Members andrewjudah Posted July 5, 2004 Members Posted July 5, 2004 Okay fellows, I need your help on this one. I dont know anything about humidity, but I have been doing some reading here and it seems that it is pretty important. I just moved to a new place (Kelowna, BC) about a year ago and It has some pretty extreme weather changes. Very hot summers, very cold and snowy winters... and everything inbetween, its a great place actualy because I love the heat in the summer, and I snowboard in the winter... anyways, got a little side tracked there. This is what I understand so far: Low humidity causes wood to dry, and then crack and High humidity causes wood to warp, and twist Bolth are bad, so I would guess you want it somewhere inbetween. How do you know what the humidity is in your house? and how do you control it?
Members kwakatak Posted July 5, 2004 Members Posted July 5, 2004 Most people here advise to keep the guitar bewteen 40-60% relative humdity, but above 50% is probably best. To do that I keep my guitar in its case with one of these with a ziplock bag containing a damp sponge.
Members orsino Posted July 6, 2004 Members Posted July 6, 2004 As kwak says 40-60 is good. But, if you like to hang your guitars on the wall like me or on a stand........ Radio Shack makes a pretty good inexpensive hygrometerhttp://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=63-1036 You can also find them at Lowes, Home Depot, etc. A small humidifier like these works well in small roomshttp://www.theholmesgroup.com/europe/support_files/humidifiers.htm You can find these in Wal-Mart (or ones like them)
Members Chirpy_72 Posted July 6, 2004 Members Posted July 6, 2004 the local TV station just showed the current weather conditions ... 104 degrees with 4 % humidity !!! A man could go crazy trying to keep nice guitars humidified in this environment ... oh well, I'll just keep the planet waves full and the room unit pumping
Members Carle Posted July 6, 2004 Members Posted July 6, 2004 buy a hydrometer and check it every day.
Members andrewjudah Posted July 7, 2004 Author Members Posted July 7, 2004 Okay so right now the weather channel says the humidity level is at 30% where I live, thats bad for my guitar right. So, what should I do to make it not bad
Members orsino Posted July 7, 2004 Members Posted July 7, 2004 andrew, see the link I posted above regarding the small room humidifier. That's what you need.
Members andrewjudah Posted July 7, 2004 Author Members Posted July 7, 2004 Originally posted by orsino andrew,see the link I posted above regarding the small room humidifier. That's what you need. Okay yah, I did check those out but Im not sure... I kind of wanted to have something I could put in my case with my guitar... because I tend to keep my window open 24/7, as it is very hot here most of the time... then in the winter it gets snowy, and very cold. Its extremes that worry me, so I was thinking if there is some way I could control the humidity, inside my case, then I would be safe.
Members kwakatak Posted July 7, 2004 Members Posted July 7, 2004 I'm telling ya - that sponge in the baggie does work, man! But if you go the room humidifier route get a cheap one for about $40 at K-mart or such. I got a nice one with a blue light that sets the perfect mood for late night solo guitar jamming!
Members Prozak Posted July 7, 2004 Members Posted July 7, 2004 http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=040706181240024130072093436063/g=home/search/detail/base_pid/420982/ That's a humidifier and hydrometer for your guitar case. I'm waiting for one of those to be delivered to me sometime this week.
Members andrewjudah Posted July 8, 2004 Author Members Posted July 8, 2004 Originally posted by kwakatak Most people here advise to keep the guitar bewteen 40-60% relative humdity, but above 50% is probably best. To do that I keep my guitar in its case with one of these with a ziplock bag containing a damp sponge. Tell me a little more about your zip lock trick, I think I might go that route.
Members andrewjudah Posted July 8, 2004 Author Members Posted July 8, 2004 Okay fellows, my problem is this... 2 days ago the humidity was 30, now today its 60, and its listed for 73 tomrrow and 37 the next day. How do you keep a guitar from dying in this?
Members WilsonMak Posted July 8, 2004 Members Posted July 8, 2004 Originally posted by andrewjudah Okay fellows, my problem is this... 2 days ago the humidity was 30, now today its 60, and its listed for 73 tomrrow and 37 the next day. How do you keep a guitar from dying in this? unless the humidity is constantly down for a whole week or so you shouldn't have any problems. Even so, it's always good to keep it in the case when not playing, you case should have around 50% humidity in it. And if it doesn't...well make it.
Members kwakatak Posted July 8, 2004 Members Posted July 8, 2004 Originally posted by andrewjudah Tell me a little more about your zip lock trick, I think I might go that route. It's pretty simple. I use a sponge that's damp but not dripping wet, place it in a ziplock bag that's only partially sealed, then I put that in the case up by the headstock. My house has the A/C running constantly so that the RH falls below 40%. With the sponge inside my sealed case, the RH is usually above 50%.
Members andrewjudah Posted July 8, 2004 Author Members Posted July 8, 2004 Originally posted by WilsonMak unless the humidity is constantly down for a whole week or so you shouldn't have any problems okay, so it should be fine then...
Members andrewjudah Posted July 8, 2004 Author Members Posted July 8, 2004 Originally posted by kwakatak It's pretty simple. I use a sponge that's damp but not dripping wet, place it in a ziplock bag that's only partially sealed, then I put that in the case up by the headstock. My house has the A/C running constantly so that the RH falls below 40%. With the sponge inside my sealed case, the RH is usually above 50%. Thanks man, I will try that.
Members andrewjudah Posted July 11, 2004 Author Members Posted July 11, 2004 okay, but my problem is now... The humidity is at like 88, and is supposed to stay this way for awhile.. how do I bring it down?
Members hempomatic Posted July 11, 2004 Members Posted July 11, 2004 Originally posted by andrewjudah Okay so right now the weather channel says the humidity level is at 30% where I live, thats bad for my guitar right. So, what should I do to make it not bad ok, FINALLY, something I'm familiar with !! Psychrometrics. First of all, guitar manufacturers and anyone really that has a product that is succeptible to moisture related problems should NOT use relative humidity as a reference. Relative humidity is really more for defining HUMAN COMFORT level. Everyone knows that 100% humidity is uncomfortable, so we therefore assume that 50% must be ideal. What you should look as is the DEWPOINT, which is an absolute value. It is the number of grains of moisture in a pound of air. That is what your instrument sees. At a temperature of 70 degrees, and a dewpoint of 45 degrees, the relative humidity is about 40%. At 63 degrees and the same dewpoint, the relative humidity is about 50%. I doubt the guitar could care less. At 45 degrees and the same dewpoint, the relative humidity is now 100%. At 100 degrees and the same dewpoint, the relative humidity is now about 16%. At a temperature of 35 degrees, and a dewpont of 16, we are at a PERFECT 50% relative humidity. I SERIOUSLY doubt that's in the recommended range. At what point in the TEMPERATURE does the guitar begin to know the difference? I would love to see a long term study by guitar manufacturers giving us a range of values they recommend for long term use and storage. The point I'm making is to not get concerned about swings in RELATIVE humidity. If super dry or super moist RH values were THAT critical, all guitars in Phoenix and Seattle not stored in an environmentallly controlled chamber, would self destruct for opposite reasons. Like anything else, common sense is the key. A sponge in a baggy or sound hole humidifier when it's dry. When it's wet, that's a whole new bag of worms, and another lengthy discussion. ANY valuable instrument should be stored in a closed case. This will help emininate some of the swings in temp and humidity. I'm not sure if the case manufacturers are aware of it or not, but the vinyl covering on most hard cases is a pretty good mosture barrier. I can go on and on about water vapor pressure, altitude, etc, but hopefully I made my point and you have a slightly better (less neurotic) understanding of humidity. Any other HVAC guys may pitch in if they like Feel free to email me if you would like to know more about controlling humidity. This is probably NOT the ideal forum for a lecture on psychrometrics. ken
Members andrewjudah Posted July 11, 2004 Author Members Posted July 11, 2004 So for dry weather, a spung in a baggy is good? Should the spunge be dry or damp?
Members hempomatic Posted July 11, 2004 Members Posted July 11, 2004 Andrew, Kwakatak was the one that originally mentioned using a ziplock back with a moist, not wet, sponge inside. Obviously the bag would have to be open slightly. A sound hole humidifier is also less than 10 bucks. I think you're missing my point though. I'm merely suggesting that, although humidity has an effect on your instrument, anything other than long term exposure to relatively extreme conditions should not get you all neurotic. Common sense, store it properly, play it often, and you should be fine. There may be something about this issue on Frets.com, or the manufacturer should be able to help. ken
Members andrewjudah Posted July 11, 2004 Author Members Posted July 11, 2004 Originally posted by hempomatic Andrew, Kwakatak was the one that originally mentioned using a ziplock back with a moist, not wet, sponge inside. Obviously the bag would have to be open slightly. A sound hole humidifier is also less than 10 bucks. I think you're missing my point though. I'm merely suggesting that, although humidity has an effect on your instrument, anything other than long term exposure to relatively extreme conditions should not get you all neurotic. Common sense, store it properly, play it often, and you should be fine. There may be something about this issue on Frets.com, or the manufacturer should be able to help. ken Yah I understand all that.. Im just trying to figure out why you would put a moist spung in a case if you where trying to get the moister out of the air.. Wouldnt that just make it more moist.
Members hempomatic Posted July 12, 2004 Members Posted July 12, 2004 The sponge is for when it's dry........low humidity
Members andrewjudah Posted July 12, 2004 Author Members Posted July 12, 2004 Originally posted by hempomatic The sponge is for when it's dry........low humidity Alrighty, so a damp spung in a ziplock bag for when its dry... then what should I do for high humidity
Members Pedro Posted July 12, 2004 Members Posted July 12, 2004 does anyone use a room humidifier? if so do you have any problems with mold or anything like that? I want to get one, but the room that all my guitars are in also has amps and speaker cabs, as well as books and furniture. I wouldn
Members kwakatak Posted July 12, 2004 Members Posted July 12, 2004 Sorry, andrewjudah, I didn't intend to confuse you. Hempomatic has a valid point about not worrying about humidity day to day. As long as you store your guitar responsibly or keep it in a well-regulated environment you should be fine. I find that keeping the guitar sealed in a hardshell case keeps it protected from extremes, and that goes for heat as well as humidity. In my case, my guitar showed strain from 30 years of neglect (hot summers, cold winters, no humidity regulation and lots of time spent tanning in the sun) so now I'm babying it. My central heat/air conditioning keeps the temperature regulated but dries the air out inside my house so I lock my guitar up inside the case with the sponge to counter that. It fits my needs, but if my home's RH went above 60%, then I probably would put silica packets inside the case to soak up the excess moisture. The sponge won't soak up moisture though. I haven't tried a soundhole humidifier, but I don't like the idea of placing something damp inside my guitar; I put the sponge behind the headstock instead. BTW, since you're a new Larriv
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