# General > Member's Lounge > Photography >  what value should I set Digi-cabi humidity?

## Shadow

Just bought 30L digi-cabi but I'm not sure what value should I set the humidity to? The manual said about point C and point A but there is no such letter in my digi-cabi dial. Instead there are 3 colors green, blue and red. Which one should I set my dial to?

Is it true that to dry will spoil my equipment?

----------


## trident

Robert,
I got mine on New Year's Day, have to trial and error, have set mine in blue band, nearer the green band. RH now is 55&#37;. Still trying to tweak it to 50%.

----------


## benny

50 to 55 &#37; is fine. 

Cheers,

----------


## fisherw

Mine has a control knob inside with Chinese words as markings which I do not understand. I have it set in the middle and the humidity gauge reads 50% which I understand is the top end of ideal.

Certain things don't do well in low humidity. My camera case rotted away, don't know if it is because of old age or low humidity. I assume moving parts have either grease or silicon which I suspect will dry up. But lenses stay fungus free as does storage media like tapes, disks and CDs.

----------


## Shadow

thanks bro, will set around 50&#37; which is at blue band  :Smile:

----------


## luenny

The humidity level will vary a bit so there's no way to pinpoint it to a certain level. It doesn't have a close loop control. Anyway, I set it to be between 40&#37; and 50% range. Some people prefer 45% - 55%.

You may be tempted to set it lower - it can go well to the 30% range - but doing that will cause the casing and the grease for your lenses to dry up. That's what I was told when I bought the digi cabi. 

Where did you buy it and how much was it? Did you get your macro lens already? Which lens?

----------


## Shadow

I'm curently the indication is at 51&#37;, quite stable but once it open it shoot up to 65%  :Opps: . Maybe because I put it in room with fish tank, you been to my place, you know the room I'm talking about  :Razz: 

I have not bough macro lense yet, need to buy tele lens first for my Japan trip. I bought the "Sigma AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG macro" budget lense. Photozone review said decent result at 70-200mm. It also have dedicated macro mode via switch at 200-300mm but don't expect much  :Razz: 

Anyway will play around with it, build up the skill before decided to upgrade to better lens

----------


## StanChung

My cabinet maker recommends
Humidity
60-55&#37;-paper, paintings, antiques, paper money, old books, fax paper, copy paper...
55-45%-Cameras, video cameras, lenses, binoculars, microscopes, endoscopes magnetic tape, disks, records, films, negative film, positive film, stamps, furs, medicinal materials, coffee, cigarette, tea, ...
45-35%-Precision dies, measuring instruments, all electronic parts, pc boards, metallic powders, semiconductors, medical supplies...
35%-sample, standard measuring tool, seeds, pollen, seedlings etc.

----------


## Shadow

Thanks bro.

----------


## StanChung

You're welcome, sounds like your setting is chun chun. Mine dropped to 24&#37; lol. I just opened the door and it only went up to 38%. Then i just turn the power off. lol. It's now 41%. sigh...

The dumb knob say high and low. High what? power? humidity?  :Knockout:

----------


## Shadow

my dumb know does not tell me anything, just a color green blue or red  :Knockout:  I'm more loss than you are. I don't even know if I set to red mean high or low. The worst thing is the manual tell me to turn either to A or C but no such point.

I set it in the middle which is around 12 o'clock and it happen to give me 50&#37;. I though if you set it too low will spoil lense grease?

----------


## StanChung

Lol, same boat. Both also L licence when it comes to cabinets. It will spoil if the humidity is too low as per warnings everywhere. lol.

The humidity counter is so slow it's like watching kettle boil, i just tried the one way full power and see what happens.  :Rolling Eyes:

----------


## StanChung

Ok, i get it now. Finally. more power means more dehumidifying power. Leaving cabinet open now to let humidity go up. It's 44&#37; now. Almost ideal. Otherwise I'll just @#$ inside. lol.

----------


## trident

Robert, Stan,
I, like you guys, is also having a lot of fun trying to figure out the setting. Last night the reading was 54&#37;. This morning it's 46%.  :Exasperated: 
Cabinet was untouched, set it yesterday morning before going to work, come back, reading is at 54% now 46%.
Set the knob in blue band near the green.

----------


## Simon

you guys need to fine tune the cabinet, unless your cabinet is the pro series, you got to fine tune it. 

Stan

I'm surprised the humidity in KL is so low, your meter normal?

----------


## StanChung

Lol Richard, mine's 36&#37; now.

Simon, you're asking if my meter's normal. lol. What is normal?  :Knockout: 

Mine's the AD-100
http://www.labsupply.com.hk/Dry%20Cabinets%20001.htm

I think it's because my room's tiny and it's air-conditioned.

----------


## Simon

ah... ok  :Grin:

----------


## luenny

> Robert, Stan,
> I, like you guys, is also having a lot of fun trying to figure out the setting. Last night the reading was 54%. This morning it's 46%. 
> Cabinet was untouched, set it yesterday morning before going to work, come back, reading is at 54% now 46%.
> Set the knob in blue band near the green.


Richard,
Yours is ok. 46% - 54% is within the range for the camera. Just leave it alone. Mine is around 40% - 47% sometimes 50%. I was told to put between 40-50% so I just leave mine alone. Of course you'll expect it to fluctuate because there's no close loop control on that thing. And it's not air tight so humidity of your room also affects it. 

What I was told to do is to let the digi cabi run for a day without anything inside to make sure the setting is correct. After it settles between the desired range, you can put your equipments inside.

----------


## luenny

> I'm curently the indication is at 51%, quite stable but once it open it shoot up to 65% . Maybe because I put it in room with fish tank, you been to my place, you know the room I'm talking about


Robert, 
The fluctuation when you open the door is ok as long as it doesn't stay at 65% for long. You can also adjust it - turning it clockwise a bit - so that it is at a slightly lower humidity like 45%.

----------


## fisherw

It should be airtight. Check the door seal and if there is something caught in it.

Trident/Richard, The reading should get lower as the air in the cabinet gets dryer. It means your cabinet is working.

What is needed now is the fine-tuning. Where the knob points to to get the humidity you want. Difficult to get it right if you open the door everyday. Leave it to stabilise. My gauge (hygrometer) has the marking indicating dry between 0% (of course!) to 50% and wet from 50% to 100% (of course!).

The info provided by StanChung on what humidity for what items is very useful. 50% seems like a good medium.

----------


## trident

fisherw,
I am leaving my cabinet alone these few days. Want to see the stabilized reading at this setting. Door, I believe is magnetic, which should seal it air tight.

----------


## luenny

If your digi cabi's humidity is affected by the the environment's humitidy - i.e. it changes from high to low back to high to low - even without opening the door, then I think it's safe to say it's not air tight. The reason is simply because it is not close loop. Non-close loop system does not fluctuate like that in a closed environment. That's my deduction.

----------


## fisherw

> If your digi cabi's humidity is affected by the the environment's humitidy - i.e. it changes from high to low back to high to low - even without opening the door, then I think it's safe to say it's not air tight. The reason is simply because it is not close loop. Non-close loop system does not fluctuate like that in a closed environment. That's my deduction.


I am not an engineer so not sure of the technical details. My gauge on the front is on its own. Therefore it is an independent unit indicating the humidity level and plays no part in dehumidifying. This would be like my $2 or $3 thermometer stuck on the front of my tank.

But there must be a closed loop situation somewhere which switches on and off and keeps the humidity at some level based on the knob setting; i.e. there is a sensor which notes that the humidity is for example 52&#37; and switches the dehumidifier on to reduce moisture bringing the humidity down to say 50%. This would be like the thermostat in a chiller. Only problem is the knob setting has not got actual numbers but it does play a setting and an on-off function based on a sensor value "sensed" somewhere.

Notwithstanding the above, I would agree with you that the humidity level should not fluctuate like that if the door is not open. Either the door is not air-tight or there is a problem somewhere else.

----------


## trident

So far the reading has been stable, maintained at 46&#37; for past 12 hours.
Will monitor for another day or two.

----------


## Shadow

mine is also quite stable, so no complain  :Grin:

----------


## luenny

Actually I was told that the digi cabi 30L is a digital system. I don't really know what that means but the seller told me that I don't have to fine tune it. Originally I thought that there's a close loop system but the humidity gauge is in front of the door so I am not so sure anymore. Doesn't matter, as long as it stays within range.

----------


## Shadow

I though digital system because it using digital LCD for display

----------


## StanChung

Mine's like a fridge magnetic door. I don't think it's 100&#37; airtight, It would need to expel the water somehow. Anyway, no idea how it works.

At minimum setting now because at 15%[knob adjustment] setting the humidity is 37%. So now it's at 5%[knob adjustment] setting.

Just rained and the humidity shoot back up to 50% in minutes with the door open. lol.
Looks like i'm getting bullied by this cabinet.

----------


## Shadow

I though it work like TEM, where the colder plate collecting the water. Just guessing  :Razz:

----------


## trident

Stan,
I don't think it expel water from the cabinet, more like dry it.
I think more or less the same case for us, once the door is opened,
the reading will shoot up.
You mean the setting does not correspond with the actual reading?
That is, set at 15&#37;, reading is 37%. Since you set at 5% what is the actual reading?

----------


## luenny

Hmmm ... can you dry the air without expelling it? Water when heated turns to steam which causes humidity to increase. So, if it's air tight, how to turn the steam/water to something else?

----------


## Shadow

search on the net it says using TE cooling technology. Probably stand for Thermoelectric cooling. My guess is water vapour are atracted to cooler plate, condese there and let it drip out side or maybe used to cool down the other plate (the hot one). Just guessing  :Razz:

----------


## trident

Luenny,
I was thinking in line with the dry box where you use the silica thingy.
The silica thingy simply absorb the moisture. 




> Hmmm ... can you dry the air without expelling it? Water when heated turns to steam which causes humidity to increase. So, if it's air tight, how to turn the steam/water to something else?

----------


## luenny

Robert,
Well, if water can drip outside, then it is not air tight as it is not even water tight. In air tight case, water vapor cannot escape so you cannot just cool it down to dry it.

Richard,
The silica thingy works on a different concept. In that case, it is a chemical reaction where water is bonded with the silica gel. That's why you have to replace it or dry it periodically. You don't do that with your dry box.

----------


## Shadow

I'm scpetical about air tight, it may not even air tight. You need to either throw or convert this water vapour somehow. I remember there was a picture diagram in the Digi-Cabi box, will chec it out.

----------


## Shadow

ok I took photo of the box, I think I was right

----------


## luenny

So we agree that it's not air tight which is why it can be affected by the environment it is in and therefore it can fluctuate. That's why, if you switch on the air con in the room, you will see the humidity drop quite a bit compare to when the air con has been off for a while.

----------


## StanChung

> Stan,
> I don't think it expel water from the cabinet, more like dry it.
> I think more or less the same case for us, once the door is opened,
> the reading will shoot up.
> You mean the setting does not correspond with the actual reading?
> That is, set at 15%, reading is 37%. Since you set at 5% what is the actual reading?


The knob does not have a number on the setting. It's green to red marking only. there's a digital readout of the current humidity and temperature.

----------


## zenscape

I bought a 30L last night at Carrefour. I must say the manual is really bad. There are no A B or C. Mine only has green (a quarter to the right) and the rest is red. I set to slightly green (right hand side), plugged it and red and green light on. This morning at 8am, RH was 77&#37;  :Exasperated:  

May I know how many o'clock you guys set for this model?

I think it is spoilt. I will check after work and see whether it works. If not, will either go back to Carrefour or manufacturer at Tagore Lane or something.

----------


## Simon

Maurice

I think you should turn it to a lower setting and observe the meter then slowly tune the set to the desired percentage

----------


## luenny

I don't know which brand you are using. Mine's digi cabi 30L. I set the position to round 11 - 12 o'clock position and get around 40-45% humidity. 

Hope that helps.

----------


## zenscape

Thanks for the prompt replies.

Mine is also digi cabi. 

Hi Simon, lower setting is left or right? The manual really didnt say anything.

----------


## Simon

should be in the red area

----------


## zenscape

Ok. Will go home and take a look. Thanks.

----------


## luenny

Lower setting is left, higher setting is right. If you look at the led light at the knob, the more you turn to the left, the dimmer it gets and vice versa.

----------


## zenscape

Likely to be spoilt. All things being equal, shouldn't be room RH of 77&#37; after 8 hours. :Exasperated:

----------


## zenscape

Ok, an update. Went home and read 49&#37; RH. I guess the set is fine now  :Smile: 

Thought I got a lemon and tough luck. But my dial still looks weird. The green is 3/4 and red 1/4. But so long it is working, I am happy. Thanks for all the advice.

----------


## StanChung

Mine's 56&#37; so still tweaked it a little.

----------


## zenscape

Thanks, I have 'aim' it to hover around 55&#37;.

----------


## trident

update, my digi cabi 30L has been hovering at 46&#37; for the past weeks.
so I guess it's stable.

----------


## Shadow

mine curently is unstable, move up slowly until 60&#37; before I turn the knob. Maybe because of raining for the past few days

----------


## benetay

Just a thought, what is the difference between a 300-500 dollars dry cabi compared to a 100 dollar one?

----------


## Goondoo

> Just a thought, what is the difference between a 300-500 dollars dry cabi compared to a 100 dollar one?


Let me try! Let me try!




Price?  :Opps:

----------


## Shadow

maybe close loop system? Maybe automatically adjust itself to get the selected RH value  :Huh?:

----------


## luenny

Mine is hovering around 44&#37; so I lower the power. Yesterday it went to 43%. Well, not gonna touch it anymore.

----------


## zenscape

I heard from snapclub members that below 50&#37; RH will crack plastic and leather items such as leather cover for your flash etc. Had anyone experienced this? Sounds logic to me as it will be too dry at this level.

----------


## zenscape

> Just a thought, what is the difference between a 300-500 dollars dry cabi compared to a 100 dollar one?



I guess is the brand, size, and country.

----------


## Goondoo

> I heard from snapclub members that below 50% RH will crack plastic and leather items such as leather cover for your flash etc. Had anyone experienced this? Sounds logic to me as it will be too dry at this level.


Snapclub?  :Confused:

----------


## luenny

Some say 45-55&#37; is good, some say below 50% is no good some say 40-50% is good. Who knows? I'm sticking to the 40-50% range.

----------


## Shadow

by the way, did you put your flash, lenspen, blower and other non-lense non camera stuff inside as well?

----------


## zenscape

No. But the camera body has some plastic or leather parts (I am not sure whether it is) and the Tamron lens looks like plastic.

----------


## trident

Robert,
The 30L quite small, I use it only for body and lenses.  :Smile:

----------


## Shadow

Actually I can fit 2 lenses, 1 flash, body with lense attached, 2 point and shot camera, battery, CF card, blower, lenspen. I think all my stuff are inside  :Grin: 

Of course 400D body is quite small

----------

