stay away from moisture

Now relocated in south India, a couple months from the monsoon, I need to find a

way to store my photo and computer equipment. So far I know about 2 approaches:

the silica gel and the dry cabinet.

The silica gel comes in bag or canister, suck the humidity and can be re-used

over and over. The dry cabinet need power and monitor the humidity from 40% to 5%

 

I like better the silica gel for long term storage when power is not available.

I just wonder if it is enough to prevent moisture from growing in my expensive

lenses ans cameras...

Does anyone have experience in that field?

Thanks

bruno

Hello Bruno. Another idea is to dedicate one room of your place to storing the photo gear. And in addition to the two methods you mentioned, also see if you can acquire a window-mounted Air Conditioning Unit. You can run this window A/C unit as often and/or as continuously as you like. You can set the "vent" controls to make it continuously re-cycle the air in that room. In addition to keeping the photog room very nice and cool (say, around 75 deg Far.), it will also actively remove water vapor from the room air, draining it outside. This can help make the room noticeably drier and cooler, both of which will be good for your camera, film, and other gear.

Bruno - yes, I have extensive experience. We moved to a tropical environment many years

ago and within the first year, I managed to ruin all my lenses due to mold forming

between glass elements. I had to learn the hard way that constant moisture management

is a must - not just for your photo equipment, but for other items as well.

 

You best bet is Alan's suggestion above - that is what we have done. Initially, we ran an

A/C unit as well but we have found that a dehumidifier uses less energy and still provides

the desired results. I have found that keeping the room at about 65% humidity is just fine

- no need to go lower than that. Make sure that you insulate the room as well as you can

to improve effectiveness.

You could check into the Pelican line of hard storage cases. Some have a valve to let air-pressure out (perhaps when you are flying to even out the pressure levels?) but the cases have o-ring seals. A medium to large Pelican case, along with several silica-gel bags or containers should put you into a dryer phase of camera-lens storage.

Just remembered something else that could help - at least if you are only interested in

dehumidifying a small area (such as a cabinet):

 

http://www.goldenroddehumidifiers.com/

 

Uses very little energy but is reported to be quite effective!

Thanks for the infos... In fact I cannot run AC or any appliance that need a lot of energy (I'm in a small village of southern india with limited electricity) I think a dry cabinet is the best bet since it remain airtight and dry even during power failure... Any good brand to recommend (in small size)? Thank you

'...a valve to let air-pressure out (perhaps when you are flying to even out the pressure levels?)' [sic]

 

Caca de Toro. Ignorance is bliss. When I travel with my bicycle security asks me to let the air out of my tires, lol. Even IF one flies at a perfect vacuum, the increased absolute pressure inside the tire, or camera case in this case, would be less than 15 psi.

I have been in SE Asia (Cambodia)for 5 years its very humid and hot for 2/3rds of the year. I keep all my gear in a room which is not air conditioned. I have not had any issues with mould growth on lenses.

Many people have their Aircon set so cold that their lenses mist up as soon as they get outside. I believe that it is condensation through moving equipment from cool dry and hot humid which is the major cause of the problem and not just humidity.