Need help on my dry cabinets!!

[Garion]

Hmm..a bit of a boliao question but just wondering...when u guys put ur hand inside the dry cabinet to take out your stuff, can ur hand sense the "dryness" of the air? I can feel that there is a difference.

[HelmetBox]

Originally Posted by unity58 By the way how you read the labels?? The instruction never stated at all le........When I try to switch to B lor it went below 40% le........that why now I try to switch to B and C center lor....but the reading not too sure as the cabinet in my gf house lor......... So what is your reading now and have you switch the knob or not to which position?? camera is best for 40% to 50% or 45% to 55%??

You use the skills picked up in kindergarden and in primary school and make out the words 'RH%' and 'Humidity indicator' on the adjuster

kidding

Its written on the knob area so just take a closer look. If you notice the RH% adjuster, it has the hi and lo at the bottom. You take half of it, that will give you 50% and thus the analysis of the 'A' 'B' and 'C' positions. Then when you refer to the manual, they give you the ranges for various items which uncoincidentally falls between three ranges. So with a little more analysis, you figure the RH settings for ABC.

Don't worry so much, the recommended is 45-55% which is from A to B. Your readings went below 40% as you placed the knob at B (40%) with 5% error buffer.

And the readings consistancy may vary with ambience temperature (manual) So don't worry so much. As long as you keep it in the 45-55% range (with error should go from 40-55%) it should be okay. Anyway I don't think that fungi can start growing with the occasional slight increase in RH. You do need to keep the humidity for some time before growth can occur.

To save urself the fear, just dun keep your camera in the cabinet for so long lor, USE IT TO TAKE MORE PHOTOS! hehe

[HelmetBox]

Originally Posted by Garion Hmm..a bit of a boliao question but just wondering...when u guys put ur hand inside the dry cabinet to take out your stuff, can ur hand sense the "dryness" of the air? I can feel that there is a difference.

That will depend if you have hungry hippo in your cabinet or not. (Corny)

If your room's super humid or you have wet hands, you'll probably feel the difference (needs the use of sensitive hands too!) But IMHO, the feeling may be due to the difference in temperature instead.

[Virgo]

Hi All,

Just got the Digi-Cabi latest model LE-90 LD from the IT Show. It's a black coloured one with strengthened casing. It looked more rugged than the normal models. The store owner from Digihub told me this model has just been released.

This is how I calibrated the settings to be at 40%:

1. When you received the box, don't immediately put your camera stuff in it. Switch it on, turned the know to the rightmost setting, i.e. at the C position. You may also like to put in another hygrometre for more comparison, just in case the default one doesn't work. I purchased it from a QuickFix shop at IMM. It's made in Germany and cost about $30. If you cannot trust this German brand, trust me, cos you're reading this posting!

2. Wait for about 0.5 to 1 day for the RH reading to read 35-40%. Then set the setting to 1-2 o'clock position, with 1 o'clock position being the best. Wait for another 0.5 to 1 day for the RH value to stabilise.

3. Once the RH value stabilise, put in your gear! Don't be alarmed if the reading goes up, this is because humidity will enter when you open the door! Wait for the reading to stabilise. If you're unsatisfied with the reading, do some fine adjustment and observed again. After that, let it be. Don't tune up and down the knob.

Originally Posted by coke21 Just make sure that your cabinet is below 50%RH it should be fine already. No need to lose sleep over such a small matter....

[upitreks]

hi.
I'm not trying to be rude or trying to hijack people's thread
but can we put equipments such as batteries, camera covers in the dry cabinet as well??
I'm bloody green here.
Please do advice.

[blurblock]

Originally Posted by upitreks hi. I'm not trying to be rude or trying to hijack people's thread but can we put equipments such as batteries, camera covers in the dry cabinet as well?? I'm bloody green here. Please do advice.

Items that do not leak, it's ok. But AA or AAA batteries I would not want to try . If your Dry cabinet has space, chances are no one can fault you even if you want to put the kitchen sink in it, it is still your own dry cabinet anyway .

[microsmic]

Hi all,

A little OT.........Can I use other moisture absorbent other than Silica Gels ??....something like "Thirsty Hippos" ??...in my Cabinet ??

please advise.

[Ah Pao]

Originally Posted by microsmic Hi all, A little OT.........Can I use other moisture absorbent other than Silica Gels ??....something like "Thirsty Hippos" ??...in my Cabinet ?? please advise.

One thing is I'm not sure how much moisture will it reduce the atmosphere to. It's recommended to store camera equipment at 45-55%RH (according to my dry cab manual). Too low and it may dry up the lubricants in your camera.

For silica gel I think it has been formulated to reduce moisture to 45-55%RH so it's safe to use it.