# Humidity Controlled Cabinet



## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

Anyone try making a humidity controlled cabinet? 

Finally gutted the cellar, got a nice sketchup design done of the new benches and layout, but, it's a 120yr old cellar with stones and mortar for walls. I'm doing some repairs to the walls, waterproofing as well but still concerned about the humidity. Some guitars might stay down there a while to let the wood settle, or finish cure etc. Or body blanks waiting to be used. I don't need fancy, just slots to slide stuff in and a door.

Any thoughts/plans?


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## tonenut (Mar 1, 2019)

I would test it out with a humidity meter for a while before storing your guitars in there just to be sure. You could use both a dehumidifier and a humidifier to keep the atmosphere constant, but I'm no expert in these matters - just a cheap hack.


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## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

I was looking at a switch like this... Too humid it turns turns on plug-A, too dry it turns on plug-B... Then just buy small humidifier and dehumidifier.

https://www.amazon.ca/Humidistat-Hygrostat-Humidity-Controller-updating/dp/B01J1E5LWM

They have tiny humidifiers and dehumidifiers under $30 each... More than enough for a closet sized space.

No heat control though, but probably not an issue.


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## Silvertone (Oct 13, 2018)

Where are you located? Your location says Zurich, by Grand Bend, Ontario? Generally you're gonna be too humid in the summer and too dry in the winter. I don't think it's necessary for a switch between the two units. You will have to fill and empty water anyway, unless you hookup to water and drain. I'm in my shop on a semi-daily basis, sometimes not for a few days at a time. I switch out for the seasons and always keep an eye on the humidity sensor. I keep it at 45% RH year round. Temperature isn't that big of a concern but I have a small heater and air conditioner as well.

Once you get it all waterproofed get a humidity sensor and see if you can keep the whole room at the correct level. That is more ideal. Then anything in there will be fine. If you build a closet, you may have space issues and would always have to put the stuff back in there after working on it instead of just leaving it on the bench. That's my 2 cents anyway.

Cheers Peter.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Silvertone said:


> I keep it at 45% RH year round.


What (specifically) do you use to measure humidity. I don't fully trusts my Canadian Tire digital hygrometer. Thanks.


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## Silvertone (Oct 13, 2018)

greco said:


> What (specifically) do you use to measure humidity. I don't fully trusts my Canadian Tire digital hygrometer. Thanks.


I use a Home Depot hygrometer. 

It seems to work fine for my purposes. I've had it for years and my shop is quite small. It responds to my humidifier and I can feel the humidity, especially if it is high. If you want to spend more money to have more confidence I'm sure there are more sensitive and better models available. Lee Valley comes to mind. I should probably invest in something a little better as well. I keep wood inside my shop for months and months, usually before I use it. I have yet to have wood move from rough to finished thickness. I did have some Wenge that cupped like crazy but I think it was not kiln dried when I bought it and it was for a specific build. It did not sit in my shop long.

Cheers Peter.


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## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

Yup, near Grand Bend... And even on the main floor of the house because of the age and weird vent setup, it's always too high/low. Bought a humidifier last year for the room and the lime/calcium in the water here destroyed it.  

Water here kills stuff like that pretty quick. Had to get rid of the water softener because of it. 

My thinking was that it would be easier to control 36sq/ft (2x3x6) than a full room. Using hand sized humidifier/dehumidifiers in a sealed enclosure, so long as not being opened and closed constantly, would be easy to maintain, unlikely will need drain tubes and such, and can use distilled water.

Found a few fancy cabinets made for high end collections, but were like $2000+...

Plus, with a nice cabinet I can keep my pipe tobacco in there too.


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

I use a calibrated cigar hygrometer. I always have a few calibration bags in a closet. Or calibrate yourself. Put your hygrometer in a plastic bag sealable bag (ziplock etc). Take a small cap from a bottle and fill it with salt. Add water until the salt is moist. Wet salt has a RH of 50%. If your hygrometer is off you can just subtract/add the difference to the reading. 

Or buy a Boveda bag at X% and stuff it and your hygrometer in a ziplock and see how accurate it really is.

On average, the best home hygrometers are accurate to 4%. My cigar hygrometer is accurate to 1%.


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## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

knight_yyz said:


> Or buy a Boveda bag at X% and stuff it and your hygrometer in a ziplock and see how accurate it really is.


I bought those for my acoustic, and figured hey, let's test the hygrometer out and seemed pretty accurate.

I have a couple small cheap $1.99 ones from CDN Tire... they had probably 20 with all different readings. I basically looked at the expensive on on display, and found a couple cheap ones with the same reading. I then bought one of these off eBay for my acoustic guitar case. Idea was to cut a hole in the case and install a small reader, but, ended up just leaving it in the case and not cutting the case up.

If I went and built a cabinet for work-in-progress guitars/blanks, I'd get something a bit better.


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## delveskevin (7 mo ago)

This is my converted china cabinet/guitar display case, with digital on and off hygrometer hooked up to a dehumidifier as I live in a humid rich climate. Easier to control humidity in a smaller area.


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## delveskevin (7 mo ago)

THRobinson said:


> I was looking at a switch like this... Too humid it turns turns on plug-A, too dry it turns on plug-B... Then just buy small humidifier and dehumidifier.
> 
> https://www.amazon.ca/Humidistat-Hygrostat-Humidity-Controller-updating/dp/B01J1E5LWM
> 
> ...


Works great I have one for my cabinet


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## delveskevin (7 mo ago)




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## delveskevin (7 mo ago)

Works like a charm!!!!!!


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