New Boveda Humidity packs 49%

[otis66]

I have installed Boveda Humidity packs in four of my guitars along with salt tested hygrometers. Each hygrometer is calibrated and adjusted at 75% per salt test and with Boveda test kit.
All of my guitars are reading 38%-40% with the Boveda 49% humidity packs.
How can I get the humidity in each guitar a case to at least 45%?
Room humidity is 35%. All temps are 67 degrees F in case

[Rev Roy]

Originally Posted by otis66

I have installed Boveda Humidity packs in four of my guitars along with salt tested hygrometers. Each hygrometer is calibrated and adjusted at 75% per salt test and with Boveda test kit.
All of my guitars are reading 38%-40% with the Boveda 49% humidity packs.
How can I get the humidity in each guitar a case to at least 45%?
Room humidity is 35%. All temps are 67 degrees F in case

Were the cases already at +/- 45% RH when you put the Humidipaks in? If not, the wood and lining of the case will soak up most of the moisture until the case is “seasoned.” Humidipaks are to maintain RH levels. They aren’t designed to bring a very dry case quickly to desired RH. We’re talking about a hardshell case, right? If we’re talking gig bag then the likelihood of reaching 45% in your current environment is even lower.

During the heart of the heating season I usually supplement my humidification by including a room humidifier and keeping Herco clay humidifiers in the case compartments. Even in a seasoned case three Humidipaks alone may not do it during rough winters.

[sevenpalms]

Originally Posted by Rev Roy

Were the cases already at +/- 45% RH when you put the Humidipaks in? If not, the wood and lining of the case will soak up most of the moisture until the case is “seasoned.” Humidipaks are to maintain RH levels. They aren’t designed to bring a very dry case quickly to desired RH. We’re talking about a hardshell case, right? If we’re talking gig bag then the likelihood off reaching 45% in your current environment is even lower.

During the heart of the heating season I usually supplement my humidification by including a room humidifier and keeping Herco clay humidifiers in the case compartments. Even in a seasoned case three Humidipaks alone may not do it during rough winters.

Very interesting point about the case.... I had my 12 string in an old TKL style case this winter and haven't been able to get the RH above 40%. Got a used Lowden Hiscox case last week and right away its at 48%....must be sealed better and I don't think there's any wood in the Hiscox. Thanks for the heads up.

[jaymarsch]

It took my cases two weeks with the Boveda packs to settle into the 49% range. This was part of seasoning the cases as per their instructions so you may have to give it some time.
I started using the Boveda packs last spring and the RH in my house has swung from 30% to 70% in that time and the cases stay pretty much between 47% and 51%.
Best,
Jayne

[otis66]

The Boveda Seasoning kits are one the way. I ordered them last week.


So, once the cases are pre-Humidified “seasoned “ the Boveda humidi packs should keep the case and guitar at 49%?
Thanks for the info
One more question I leave humidity packs in the guitar case year round. Should I “season “ the guitar cases again when fall comes around...when the heat is turned on?

[EZYPIKINS]

I consider myself to be pretty anal about my guitars. Playing condition, intonation, action, tuned by Peterson, new strings, in closed cases, Boveda packs. But Humidity is not a constant number. Humidity can change by the hour. In my former job, I had to know the relative humidity every time I mixed paint. Higher humidity taking different additives than low humidity. Changes hour to hour and day to day. And stressing over actual number on a gauge at any given time is not where I want my concern to lie. I've other things to worry about. So you paid $5000.00 or so for your guitar, and want to keep it in good shape. I get it. Get a good setup. One that suits you. Not one that somebody else says is good. For sure have a truss rod wrench. You'll need this a minimum of 2 times per year. And for the sake of your guitar. Change the strings. If you are proud of the fact that your strings haven't broken in two years. 43 to 46 percent should be the last of you're concern. Use the money you would spend on a hydrometer. And buy some strings.

[jaymarsch]

Originally Posted by otis66

The Boveda Seasoning kits are one the way. I ordered them last week.





So, once the cases are pre-Humidified “seasoned “ the Boveda humidi packs should keep the case and guitar at 49%?

Thanks for the info

One more question I leave humidity packs in the guitar case year round. Should I “season “ the guitar cases again when fall comes around...when the heat is turned on?

I did not find that to be necessary to do. It’s been a year and my packs are working fine. They packs feel fuller when the RH is higher and thinner when the RH is lower. They seem to work as advertised at least in my environment.
Best,
Jayne

[otis66]

Originally Posted by jaymarsch

I did not find that to be necessary to do. It’s been a year and my packs are working fine. They packs feel fuller when the RH is higher and thinner when the RH is lower. They seem to work as advertised at least in my environment.
Best,
Jayne

Thank you.

[otis66]

Martin D-18 Martin TKL wooden case 38%
Taylor 810e Taylor Deluxe hard case 40%
Martin D-16 Special Rosewood. TKL concept 2.9 case 37%
Epiphone DR500MCE Epiphone wooden case 36%
Martin 000-X1AE Martin Gig-Bag with Dampit. 42%
Loar LO16SB Gig-Bag ?
Kentucky KM500 Mandolin Superior Wooden Case 49%
Morgan Monroe Cameron Open Back Banjo 42%
I have a case of Med gauge and a Case of Light gauge EXP strings
Always change strings as needed.
One room humidifier...refill every 12-15 hours.
I cannot get my music room higher than 35%. 32% is average.
I use the Boveda Butler Hygrometer and one Oasis hygrometer in each case.
Extech hygrometer on nightstand to measure room humidity and temp.
Boveda Case seasoning kits are on the way.

[g-dude]

Originally Posted by otis66

The Boveda Seasoning kits are one the way. I ordered them last week.


So, once the cases are pre-Humidified “seasoned “ the Boveda humidi packs should keep the case and guitar at 49%?
Thanks for the info
One more question I leave humidity packs in the guitar case year round. Should I “season “ the guitar cases again when fall comes around...when the heat is turned on?

The best way to figure that out is to observe.

Do you see the humidity level in the case falling below where you want it to be? If so, then perhaps you need to “season” your case again.

That being said, if you control humidity in your house, there’s less controlling that needs to go on at the case/instrument level. We have a whole house humidifier, which is great...

...until the temps get into the single digits Fahrenheit and negative. It shuts off once outside hits 20, but when it gets down to those single digits and below, ice and condensation on the windows becomes a real thing that you have to watch out for and deal with.

All that being said, I do wonder what the “perfect” humidity level really is for guitars depending on their use case. The people that built my double bass said they actually try to shoot for the 35%-40% range, and of course there’s the tale of Jaco Pastorius giving up the double bass after his literally exploded due to Florida’s humidity.

[juststarted]

I am thinking of getting some dessicant beads containers (which can be recharged by cooking in oven), the ones they use in vaults to keep things dry.
The only issue is that the dessicant beads do not have any cut off (at least in theory). They will suck out as much moisture as they can.

What else can I do? Maybe take the guitar out and use a hair dryer to dry out the insides and fill it with dry air before plonking the guitar and the boveda packs in?

We are facing prolonged rains here in Sydney. It is winters here and I use oil heaters which do not suck moisture like gas heaters.

[raysachs]

Originally Posted by juststarted

I am thinking of getting some dessicant beads containers (which can be recharged by cooking in oven), the ones they use in vaults to keep things dry.
The only issue is that the dessicant beads do not have any cut off (at least in theory). They will suck out as much moisture as they can.

What else can I do? Maybe take the guitar out and use a hair dryer to dry out the insides and fill it with dry air before plonking the guitar and the boveda packs in?

We are facing prolonged rains here in Sydney. It is winters here and I use oil heaters which do not suck moisture like gas heaters.

Boveda packs are MUCH better at humidifying than DE-humidifying. If you can’t control the ambient humidity in the room - I find the AC does a great job in the summer, a humidifier in winter, but spring and fall can be pretty sketchy because it can jump up and down quickly - desiccant packs are the best way to quickly get a case drier. And no, they don’t stop at a target, so you have to monitor the case and find a good amount of desiccant for the situation.

-Ray

[sinistral]

As Ray said, although the Boveda packs are 2-way, they are more effective at humidifying than dehumidifying because their base state is something like 70% full. And as others noted when this thread started a while back, the 49% packs are designed to maintain humidity—they don’t hold enough moisture for 3 - 4 packs in a case to win a fight against persistently low or high RH.

When it is dry, I add soundhole and/or case humidifiers (Oasis, etc.) to help the Humidipaks maintain proper RH. While I have a guitar out to play, the humidifiers and Humidipaks stay in the closed case to help keep the case humidified.

Fortunately, where I live, by the time the RH would hit 50%+, it’s warm enough for the air conditioning to bring the indoor RH down to comfortable levels (for people and guitars).

The one area of my house that needs help in the summer is the basement, and there we have a dehumidifier (connected to the wastewater drain so that we don’t have to empty a bucket every so often).

To juststarted, you can try using desiccant packs and/or a hair dryer on the case, but I would look into a dehumidifier, either for a single room or larger. Trying to reduce RH by 10 - 20% is a tall order. Plus with a dehumidifier you will be more comfortable as well.

[leew3]

What they said above. Control the ambient humidity in the room and the Boveda packs are really just your second line of defense. I have Boveda packs in my cases that have been there for years as they're not doing anything but being insurance. On the advice of a well respected repair tech I no longer position the packs in the guitars. YMMV

[juststarted]

Given the unrelenting rains the RH remained in 60% to 65% range no matter how long I used the hair dryer.
So got the desiccants beads, made two packs of them and then put them in the guitar case.
In a major yikes moment the RH went down to 36% quickly. Removed one pack. And it was still at 36%. Then halved the amount of beads and now it is at 45%.
Given the weather outlook I think those beads will be in action for sometime.

Based on the experiment of sample size "one", maybe 36% is the lower limit of RH which desiccants can maintain.

Boveda is waiting, sealed in sandwhich bags for a drier summer.

And yeah, the shimmer is back on my guitar !!