Sillica gel; thirsty hippo; dry boxes; dehumidifier lamp in a cupboard which one?

[kenny888]

hi,

after a long dilemma, i decided to get a dry box instead, coz the cabinet is like overdoing it as my 2nd hand equipment is actually not high end type and this i probably will get a scolding if i spend so much on the cabinet like 100.

i've read the whole thread. but i still dont quite get much conclusion. if i use dry box and silica gel, will it be able to maintain until the required humidity? this is something that is still quite grey.

pls advise.

 

[kokster]

i find it a hassle to heat up my silica gel everyweek 2 weeks or so. should have gotten a dry cabinet instead. now i seldom use my dry box. put it in my crumpler 5MDH bag. anything wrong with keeping the camera in the bag for long?

 

[ohok1973]

This can be a bit too dry. Tried this myself. RH went down to 25%.

so what will happen if its too dry?

btw the shop that i bought my dslr from, told me they themselves, three of them, do not use dry cabinet or dry box, they just leaves it on the table. Never give them any problems. Mind you this is one shop that many forumers here goes to, don think i want to reveal the shop name. Told me not to waste money?

 

[ianhyk]

so what will happen if its too dry?

btw the shop that i bought my dslr from, told me they themselves, three of them, do not use dry cabinet or dry box, they just leaves it on the table. Never give them any problems. Mind you this is one shop that many forumers here goes to, don think i want to reveal the shop name. Told me not to waste money?

:bigeyes: I disagree. to me a drybox is one of those things which you get for a peace of mind.

I liken it to getting anti-virus protection for your PC. some ppl say they won't need, but if you ask me, it is necessary. just to give you a peace of mind if nothing else.

i wouldn't trust what they said. i've been using dry box and since then no fungus problem

 

[mikeeeey]

so what will happen if its too dry?

btw the shop that i bought my dslr from, told me they themselves, three of them, do not use dry cabinet or dry box, they just leaves it on the table. Never give them any problems. Mind you this is one shop that many forumers here goes to, don think i want to reveal the shop name. Told me not to waste money?

perhaps they are referring to PnS cams?

cos, as far as i know, DSLR very prone to fungus attack and stuff cos of their build? I may be wrong

 

[ohok1973]

perhaps they are referring to PnS cams?

cos, as far as i know, DSLR very prone to fungus attack and stuff cos of their build? I may be wrong

dono lei, I bought my DSLR from them, tarmac bag, screen protector, tripod and all one month ago.

Asked for dry box recommandation they told me not to waste $, anyways they said it not me. I using air lock with hippo now just to play safe.

MAybe they want my lens to have fungus so i will go back to them for new lens soon? just a joke.

BTW what will happen if it is too dry, since some ppl mentioned it, a problem?

 

[spheredome]

Everybody's environment and experience will reflect their own share of view, which is why, I ask the magic question of usage pattern and the storing env. E.g my office don't have fungus problem. So people with very windy home will encounter no issue for most of the time but only to be plagued by fungus when hit by a short hotspell season. Ever notice why some people's electronic spoil faster then other while your is still running fine for decades. It is not always the usage and quality but the environment.

People who use their cam very very often will find that they don need one but people who doesn't will. Don't think a dry storage as a burden but rather a place to keep your belonging safe and out of harms way, like children accidently pull the dslr off the table. The weight is dangerous.

Dry agents need to be replaced unlike electric dryer. If one can buy a large LCD TV, I am sure good airtight lunch box and a thirsty hippo should not be a major decision for a start.

so what will happen if its too dry?

btw the shop that i bought my dslr from, told me they themselves, three of them, do not use dry cabinet or dry box, they just leaves it on the table. Never give them any problems. Mind you this is one shop that many forumers here goes to, don think i want to reveal the shop name. Told me not to waste money?

 

[ohok1973]

Everybody's environment and experience will reflect their own share of view, which is why, I ask the magic question of usage pattern and the storing env. E.g my office don't have fungus problem. So people with very windy home will encounter no issue for most of the time but only to be plagued by fungus when hit by a short hotspell season. Ever notice why some people's electronic spoil faster then other while your is still running fine for decades. It is not always the usage and quality but the environment.

People who use their cam very very often will find that they don need one but people who doesn't will. Don't think a dry storage as a burden but rather a place to keep your belonging safe and out of harms way, like children accidently pull the dslr off the table. The weight is dangerous.

Dry agents need to be replaced unlike electric dryer. If one can buy a large LCD TV, I am sure good airtight lunch box and a thirsty hippo should not be a major decision for a start.

peace :kiss: u the best

 

[marioadobo]

hi,

after a long dilemma, i decided to get a dry box instead, coz the cabinet is like overdoing it as my 2nd hand equipment is actually not high end type and this i probably will get a scolding if i spend so much on the cabinet like 100.

i've read the whole thread. but i still dont quite get much conclusion. if i use dry box and silica gel, will it be able to maintain until the required humidity? this is something that is still quite grey.

pls advise.

A DIY box would require much TLC, if you don't have time to properly maintain it and have loads of cash, then cabinet is the way to go.

 

[kenny888]

Just bought a "Olee" Mini dehumidifier at Home-fix last week, promotion $29.90 for 2 units, worth it , put 1 in my drybox, the humidity is maintained at 40-42%....nice...try it..it is rechargeable some more !!!

has anyone tried this as well? i'm really tempted to buy this and use instead of using sillica gel. what do u guys think? i havent been storing my cam proplery for the past few days. still considering which method to use. seems like the mini dehumidifier is more convenient?

 

[kenny888]

btw whichever method u use, mini dehumidifier or silica gel, will it be able to maintain the humidity lvl that we want? we have to constantly monitor and if it gets too long we gotta open the box to "air" it and close it back again is it?

is this how things should be done? LOL!

i wonder if either methods will keep on bringing down the moisture until to the max till its overdone?

 

[spheredome]

Basically, behind is a 2 pin plug which you flip out when jack into the power socket. The case will becomes hot (not warm) and starts to drive moisture out of the pink silica which will turn blue hours later (not minutes as compared to oven).
You will have to wait till it cools down before putting back into closet. Keep the surrounding free from items when heating.

has anyone tried this as well? i'm really tempted to buy this and use instead of using sillica gel. what do u guys think? i havent been storing my cam proplery for the past few days. still considering which method to use. seems like the mini dehumidifier is more convenient?

 

[kenny888]

oic, tks for that info. now my nx qus is... using dehumidifier or silica gel, both will continue taking in all the moisture eventually until it could be below the required level is it? does it happen that fast actually? not really rite? LOL! if it goes way below the requried level then it sounds scary also.

 

[mikeeeey]

Im using a PnS. Wondering a few silica gel packets throw into the lowepro bag a good option to store them?

 

[cleonbus]

Im using a PnS. Wondering a few silica gel packets throw into the lowepro bag a good option to store them?

Can...but why not buy a small dry box,to be safe:bsmilie:

 

[hotwork77]

hi guys, i got a question regarding my silica gel. i understand that the best is to keep my dry box at around 48% humidity. i bought a dry box and the hygrometer shows me 48% for 1 week. however after 1 week, it shows 65% so i took the silica gel out and use a hot hairdryer to blow for about 2 minutes, the pink silica gel turn back into purple. i put it back but after 3-4 days, the hygrometer did not go back to below 50% and still shows about 60%. any reason why is this so? i do not want to put it into the oven as not very hygienic and many say it is poisonous.

Silica gel is non-toxic, non-flammable, and non-reactive and stable with ordinary usage. It will react with hydrogen fluoride, fluorine, oxygen difluoride, chlorine trifluoride, strong acids, strong bases, and oxidizershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silica_gel#cite_note-4. Silica gel is irritating to the respiratory tract, may cause irritation of the digestive tract, and dust from the beads may cause irritation to the skin and eyes, so precautions should be taken.

Silca gel needs to be heated up to 125deg C so that the heat can reverse the absorption process. It is safe to put in the oven.

 

[KelvinDestiny]

Im using a PnS. Wondering a few silica gel packets throw into the lowepro bag a good option to store them?

if you intend to keep inside a cam bag, i think you may need to change often as compared to at least a air tight sealed container such as lock and lock

 

[kenny888]

Attention guys,

i've bought the mini dehumidifier, and i must say its work damn rapidly! within half an hr the lvl becomes 40+ and i dunno if it'll drop further so i'm a bit worried lolx. its not battery operated nor anything but the crystals really can absorb moisture lol.

anyway for those who are using silica gel in dry boxes, usually how low does ur humidity level goes to? will it keep on taking in moisture until extremely low lvl? tis's my concern.

 

[Anino78]

Just a suggestion...

If your not using your camera for more than a week, then its advisable to store it in a drybox/ dry cabinet or DIY drybox.

but if you will be using your toy atleast every other day or at least once a week then i think no need to worry about fungus growing on your precious toys.

 

[chooz]

what will happen to the camera if the environment in a dry box is too dry? Such as 0% - 10% humidity?

I have kept my camera in a dry box with thirsty hippo for the past 4 years. The hygrometer will point to 0% if I am starting a new thirsty hippo. It will eventually go up to 40% after a long time, then I will change to a new hippo. So far, my camera is still functioning well.