Thirst Hippos as desiccant in dry cabi?

[NeoWT]

Hi all,
Do you have any ill effects from using Thirsty Hippo type desiccants in dry cabi? eg corrosion on camera or archived DVD+Rs?? I am currently using one inside my mini vacuum storage box for my digital camera for 4 months now. so far so good.
I read that these types of desiccants can bring RH down to 5% compared to silica gels 40%. Bad thing is that it is based on Calcium-Oxide, which is a bit alkaline.

 

[Squid]

Refer to this thread http://forum.clubsnap.com/showpost.php?p=1663767&postcount=14

 

[fWord]

As far as I'm aware, the Thirsty Hippo contains calcium carbonate, which is just limestone really...it's fairly inert stuff that just sucks up moisture in its immediate surroundings.

But as the posted link states, the humidity will drop too low at times and you'll need to be able to monitor it regularly. I use the Thirsty Hippo in a small dry box and asked my brother to keep watch on the humidity while I was away at camp. He forgot about it. I came back yesterday after a week in camp and found the humidity at 20%. Not fantastic.

Most people suggest a humidity range of 40-50%, and if it's too low it may damage your lens seals, the finish, and maybe even the glass itself. For more information, try this link to the whole thread which I started some time back:

http://forum.clubsnap.com/showthread.php?p=1663767#post1663767

Just remember that too low a humidity is probably bad for equipment.