Drybox woes!


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David

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Mar 21, 2002
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There was an earlier post on drybox. I decided to start a new one based on my experience...

I have the Am-Pro drybox as mentioned recently (read: Carrefour) and now I have a problem! No matter how I adjust the humidity level knob, I can never make the humidity go beyond 45%. The reading is now on the low side of 38%.

It was about 45% when I had the box filled with my stuffs, but the moment I took out my camera body and lens, the humidity dropped and I cannot maintain the 45% level.

Anyone experience this with the Am-Pro? Arghhh...should have known better about this made in Singapore product.
 

What is the RH% reading when turning the knob all the way anticlockwise, and the RH% all the way clockwise?
 

David you should take out your gear for a few days... let the motor unit run for a while. leave it running and monitor the levels at Low & High... then you can gauge what levels to leave it on. i have the same cabinet and had a bit of problems in the beginning, but once i worked out the levels and where to leave the gauge at, it works fine for me now.

also, you do realise that levels will usually rise slightly when you put stuff inside, cos you're introducing some moisture into the cabinet. i would think that you have a serious problem only if the RH levels sway wildly... :D
 

Hmm, I've bought the Am Pro 30L dry cab from Carrefour too - but that was in January. I've actually left it on without my gears in it for about 3 weeks b4 putting it in. :p

Now the humidty level averages abt 50%, the knob is a lil to the left of Medium. The "display gauge" is quite sensitive to any changes (moisture introduced when door is opened/knob is turned to left or right/new equipments) from what I've experience so far.
 

I bought the digi cabbi from carrefour too. So far don't seem to have any problems with it. It does take some time for the reading to stabilise after opening the door for some time or putting new stuff in.

Just out of curiousity, will a very low humidity level be a problem? Don't see anything wrong with your reading at 38% or never being above 48%.
 

Hi all,

Thanks for the feedback. I set the knob to 'L' (lowest humidity) immediate after unpacking the dry box. Within a few hours, the reading dropped very quickly to 30% or slightly below. I have another electronic dry box and it takes at least 1 day for the humidity to drop to that low, maybe becos it's much bigger.

Anyway, so I happily placed all my stuffs inside it and reset the knob to M (medium). The RH rose as expected and stabilized at around 45%. Then I took out 1 camera and lens. After several minutes, the stabilized RH reading dropped slightly to about 40% according to the in-built hygrometer. I then placed 2 independant electronic humidity meters and they both read about 37-38%.

I didn't like the level to be so low so I adjusted the knob to H (higher humidity). To do that I needed to open the drybox door. The RH reading of course rose a little but it later dropped back to 40%.

I readjusted the knob, this time very generously anti-clockwise to the 'water droplets' icon, meaning much higher humidity. The RH still stabilized at around 37-40%! Then I turned it all the way to the Off position!!! Guess what? Yup, the humidity maintained at the same level.

Now, as I type this, I have already unplugged the electrical cable for the past 1/2 hour. The in-built meter shows slightly below 40% and the 2 digital meters show 36% and 37%!

Very strange....It seems like the humidity level can be self-adjusted even without any power!

I have read that it's no good to leave the RH of camera and lenses too low. Not sure if below 40% is considered low for them, but definitely out of the recommended range.

Maybe I need to put more things inside? But irregardless of the number of items, the dry box should adjust itself such that for a certain knob setting, it will give a fairly fixed RH reading. Apparently, this is not the case for me.

Sigh...I'll observe and see how.... In the meantime, would appreciate any more advice! Thanks!

(Latest average reading: 35% ARGHH! What's going on??! ):cry:
 

Originally posted by taicw

Just out of curiousity, will a very low humidity level be a problem? Don't see anything wrong with your reading at 38% or never being above 48%.

Don't set your RH too low (below 35%) or negatives stored in the cabinet will start to warp.
 

After cutting off power to the cabinet, opening and closing the door a few times to let more moisture in, the humidity of course rose but then it slowly decreased and the in-built meter finally reads about 52%, while my digital meters read 40% and 42%.

This is absolutely amazing. I dunno what to make out of this. I think this is due to the cabinet itself being quite 'air-tight' rather than the dehumidifier malfunctioning. Somehow, after dehumidifying for a few days, it becomes more difficult for moisture to be trapped within the cabinet. I believe the low humidity will remain like this for a couple of days (or weeks?) till moisture from the external air makes its way into the cabinet. I know this sounds unscientific, but I can't figure out any other explanation.

For those of you interested or curious, you can try what I did and see if you get the same thing. Better to get an external meter to check as I find the in-built meter has a large error of 10%.

I remember last time, I put silical gel in an air-tight box and the humidity dropped to as low as 39%, even after the silica gel turns pink for a few days. It was only much later that the humidity within the box begins to rise again.

Quite disappointed with the Am-Pro actually. If not for the low price and that I need to store only a few things, I wouldn't have bought this brand. Well, juz my opinion and experience...
 

I've decided to return the drybox!!!!

Called the distributor to enquire about my problem and was told there's no way to adjust the RH even with the knob! First time I heard of such thing. He said the unit is working fine. At 35% RH??! The lowest RH I recorded this morning was 34% even with the knob set to M. The red light was cut off at about 55% but the humidity simply dropped steadily all the way to below 40%.

No wonder it's so cheap and only 1-year guarantee??? (Most other leading brands give 5 years.) Had heard a few bad experiences from other users b4 but thot it couldn't happen to me. But this is just MY experience, not trying to be a wet blanket; others may not experience it.

Nevertheless, I'm very doubtful of the construction and mechanism of the dehumidifier unit. No more Am-Pro for me!!! :confused:
 

Huh?! U have the same prob as I do?
 

I suspect there is something wrong with the meter. When you open the door for a few minutes to let room air goes it, the RH should be around 70%. This is the normal RH of Malaysia and Singapore environment, unless your room is extremely dry (no good for your skin). Blow a few breath to the RH meter, see it changes reading or not, and check what's the highest reading it can go when you blow to it. Should be at 70%RH and above.
 

Kho King,

Think you misunderstood what I wrote. When I opened the door,the humidity of course rose. But later after closing the door, the reading will steadily drop far below what I want it to be. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I've gotten a new dry-box. No more Am-Pro for me! :)
 

This Am-Pro one gives me the same problem. The RH meter never goes higher than 45% even when the door was open. I don't think my house is as dry as near 45%. Now I dont bother just leave the controller at middle leve and the meter reads 40%. Dont know exactly how much the RH is. Can someone lend me a digital meter to test?

Money wise: buy something else unless u are as mobile as me.
 

Originally posted by David
There was an earlier post on drybox. I decided to start a new one based on my experience...

I have the Am-Pro drybox as mentioned recently (read: Carrefour) and now I have a problem! No matter how I adjust the humidity level knob, I can never make the humidity go beyond 45%. The reading is now on the low side of 38%.

It was about 45% when I had the box filled with my stuffs, but the moment I took out my camera body and lens, the humidity dropped and I cannot maintain the 45% level.

Anyone experience this with the Am-Pro? Arghhh...should have known better about this made in Singapore product.

funny...my was able to reach 30% then I adjusted the setting again....when it was at 30 it was between H and M setting...

now my box is at about 40-45% at M setting...just slightly pass M
 

I use Am Pro too, and there is 5 years warranty

l got the dehumidifying unit replaced cos the old one cannot remove moisture and the red LED is on at all time and RH is 70% all the way

now with the new unit, it is abt 40-50%, and the red LED is off.

when i open the door, the LED will turn on as moisture go in, and then the RH will raise to >50%

then it will take a day or two for the red LED to turn off, and stablise at around 45%
 

I had a AM PRO dry box too. My problem is the opposite. For a year it was working fine but recently I keeo seeing mositure in the cabinet, RH at 70-80%. I open the cab and turn the knob a few times and close the door, it went back to 50-60. after a day or so, it goes back to 80 again. is it faulty? 5 yrs warranty. so where to send back for service? cost oiver $100 may not be worth the trouble to service
 

i have a 48l am pro dry box.
seems ok.
not sure if if is an issue, but i noticed that at aboout 45% RH, the knob is half way between M and L.

this makes my century mark for posts.
 

besides giant where else can buy digital hydrometer cause i dont know where is giant and at what price?
 

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