Difference between dry box and dry cabinet


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DeWei

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Jun 9, 2006
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Hi there, could anyone tell me what is the difference between these two? Izzit dry box do not need power supply? Thanks.
 

dry box are smaller in size and usually use silica gel, which means you have to keep changing it regularly. dry cabinet are bigger in size ranging from 20+L to more than 500L.
 

dry cabinet runs on electricity.
 

ExplorerZ said:
dry box are smaller in size and usually use silica gel, which means you have to keep changing it regularly. dry cabinet are bigger in size ranging from 20+L to more than 500L.

So does it mean dry cabinet is a better choice for long term usage? How frequent do we need to change the silica gel in Singapore kind of weather. Could it be expensive to change silica gel?:dunno:
 

DeWei said:
So does it mean dry cabinet is a better choice for long term usage? How frequent do we need to change the silica gel in Singapore kind of weather. Could it be expensive to change silica gel?:dunno:

Not expensive since silica gel could be reused. Troublesome though.
 

By the time the silica gel changes colour, it may be too late as it could have been humid for some time already.

As such, in our local weather, it's much safer to invest in a good dry-cab and let the power run....
 

Dry Box is sealed box. Usually with blue silica gel to absorb 'water in the air' inside Dry Box. The blue Silica gel contains Cobalt Chloride for humidity indicator. Cobalt Chloride known as carcinogen (cancer caused agent). Blue silica gel can be recycle if its colour become pink.

Dry Cabinet is sealed box with dehumidizer unit to remove 'water in the air' inside Dry Cabinet to outside. Dry Cabinet need electricity to power dehumidizer unit.

Regards,
Arto.
 

zac08 said:
By the time the silica gel changes colour, it may be too late as it could have been humid for some time already.

As such, in our local weather, it's much safer to invest in a good dry-cab and let the power run....

yup furthurmore it only consumes very little power... a 100L dry-cab only consume 4-5W :thumbsup:
 

zac08 said:
By the time the silica gel changes colour, it may be too late as it could have been humid for some time already.

As such, in our local weather, it's much safer to invest in a good dry-cab and let the power run....
Agree with you...

Regards,
Arto.
 

How much for a cheap dry cabinet? which brand do you guys recommend most. I just need a cabinet that can store 2 bodies and 2 lenses, perhaps 80L is enough?
 

DeWei said:
How much for a cheap dry cabinet? which brand do you guys recommend most. I just need a cabinet that can store 2 bodies and 2 lenses, perhaps 80L is enough?
80L is more than enough.

30L one DigiCabi is $99 at CarreFour. But, are you sure 30L is enough for you? Mine is 40L, enough for today, but I don't know tomorrow... :embrass: . Hopefully I am immune to BBB virus :bsmilie: .

Regards,
Arto.
 

I'm using a 80 litre one... and already I am fearing that it may not be enuff in the long run. It's all up to the user to fill it up though... hehe
 

Hahaha... dun bet on it.
U'll want a larger dry cabi as your hobby grow. makes more sense to get a big 1, than to buy another small 1 later on.



.
 

DeWei said:
So does it mean dry cabinet is a better choice for long term usage? How frequent do we need to change the silica gel in Singapore kind of weather. Could it be expensive to change silica gel?:dunno:

I don't think it is too expensive, one bottle cost around 4$ and it may last for 3-6 months approx depending upon the usage. Drybox is sealed and has a humidity indicator. If I don't open the box at all my indicator takes almost a month to rise from 40% to 55% relative humidity (approx figures) and the by the time it reaches 55, I think it is time to recycle or replace it. Remember that since the box is small in size so you don't have use a large amount. On the other hand if you use camera too often then you will have to replace it more frequently. I don't own a dry cabinet because I don't have enough space in my room and my drybox is big enough to hold all the camera equipment.
 

megamonster said:
I don't think it is too expensive, one bottle cost around 4$ and it may last for 3-6 months approx depending upon the usage. Drybox is sealed and has a humidity indicator. If I don't open the box at all my indicator takes almost a month to rise from 40% to 55% relative humidity (approx figures) and the by the time it reaches 55, I think it is time to recycle or replace it. Remember that since the box is small in size so you don't have use a large amount. On the other hand if you use camera too often then you will have to replace it more frequently. I don't own a dry cabinet because I don't have enough space in my room and my drybox is big enough to hold all the camera equipment.

acutally if you find that you don open the dry box too often, it means that either you don keep your equipment there or you don shoot often or only some accessories which you seldom use are kept inside. i open my dry cab very often... if i were to use dry box, after about 2 opening, i need to change a new pack of silica gel
 

ExplorerZ said:
acutally if you find that you don open the dry box too often, it means that either you don keep your equipment there or you don shoot often or only some accessories which you seldom use are kept inside. i open my dry cab very often... if i were to use dry box, after about 2 opening, i need to change a new pack of silica gel

Yes you are right .. I open my box 1-2 times a month on the avg.
 

megamonster said:
Yes you are right .. I open my box 1-2 times a month on the avg.

And I open mine almost everyday...
 

A cheap solution to a dedicated dry box is a clean biscuit tin with sillica gel in a cup at the bottom. You can buy a hygrometer separately and stick it inside to monitor the humidity. However, as pointed out by others in this thread, if you access it regularly, you'll have to change the gel quite often. No point buying gear if you don't use it.
 

DeWei said:
How much for a cheap dry cabinet? which brand do you guys recommend most. I just need a cabinet that can store 2 bodies and 2 lenses, perhaps 80L is enough?

30L more than enough for that... can store easily 2 bodies and 5/6 lenses, including a couple of telephoto zooms. (unless all your lenses 500mm prime type)
 

I have 1 body, 2 primes, 2 small zooms and a few filters. They fit in my 30L cabinet, together with some old stamps the backup CDs of my important photos. So far, I have kept the BBB virus in check. :)
 

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