be reached at aosgood@historicnewengland.org if you would like more information.

Best,
Ben

------------------------------
Benjamin Haavik
Team Leader Property Care
Historic New England
Waltham MA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-20-2018 09:25 AM
From: Todd Holmberg
Subject: Anoxic Chambers

​Hello Everyone,

I am curious if anyone out there uses a reusable anoxic chamber that is on the smaller side- (approx. 2' x 2' x 2').  We make custom envelopes for objects out of Marvelseal for one-time use treatments, but I feel like it would be awesome to have an anoxic chamber designed to be used over and over (similar in concept/design to a freezer with door).  It seems like most of the commercial anoxic chambers I am seeing online are on the larger side.  If anyone knows of a company that manufactures "smaller" sized anoxic chambers, can you let me know?

I have kicked around the idea of trying to construct one myself out of a durable sheet material lined with Marvelseal.  It seems like the most critical/problematic part of the design would be the gasket material around the door seal.  Has anyone constructed an anoxic chamber with a door that successfully maintained the <0.1% oxygen environment?  Do you remember what type of gasket material you used?

If anyone has any thoughts on this, they would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Todd Holmberg

------------------------------
Todd Holmberg
Collection Maintenance Technician
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Minneapolis MN
------------------------------

We made a CO2 chamber a number of years ago for a collection of Kyrgyz reed screens that were a part of a traveling exhibit. We had already had problems with infestation in the screens and were worried that either we might contaminate another museum, or that the screens might again pick up insects at another museum and bring them home to us. So I designed a large shipping crate- 36"w 30"d x 74"l that also served as an anoxia chamber- so when the exhibit was in shipment or in storage the crate could be purged.

The crate was built with plywood faced with thin aluminum sheeting, opening to the top (since CO2 is heavier than air, leaking around the top gasket would be less of an issue). I created a simple low-pressure regulator using a mylar balloon, so for an extended period I could keep the crate under a low positive pressure, without using up too much CO2. The system seems to have worked quite well.

Feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss further-  

Chuck

------------------------------
Chuck Regier
Curator of Exhibits
Kauffman Museum
North Newton KS
crregier@bethelks.edu(316) 217 6433
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-21-2018 12:20 PM
From: Benjamin Haavik
Subject: Anoxic Chambers

Todd,
I forwarded your message to the gentleman who runs our own CO2 chamber and he had this to say:

True Anoxia using gases like Nitrogen or Argon is very unforgiving of the required O2 level so you are right that an effective reusable seal is the challenge. There are some good resources and IPM folks available at museumpests.net where you might find something. There is also a good email list there where you could put this question if you haven't already checked it out. We at Historic New England use CO2 which is often lumped in with anoxic treatments but it does not require such low O2 levels since it is the CO2 not low O2 which is doing the work. There is much more wiggle room on the CO2 concentration numbers for treatment so the seal isn't as critical. We have a reusable chamber with about a 10 year life span. If you'd like to discuss CO2 further feel free to be in touch directly.

His contact is Adam Osgood and can be reached at aosgood@historicnewengland.org if you would like more information.

Best,
Ben

------------------------------
Benjamin Haavik
Team Leader Property Care
Historic New England
Waltham MA

Original Message:
Sent: 11-20-2018 09:25 AM
From: Todd Holmberg
Subject: Anoxic Chambers

​Hello Everyone,

I am curious if anyone out there uses a reusable anoxic chamber that is on the smaller side- (approx. 2' x 2' x 2').  We make custom envelopes for objects out of Marvelseal for one-time use treatments, but I feel like it would be awesome to have an anoxic chamber designed to be used over and over (similar in concept/design to a freezer with door).  It seems like most of the commercial anoxic chambers I am seeing online are on the larger side.  If anyone knows of a company that manufactures "smaller" sized anoxic chambers, can you let me know?

I have kicked around the idea of trying to construct one myself out of a durable sheet material lined with Marvelseal.  It seems like the most critical/problematic part of the design would be the gasket material around the door seal.  Has anyone constructed an anoxic chamber with a door that successfully maintained the <0.1% oxygen environment?  Do you remember what type of gasket material you used?

If anyone has any thoughts on this, they would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Todd Holmberg

------------------------------
Todd Holmberg
Collection Maintenance Technician
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Minneapolis MN
------------------------------

Hi All,
 I have attempted to create a 3-D chamber with a pvc frame and Marvelseal sides. As you can imagine, it's very difficult to get a good seal at the corners, as there are three pieces of marvelseal meeting up. I was wondering if anyone else has attempted something like this and could point me toward a resource for instructions if such a thing exists. This was my second try. I calculated the volume at about 9 cu ft. I used about 40 Z2000 oxygen scavenger packets and flushed the chamber with nitrogen gas before I sealed it shut, but unfortunately it never achieved anoxia.  I have attached a photo.
Thank you for any help you can provide!
Rachel Minor

------------------------------
Rachel Minor
Supervisor/Curator
Jesse Peter Museum - Santa Rosa Junior College
Santa Rosa CA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-20-2018 09:25 AM
From: Todd Holmberg
Subject: Anoxic Chambers

​Hello Everyone,

I am curious if anyone out there uses a reusable anoxic chamber that is on the smaller side- (approx. 2' x 2' x 2').  We make custom envelopes for objects out of Marvelseal for one-time use treatments, but I feel like it would be awesome to have an anoxic chamber designed to be used over and over (similar in concept/design to a freezer with door).  It seems like most of the commercial anoxic chambers I am seeing online are on the larger side.  If anyone knows of a company that manufactures "smaller" sized anoxic chambers, can you let me know?

I have kicked around the idea of trying to construct one myself out of a durable sheet material lined with Marvelseal.  It seems like the most critical/problematic part of the design would be the gasket material around the door seal.  Has anyone constructed an anoxic chamber with a door that successfully maintained the <0.1% oxygen environment?  Do you remember what type of gasket material you used?

If anyone has any thoughts on this, they would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Todd Holmberg

------------------------------
Todd Holmberg
Collection Maintenance Technician
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Minneapolis MN
------------------------------

Rachel-

Wow- That looks awesome!  I don't have any ideas right off hand about why this doesn't seem to be working.  I can say though, those "purple/pink" indicator eyes are pretty unreliable, so maybe don't put all your faith in those if that's all your going by thinking your chamber is not working.  We use the AnoxiBug system that has a light that gives a more clear "yes/no" if the oxygen level gets low enough.  
I too am interested to hear what other people think on this that have had experience preforming anoxic treatments.  Hopefully there are people on this thread that have thoughts.
Good luck!

-Todd Holmberg

------------------------------
Todd Holmberg
Collection Maintenance Technician
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Minneapolis MN
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 06-23-2020 06:46 PM
From: Rachel Minor
Subject: Anoxic Chambers

Hi All,
 I have attempted to create a 3-D chamber with a pvc frame and Marvelseal sides. As you can imagine, it's very difficult to get a good seal at the corners, as there are three pieces of marvelseal meeting up. I was wondering if anyone else has attempted something like this and could point me toward a resource for instructions if such a thing exists. This was my second try. I calculated the volume at about 9 cu ft. I used about 40 Z2000 oxygen scavenger packets and flushed the chamber with nitrogen gas before I sealed it shut, but unfortunately it never achieved anoxia.  I have attached a photo.
Thank you for any help you can provide!
Rachel Minor

------------------------------
Rachel Minor
Supervisor/Curator
Jesse Peter Museum - Santa Rosa Junior College
Santa Rosa CA

Original Message:
Sent: 11-20-2018 09:25 AM
From: Todd Holmberg
Subject: Anoxic Chambers

​Hello Everyone,

I am curious if anyone out there uses a reusable anoxic chamber that is on the smaller side- (approx. 2' x 2' x 2').  We make custom envelopes for objects out of Marvelseal for one-time use treatments, but I feel like it would be awesome to have an anoxic chamber designed to be used over and over (similar in concept/design to a freezer with door).  It seems like most of the commercial anoxic chambers I am seeing online are on the larger side.  If anyone knows of a company that manufactures "smaller" sized anoxic chambers, can you let me know?

I have kicked around the idea of trying to construct one myself out of a durable sheet material lined with Marvelseal.  It seems like the most critical/problematic part of the design would be the gasket material around the door seal.  Has anyone constructed an anoxic chamber with a door that successfully maintained the <0.1% oxygen environment?  Do you remember what type of gasket material you used?

If anyone has any thoughts on this, they would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Todd Holmberg

------------------------------
Todd Holmberg
Collection Maintenance Technician
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Minneapolis MN
------------------------------

Also-

Benjamin Haavik and Chuck Regier:

Thanks for your thoughts to the original post- very interesting! 
For some reason, I lost contact with this thread and am just seeing these responses now.
Thanks!

-Todd

------------------------------
Todd Holmberg
Collection Maintenance Technician
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Minneapolis MN
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-02-2020 12:37 PM
From: Todd Holmberg
Subject: Anoxic Chambers

Rachel-

Wow- That looks awesome!  I don't have any ideas right off hand about why this doesn't seem to be working.  I can say though, those "purple/pink" indicator eyes are pretty unreliable, so maybe don't put all your faith in those if that's all your going by thinking your chamber is not working.  We use the AnoxiBug system that has a light that gives a more clear "yes/no" if the oxygen level gets low enough.
I too am interested to hear what other people think on this that have had experience preforming anoxic treatments.  Hopefully there are people on this thread that have thoughts.
Good luck!

-Todd Holmberg

------------------------------
Todd Holmberg
Collection Maintenance Technician
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Minneapolis MN

Original Message:
Sent: 06-23-2020 06:46 PM
From: Rachel Minor
Subject: Anoxic Chambers

Hi All,
 I have attempted to create a 3-D chamber with a pvc frame and Marvelseal sides. As you can imagine, it's very difficult to get a good seal at the corners, as there are three pieces of marvelseal meeting up. I was wondering if anyone else has attempted something like this and could point me toward a resource for instructions if such a thing exists. This was my second try. I calculated the volume at about 9 cu ft. I used about 40 Z2000 oxygen scavenger packets and flushed the chamber with nitrogen gas before I sealed it shut, but unfortunately it never achieved anoxia.  I have attached a photo.
Thank you for any help you can provide!
Rachel Minor

------------------------------
Rachel Minor
Supervisor/Curator
Jesse Peter Museum - Santa Rosa Junior College
Santa Rosa CA

Original Message:
Sent: 11-20-2018 09:25 AM
From: Todd Holmberg
Subject: Anoxic Chambers

​Hello Everyone,

I am curious if anyone out there uses a reusable anoxic chamber that is on the smaller side- (approx. 2' x 2' x 2').  We make custom envelopes for objects out of Marvelseal for one-time use treatments, but I feel like it would be awesome to have an anoxic chamber designed to be used over and over (similar in concept/design to a freezer with door).  It seems like most of the commercial anoxic chambers I am seeing online are on the larger side.  If anyone knows of a company that manufactures "smaller" sized anoxic chambers, can you let me know?

I have kicked around the idea of trying to construct one myself out of a durable sheet material lined with Marvelseal.  It seems like the most critical/problematic part of the design would be the gasket material around the door seal.  Has anyone constructed an anoxic chamber with a door that successfully maintained the <0.1% oxygen environment?  Do you remember what type of gasket material you used?

If anyone has any thoughts on this, they would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Todd Holmberg

------------------------------
Todd Holmberg
Collection Maintenance Technician
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Minneapolis MN
------------------------------