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Old 11-07-2010, 09:13 AM
gloeben gloeben is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Missoula, MT
Posts: 61
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Hi Mark,

I posted a similar thread some moths ago and am glad to see someone else doing essentially the same thing. I currently have humidipaks in 9 acoustics in Phoenix, AZ. I actually have two full sets for each guitar. As they harden I switch the dry set out with a charged set and then I recharge the dry ones by placing them in a plastic container (just a storage box from Target) with a cup of water in it. In order to allow for space and moisture circulation I stand the humidipaks on their side in plastic letter holders (cheap from Staples), one in each slot. They actually recharge quite quickly and then I take them out and lay them on top of each other in a smaller plastic container (no water) for storage until I reuse them.

I agree that they are quite tough. I have had no leaks.

There are two issues I am concerned about. One is whether they can be overcharged and release too much moisture when used again. The second is the possible deterioration over time of their ability to absorb and release moisture at the appropriate rate. I think it is possible to overcharge them and then they may release too much moisture. If you leave them in the moisture rich environment, they will absorb so much that they become quite liquid inside. At this point, I'm not certain about how much moisture they release when you put them in a drier environment. I have tried to test this with some hygrometers I own, but they are unreliable and I am getting mixed results. For now, I charge them less time (I judge them by feel, but in my system it takes about 2-3 days at most) and they seem to work fine. As for deterioration over time, I don't have any obvious evidence of this yet, but it seems possible. I'd be very interested if you or anyone else wanted to test whether the consistency of their performance is affected by either too much moisture in them or degradation over time.

For now, this system works very well and saves me a ton of money over buying new packs--something I probably wouldn't do because of cost.

Greg
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