An idea of DIY dry cabinet - what do you think?

It's workable and a good bang for the money. I have a few air-tight 5-gallon plastic tubs with rechargeable silicon gels that I use when I go out to outdoor locations. With the tropical weather here, silicon gel packs inside the camera bag is quite useless as it gets hydrated in a matter of hours when it pours. Beside, it's good protection against the elements of nature.

The plastic tubs cost me less than USD 10.00 each. The silicon gels cost me about USD14.00 per kilo. I use the plastic tubs with silicon gels for other things like storage space for my knives.

Are you sure such a topic is not here?

brettania wrote: Are you sure such a topic is not here?

Brettania, I had a look around and can't find any references for dry cabinets or dry-boxes. Am I missing something?

Whiteheat, dry cabinets or dry-boxes are storage equipment for camera gears and lens to control humidity and prevent fungi growth on coated glass surfaces. I think the reference of the wine cellar is a Igloo (insulated) Box.

Edit to add: Opps! Silly me... the wine cellar is a fridge and refrigerators are not air-tight. Dealaddict, is it cheaper to buy a dry cabinet instead? There are models like the AIPO Analog Series AS-21L Dry Cabinet (21L) - Black that retails for under USD100 new.

Edited by blinztree - 19 June 2012 at 05:20

blinztree wrote: brettania wrote: Are you sure such a topic is not here? Brettania, I had a look around and can't find any references for dry cabinets or dry-boxes. Am I missing something? Whiteheat, dry cabinets or dry-boxes are storage equipment for camera gears and lens to control humidity and prevent fungi growth on coated glass surfaces. I think the reference of the wine cellar is a Igloo (insulated) Box. Edit to add: Opps! Silly me... the wine cellar is a fridge and refrigerators are not air-tight. Dealaddict, is it cheaper to buy a dry cabinet instead? There are models like the AIPO Analog Series AS-21L Dry Cabinet (21L) - Black that retails for under USD100 new.

Oh, I see. OK, well without sounding disrespectful, I think you're on somewhat of a fools errand. Fungal spores pervade the atomosphere and unless something is kept for its entire life in an airtight container that was filled with purified air at its inception, then fungal spores will be present no matter what you do. Only under certain temperature and humidity conditions will they grow and proliferate. You only have to store gear in temperature and humidity conditions that aren't in the fungal growth range, which may not actually require a special storage facility. The only guaranteed protection against a fungal infestation is to have completely sealed lenses. I would assume that Canikon pro line gear is completely sealed and is therefore proofed against fungal infestations. However, nice idea all the same and good luck with it.

Try this then -- they are expensive and not DYI -- linky.

I fully agree with Whiteheat that, especially a used refrigerator is a fungi minefield. Don't rant later that you were never warned. If you are thinking of something on the cheap, try using air-tight containers instead. Just make sure that the humidity is correct as if it is too dry, the rubber seals and grease in your equipment will suffer in the long run.

The availability of the AIPOs cabinets depends on where you are based. Perhaps you should look for local suppliers around you. eBay's prices for certain equipment are sometimes more expensive than other on-line retailers.

You could try Thomas Distribution, B&H.com or Adorama.com. I'm in Asia at the moment so unless you are based* here as well, pricing may not make much difference to those offered by Thomas Distribution, B&H.com or Adorama.com.

If you are, let me know and I'll sent you a PM for my sources

Whiteheat, as long as your sealed lens elements are exposed such as the front elements, it's a candidate for fungi attack when humidity is high. Fungi cannot tell the difference between pro and non-pro line lens. It's all the same.

Edited by blinztree - 19 June 2012 at 07:05

Actually, I am in Vancouver, Canada. It is pretty dry here compare to Asia. And I just put my lenses on the shelf for the past 3 years. But recently, I start to concern about the humidity, probably because of my investment on lenses grow, and I need to somehow protect my investment. At home, the RH can go up to 66% recently. And I read that the ideal RH for lens is 40%, and fungus may grown if RH is higher than 60%. Of course, I also read that the best way to avoid fungus is to use the lens and expose under sunlight, the dry cabinet is more a piece of mind. So, I want to make sure my idea doesn't do any harm than good.

Back to my concept, let's say the wine cellar is basically a fridge. And the one I looked is a plastic case with a sealed glass door like those in fridge. So, it looks no different to me than a bigger air tight box with a swing door, so, why a refrigerator is a fungi minefield? And BTW, I am not going to turn it on, I simply use it as an air tight container.