Climate Control Display Case

[Tommcgtx]

Does anyone have a display case for their instruments that automatically controls humidity, temperature, etc.? Just a quick Google search brought me to www.acousticsaver.com (very expensive). I guess what I'm asking is has anyone ever built something similar themselves, or have seen similar, less expensive display cases?

[Tommcgtx]

I saw an old thread on the cafe where a woman's husband built her a very nice case for this purpose. I did some research, and thought maybe this Hygrotherm Humidity & Temperature Controller from Zoo Med might work for this purpose. It is desigened for animals such as reptiles, but I think it could be used to control the climate in a display case. The website lists these details about the device:

Controls temperature by turning on/off heating devices in "HEAT" mode or by turning on/off cooling devices (e.g. fan) in "COOL" mode.

Temperature control range is 50°F to 122°F (10°C to 50°C)

Humidity control range: 15% to 95% RH (Relative Humidity)

It is programmable, and can be used to control a misting device and a heating element. A google search shows a price range anywhere from around $50 to around $100, just for the controller. The same Zoo Med company also sells misters & heaters. I'm thinking maybe the heater isn't as necessary as the humidifier though. I've attached a spec sheet for the device.

[jmagill]

I went to the Acoustic Saver website, and, while beautiful, they are expensive, as you said.

If your main concern is humidity and temperature control, I may have a much cheaper solution for you.

Next Monday, contractors will arrive to install a new furnace and cooling system in my house. When I was getting estimates, I asked about adding a whole-house humidifier to the system. I was given two options. One would operate only when the heating system was running and would add about $600 to the cost. The other would run anytime I wanted, independent of the heating and would add a little over $1000 to the cost. I went with the second option – a bit more cost, but better year-round control.

Now your house may be bigger than mine, so the cost may scale up proportionately. And you may also want a nice piece of furniture in which to display your instrument, but at a third of the Acoustic Saver's cost, a whole-house humidifier might save you enough to get a display cabinet, too.

[mandroid]

Museums do this all the time. look into their resources.

Someone posted a few years ago scoring a Cigar cabinet from a store closing,

and Modded it for their Mandolin storage.

[Tobin]

When I was getting estimates, I asked about adding a whole-house humidifier to the system. I was given two options. One would operate only when the heating system was running and would add about $600 to the cost. The other would run anytime I wanted, independent of the heating and would add a little over $1000 to the cost. I went with the second option – a bit more cost, but better year-round control.

Do these units just get piped into your water system and use tap water for humidification, or do they have a separate reservoir that you have to fill with distilled water? Also, does this system just get added on to the system you chose, or is it integral to the system? In other words, if you weren't replacing your whole home system, would it be possible to add it onto the existing system, or does it require an entire replacement system?

I'm really considering the display cabinet option too. My wife and I deal in antiques, and it's no big deal to find an old display case or cabinet that's seen better days, making it ripe for conversion. My initial thought was to find a glass-front cabinet that had a lower enclosed section hidden by wooden doors, in which I could install a piano humidifier system (these cost around $500) that would send moisture up through holes in the floor of the upper compartment.

[jmagill]

Do these units just get piped into your water system and use tap water for humidification, or do they have a separate reservoir that you have to fill with distilled water?

No mention was made of a reservoir of distilled water, so I assume it uses my tap water. I'll confirm this with my contractor.

Also, does this system just get added on to the system you chose, or is it integral to the system? In other words, if you weren't replacing your whole home system, would it be possible to add it onto the existing system, or does it require an entire replacement system?

My understanding is that the humidifier unit I selected could be added to any heating system.

[Marty Jacobson]

Do you need to be able to humidify and dehumidify? Looks like the RH in El Paso is 30% right now in the middle of the summer, so you may just need humidification. That's a lot easier to do that than to dehumidify, like I have to here in Georgia. I remove many gallons of water a day from the air in my shop to keep it around 40-50%.
If you just need humidity control, there are devices like this one (just a quick amazon search, no personal experience):
http://www.amazon.com/CIGAR-Automati.../dp/B000W989MK

Now all you need is an old cabinet or display case of some kind....

[Django Fret]

Museums do this all the time. look into their resources.

Someone posted a few years ago scoring a Cigar cabinet from a store closing,

and Modded it for their Mandolin storage.

That was probably me and here are some pictures before the conversion and a couple of after it was completed.



I have some more pictures of the various steps in the conversion that I can post if anyone is interested in seeing them.

[almeriastrings]

I saw an old thread on the cafe where a woman's husband built her a very nice case for this purpose. I did some research, and thought maybe this Hygrotherm Humidity & Temperature Controller from Zoo Med might work for this purpose. It is desigened for animals such as reptiles, but I think it could be used to control the climate in a display case.

Not unless you want a cracked, warped, destroyed instrument.

That operates in on/off mode only. So, you get massive peaks, troughs, and swings on both parameters. True climate-controlled cases use proportional controllers, not on/off types. What you need is constant, micro-adjustments of both temperature and humidity, and the humidifier itself needs to be very carefully designed otherwise, you have a real disaster in such an enclosed space (mould and condensation, for example). This is why museum specimen cases with climate control are so very costly. It is not at all easy to do it right. You can get proportional temperature controllers fairly easily (though they still cost a fair bit more than simple on/off types), but precise humidity control is really challenging in small spaces. I tend to agree that a whole room approach (or even whole house) would be a much better option.

[JeffD]

This is very interesting. Handmade single instrument display cases with lights and humidification.

http://www.acousticremedycases.com/

[Tobin]

This is very interesting. Handmade single instrument display cases with lights and humidification.

http://www.acousticremedycases.com/

Those look very nice. Very expensive, too! It looks like they only sell guitar-sized cases, though. I wonder if they would make a smaller mandolin-sized case. Or at least move the hooks down so a mandolin would be centered in it.

I find it interesting that these display cases use Humidipaks for the humidity control. The Humidipak system (now Boveda Inc.) is pretty inexpensive, like under $20. So the cost of these display cases is mainly in the case construction, I'm guessing, and not in the humidity control features. A guy with rudimentary carpentry skills could likely make a similar case for under a hundred bucks.

[JeffD]

You are probably right. If someone could make them smaller and cheaper they would be more attractive. And perhaps stackable, so that one could buy more than one and make a nice display.