Drying sand in the oven- anyone try it?

Hi Jeff... new monitors, eh? I filled my Atlantis stands with dry construction sand from Rona. (Sugarbrie's price quote is about right IIRC.) That was maybe seven years ago and the pillars are still dry inside. I didn't have to bake it. I was glad about that, because even more years ago I had attempted to sterilize a small batch of potting soil in the oven. It stunk up the house and didn't dry the soil out completely even after many hours at high heat. ATB, Toby

Tobias- the reason your potting soil stunk was that you were "cooking" the organic matter in the soil, and will actually burn more off the higher you heat it (that's how your self-cleaning oven works.

Thank you Swampwalker. It is always fascinating to have the scoop from one whose moniker knows :o)

I take it that Hack's sand, if he were allowed to oven-bake it, probably wouldn't smell as bad as my potting soil did, since it could well be lower in organics.

I remember the hours we considered fleeing the house or ending the experiment prematurely. It's a slow process. Deserts take time.

Anyone who is thinking of "drying" anything in the oven (be that veggies or sand) should know that if you don't crack the oven door you are simply roasting the sand. When teh moisture evaporates but has nowhere to go it will turn your oven into a steam room of sorts. This is probably why Tobias still had stinky moist soil after cooking it.
Spend same time and effort with a batch of San Marzano tomatoes and you will find much bigger rewards.

Good luck to all!

I've found that filling my stands is as much for sound quality as non "tipping" security for the monitors. While I've had success with sand in my stands, I'm much more secure with fine steel shot in my stands (as Jsd52756 recommended above). It's dry, much more dense than sand, non toxic, pours like a dream and inexpensive. The toughest part is locating a supplier. I've found it to be the perfect fill. My monitors weigh 56 pounds each, sitting on top of 24" stands, I was worried as hell about tipping over. With steel shot in my stands, they are very secure, and the stands are dead quiet. Just a thought.