Thirsty Hippos any cheaper alternative?

[velvetrevolver]

where to get those packs of silica gels? like those in the rice cracker packets?

 

[subversion]

you can get them @:

*hardware store eg: Selfix
*any shops selling camera equipmnet

 

[Apot_red]

Having experienced bellying at the bridge area of an acoustic guitar, along with muddy tone because of water being absorbed, I would say definitely. Perhaps the only effect on electrics will be rusty metal parts, but it can severely impact the tone of all-solid acoustic guitars.

Hi All,

My experience with this humidity and this weather is really not favorable for not only guitars, but for all Wooden Musical instruments.

It would be feasible in order for proper control of storage of guitars to be in a room without much airflow.
This being all windows are closed and sealed (with weather strips). Door to be closed at all times (except entrance and exit).
Sill below door to be sealed and run a Dehumidifier with timer (1hr on, 4hrs Off) throughout the day to maintain relative humidity of 40 – 50%.

This case, your room’s humidity will be stable and you can ensure a proper ageing of your priced guitars.
(there will not be moulds on your hard cases)

Switching on Air con is not an issue so long that instruments at a lower temperature is not brought into contact with the outside environment immediately.
(eg. Bringing out the guitar that’s in an Air con room 23°C to an Outside environment 33°C) This will cause condensation to take place.
Unfinished Wood being porous material will absorb this moisture which is unhealthy.

I have been doing this setup for the past 6 months and I am happy with the results.
There had not been any Oxidation on any of the metal parts…

Hope this little info will help fellow Softies!!

Cheers!

 

[legless]

^ Very helpful post, but how many of us can afford to leave a room just to store guitars?

 

[tubescreamer]

I thought I'd just share my storage method for my all-solid acoustic guitar.

1) Place 1 pack of thirsty hippo in soundhole and 1 at headstock in the hardcase
2) Place hardcase in large plastic bag (i.e. the one my case came in)
3) Place large thirsty hippo in plastic bag, outside the case
4) Seal plastic bag with rubber band/clip
5) Store out of direct sunlight

This has maintained my guitar at about 50-60% humidity, according to my hygrometer. No problems associated with 'wet' guitars have surfaced yet.

 

[velvetrevolver]

you can get them @:

*hardware store eg: Selfix
*any shops selling camera equipmnet

thanks man.. go shopping after work le! hehe!

 

[funktastic]

tubescreamer- won't be a hassle to take out and play the guitar?

 

[Krakatau]

where to get those packs of silica gels? like those in the rice cracker packets?

just bought a bottle of 500 grams silica gel from a camera shop at sim lim square today for $4. But no packets though. just use old handkerchief or unused socks will do.

 

[tubescreamer]

tubescreamer- won't be a hassle to take out and play the guitar?

Longevity over short term convenience my friend

That's why I am religious about cleaning my strings with Dunlop 65 and a microfibre cloth, followed by wiping every inch of the guitar with a separate microfibre cloth.

 

[blaz3r]

how long do you need to put the silica gel into the microwave oven for? to re-use it.

 

[Ratboy]

forget about microwaving the silica gel

just microwave the guitar directly
dun forget to remove all the metal parts : )

 

[Steelwolf]

Ratboy: How big is your microwave oven? Or how small is your guitar? I think you need to take out the microwave generator and "spray" the field of microwaves over your guitar.

Seriously though... for silica gel, cooking it over the stove is not recommended because it is hard to control the temperature. And as the beads on the bottom dry out, they will start to burn. A fan-forced or convection oven, or toaster oven (not the individual slice toaster that you load from the top!) with temperature control would be better. You set the temperature at around 60degC and leave the door slightly open.

With microwave, run it for around 5 to 10 min at medium setting. The nice thing is that only beads with water in them will heat up. You can almost see the water vapour steaming away. Let it steam for a while.

Remember to put the silica gel in to an air-tight container to cool down before putting it back with your guitar. (If you leave it in open air to cool down, you have just wasted all your effort.)

 

[undryoasis]

Wondering if anyone uses this? Fits in nicely below guitar headstock in hardcase.

And can be 'rechargable' by plugging in power supply.

http://www.olee.com.sg/prod_dehumid_reusablemini.html

 

[Osiris]

Wondering if anyone uses this? Fits in nicely below guitar headstock in hardcase.

And can be 'rechargable' by plugging in power supply.

http://www.olee.com.sg/prod_dehumid_reusablemini.html

Waah! Idea ah?!

But I have been keeping my classical guitar in it's soft case (without any dehumidifiying agents) and didn't touch it for almost 10 years! Recently though, I took it out to get it serviced and it played perfectly after a simple string change and wipe-down with lemon oil or something. Tone was even better than I remembered in fact, typical of the Spanish guitar it is.

 

[bakakid]

Erm.... trying to bring alive this old thread as I stumpled across this on the internet when I was trying to find cheap means of drying agent. Check out the web page... and buy

http://www.zorb-it.com

Hopefully it will be of use to all musicians out there

 

[j_m_s]

^ zorb its are great. I've used them for years (I did eventually buy a dehumidifier though)

you can buy them locally from BGW

http://bgwguitars.com/data/acczorbit.htm

 

[tempusfugit]

Best thing to do is buy a small dehumidifier. Expensive at first, but well worth it in the long run.