Dry Box

[oasis]

Hi All,

i just got a dry box from comex. Would like to fins out from all of you ,at wat percentage of humidity do you all set to? do you place your flash and camera batteries in the dry box too? Thanks for the advice

[rexlim]

Originally Posted by oasis Hi All, i just got a dry box from comex. Would like to fins out from all of you ,at wat percentage of humidity do you all set to? do you place your flash and camera batteries in the dry box too? Thanks for the advice

R u refering to dry cabinet? RH set to 40-60 shd be ok. Yes, I place my flash and batteries in the cabi.

[xtemujin]

Luckily, I did not buy from Digital Point my Digi Cabi dry box as it cost about $10 less at Comex.

[simon80]

i set to 50 ..

[JL1500k]

Maybe he is refering to those normal dry box

[ricohflex]

from 40% RH to 50% RH
no need to be deadly accurate. roughly will do

less is not better. do not set to
20% RH
you will destroy something as it will be too dry.

[oasis]

Sorry for the confusion, i meant Dry Cabinet

[edwynfoo]

Hi, I wonder how long does a dry cabinet last? Mine is few years old (Amipro), I just got a new digital hygrometer to replace the faulty one inside the cabinet. Quite shock that the humidity level was 67% and it's already on the "high" setting. Probably need to replace the cabinet but just like to check with the good people here. Can it be repair?

thanks for your input

[Dee7t]

hi edwynfoo, where did you get the hygrometer? and how much is it? if it's not too much to spend, i sure will find it useful.

[Ian]

Moved thread to a more appropriate location

Ian
Nikon Forum Moderator.

[edwynfoo]

Hi Dee7t, I got mine at a shop located at Raffles Place, Clifford Centre 2nd Level. It's a mini size digital hygrometer. Almost the size of a match box. I also found one at a DIY store at Marina Square. Ask for it and the shop assistant will direct you to the correct shelf. Though it's a combination of thermometer and hygrometer, size wise about 4" by 3" roughly, think is 33+

[illustrious]

I got a simple dry box with no a simple open/close valve and meter. The reading reads 50 and I also placed a thirsty hippo in there just in case. The box is placed in my cupboard which is in my room, which most of the time air con is on.

Question... should I keep the hippo in there?

These things are very new to me. Need some help before I find strange things happening to my cam.

[oasis]

Hi All

I want to verify with fellow users who own Digi-Cabi Digital Display series. What position is your knob at ? Mine is now at able 11 O'clock and the reading is 45% 30 degrees. Wonder is there any problem with my humidifier? please kindly advice. Thanks

[tltan]

Hi Oasis,

I bought it at Comex too, the 30L one at $88...

Tried to set it to 50 for the past few days, as you are, my dial, the white line inside, is at 11 oclock position and the humidity keeps lowering....

after a while of stabilization, it will always go down to about 37-39% humidity...any idea? i tried adjusting...but it seems that it takes a long time to stabilize

regards,
tltan

[oasis]

Originally Posted by tltan Hi Oasis, I bought it at Comex too, the 30L one at $88... Tried to set it to 50 for the past few days, as you are, my dial, the white line inside, is at 11 oclock position and the humidity keeps lowering.... after a while of stabilization, it will always go down to about 37-39% humidity...any idea? i tried adjusting...but it seems that it takes a long time to stabilize regards, tltan

Titan,

I got my from Comex too, but i got the 60L one, i set it at pt B initially and it fell from 66% to abt 55%. However the next morning , i saw that its around the same region as yours abt 35%-39%. That's why i'm also puzzel and asking for advice from fellow Csers

So anybody here can advice on this situation?

[oasis]

Anybody having this problem? or izzit a characteristic of the humidifier?

[tltan]

yeh, it is always at about 37-39 % even though i turned the knob to the left. Say it is at 39 constant, i turn the knob to the left, it should go up higher..and the best part, i turn it to the left like a quarter turn of the whole thing, eventually, it will drop to 37-39%...(i left the door slightly agar for a while for the humidity to pick up to about 60% and then close it-in case it is the inherent humidity inside)

any user of digi cabinet can shed some light into this issue?

thanks in advance,
tltan

[oasis]

Originally Posted by tltan yeh, it is always at about 37-39 % even though i turned the knob to the left. Say it is at 39 constant, i turn the knob to the left, it should go up higher..and the best part, i turn it to the left like a quarter turn of the whole thing, eventually, it will drop to 37-39%...(i left the door slightly agar for a while for the humidity to pick up to about 60% and then close it-in case it is the inherent humidity inside) any user of digi cabinet can shed some light into this issue? thanks in advance, tltan

Hi Titan,

I just called up Digihub, and he apprently he said that the place that we place our dry cabinet its already low humidity, so he advice us to open the door for awhile to let humid in then turn the knob till 9 o'clock ( the green light will be on and dim). That will do. I'm trying it now, so i'll see what happens and update again.

[tltan]

Hi Oasis,

thanks for the update. Seems like we 2 are the only ones having this problem? hehe..or our camera natural low humidity?

Cheers,
tltan

[Michael68]

Over the years, I have owned 3 different brands of dry cabinets. They are basically using the same technology, except that the ones made in Japan probably costs more than those made in Singapore or Taiwan.
I have some experiences which I will share with all here:

1) Best humidity is between 40-50%. You will find that occasionally, it fluctuates due to the surrounding conditions eg you turned on the aircon, sunlight hits your dry cabi etc. but it should stablise at this range. Anything lower than 40 will result in hardening of rubber contacts.

2) Do not store fungus infected lenses together with good ones - I researched this and spoke to some microbiologists in the US on how fungus spread. It needs a) darkness and b) moisture to grow and spread. Fungus spores are everywhere around us, but only when the 2 conditions described above only will they grow and multiply. I have many of my Nikon cameras/lenses destroyed that way in my schooldays although I diligently kept them in tin can with silica gels. Isolate infected equipment as it increases the chances of spreading when a) and b) are met.

3) Buy a spare hygrometer - stand alone digital type costing $20-30. Most hygrometers on the dry cabi are preset in the factory. In the course of transportation, some of these settings may have been affected. With an independent hygrometer, you have two source to compare and take an average.

4) Non-magnetic dry cabi - My latest one is of this type as our digital equipment (compared to old SLR/cameras which are mostly mechanical with minimum electronic parts) are more likely to be magnetised and having their performance affected. Most of us filled the dry cabi to the brim and some are resting near the edge of the door where a strong magnetic strip is and this ensures the door is shut tight.

Hope this information helps for those who are contemplating buying or upgrading to a new one!

Regards,
Michael