Question about digicabi AD and DB series dry cabinet

[skyguy]

Hi all,

i've just brought a DB-036 30L dry cabinet and until now i'm trying to put the humidity to be stable at 45%... and i sort of find that the turning knob and the green light represent the rate of de-humidifying...

wat i mean is that if we turn clockwise the rate is higher, thus RH% drop faster... and when we turn anti-clockwise, the RH% drop slower (as in really slow).. thus it doesn't seem to stay stable at 45% and it will keep dropping

so as to say we may get our set value like 45%.. but 1 month later if we did not open the dry cab at all, the RH% will still drop

this is wat i have observe i hope someone could tell me i am wrong... man i feel like i should have brough the DHC series....

[midicity]

The RH takes quite a few days to stabilise. I suggest you make fine adjustments, then chk on it a few days later, and fine tune again. After a few tries, you should be able to get it to stabilise at 45%

[skyguy]

Hi all again,

here i am going to write about my comment, review, 2cent etc here... i hope reader will be open minded about this as this is a forum i believe it is important to share this information to other new photographer and not fall into the same situation i'm in...

ok first... after sometime of using the dry cabinet, i have concluded tat the AD and DB series doesn't doesn't really control the humidity in the cabinet. Wat it control is the "rate of de-humidifying"... so let me explain abit...

we want the relative humidity to be around 45%... by turning the knob, we increase or decrease the rate... so in order to keep a steady relative humidity, we have to get rate of de-humidifying = rate of humidifying ... rate of de-humidifying is from the component in the dry cabinet that help to remove moisture.. the rate of humidifying the from the surrounding air moisture tat leak into the cabinet... from wat i see of the cabinet, there is very low chance of moisture going into the cabinet unless we open and close the cabinet door. thus this mean the rate of de-humidifying in order to maintain at steady 45%, is very very low rate of de-humidifying... thus the knob is turn toward the anti-clockwise direction more...

ok now, as i have said, we have to turn to the anit-clockwise and the rate of de-humidifying is very low... but when we took out the camera and stuff we will let alot of the surrounding air moisture in, as it took time to pick the lens and stuff... and the humidity goes all the way back up to 60+% (unless u are staying in a aircon room, ur relative humidity won't be tat high)... and yet ur rate of dehumidifying is low, by the time u return home the humidity also won't reach 45%....

at first i got this feeling tat i am being cheated, coz the cabinet is not as ideal as i though, tot i get a cabinet and dun have to trouble me to adjust the humidity... but then again, i see the advantage of dry cabinet over dry box... dry box just put in the Desiccant and let the humidity of the box just drop, and the rate is rather high, so i heard usually for dry box its RH% can drop to 30% if not careful.

In conclusion, i will suggest those who is going to buy dry cabinet or first time buying to get the DHC series as it can control humidity better and hassle free and the power consumer is not tat high either... wat i dunno would be the price...

and for people who is already using AD and DB series, my suggestion would be, u can still use it... and i dun suggest u to change the setting when the 45% humidity is stable there... wat i do is tat whenever i took out my camera or open my cabinet for a long time (more than 10sec), i will put a pack of Desiccant into the dry cabinet to lower its humidity to 43%... and when the 43% is reach, i quickly took out the Desiccant, and by the time i close the door its at 45%... so tats is how i maintain the 45% in the cabinet... there maybe be other ways like turning the knob to full clockwise and back to setting, but i rather not change the knob when its stable already...

hope to heard some comment and correct me if i am wrong.. thanks =)

[woojacky]

Originally Posted by skyguy Hi all again, here i am going to write about my comment, review, 2cent etc here... i hope reader will be open minded about this as this is a forum i believe it is important to share this information to other new photographer and not fall into the same situation i'm in... ok first... after sometime of using the dry cabinet, i have concluded tat the AD and DB series doesn't doesn't really control the humidity in the cabinet. Wat it control is the "rate of de-humidifying"... so let me explain abit... we want the relative humidity to be around 45%... by turning the knob, we increase or decrease the rate... so in order to keep a steady relative humidity, we have to get rate of de-humidifying = rate of humidifying ... rate of de-humidifying is from the component in the dry cabinet that help to remove moisture.. the rate of humidifying the from the surrounding air moisture tat leak into the cabinet... from wat i see of the cabinet, there is very low chance of moisture going into the cabinet unless we open and close the cabinet door. thus this mean the rate of de-humidifying in order to maintain at steady 45%, is very very low rate of de-humidifying... thus the knob is turn toward the anti-clockwise direction more... ok now, as i have said, we have to turn to the anit-clockwise and the rate of de-humidifying is very low... but when we took out the camera and stuff we will let alot of the surrounding air moisture in, as it took time to pick the lens and stuff... and the humidity goes all the way back up to 60+% (unless u are staying in a aircon room, ur relative humidity won't be tat high)... and yet ur rate of dehumidifying is low, by the time u return home the humidity also won't reach 45%.... at first i got this feeling tat i am being cheated, coz the cabinet is not as ideal as i though, tot i get a cabinet and dun have to trouble me to adjust the humidity... but then again, i see the advantage of dry cabinet over dry box... dry box just put in the Desiccant and let the humidity of the box just drop, and the rate is rather high, so i heard usually for dry box its RH% can drop to 30% if not careful. In conclusion, i will suggest those who is going to buy dry cabinet or first time buying to get the DHC series as it can control humidity better and hassle free and the power consumer is not tat high either... wat i dunno would be the price... and for people who is already using AD and DB series, my suggestion would be, u can still use it... and i dun suggest u to change the setting when the 45% humidity is stable there... wat i do is tat whenever i took out my camera or open my cabinet for a long time (more than 10sec), i will put a pack of Desiccant into the dry cabinet to lower its humidity to 43%... and when the 43% is reach, i quickly took out the Desiccant, and by the time i close the door its at 45%... so tats is how i maintain the 45% in the cabinet... there maybe be other ways like turning the knob to full clockwise and back to setting, but i rather not change the knob when its stable already... hope to heard some comment and correct me if i am wrong.. thanks =)

No wonder my RH% is now at 39% !!!!
I think i will email DigiCab and ask them for a technical explanation.
Will post back once i get anything from them.
But meanwhile if i am to do a stupid manual thing by opening
and closing the door to "manual adjust" the humidity then it's ok
as long the RH% is between 40-50% right?

[skyguy]

Originally Posted by woojacky No wonder my RH% is now at 39% !!!! I think i will email DigiCab and ask them for a technical explanation. Will post back once i get anything from them. But meanwhile if i am to do a stupid manual thing by opening and closing the door to "manual adjust" the humidity then it's ok as long the RH% is between 40-50% right?

yup... u are right

[woojacky]

Got a call from digicab this afternoon, he mentioned that
the de-humidifier function should auto-stop de-humidify
at the set level. But if you set the knob at 3o'clock you
should get a level of 30% - 50%, at about 12o'clock should
be around 40-50% and if the knob is set at 9-11o'clock we
should be getting about 40-45%
(he also mentioned plus minus 1 or 2%).
The guy also say it really depend on the cabinet used vs
the amount of equipment stored. So gonna trial and error
I've asked him if the level keep dropping regardless of the
setting I've set would it be a problem with the unit. He said
yes BUT very seldom the unit is faulty

The email i've sent out was reply also and it's copied below

Dear Sir,

Since you set the knob at 3 o'clock and it is running too low, please
adjust the knob to 1 o'clock to try out. you will need to open the
door and let the humidity level go up first before adjusting.

Regards,
Wendy

[skyguy]

Originally Posted by woojacky Got a call from digicab this afternoon, he mentioned that the de-humidifier function should auto-stop de-humidify at the set level. But if you set the knob at 3o'clock you should get a level of 30% - 50%, at about 12o'clock should be around 40-50% and if the knob is set at 9-11o'clock we should be getting about 40-45% (he also mentioned plus minus 1 or 2%). The guy also say it really depend on the cabinet used vs the amount of equipment stored. So gonna trial and error I've asked him if the level keep dropping regardless of the setting I've set would it be a problem with the unit. He said yes BUT very seldom the unit is faulty The email i've sent out was reply also and it's copied below Dear Sir, Since you set the knob at 3 o'clock and it is running too low, please adjust the knob to 1 o'clock to try out. you will need to open the door and let the humidity level go up first before adjusting. Regards, Wendy

tats a good one... i really feel like slapping them

But if you set the knob at 3o'clock you
should get a level of 30% - 50%, at about 12o'clock should
be around 40-50%

so if i wan to get 50% is it 12o'clock or 3 ... lol

some of the message is very contridicting...

if you set the knob at 3o'clock you
should get a level of 30% - 50%, at about 12o'clock should
be around 40-50% and if the knob is set at 9-11o'clock we
should be getting about 40-45%

3 oclock is where rate of de-humidifying is greatest... and 9 oclock is lowest
so if 12 oclock is 40-50%, isn't 9-11o'clock be the higher % end which is between 45%-50%...
so even if 9-11 oclock is 40-45%... then 3oclock got 50%, 12 oclock also got 50%... i have to go below 9 oclock to get lesser than 45%...

i hope u see from my point of view, sort of dun make sense at all

anyway, my dry cabinet now is at 10oclock and its still going below 45%

you will need to open the
door and let the humidity level go up first before adjusting
ok this is something new... i will give this a try

[woojacky]

Originally Posted by skyguy tats a good one... i really feel like slapping them But if you set the knob at 3o'clock you should get a level of 30% - 50%, at about 12o'clock should be around 40-50% so if i wan to get 50% is it 12o'clock or 3 ... lol some of the message is very contridicting... if you set the knob at 3o'clock you should get a level of 30% - 50%, at about 12o'clock should be around 40-50% and if the knob is set at 9-11o'clock we should be getting about 40-45% 3 oclock is where rate of de-humidifying is greatest... and 9 oclock is lowest so if 12 oclock is 40-50%, isn't 9-11o'clock be the higher % end which is between 45%-50%... so even if 9-11 oclock is 40-45%... then 3oclock got 50%, 12 oclock also got 50%... i have to go below 9 oclock to get lesser than 45%... i hope u see from my point of view, sort of dun make sense at all anyway, my dry cabinet now is at 10oclock and its still going below 45% you will need to open the door and let the humidity level go up first before adjusting ok this is something new... i will give this a try

hehe yeah yeah. Found it weird from the way he mentioned it.
But anyway, I've set my knob at 10ish instead
RH% still at 39% and never dropped since. Maybe bought a HUGE
cabinet with lesser equipment.
I do wonder if it's TOO DRY for my things inside.

[rvxing]

Originally Posted by skyguy Hi all again, here i am going to write about my comment, review, 2cent etc here... i hope reader will be open minded about this as this is a forum i believe it is important to share this information to other new photographer and not fall into the same situation i'm in... ok first... after sometime of using the dry cabinet, i have concluded tat the AD and DB series doesn't doesn't really control the humidity in the cabinet. Wat it control is the "rate of de-humidifying"... so let me explain abit... we want the relative humidity to be around 45%... by turning the knob, we increase or decrease the rate... so in order to keep a steady relative humidity, we have to get rate of de-humidifying = rate of humidifying ... rate of de-humidifying is from the component in the dry cabinet that help to remove moisture.. the rate of humidifying the from the surrounding air moisture tat leak into the cabinet... from wat i see of the cabinet, there is very low chance of moisture going into the cabinet unless we open and close the cabinet door. thus this mean the rate of de-humidifying in order to maintain at steady 45%, is very very low rate of de-humidifying... thus the knob is turn toward the anti-clockwise direction more... ok now, as i have said, we have to turn to the anit-clockwise and the rate of de-humidifying is very low... but when we took out the camera and stuff we will let alot of the surrounding air moisture in, as it took time to pick the lens and stuff... and the humidity goes all the way back up to 60+% (unless u are staying in a aircon room, ur relative humidity won't be tat high)... and yet ur rate of dehumidifying is low, by the time u return home the humidity also won't reach 45%.... at first i got this feeling tat i am being cheated, coz the cabinet is not as ideal as i though, tot i get a cabinet and dun have to trouble me to adjust the humidity... but then again, i see the advantage of dry cabinet over dry box... dry box just put in the Desiccant and let the humidity of the box just drop, and the rate is rather high, so i heard usually for dry box its RH% can drop to 30% if not careful. In conclusion, i will suggest those who is going to buy dry cabinet or first time buying to get the DHC series as it can control humidity better and hassle free and the power consumer is not tat high either... wat i dunno would be the price... and for people who is already using AD and DB series, my suggestion would be, u can still use it... and i dun suggest u to change the setting when the 45% humidity is stable there... wat i do is tat whenever i took out my camera or open my cabinet for a long time (more than 10sec), i will put a pack of Desiccant into the dry cabinet to lower its humidity to 43%... and when the 43% is reach, i quickly took out the Desiccant, and by the time i close the door its at 45%... so tats is how i maintain the 45% in the cabinet... there maybe be other ways like turning the knob to full clockwise and back to setting, but i rather not change the knob when its stable already... hope to heard some comment and correct me if i am wrong.. thanks =)

I don't know what is your problem, my 1st de-humidifier with analog meter version was purchased > 6 yrs ago, my 1st Digicabi DB-106 (100l) about 5 yrs ago and a AD-100 about 3 yrs ago and the latest addition a DHC-300 about 1.5yrs ago. Still holding on to the last 2. All 4 units never gave me any problem. It will alway maintain around 45%RH regardless how long the door was closed. I never encountered the symptom that you mentioned that the RH will keep dropping.

Basically DB and AD series uses the same hardware but different in color. The RH of these cabinet depends on what you put into them. New cardboard and paper material as it absorb moisture will take a long time to "dry". Once it "dried up" the cabinet drying speed will be faster when you open it. I've open the cabinet for more than half an hour with RH hitting 70+%, it only take a couple of hours for it to return to 45~50% with setting @ 9~10 o'clock position. After your outing, don't put the camera equipment into the cabinet immediately, leave them on location with light wind to "dry" up, as your equipments may hold high humility or water on them. If you are putting back a lot of equipments, turn the knob to 1~2 o'clock position to speed up the drying process and then return to 9~10 o'clock position when the RH reach 50% or lower. Oh, don't cover up the equipment tightly as moisture may trap within and the cabinet can't dry it. If this happen, some mold may grow in the tighten location. Mold love dark, moist and NO air movement places.

And this is how the controller for the cabinet works;

The AD Series and DHC Series uses T.E.Cooling refrigerated crystal which is a semiconductor crystal for absorbing the moisture of the cabinet interior air. Whenever the humidity of the cabinet is higher than the set RH% value, the Cooling refrigerated crystal will start to refrigerate and condense the moisture until the humidity of the cabinet is down to the set RH% value. Once crystal stops working, it begins to defrost as well as evaporate the moisture out of the cabinet.

By the way, through me, I'd ordered at least 7 or 8 units AD/DB Digicabi, never face problem by my friends or myself.

[rvxing]

Originally Posted by woojacky hehe yeah yeah. Found it weird from the way he mentioned it. But anyway, I've set my knob at 10ish instead RH% still at 39% and never dropped since. Maybe bought a HUGE cabinet with lesser equipment. I do wonder if it's TOO DRY for my things inside.

By the way, Wendy is a lady and may not be technical. If you have a technical problem try calling them and look for Alan Koh.

Whether small or huge cabinet is not a problem, the design already take the volume into consideration. For < 100l, it uses a 4W de-humidifier, 8W for 120l to 300l, 16W for 350l, 20W for 400l to 800l and 48W for > 1000l.

DO NOT put electronic equipment with RH < 35%, it may damage the rubber seals and dry up the grease. Best setting for camera stuff is around 45% to 55%. Normally I set closer to 45%RH.

Mold will grow with RH 60% and above especially for S'pore kind of weather. The optimum condition for mold is 20~30deg C with 80~90% RH. Worst in dark, still air, humid, warm condition.

Sometime try to understand the function of your equipment and you will have lesser problem.

[skyguy]

thanks for reply the post... we sure need experince people to explain to us... coz my dry cabinet is still unstable in RH% even when i didn't touch it... i will see wat i can do

[2ichigo2]

I am using one DB36 myself now for almost a year and i don find any problem at all...
Anyway my settings is ard 11 o'clock and it stays ard 48-50%...

You have to understand that this model is analog control unlike DHC which is digitally controlled.
It will take around 2-3days for a particular settings to show the actual RH value.
Amount of equipments also play a minor part in affecting the RH value.

Here are the steps that u should do:
Step 1: Adjust to 11 o'clock first...
Step 2: Leave for 24hours
Step 3: Check current RH value

Now... take for example that i want my RH to be at 50%
a. If RH value is around 50-52%, then I can leave it because it will still drop a little bit by the next 24hours...
b. If RH value is higher like 55% then i will make slight adjustment towards clockwise direction. Leave for another 24hours before next slight adjustment.
c. If RH value is lower like 40% then i will make slight adjustment towards anti-clockwise direction. Leave for another 24hours before next slight adjustment.

[rvxing]

Originally Posted by skyguy thanks for reply the post... we sure need experince people to explain to us... coz my dry cabinet is still unstable in RH% even when i didn't touch it... i will see wat i can do

May be you can tell what you put inside the cabinet and what is the current setting and RH reading.

Sometime to proof if the cabinet run properly, emptied the cabinet, set the knob 11 to o'clock, leave it for 24 hrs and monitor the RH during this period of time. An empty cabinet will be able to achieve the RH faster.

If you still believe the cabinet is having problem, you can bring it to them, it is very near your place. Behind 3M along Upper Thomson Road, check their website for the address.

[clubgrit]

I have both Akarui and DH series of the dry cabinets. I find that their displays of RH are incorrect.

I use digital hygrometers which I put inside the cabinets. As long as RH is within 40-55, I don't have any issues. I open the door often, as I use my camera stuff often, so it keeps changing, but it is always within 40-55.

In that aspect, both brands work, except that their displays do not match the extra hygrometers I use (which all match closely, even their temperature displays).

The DH Digi-Cabi, supposedly higher value due to its digital stuff, is still not as expected. For example, I have set it at 45, it shows 37 on its display, but the hygrometer I put inside the cabinet is steady at 49 to 50 (should be closer to 45 soon as I just put in some new cameras with their leather cases which needs time to dehumidify).

Anyway, it's fine.

My conclusion, IMHO, is that one still needs to invest in these hygrometers to have peace of mind. Especially with those having analog displays.




.

[phuakl]

Any recommendation on the analog display hygrometer, i mean seperate analog display so that i am able to use both digital and analog?

[rvxing]

Originally Posted by clubgrit I have both Akarui and DH series of the dry cabinets. I find that their displays of RH are incorrect. I use digital hygrometers which I put inside the cabinets. As long as RH is within 40-55, I don't have any issues. I open the door often, as I use my camera stuff often, so it keeps changing, but it is always within 40-55. In that aspect, both brands work, except that their displays do not match the extra hygrometers I use (which all match closely, even their temperature displays). The DH Digi-Cabi, supposedly higher value due to its digital stuff, is still not as expected. For example, I have set it at 45, it shows 37 on its display, but the hygrometer I put inside the cabinet is steady at 49 to 50 (should be closer to 45 soon as I just put in some new cameras with their leather cases which needs time to dehumidify). Anyway, it's fine. My conclusion, IMHO, is that one still needs to invest in these hygrometers to have peace of mind. Especially with those having analog displays. .

The cabinet reading is taken at the door where the display is located. Different measuring location do result is different reading, but 12% is too much. Do "paste" your hygrometer next to or near the display and see what is the different. If it still have such a big different, you can alway call them to fix it for you.

By the way, both equipments are not calibrated, so we don't know the error of each of them.

[clubgrit]

It's the same reading, top to bottom. And ideally, a good cabinet should have the same measurement everywhere, or why should we invest in big ones, and not just many small ones ...

As for calibration, I have 5 hygrometers, all the same model, and two of another brand. All measure the same, so no issue there.

All their temperature readings, including the DH-Cabi, are the same.

Anyway, all ok, never had any problems. The point is not to trust their so-called "hygrometers", digital or not (at least that's me, YMMV). But they do their job fine.

Putting some leather inside can serve as a guide too, to check whether the cabinet is working well. I've seen some old cameras from a friend where their leather has really dried up. It can still be brought back to life, though, just leave it outside the cabinet for a few days.


.

[rvxing]

Originally Posted by clubgrit The DH Digi-Cabi, supposedly higher value due to its digital stuff, is still not as expected. For example, I have set it at 45, it shows 37 on its display, but the hygrometer I put inside the cabinet is steady at 49 to 50 (should be closer to 45 soon as I just put in some new cameras with their leather cases which needs time to dehumidify). .

If as what you mentioned above, then there is something wrong with the cabinet hygrometer reading/display. This is because the controller (DHC = Digital Humidity Control) should shutdown when the RH value fall 2% below the set value. Since you set 45%, it can't never reach 37% at most you should see 43%. Suggest you get them to replace for you if it is still in warranty. No point of keeping a defective device and one fine day the controller section may get into trouble.

[clubgrit]

Yes, it is still under warranty, I just bought it for all these cameras passed to me.
My other DH cabis are fine, but still "wrong" hygrometers anyway.

At any rate, the cameras are all wrapped in leather (by design), with their leather cases and straps. So having experience with all these dry cabinets, I will give it the benefit of a doubt for two to three more weeks until they can settle down. But, I am inclined to think that even if they replace it, the built-in "hygrometer" will be wrong. The important thing is it works.

Anyway, thanks, I'll get them to bring a new one later.

However, I will replace them all later anyway with those made by Toyo Living from Japan (where it is very humid). No more waiting for days or weeks to get it right, good for those who always open the doors and use their cameras often and don't just keep it. Costs a lot more though. One of the sellers is Way Technovation. They also sell Digi-Cabi, which are low-cost, economical alternatives.

For their prices, however, Akarui and Digi-Cabi are fine ...


.

[woojacky]

Just an update. I've open up my cab for like 5min or so and
close it back. now the RH is at 45% constantly now. My setting
is at 10ish.