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Post by Chesapeake on Oct 23, 2014 15:20:01 GMT -5
You made me look. We're at 31%. Time for the soap dishes.
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Post by coachdoc on Oct 23, 2014 16:31:29 GMT -5
Even if this is way off, it's still okay: Gotta get me one of them. I have a wet basement and a wood stove. Right now my cheapo hygrometer sez 68%. Gotta make sure it works before we start burning wood. Everything in this new house is a mystery.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2014 17:43:11 GMT -5
Get a decent digital hygrometer for home, mine was $50 from a scientific supply house. Dial type hygrometers are very inaccurate unless you buy them from a scientific supplier and pay big bucks. Even a Radio Shack digital will be reasonably accurate. Terry uses a very accurate sling hygrometer, he can't help it he has a tool fetish.
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Post by david on Oct 23, 2014 19:05:59 GMT -5
Marty, at what point is humidity too high for wood guitars?
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Post by Chesapeake on Oct 23, 2014 19:53:41 GMT -5
While Marty's thinking about that, I'll just say that I keep three digital hygrometers from Radio Shack going, and usually readings on at least two of them are reasonably close together.
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Post by Chesapeake on Oct 23, 2014 19:54:28 GMT -5
Yes, I know, for what I paid for the low-end ones, I could have had one good one.
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Post by Cosmic Wonder on Oct 23, 2014 20:44:37 GMT -5
Opposite problem here in Portland Oregon. Humidity in my house for the last few days is running 65 to 75%. I am on the verge of buying a dehumidifier. For what it's worth, my Collings has been sounding great lately. Must be that special secret process they use on the wood. Mike
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Post by drlj on Oct 23, 2014 20:46:20 GMT -5
We have hot water heat so I run portable humidifiers in our home. I try to keep things around 40%. If your windows are damp, you have too much humidity or bad windows. I keep the guitars cased when not being played and I keep a humidifier in the cases. I only use a soundhole humidifier if I leave a guitar out most of the day. I use a Planet Waves humidifier when I do. It uses a small sponge that I can squeeze excess distilled water out of easily. Beyond that, it is common sense. I think many people over humidify their instruments. I have guitars that I have had for 30 to 45 years and have never had a problem. Back in the late '60s, before humidifying became a national obcession, friends and I used to put 1/2 an apple wrapped on cheese cloth in the cases. The best part of that was eating the other half of the apple.
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Post by Kramster on Oct 24, 2014 6:36:00 GMT -5
Ahhhh.... the ease of carbon fiber guitars...just sayin'.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2014 7:38:12 GMT -5
Marty, at what point is humidity too high for wood guitars? The humidity level is related to the temperature. My hydration chamber runs 60-70% @ 65-72F degrees , but the guitar is only in there for a short while. High humidity for long periods can damage a guitar by swelling the joints until they come loose. Usually this high humidity needs to be accompanied by higher temperatures. 50% humidity @ 72f degrees is a lot less than 50% @ 98F.
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Post by Doug on Oct 24, 2014 7:49:46 GMT -5
Marty, 60-70% at 70 degrees is low humidity for many places. In FL I never got the humidity below 80%.
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Post by Marshall on Oct 24, 2014 7:54:58 GMT -5
Everything you need to know is right here
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Post by epaul on Oct 24, 2014 11:42:49 GMT -5
Interesting...I see the reason for new crystals is they want you to wash out the old crystals every spring; not because they wear out, but because they'll stick together when it dries out... This section was added to the Oasis website a year or so ago in response to growing complaints with their "leak issue". The problem is that the crystals are sharp (sharpness is part of what makes a crystal a crystal). When the crystals dry, they shrink and ball together, pulling the fabric in tightly as they do so. When this happens, there is a chance that a sharp edge of one or more of the crystals could pierce the thin fabric creating a pinhole leak when the unit is re-filled. I caught my leakers during the fall rehydration period. The fabric had shrunk tightly against the crystals and become damaged, as mentioned on the Oasis website. However, what is not mentioned on the website is that this shrunken fabric crystal piercing business can happen at any time the unit drys out, not just during summer storage. It can, for instance, happen when an unsuspecting user rubs the taut and shriveled crystal containing fabric between a couple guitar strings while removing it for an overdue refilling. The Oasis is designed to shrink, and when shrunk, it is vulnerable. Do most Oasis develop leaks? Probably not or they would be out of business. Can they be used safely if a user is aware of the fabric's vulnerability? Yes. Is it worth putzing with the things when a soapcase/sponge does the trick more simply and cheaply? Not for me, but, mileage varies. Tip: if you started your guitar humidification regimen on the late side and you fear your guitar and guitar case are really dry and you want to hydrate them both quickly, put guitar and case in the bathroom and turn on hot water spigot in the shower. Let the room steam up and let the wood soak up. You don't have to run the water bill up, just shut the door and steam up the mirror. Then turn the water off and let the cased guitar sit in the bathroom overnight. Come morning, remove guitar and start with the sponge or whatever. And keep your guitar in the case during this bathroom treatment. Your bladder may call at four in the morning and you don't want to stumble over an uncased guitar in the dazed darkness. (If you do answer an early call, use the opportunity to steam the bathroom up again.) <
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Post by Marshall on Oct 24, 2014 12:12:37 GMT -5
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Post by TKennedy on Oct 24, 2014 12:21:27 GMT -5
I've got one of these cheaper sling psychrometers. Instead of twirling it which makes my arm sore I hang it in front of a fan in the shop for a couple of minutes for the wet bulb temp. www.ebay.com/itm/Sling-Psychrometer-/291273179137?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43d13c0001It is a good way to check the accuracy of your digital hygrometers. One of the best investments I've made is a Green Air Products THC-1 total humidity controller to run both the humidifier and dehumidifier in the shop. It has been rock solid for 5 or 6 years. It replaces the inaccurate controllers on the machines themselves. greenair.com/old/humidistat.htmYou wouldn't need to go to this extreme as a private guitar owner unless you are totally anal retentive or have a stable of rare archtops and Martins. The second guitar I built from scratch was sold to a guy that promptly left it out in 90 degree heat and 70-80% humidity for several weeks in August. It looked like it was going to explode and the frets were green. I got it back playable and the following winter he left it in front of a wood stove all winter and the top sunk in and the bridge lifted. I re-humidified it and repaired it. He wanted to sell it and Tim Fast bought it. That guitar has been surprisingly stable ever since and Tim tours all over the country with it. I've had to tweak various things on it from time to time but it's been pretty solid. It got the shit cycled out of it the first year and said "that's enough of that!"
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Post by epaul on Oct 24, 2014 13:14:06 GMT -5
If you spread the strings with your fingers when you put it in and take it out, nothing gets pinched (except your fingers). Yes, you can take it out carefully, but, what if while on the way to the kitchen to refill it, the cat decides to attack your stockinged foot, causing you to trip and send the Oasis flying up into the ceiling fan which rockets the thing into the wall which bounces it into the fish tank where it gets run through the filter? That can happen. Do you want to risk putting that Oasis into your guitar? I think not! But, Marty's Soapdish Sponge System has been fully tested to stand up to common household mishaps. He has tossed them into ceiling fans, bounced them off walls, dunked them in a fishtank, and even tried insert one them into a coffee grinder (it safely didn't fit, as per its design). You may assume the "Oasis Risk", I choose to go with the tested, proven, and 100% cheap and effective Marty Soapdish [soapcase] Sponge System. And if, by some really, really odd event it should ever fail, Marty will mail you a new sponge, all you need to do is pay for the shipping and the new sponge. /
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Post by Rob Hanesworth on Oct 24, 2014 13:34:35 GMT -5
Please edumacate me. If I do the soap dish thing, what is the process? Do I put the dish with the dampened sponge in the gap under the headstock? Seems the only place. Then do I have to lay the case down on its back? Do I remove the soap dish when transporting the guitar to a jam?
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Post by epaul on Oct 24, 2014 15:00:28 GMT -5
acoustictalk.proboards.com/thread/7814/guitar-case-humidifiersI keep mine the space/compartment under the headstock. This is also where I keep my handy dandy guitar wipe-down cloth. I keep the wipe-down cloth between the soapdish and the headstock, that way the cloth keeps the soapdish from jostling about the guitar case in case I decide to do a little dancing while transporting my guitar. The presence of the cloth does not in any way impede the movement of water vapor. In the short term, yes, air flow is impeded, but air flow or not, water vapor will eventually make its way throughout the entire guitar case (and if kept in an environment that is drier than the inside of the guitar case, it will make its way eventually outside of the guitar case, the principle of equilibrium being what it is.) If your goal is to maintain the entire guitar case environment in a safe and steady as she goes manner, the soapdish soapcase/sponge doesn't need to offer a quick, in the hole, fix, it just needs to maintain the overall environment inside the guitar case at a guitar-safe level. A humidified case will keep whatever is inside of it humidified, including the guitar. The sponge is the moisture source and the water vapor it supplies will disperse and infiltrate every nook and cranny of the guitar case. It can't be stopped from doing so, certainly not by a porous wipe down cloth. The entire case and guitar, top to bottom, will be maintained at a stable RH. In a very dry environment, the interior of the case will need a greater supply of water vapor, in a not so dry environment, it will require lesser supply. One sponge per guitar has served me very well in my northern home that typically averages around 35% RH throughout the winter (with a drop to 30 or so during the very coldest of snaps). Rewetting the sponge every couple weeks or so is all I need to do. Wet the sponge then wring out the excess moisture. It won't drip. I saturate my sponges and don't wring at all, merely compress gently and shake them out. They don't shed or drip. Notes: - In principle, you can keep the soapdish in the pickguard compartment. I don't, as that is where I keep my Snark tuner and I don't want my moisture source and my electronic tuner in the same place, but, if I needed two soapdishes, that is where the second would go, as I am not all that concerned about the proximity of the two.
-You can, if you want, put a velcro strip on the bottom of the soapdish and another on the bottom of the case. I wouldn't bother, but a person could.
- The size and placement of the holes doesn't matter. As Marty said, don't bother with little pinpricks, but, if all you have is a quarter-inch drill bit, pepper that top with a couple dozen holes and you will be fine. I like to have the hole/holes large enough that I can poke my finger into them for a quick sponge moisture check without having to take the case out and open it up (quick and easy is good. plus, some of these soapdish cases are so cheap, you don't want to use the hinges anymore than necessary)
-if all you have is a quarter-inch bit and you want a hole(s) large enough to accommodate a quick and easy fingercheck, drill a bunch of holes to form the perimeter of whatever size hole you want, then use an exacto knife/utility knife (any sharp knife) to connect the dots (cut between all the holes you drilled). File smooth. Or, skip all the holes, drill one hole to get started then cut out your hole free hand.
-or send Marty a check and get a nice factory job.
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Post by epaul on Oct 24, 2014 15:08:53 GMT -5
As long as the house is around 35% RH, I don't worry. A sponge in the headstock re-wetted somewhat haphazardly keeps the guitar easily around 40 or so. I keep a digital hygrometer in the pickguard compartment just to know what is going on. If it starts reading close to 50%, I let her dry out some. It is a simple matter.
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Post by david on Oct 24, 2014 18:05:33 GMT -5
Paul, You seem to have studied this thoroughly, so you probably know the answer here. Since I have too much humidity (around 72% at 72 degrees Fahrenheit, can I use a really dry soap dish sponge in the guitar case to reduce moisture, and if so, what color do you recommend?
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