Adding humidity

[GoManGo]

I don't know about all of you but this year I'm adding more water into my music room humidifier than I can remember. Looking forward to spring...

GoManGo...

[stepchildusmc]

lotsa water. even added a third humidifier yesterday. between that and the humidipaks, i think i'll survive.

[Jersey tuning]

Interesting that my Taylors need fewer Humidipak changes than my Froggy Bottom.

[GoManGo]

That's interesting. I wonder if smaller shop, hand made instruments require a bit more humidity than say a Taylor?

[Jersey tuning]

Could also be the different cases. Perhaps the AVS case the Froggy sits in has a liner that absorbs more moisture than the Taylor, or is less air-tight..........

[timfitz63]

In case anyone's interested in saving some cash:

I've worked out a way to rejuvenate those HumidiPaks.  All it takes is a cooler (I use a standard-sized Igloo); an old plastic grocery bag cut to fit the lid opening and ensure a good, tight seal; and a relatively good-sized plastic cup filled with hot (not boiling) water.  It's also helpful if you can find a small rack that will fit in the top of the cooler, and on which you can lay out the HumidPaks.

Heat the water (I use the microwave), put the cup of water in the bottom of the cooler, insert the rack, lay out the Humidipaks above the hot water, put the plastic bag over top the cooler opening, and snap on the cooler lid.  After about 12 hours, re-heat the water, if necessary, and repeat the process.  Works like a charm!

[Jersey tuning]

Will give it a try.

[timfitz63]

Will give it a try.

I think you'll get good results.  Both my brother and I are doing it, and we've both been able to recover packs that have gotten pretty 'crunchy.'

A couple of things to keep in mind for better success:

• Rejuvenating multiple Humidipaks seems to go better than doing single packs; in fact, the more the better.  I just think they absorb the moisture from the trapped humidity more 'evenly' (for lack of a better term) in this way, and you'll tend to avoid delaminating the surrounding paper wrapper due to excessive moisture breaking down the glue.  If the wrapper comes loose, it doesn't seem to affect the performance of the Humidipak; but it does make it more difficult to handle when inserting/removing them from the cloth pouches.
• If you are rejuvenating a set of packs that are particularly 'crunchy,' take care if you try to knead all that solid matter during the rejuvenation process to break it up.  Sometimes the chunks break apart into needle-like crystalline shards of whatever mineral/chemical is inside these things that makes them work -- and these shards can poke through the permeable membrane of the Humidipak and into your finger...!

[Cindy]

I hope people will still use a case hygrometer to determine the accuracy of the humidipaks when doing this type of thing. I had a set of humidipaks that were soft and pliable even after a couple months of use. The case hygrometer indicated they weren't working (humidity was too dry) so I tossed them.

[timfitz63]

I hope people will still use a case hygrometer to determine the accuracy of the humidipaks when doing this type of thing. I had a set of humidipaks that were soft and pliable even after a couple months of use. The case hygrometer indicated they weren't working (humidity was too dry) so I tossed them.

Interesting.  I'll have to monitor that more closely.  I need to find a hygrometer that I can use to monitor the humidity level of the room in which I'm storing my guitars (cased, of course).  Having recently moved, I'm still trying to get all situated and settled in; but a recommendation there would be appreciated.

So far, though, I've not had any Humidipaks that haven't progressively gone 'crunchy' on me -- especially during the winter months, when the heat has been running frequently (even here in Texas) and the interior air becomes very dry.  I've had a few sets of Humidipaks that didn't last a month.  As an aside, I'd read somewhere that they did have some permeability/sealing issues (mainly leaking) with those Humidipaks when they were introduced, but not of late.

In fairness, I'd never planned to do this rejuvenation process indefinitely, and probably should have mentioned that earlier; I figured I'd just get some extra use out of them before they became unserviceable.  But a decent price a pop for these things, with a fleet of guitars to maintain, I thought I'd take a crack at trying to get more than one use out of them before I had to discard them.  If I get 4-5 uses out of each set of three, I've reduced my upkeep costs pretty substantially...


please use PM's for pricing discussions

[Cindy]

timfitz63, keep an eye on Amazon for the humidipak refills. They had a REALLY good price on them in the fall. I always try to let the members know if they are available for a better-than-normal price when I see a good sale.

As for a hygrometer, the one I am using now is the Caliber IV Digital Hygrometer. It is small enough to fit inside the pocket of the case and seems to be pretty accurate.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A9W41GI/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[emidyl]

timfitz63,

I use a really small cheap round one from walmart( Accu-Temp brand). Calibration check is dead on 75% with the salt self test. got 2 of them floating around.
Small enough to fit into your case if that's where you keep your guitars full time with some double sided velcro.
My guitar/game room is small enough I can keep 2 humidifiers running at a constant 45-55%RH all winter.
All my guitars are out on (4 acoustics,) stands and wall mounts ready for impromptu jamming with friends and kids.
When and if I travel, they have an Oasis sound hole version, which I also use in other parts of the house when not playing in the guitar
room.

$

[timfitz63]

timfitz63, keep an eye on Amazon for the humidipak refills. They had a REALLY good price on them in the fall. I always try to let the members know if they are available for a better-than-normal price when I see a good sale.

As for a hygrometer, the one I am using now is the Caliber IV Digital Hygrometer. It is small enough to fit inside the pocket of the case and seems to be pretty accurate.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A9W41GI/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Yeah, I try to stock up on the Humidipaks when they're on sale as well.  'Round about 9 months ago, Guitar Center had them, so I grabbed a bunch then.

I use a really small cheap round one from walmart( Accu-Temp brand). Calibration check is dead on 75% with the salt self test. got 2 of them floating around.
Small enough to fit into your case if that's where you keep your guitars full time with some double sided velcro.
My guitar/game room is small enough I can keep 2 humidifiers running at a constant 45-55%RH all winter.
All my guitars are out on (4 acoustics,) stands and wall mounts ready for impromptu jamming with friends and kids.
When and if I travel, they have an Oasis sound hole version, which I also use in other parts of the house when not playing in the guitar
room.

Thanks both for the hygrometer suggestions!  I just need something that can monitor the level in the small bedroom I'm using for storage.  I figure if I can keep that in the correct range, the rest (including the Humidipaks) will take care of itself…


$

[3dognate]

I left my case open in the closet and forgot about it...the humidipacks in it dried out, I stuck them in a zip-loc baggie with a damp (not wet sponge) rewetted the sponge a couple of times over the course of a couple of days and they are nice and squishy again. Was a good reminder that my guitars need humidity more frequently than I give them. I do like to keep the gutiars out and on hangers for convenience... and give them the occasional humidity treatment in the case every couple of weeks... Not the best practice... but is better than just leaving them out.

[timfitz63]

I left my case open in the closet and forgot about it...the humidipacks in it dried out, I stuck them in a zip-loc baggie with a damp (not wet sponge) rewetted the sponge a couple of times over the course of a couple of days and they are nice and squishy again...

Different application of the same rejuvenation concept I mentioned, but that works too.  These Humidipaks are designed to both emit and absorb water vapor to [theoretically, at least] maintain 45-50% RH.  So the idea came to me that a method for rejuvenating Humidipaks would be to just place them into a controlled, high-humidity (i.e., >>50%) environment where they can re-absorb the moisture they've surrendered to the guitar.