How do you store your parts ?

[Nikon1975]

Ok, two silly questions:

1) How do you store your parts ? I like to buy them on-line, so they come in a bag with their sticker. Mouser sticker fades after few months, don't ask me why.

2) I did a full cycle of washing machine a tumble dryer to some resistors. Do you think I can still use them ?

Thanks,

D.

[Rodeodave]

1) I've noticed that too with any other vendor. I think it's because it's thermal paper, the stuff just bleaches out over time. I keep the parts in the ziplock bags they come in and simply mark the value with a pen. Sometimes the part number too if I later want to check for specs.

I have a box with the resistors stored in their bags, vertically, sorted by value so it's easy to dial through the values.
There's also a box for capacitors and one semiconductors. The rest - like small heatsinks, RCA connectors, fuses and so on - is stored in shoeboxes.
Tubes are stored in wooden boxes that came with cakes (Sacher for instance) or wine.

2) Depends, what type of resistor were they? I'd put them in the oven (lowest setting) for like half a day and measure a few before and after.

[qusp]

i'll take some pics, best way to explain, will send you an email in the next day or 2 mate.

with the resistors, it will depend on the type as mentioned above, but i would think most all will be fine, i second the recommendation for long slow oven, but also addiyionally i would recommend if you can source the, to put the resistors in a sealed plastic contained with some silica gel sachets

[Enzo]

I run a pro audio repair shop, so I may stock more parts than a hobbyist. I use the 60 drawer part bins a lot. I have one for small resistors - 1/8-1/4-1/2-1 watt, I have another for powr resistors. One for fuses, several for transistors, grouped by package, and several for ICs, separately grouped digital versus analog. Larger drawer bins for things like pots, larger e-caps.

But inevitably, the collection grows faster than my drawer count. I leave new parts with no drawers in their Mouser bags. Or wherever they came from. New labels seem to fade less than old ones, but often the print is small, so I draw the part type on the bag in large letters with a Sharpie.

All the loose bagged parts go on an inventory list on a legal pad. I have a box for them all, and inside the box are a few numbered large plastic bags. Loosely sorted. Bag 1 is MOSFETs. Bag 2 is diodes. Bag 3 is bipolar TO3P and TO247 and similar. Other bags for TO92, then TO220, and even odd value resistors, like to 1% stuff for some amps. (249 ohm, 11.3 ohm, etc) I can refer to the sheet rather than rifle through the bags.


After wave soldering, many boards are washed. They are sent through a thing not unlike the dishwasher machine in a restaurant. Water won't hurt the parts as a rule. And that is why you sometimes get a part like a small relay with a sticker on it that says something like remove after washing. And other parts like sealed pots thay say something like safe for washing.

[Conrad Hoffman]

Bags, cardboard boxes, n-drawer parts cabinets and shelves. Sometimes piles on the floor. I keep major items listed in an Excel spreadsheet, which means I know if I've got it, but may or may not be able to find it!

Conrad

[tomchr]

Flambeau is your friend. I use their IDS boxes as well as their drawer cabinets. As others note, my collection of parts have outgrown my available box space...

~Tom

[MJL21193]

I hate those plastic boxes.
Appropriate for a DIY site:

NPX_908.JPG
IM001258.JPG

Still, not really enough storage.

[sofaspud]

Ziplock bags, stickers, Sharpie markers... yep, yep, and yep. I also use the plastic divided boxes you can get at the hobby store. Some of my capacitors I'll group together as a decade value - not hard to grab a "105" instead of "104" without a search and sort mission. For my home workbench, the parts drawers just take up too much space so I only have a few for switches, jacks, plugs, etc.

[Jonathan Bright]

Nikon 1975 do you mean the conditions such as humidity, temperature etc.

[gmphadte]

I use reel tape cannisters. Now they r hard to find. Being transparent u can get the view of what is inside and also can be stacked one above the other. Bigger parts go in plastic rectangular tiffin boxes.

Gajanan Phadte