Here is Australia, good dryboxes can be pricey. Being a student, I can be rather cost concious. Humidity is about 60-70% during the day and drop to 40% at night. Temperature is between 10-20 deg celcius. I was thinking of buying a large tupperware and have bags of silica gel in it for my camera equipment. WHat do you think ?
Will an airtight container with silica gel make a good budget drybox ?
- Thread starter marcwang
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I did that for 10 years before I got an electric one. No problems, just that you need to be disciplined enough to replenish the silica gel the moment they fade to pink.
Regards
CK
I use that too when I was away from home. Just watch out for the silica gel as ckiang mentiond and control the RH value.
I bought mine in Malaysia at RM400 2+ years ago, the electric power one. I find it the best investment I have made in photography. Worry free...and trouble free. Used to use silica gel and spend $$$ on air tight box, ending up recycling silica gel every few days...too troublesome and can't really enjoy photography as a hobby.
D
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I have used silica gel for a munber of years. If you are a heavy user on your camera not so good silica gel, turn pink very fast due to regular opening of container. long run consume a lot.
When the electrical dehumidifer price came down I bought one. It was a blassing dont have to worry about silica gel replanish or recycle(alot of work).
I have been using electrical dehumidifer for at least 5 years without any problem, worth every cents!!!
When the electrical dehumidifer price came down I bought one. It was a blassing dont have to worry about silica gel replanish or recycle(alot of work).
I have been using electrical dehumidifer for at least 5 years without any problem, worth every cents!!!
erm, a hydrometer in my room ? Those all in one stations with humidity and temperature other than time.
Silica gels can be regenerated by heating in an oven (not more than 150 degrees) until it turns blue again. Too high a temp can close the pores of the gel (think of glass) and it will no longer absorb moisture.
I had used silica gel for more than 5 years already, the only problem sometimes is that I find it too dry so I usually take out my infrequently used gear and put it out of the box for a while. If the box is airtight (Lock&Lock from NTUC), the gel can last quite a while.
The reason I don't want a dehumidifier is that it consumes electricity and a $200 unit can buy me more than 40kg of silica gel.
i think basically it's the hassel of changing the silica gel that makes people go for electric dehumidifiers. furthermore u can control the RH, so u don have to take them out (to admire or whatever)... it's a one time investment, assuming it doesn't spoil, and comparing to 40kg of silica gel, u save more space too.
but then i do use silica gel for things too big that i can't stuff it into my box.
I also use a air tight container, lock & lock too with silica gel. my silica gel bead are still very blue after a year.
coz i take out my things quickly and close the box immediately everytime
coz i take out my things quickly and close the box immediately everytime
Well, haha.... I've got an alternative solution, I just put a "Thirsty Hippo" into my dry box. Dun underestimate that small package, it can maintain a RH of 60% for quite a period of time. It's a pretty good temporary solution. But for long storage, I still depend on my dry cabinet.
Actually, a dry cabinet don't really consume that much electricity. And you certainly dun have to leave it on all the time. The average daytime RH or Singapore is about 60% to 70%, which is quite alright for camera equipment, it's only at night when the air becames wetter then you need to turn on your dry cabinet.
Leaving a dry cabinet for too long may also dry up the lubricant gel in your camera equipment, making the mechanical parts undergo stress and subjective to failure. So guys, watch it with the dry cabinet.
Actually, a dry cabinet don't really consume that much electricity. And you certainly dun have to leave it on all the time. The average daytime RH or Singapore is about 60% to 70%, which is quite alright for camera equipment, it's only at night when the air becames wetter then you need to turn on your dry cabinet.
Leaving a dry cabinet for too long may also dry up the lubricant gel in your camera equipment, making the mechanical parts undergo stress and subjective to failure. So guys, watch it with the dry cabinet.
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