Boveda Humidity Control

[Bill N]

BOVEDA UPDATE:

 

I received the Boveda starter kit and a new, digital hygrometer and have experimented with a few scenarios.  We've been in the deep freeze for a few weeks, the forced air gas furnace is running almost continuously, and the household RH is about 24%.

 

I started by putting the new kit into a double, hard shell Fallon case with my old Morse and a 20 button Lachenal.  After 5 days there was no difference between the ambient RH and the micro-climate inside the case.  Possibly the Fallon isn't very air-tight, or the case and instruments are so dry that they have been absorbing all the moisture that the humidipac can pump out (or a combination of the two)?

 

Next, I put it all in a single case with my newish Carroll.  The case is a leather covered hard shell unit that came with the Carroll, and seems pretty tight. Nothing happened for a couple of days, but after 5 days RH in the case is 34%, and a buzzing reed has stopped its buzzing.

 

So not a dramatic result, but perhaps the very gradual and modest change is better for the instrument than an abrupt and large increase.

Edited February 19, 2021 by Bill N

[TurqoiseOak]

Hi Bill,

 

Wondering if you can provide an update a few years later as to how things are going with the battle for humidity?

 

I instantly thought of the boveda system for my incoming concertina, and was happy to find that this thread already exists. Do you still use boveda? 

 

I've got a lachenal coming from the UK to the Maritimes, so I'm hoping the shock won't be too bad, especially since we don'thave central forced air heating. If you've got an tips I'd love to hear them. Thanks!

[David Lay]

2 hours ago, TurqoiseOak said:

Hi Bill,

 

Wondering if you can provide an update a few years later as to how things are going with the battle for humidity?

 

I instantly thought of the boveda system for my incoming concertina, and was happy to find that this thread already exists. Do you still use boveda? 

 

I've got a lachenal coming from the UK to the Maritimes, so I'm hoping the shock won't be too bad, especially since we don'thave central forced air heating. If you've got an tips I'd love to hear them. Thanks!

I use them successfully.  I also have a hygrometer to monitor the result.  Since they are both linked to relative humidity, I am careful to keep my instrument cases at room temperature.  50% RH is very different at high and low temperatures in terms of the actual dryness of the air.  (Weight of water per cubic foot of air.)  Note, however, that there is simply not enough capacity in a Boveda packet to do the job all summer or winter.  It is best to regard it as a buffering device.  I supplement the Boveda packet with dessicant or a small sponge humidifier if my hygrometer gets too far from 50% (less than 40% - more than 60%).

[Bill N]

17 hours ago, TurqoiseOak said:

Hi Bill,

 

Wondering if you can provide an update a few years later as to how things are going with the battle for humidity?

 

Sorry, just seeing this.

 

In the end, the Boveda system didn't prove to be a practical solution for me.  I have 3 instruments , and the best I could manage during our heating season with the in-case packs was in the low 30%s.  I've since installed an Aprilaire whole house by-pass evaporative humidifier which gets the RH to about 34%, and use an evaporative room humidifier with filtered water in the space where I keep and play my instruments ( a Carroll, a Kensington and a Jeffries).  RH is running in the low to mid 40%s, and I haven't had any of the problems I used to have when it was much drier.  They travel once a week to a friend's place for a play-date, but his is a modern, well-built house where I expect the RH is pretty good.  They also go to various pubs several times per week, but the brief exposures don't seem to harm them.

Edited January 23 by Bill N
clarification

[David Lay]

11 hours ago, Bill N said:

Sorry, just seeing this.

 

In the end, the Boveda system didn't prove to be a practical solution for me.  I have 3 instruments , and the best I could manage during our heating season with the in-case packs was in the low 30%s.  I've since installed an Aprilaire whole house by-pass evaporative humidifier which gets the RH to about 34%, and use an evaporative room humidifier with filtered water in the space where I keep and play my instruments ( a Carroll, a Kensington and a Jeffries).  RH is running in the low to mid 40%s, and I haven't had any of the problems I used to have when it was much drier.  They travel once a week to a friend's place for a play-date, but his is a modern, well-built house where I expect the RH is pretty good.  They also go to various pubs several times per week, but the brief exposures don't seem to harm them.

Beware high humidity in your home if you live where it gets very cold.  (It's 17 degrees F here and going down overnight.)  Unless you have a very good vapor barrier in your walls and ceiling, condensation and mold can result within your walls.  (Mold became a big liabilty for builders when codes required tighter houses and the asbestos finds ran out in the US.)

[TurqoiseOak]

On 1/23/2025 at 9:41 AM, Bill N said:

Sorry, just seeing this.

 

In the end, the Boveda system didn't prove to be a practical solution for me.  I have 3 instruments , and the best I could manage during our heating season with the in-case packs was in the low 30%s.  I've since installed an Aprilaire whole house by-pass evaporative humidifier which gets the RH to about 34%, and use an evaporative room humidifier with filtered water in the space where I keep and play my instruments ( a Carroll, a Kensington and a Jeffries).  RH is running in the low to mid 40%s, and I haven't had any of the problems I used to have when it was much drier.  They travel once a week to a friend's place for a play-date, but his is a modern, well-built house where I expect the RH is pretty good.  They also go to various pubs several times per week, but the brief exposures don't seem to harm them.

No worries at all, I appreciate the update. A whole house humidifier seems like an excellent solution, something I'll need to keep in mind for the future.

[TurqoiseOak]

On 1/23/2025 at 9:07 PM, David Lay said:

Beware high humidity in your home if you live where it gets very cold.  (It's 17 degrees F here and going down overnight.)  Unless you have a very good vapor barrier in your walls and ceiling, condensation and mold can result within your walls.  (Mold became a big liabilty for builders when codes required tighter houses and the asbestos finds ran out in the US.)

Thanks for the reminder, humidity in the house is really new concept for me, I've just moved from the driest part of Western Canada to the very humid East Coast of Canada. I live in a well built concrete building so I think I'm in good shape. It has great ventilation, and I tend to air out the house regularly on top of that.