Humidifier - amp concerns

[dmcguitar]

I am thinking about getting a room humidifer for my guitar room, which has several guitars in it, and my Mark V. Room is wood floors, with an unfinished / unheated basement directly underneath. NY winter, has been quite cold and dry and I am looking for a humidifier for the room to keep it nice enough so my guitars to get screwed up (well any more than the neck shrinking then it did, since i feel fret overhang now)

So the question is, will a room humidifer which is constantly running / putting moisture in the air, affect my electronics, ie, Mark V, and cabinets?


Thanks,
dmc

 

[Rkorn]

Here (portugal) everyone uses dehumidifier...
Humidity screws guitars, amps, everything!

 

[dmcguitar]

unfortunatly the opposite is true as well.. no moisture means wood shrinks, frets get sharp edges, finsihes can crack.
In New York, especially this winter, its cold and dry, not good for guitars, or furniture or skin for that matter So, a humidifer can solve this problem, i just want to know if it will cause an issue with the amp, as I am evaporating water into the local air around the amp...

anyone?

 

[MesaENGR412]

I would check around and see if I could buy one that will measure the air moisture content and can shut on and off automatically. I wouldn't leave one on constantly, I would think this might oversaturate eventually. You don't want to go opposite end of the spectrum and cause your components to rust on your amps and guitars.

-AJH

 

[Ylo2]

Spend a few bucks on a humidity meter (Radio Shack has them), then keep the humidity as close to 40 to 50 percent as you can all year around. Outside of this range, wood shrinks or expands. You shouldn't have a problem with most electronics unless the humidity gets close to 100 percent or condensation forms on electronic components from a sudden drop in temperature.

 

[BoogieMan_SC]

Spend a few bucks on a humidity meter (Radio Shack has them), then keep the humidity as close to 40 to 50 percent as you can all year around. Outside of this range, wood shrinks or expands. You shouldn't have a problem with most electronics unless the humidity gets close to 100 percent or condensation forms on electronic components from a sudden drop in temperature.

+1

I picked up a digital, accurate hygrometer along with the calibration kit:

http://www.amazon.com/HygroSet-Adjustable-Round-Digital-Hygrometer/dp/B000H6CZQE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1300669840&sr=8-1

and

http://www.amazon.com/Boveda-One-Step-Calibration/dp/B000A3UBLA/ref=pd_bxgy_k_text_b

and make sure the humidity is always between 40-50%...sometimes it dips down to 37% or so, but that's when I usually kick on the steam-humidifier. It's about a 12x12, wood-floor room with a crawl space underneath. Prior to me keeping all my guitars and amps in there, during the winter, it would get as low as 22% in there. It is amazing peace-of-mind to know it's optimal in there all the time now.

For what it's worth, a few years back, when I lived in New York (and the dry winters)...I had a Washburn Nuno Bettencourt guitar...paduak wood and ebony fretboard. Well, one morning I woke up and there was a split running down the fretboard, probably from the 2nd fret, all the way to about the 20th. The freaking thing just split!! I called up Washburn and guess what? I was SOL. The best they would do is "fill" it with ebony dust and some kind of epoxy or whatever. You could absolutely tell there was a line running down the entire fretboard. I basically gave the thing away and traded it for a couple pedals, I couldn't even stand to look at it. Lesson learned.

Spend the few bucks and take care of your babies. Also....never had any issue with any of my amps/electronics, etc.

 

[dmcguitar]

cool, thanks for the knowledge.

boogieman, what kinda humidifier are you using, just a single room, or whole house?

 

[BoogieMan_SC]

cool, thanks for the knowledge.

boogieman, what kinda humidifier are you using, just a single room, or whole house?

Hey DMC...yes, it's just a single-room steam humidifier, I think it's a 5 QT steam humidifier. I live in SC, so it gets humid during the summers so there I'm fine. But I have forced-air heat (vents in the floors and ceilings throughout), so it can get dry in the fall/winter. In the middle of winter, I might have to fill it up every 1.5 days or so...sometimes every night if it's unusually cold, etc.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

We have to use dehumidifiers in Hawaii too!
Just a couple of weeks ago, my amp crapped out at practice. This looks extremely bad for a guy with an amp repair shop!
Turns out, the Loop jacks were shot because the amp was too humid underneath the cover.

An easy fix for sure!
If you keep the humidity just right, you shouldn't have any problems and your guitars will thank you for it!

 

[WellYourMomLikesMe]

I do HVAC(heating and AC) and a humidifier can very helpful, same thing with dehumidifiers. Electric guitars don't really need either(aslong as you have heating & AC) but high heat will make necks warp and pickups slowly crap out. Acoustic guitars need some kind of humidity, otherwise wood drys/shrinks. If you only have 1 or 2 acoustics, just buy case humidifiers. As far as amps are concerned, Humidity is kinda bad due to corrosion but normally a heating & AC system takes care of this. NOW...... If you have alot of wood floors, finished wood stairs, and woodwork in your house, you should have a full house humidifier installed on your gas/oil furnace(very dry heat), and REMEMBER... replace the humidifier pad yearly. Heat pumps with air handlers are pretty safe all around. Air conditioning works as a dehumidifier but still leaves a safe amount of humidity in the air.
~Everything has it's pro's and con's. Pick what works for you.

 

[daveg62]

I went to a taylor guitar clinic awhile ago and they said that if you live in the NE the worst enemy for a guitar is the dry winters. The best place is your basement though and if it is heated yes you should run a humidifier, keep guitars in cases and use the case humidifiers also. Summers are not so bad, but if you don't have air conditioning, consider a de-humidifier also. Biggest thing is the dryness in the winter!