Sillica gel; thirsty hippo; dry boxes; dehumidifier lamp in a cupboard which one?

[slaam]

I think you might have a misconception about the role of a dry cabinet and how silica gel works.

1. With a dry cabinet you want to keep humidity around 50%, not as low as possible.

2. Silica gel will absorb moisture until it cannot absorb any more - which might be because it is filled with moisture, or there is no more moisture left to absorb.

3. Silica gel changing color has nothing to do with the moisture level in the air. And it does not give off moisture and return to blue unless heated (at 120 degrees C according to wikipedia).

thanks for the clarification..
hmmm but i agree with what you say.

1) the optimum is 40-50% and its not an issue with how the dry cabi works but rather the optimum protection against two types of mold/fungus.. cos one type like high humidity and the other type thrives in 20-30% RH
that's the other not often talked about reason for keeping RH at a optimum and not jus about protecting the oils in seals from drying up..
but i can't verify this as i read this from somewhere way back..

2) the pt mentioned is subjected to the affinity of sllica gel for moisture so its not to be taken as absolute terms like zero humidity (very hard to achieve)

3)the cobalt chloride in the gel just indicates the amt of moisture absorbed by the gel..
hence i say its an indirect way of 'measuring' the humidity in a closed system. so if the dry cabi is working fine, by right ur silica gel in the cabi shld not turn pink as the humidity shld be taken care by ur dehumidifier.
if it does turn pink it means ur dehumidifier is spoilt.
if it turns pink and ur hygrometer says its ok then ur hygrometer and dehumidifier is spoilt assuming ur cabi door is sealed properly.

anyway the issue is down to individual preference.
I find that keeping a space and a power plug for a dry cabi a chore i rather not deal with.
but a dry cabi offers a nice presentation of ur gear in a dust free (if u close the door and clean it) and low RH environment.

 

[lennyl]

hence i say its an indirect way of 'measuring' the humidity in a closed system. so if the dry cabi is working fine, by right ur silica gel in the cabi shld not turn pink as the humidity shld be taken care by ur dehumidifier.
if it does turn pink it means ur dehumidifier is spoilt.
if it turns pink and ur hygrometer says its ok then ur hygrometer and dehumidifier is spoilt assuming ur cabi door is sealed properly.

That statement is true only if the silica gel stops absorbing when RH falls to around 50%. I don't know if it is true - you could be right.

 

[slaam]

That statement is true only if the silica gel stops absorbing when RH falls to around 50%. I don't know if it is true - you could be right.

yah... actually alot of things is hearsay only.. so also dunno who's right or wrong

 

[faaiz]

just get a decent dry box

 

[skygazer]

Hi, just sidetrack a little (apologies to TS)
When going overseas in autumn, for abt 2weeks do u need to place silica gel in yr carry bag?

 

[slaam]

Hi, just sidetrack a little (apologies to TS)
When going overseas in autumn, for abt 2weeks do u need to place silica gel in yr carry bag?

no probs..
heh i brought my analog hygrometer.. and i fd that UK air is ~ 50% RH so actually i need not have brought silica gel
where are you going?
silica gel in bag might not help if ur bag not semi air tight

 

[brandon93]

May I know where can I get the Sillica gel? went to home fix at IMM but cant find it. thx

Try asking the staff, i brought mine at the branch near woodlands MRT

 

[skygazer]

no probs..
heh i brought my analog hygrometer.. and i fd that UK air is ~ 50% RH so actually i need not have brought silica gel
where are you going?
silica gel in bag might not help if ur bag not semi air tight

hi hi, m going osaka japan end this mth... the forecast humidity is 59% RH in mid oct, think will go dwn further by end this mth... appreciate yr kind advice.

 

[bluey_gal]

Just some qns... Does the dry cabinet consume a lot of power causing the electricity bill to increase?

So is it going to humid countries, then require the silica gel for the DSLR?

 

[lennyl]

Just some qns... Does the dry cabinet consume a lot of power causing the electricity bill to increase?

So is it going to humid countries, then require the silica gel for the DSLR?

In some threads it has been mentioned that a small unit is rated at 5W. That's very little power. And how much power it actually consumes depend on how often you open up the door.

There's no hard and fast rule about bringing silica gel when you're traveling. Depends on how humid, and how long is your stay. If you're going to be in an air conditioned hotel room, for example, and bringing your camera out rest of the time, pretty pointless to have silica gel.

 

[weixiang1900]

hey everyone, i am a newbie... not sure whether i would like to buy a dry cabinet?

can i placee the dry cabinet, near a radio transmitter? say like those wireless router? read from my canon manual that the camera should not be placed near anything emitting strong radio waves... is the wireless router considered one?

 

[zac08]

hey everyone, i am a newbie... not sure whether i would like to buy a dry cabinet?

can i placee the dry cabinet, near a radio transmitter? say like those wireless router? read from my canon manual that the camera should be placed near anything emitting strong radio waves... is the wireless router considered one?

A wireless router may be one. But the thing is a dry cabinet it made of metal and it would offer a form of protection to have your gear inside as opposed to a plastic box.

 

[weixiang1900]

mmz... i guessed so.. coz my power point is such that its located very convenient to a wireless setup which i have with mio plan... aka the mio box...

thinking whether i can place the dry cabinet next to the mio box.... :sweat: haiz... thinking thinking :sweatsm:

 

[opboy]

Hi ya , for me i just brought hippo to dry for the time being until i got a dry cabi, a 30l is enough for me and only consume 4w which is very little....

 

[slaam]

mmz... i guessed so.. coz my power point is such that its located very convenient to a wireless setup which i have with mio plan... aka the mio box...

thinking whether i can place the dry cabinet next to the mio box.... :sweat: haiz... thinking thinking :sweatsm:

really?
which manual is that?
can type the exact phrasing?
never heard of that before..
is it some weird FCC regulation?
or did they mean duing operation..
like strong radio waves will affect electronic operation..

though i think its unlikely cos there's wireless CF transmitter cards that transmits ur images to a wireless LAN so if the camera can work then ur router is ok..
my 2 cents lah .. but really nvr heard of such a thing in a manual and i read my manual pretty clearly!

 

[ponders]

I used a 35l dry box from Eureka (marketed by Rodex Marketing) since 1994.
back then it was $500+, now they are selling the same model in Tangs for low $200.

Anyway, its a taiwanese brand but it works. but now you can't go to Rodex to buy it, they will redirect you to Tangs.

I am not sure if you guys disagree, but in my observation, fungus/mold will only grow if your camera is stagnant under the same humid conditions (say above 55-60%) for a long period of say 1 month to 6 weeks.

If you are those you carry camera every day for work, the ever changing environment is not condusive for fungus growth.

Having said that, having a moist camera bag is not ideal either, keep it airy.

Also note that RH% is a very relative measure of amount of moisture. So Japan's or some some cooler country's 50% is not the same as Singapore's 50%.

Air have varying degree of how much water it can retain relative to the temperature of the air.

So 50% at 10deg C has much less water than 50% at 30 deg C. because air is unable to retain water vapour at lower temperature.

 

[sougen]

I'm about to enter one of those phase where I should start worrying about fungi/mould growth.

Most of the time, I used an alcoholic wipe to ensure the innards of my camera bag does not inhibit or precipitates fungal growth. I still used silica gel as a minor protection for both my DSLR and my 2 lenses I carry around.

So far, I've only managed to ask from shops in Funan Centre, and had quoted me for S$135 for a dry cabinet. I'm seriously wide-eyed when back in June, it hovered around S$90. Any ideas on what are the different budgets for different types of dehumidifying solutions?

 

[gunawan]

For orang KAYA : Big dry cabinets

For orang MISKIN : Many small dry boxes wif cheapo imitation thirsty hippos

I speak for the orang MISKIN, becos poor people need to work harder finding cheap bargains to save money while rich ones only need to worry which more expensive goods they can buy.

-Cheapo plastic boxes can be bought from Carrefour, or small HDB $1 or $2 shops selling sundry goods from household goods to batteries, kids toys, etc. Price : $10 - $20 for 10 - 30 litres.

-Cheapo imitation thirsty hippos: Price ranges from 80cents to $2.00 per box of silica gel or charcoal (IMO, brand doesn't matter for this product bcos it works all the same, so get the cheapest one here).

-I do not know of any damage low humidity can do to lenses, but this is a problem NO ONE should be worried about in Singapore as our humidity levels are one of the highest in the world, and the fact that you open up your boxes to take out and put back your camera and lenses would allow some humidity to seep in almost immediately, so u can rest assured about your items getting too dry (unless of course you are not using yr gear for months or years).

imo, cheap dry boxes or expensive dry cabinets all have the same results: it all boils down to budget, ego, status, braggin rights, etc.

I'd rather save some money for better lens and milk powder...:sweat:

 

[cqprime]

there was once i use Thirsty Hippo and left in my cupboard for months ....i then realised there was water inside the hippo and lucky i clear it before i spill out the water...

 

[dafansu]

there was once i use Thirsty Hippo and left in my cupboard for months ....i then realised there was water inside the hippo and lucky i clear it before i spill out the water...

i thought it's supposed to collect water inside. or is it going to overflow?