dry cabinet dos & don'ts - from the horse's mouth

[skopio]

Recently I found that one of my precious lens (which I have not used for quite awhile) has moulds on it. How do you know if your Dry cabinet is working or not?

My dry cabinet is placed in my store-room - is that a no-no? My dry cabinet has a gauge on it and it shows 75 RH with 30degrees C - does that indicate that my dry cabinet is not working?

i think you better get it checked. 75% RH is not exactly normal storage conditions. outside RH is 80-90% so it's actually not far off.

 

[masrudyn]

Thanks everyone for your replies. My dry cabinet was purchased more than 5 years ago and it doesn't come with a manual. I think it is made in Taiwan. It does have a light indicator with a controller knob (for controlling humidity I think).

I don't think there's any warranty left anyway. Hmm.. I think it's about time to get a new one. Seems like Digi is a good brand. Any other brands to recommend that is long lasting?

BTW, what's the life span of a dry cabinet. How often do you guys change (or throw away) your dry cabinet?

 

[CS TAN]

Thanks everyone for your replies. My dry cabinet was purchased more than 5 years ago and it doesn't come with a manual. I think it is made in Taiwan. It does have a light indicator with a controller knob (for controlling humidity I think).

Usually the cabinet should have a green and red light (red means the unit's power is on and the green means the hydrometer is operating). But, if you got only one light, usually this will be in red and should be the indicator of whether the hydrometer is operating or not. Before you throw away a good unit, you should try to turn the knob all the way to one side. If the light (or one of them) goes out, that means you have just turn off the hydrometer. In that case, turn the knob all the way to the other side and leave it there for 24 hours. The RH% indicator should move to the lower end. If the indicator is still at 75% (or something that is higher than 50%) after a day or so, then you should replace the unit as the hydrometer is not working.

I don't think there's any warranty left anyway. Hmm.. I think it's about time to get a new one. Seems like Digi is a good brand. Any other brands to recommend that is long lasting?

BTW, what's the life span of a dry cabinet. How often do you guys change (or throw away) your dry cabinet?

There is usually a 5-year warranty on the dry cabinet as the hydrometer can last a long time. So, I would expect a dry cabinet should last around 10 years or more. I have units that already last more than 10 years and it is still working fine.

 

[olsent]

If rubber or plastic parts would crack after being in the dry cabinet (RH 40-50) for a longer period of time, how would all the camera gear and other equipment with plastic/rubber look like in Europe where the RH level might be down to 30 or even lower?

Just my two cents.

/Thomas

 

[XIAORY]

We can look at the lights to see if the cabinet is working. To be 200% sure that the dry cabinet is working, I put some silica gel in a small bottle in the cabinet. The blue silica gel may turn into a bit purple colour but not completely red even at about 40% RH. If the silica gel turn into red colour, it is an indication that the cabinet/indicators is not functioning correctly.

 

[koshinki]

my digi-cabi RH% indicator is not connected to the system (i think is AD-600). is a separate unit which operate by 1 AAA battery. i'm not really trust for this plastic stuff. so do i need a external RH% indicator to measure it... ? anybody using this model and use the external RH% indicator?

 

[CS TAN]

my digi-cabi RH% indicator is not connected to the system (i think is AD-600).

You have a 600 liter cabinet? Is this a 2-door or 4-door model?

 

[calebk]

You have a 600 liter cabinet? Is this a 2-door or 4-door model?

I think it's a 60L cabinet. My 30L cabinet is designated AD-360. Total volume, 36L, effective volume, 30L

 

[wrx_sti_22b]

You have a 600 liter cabinet? Is this a 2-door or 4-door model?

Must be a 5dr wagon model... :bsmilie: :bsmilie:

 

[CS TAN]

I think it's a 60L cabinet. My 30L cabinet is designated AD-360. Total volume, 36L, effective volume, 30L

For 30L, I think it should be DB-036. Are we both talking about Digi-hub cabinet?

This is Digi-hub DB-036

And this is a 2-door Digi-hub AD-300 (300 liter)

So, for 600L, you should expect to double that and get a 4-door cabinet. I should know because I just got an AD-300 last week.

 

[koshinki]

You have a 600 liter cabinet? Is this a 2-door or 4-door model?

haha... then i think is wrong... my 1 is only single door something like DB-036 which post by bro CS Tan...

 

[calebk]

For 30L, I think it should be DB-036. Are we both talking about Digi-hub cabinet?

This is Digi-hub DB-036

And this is a 2-door Digi-hub AD-300 (300 liter)

So, for 600L, you should expect to double that and get a 4-door cabinet. I should know because I just got an AD-300 last week.

Oh, right. I got the prefixes wrong. :embrass:

 

[sunboi80]

For 30L, I think it should be DB-036. Are we both talking about Digi-hub cabinet?

This is Digi-hub DB-036

I think the DB-036 has only 1 rack (2 levels) not 2(3 levels), the one in the pic should be the AD-060

 

[CS TAN]

I think the DB-036 has only 1 rack (2 levels) not 2(3 levels), the one in the pic should be the AD-060

You are right. The one above is AD-060. DB-036 has only 1 shelf (below).

 

[calebk]

I think the DB-036 has only 1 rack (2 levels) not 2(3 levels), the one in the pic should be the AD-060

You are right. The one above is AD-060. DB-036 has only 1 shelf (below).

Eh? Then how come mine has two shelves (three partitions)? Very sure it's a DB-036.

 

[invisibl3]

hi since you guys are talking bout dry cabinets i just wanna ask if its ok to mix lenses which has no fungus and lenses which have quite a bit of fungus together in one cabinet or should i separate them and put them in a drybox...

 

[Octarine]

hi since you guys are talking bout dry cabinets i just wanna ask if its ok to mix lenses which has no fungus and lenses which have quite a bit of fungus together in one cabinet or should i separate them and put them in a drybox...

You should bring them for cleaning

 

[calebk]

hi since you guys are talking bout dry cabinets i just wanna ask if its ok to mix lenses which has no fungus and lenses which have quite a bit of fungus together in one cabinet or should i separate them and put them in a drybox...

I think it's safer not to let them mix. From what I know, the fungus can spread to the un-infected lenses.

 

[CS TAN]

as long as you can maintain the RH% at 40-45%, I believe it should be ok. However, if you are going to keep the lens, why not have it clean? Otherwise, why are you still keeping the lens for?

 

[skyguy]

i always tot that a dry cabinet can put alot of stuff... now can't even put my camera batt liao... sian diao =( ... i tot i could use it as my camera and cam tool compartment...