Humidifier packets in mandolin cases?

[bdjansen]

I like to use those humidifier packets for my guitars. Does anyone use those for their mandolins?

[mandroid]

try DIY , basically , you need a perforated case for a damp sponge..

I'm a block from the Columbia River Estuary shore so humidity is adequate , here.

in winter , snow locks up moisture + your heater is drying.. what RH are you dealing with?

[allenhopkins]

What's a "humidifier packet?" I'm familiar with several types of in-case humidifiers, but describing them as "packets" makes me think of dehumidifier packets, silica gel etc.

There are commonly used brands like Dampit, Planet Waves, etc.; most of them include some sort of fabric or foam that absorbs water and releases it slowly through evaporation, encased in some sort of perforated shell that keeps the absorbent material from direct contact with the instrument or case.

Many Cafe members use humidifiers, especially during the heating season when in-house humidity is driven down. Others live in relatively arid climates. Keeping instrument environment around 50% humidity or so helps avoid the wood shrinkage that leads to splits, top sinkage, fret-end protrusion from the sides of the neck, etc.

First step is to get a reliable hygrometer –– gauge measuring environmental humidity -- and keep it where your mandolins are stored. It will tell you if you have a potential problem with low (or high) humidity.

[Kalasinar]

+1 on getting a good hygrometer. Caliber III/IV are great and lauded for their accuracy. Good idea to test said accuracy against a hygrometer calibration kit (Boveda is around £6) as well. Nice thing with the Caliber IV is that it can be calibrated appropriately after this test. In my case, I've found that I only need to have cases humidified during winter months.

[Gary Leonard]

Agree on the hygrometer. You need to know what you are targeting. A friend used do it yourself soap dish and sponge, and ended up over humidifying his mandolin. A few of his tuner screws were rusting, it was that humid in his case.

A good post on this from Weber:

http://mandotalk.com/knowledge-base/...umidification/

[MikeEdgerton]

OK, I do know what the OP is talking about. I use them in one of my guitars that requires constant humidification or it becomes unplayable. I was getting ready to send it back to the factory for the third or fourth time. I tried the Boveda packs that are also sold by D’Addario with their brand on them. Boveda was formerly known as Humidipak. The D'Adarrio advertising on Amazon mentions them as their Humidipak System. The long and the short is that after a few weeks closed up the case the guitar was normal. The Humidipak's humidify when needed and dehumidify when needed. There are some horror stories here and elsewhere about these leaking. I bought the Boveda bags to keep them in inside the case. They still breathe but won't leak the liquid. If you're instrument is constantly in need of humidification the bags develop into a bag filled with small hard pellets. As they are expensive I had to do some research to see if they could be regenerated. They can but the company advises against it so I'm not telling you how to do it. I have a packet in my mandola case and have yet to need it inside my mandolin case. All of the homemade devices in the world don't work like these do but you have to be very careful with them. If you buy the Boveda brand make sure you get the 49% model. You're on your own.

[varmonter]

These boveda paks are popular with cigar lovers. For their humidors.

[Dick Wade]

I have used the planet wave packs for years with success in my guitars and mandolins. They work great for me and I travel from Pennsylvania which is lush with humility to bone dry Colorado. I had one pack of the first generation explode in the case of my Lowden guitar when they first hit the market but it only stained the strap. I don't follow the directions on the box and have never put them inside the instrument. I put two in the top of my guitar case under the headstock and one in the mandolin cases. I have a pack of strings or a sheet of paper with set lists so there is not any direct contact with the instruments. I also take the packs that are getting hard and recharge them in a sealed baggie with a wet sponge and let them set for a month or so and get more life out of them. I love them and for me they are trouble free and no problem except for that first batch that hit the market years ago.

[Phil Goodson]

Perhaps I shouldn't admit this, but in winter, I use the Boveda stuff. But, .... after some of the horror stories here, I didn't quite trust that they wouldn't leak, so I poured the contents of the Boveda bag (I know it's not recommended!) into an Oasis humidifier (Gortex type tube humidifier) because I trusted the screw lid and Gortex more than I trusted the original bag. (Rightly or wrongly.)

So far it seems to work well for me. I'm not recommending it; just sharing how crazy I can get sometimes.