Dry cabinets - whats good and where to get em......

[blackD200]

Anyone using a "Dry Cabinet" to store their gear ?

Wheres a good place to get em in Sydney without breaking the back pocket too much. Found ones at ECS : http://www.cameras.net.au/
http://www.cameras.net.au/pics/ad-050.jpg
$275
sorry for the massive mage - its the one stored in the ECS domain...

Dont have too much gear to store so I dont need an overly huge one..

The cause of my 35-70 f2.8 fungus attack was due to storage of 2-3years without any usage in a normal cabinet with some desicants.. Ended up costing me about $300 bucks to replace a few elements to get it back to pristine condition, but ended up upgrading to the 28-70 anyways...

Am asuming a cabinet full of desicants isnt good enough - hence am on a lookout for a dry cabinet -- even a second hand one as long as its in working order..

What to watch out for when buying such items ?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated..

Thanks Fellows...

[Glen]

I would just put a 100 watt bulb on a timer in any cabinet

[blackD200]

I would just put a 100 watt bulb on a timer in any cabinet

you serious.. this works ????
I have a desk lamp and can attach it to a timer... how often do you need the light to be on...

I'm very curious if this actually works

anyone else using this method...
might have to be my temporary fix till I get a cabinet....

[TonyH]

I have a Digi Cab AD100 picked it up in Singapore.

From memory I paid about $150 AUD.

Would suggest they are well worth investing in. If for nothing else a secure place to put your investments.....

[sirhc55]

I have used a three drawer filing cabinet made out of wood. The bottom compartment contains a Jaycar para light with dimmer attached to vary the ”heat”. The middle drawer contains my lenses and the top drawer bits ’n pieces. I also have a hygrometer/temperature unit to keep an eye on what’s happening. I leave the light on 24/7.

[Glen]

Yes, this works. I knew someone who made photocopier cabinets and they used exactly that to keep the paper dry so it wouldn't curl going through the photocopier. How often the light needs to be on depends on the cabinet placement, a lot if in a damp basement or somewhere humid like far north Queensland, not much if an attic in Broken Hill. Also depends on how the running cost of 1.2 cents an hour affects you.

[Big Red]

I guess you could leave the light on all the time ... just change the bulb wattage to get the temperature you want.
I would think a constant temperature would be better than varying it by turning the light on and off.

My lenses just sit on open shelves so they get airflow and light and i don't have a problem so far, some of them are 40 years old.

I have been thinking of a glass fronted cabinet with a fan in it to circulate the air, [maybe a small computer fan?] the fan motor would also add a small amount of heat.
I would think you wouldn't want to much heat or it could damage the lubricant in the lenses.

[radar]

I got myself a Pelican case and some desicants. The advantage is that when I use it as storage, I just take out the insert and I can fit everything in there. If I need to travel, I just put the inserts back in and away I go.

Cheers,

André

[Jenno]

I would just put a 100 watt bulb on a timer in any cabinet

Glen,

I assume that would need to be an incandesant globe rather than a energy saving flouro in order for it to heat the air to the extent required?

[Glen]

Jenno, don't think they make 100 watt energy savers, only 100 watt equivalent lamps. You are right, an incan to provide the heat.

[blackD200]

Interesting input guys..


So are the following terminologies right. I'll be heading down to JAYCAR to check out the items..

Lighting - I need a JAYCAR PARA LIGHT
is PARA short for something ???
would any do ???
whats sort of wattage ???

I also need a hygrometer/temperature ???
Am assuming htis measures humidity and temperature..
Whats an acceptable reading for humidity or temperature ??
Anythjing specific to get ??

THanks.

I think I'll build my own cabinet instead and when finished, I'll write up a step by step and where to get the bits and pieces - might take me sometime though

hehehe

[sirhc55]

Interesting input guys..


So are the following terminologies right. I'll be heading down to JAYCAR to check out the items..

Lighting - I need a JAYCAR PARA LIGHT
is PARA short for something ???
would any do ???
whats sort of wattage ???

I also need a hygrometer/temperature ???
Am assuming htis measures humidity and temperature..
Whats an acceptable reading for humidity or temperature ??
Anythjing specific to get ??

THanks.

I think I'll build my own cabinet instead and when finished, I'll write up a step by step and where to get the bits and pieces - might take me sometime though

hehehe

You could use a standard 60 watt globe along with a batten mount - this would be a lot cheaper than the PARA globe and holder (I only used this because I had one going to waste). You will need a dimmer to alter the output from the globe. The hygrometer/thermometer I got on Ebay for next t nothing.

[Glen]

Blackie, I really like the combined ideas of Sirhc and Big Red, bayonet fitting and change wattages to suit. 100w was used in the photocopier cabinets because the paper needed to be very dry, as pointed out not quite so warm is required for here.

[blackD200]

Blackie, I really like the combined ideas of Sirhc and Big Red, bayonet fitting and change wattages to suit. 100w was used in the photocopier cabinets because the paper needed to be very dry, as pointed out not quite so warm is required for here.

yeah, I'm liking the ideas too..

Even a 2 level filing cabinet should do the trick.

Have a couple of old computers lying around.. I can easily take the power supply along with the fans to setup this contraption...
My computer at work is practically always on ( haven’t turned it off in months ) so I would be using it very similarly...
With light(s) and the hygo-thingy-magig I should be able to build this pretty easily.

Or is my contraption going to be a fire hazard .... hehehehehe....

will definitely be looking into this in the next few days...

Awesome feedback guys... Its funny how it went from "where can I get these" to "I'm going to build my own"

[phillipb]

I don't know if this is any use to you, but I found this link through google. May be worth reading the thread.

http://forum.weatherzone.com.au/cgi-bin ... 5;t=000103

[Big Red]

Hmm, perhaps you could buy a thermoelectric car fridge and put the cooling element in the cabinet to remove the moisture.

The moisture in the air should condense on the cold plate then drip off into a drain to the outside of the cabinet.

If that drain dripped onto the hot plate of the thermo electric unit it would evaporate and help to remove the heat from it as well.

i think i paid something like $25.00 for a small car cooler from repco a couple of years ago so all you need is a 12volt supply for it.

sounds like it might work