DIY Lens storage box

adityap · Joined: 11 Aug 2010 Posts: 51 Location: Pune, India

Hi,
India being hot and humid I decided to build myself one of these, the other reason is that I love DIY and also working with tools.
This is the rough plan I have in mind, any suggestions, ideas are most welcome. I have no prior knowledge about storing lenses so any help from senior members will be a boon

Dimensions will be ~ 24x24x18 inches. Wood on the bottom and three sides with one side of thick plexiglass through which i can see the lenses as well as a digital hygrometer. Top will be wood on a hinge.
Is the side fan for ventilation a good idea? And what if I kept a pouch of calcium chloride inside as well?
C&C please!

TIA

Edit - thanks to Scheimpflug, have dropped the idea of the calcium chloride and the hygrometer

mo · Expire: 2016-07-30

Nice idea!!
This is my solution so far as Australia is hot and humid as well Sad

especially since summer is coming up.
#1 Plastic boxes...I have just recently drilled some holes for ventilation.

#2 I need more boxes and a proper shelving system...my lenses are growing.

#3 Old film canisters for the silica crystals...although I am still trying to work out the amount I need per box as I have to change/reactivate these at least every 2 weeks....rain and bad house design.

I would really like to see what you can come up with,as this is very important to me as no use buying the gear if I can not protect it.

Scheimpflug · Expire: 2011-11-18

adityap · Joined: 11 Aug 2010 Posts: 51 Location: Pune, India

@mo, thats a nifty solution you have there! loved the idea Smile

@Scheimpflug, thanks! Both your points are valid, so the desiccant and hygrometer ideas are dropped.
Re. the electricity cost, one of my earlier hobbies was aquariums and I had a reef tank as well as a planted tank with metal halides, compared to that this 40w bulb will not be a big deal Smile

. Considering the current rates for 1 kw here in india it will work out to roughly to ~$5 per month.
I believe I will have to keep the bulb on 24/7? Cuz if I switch it off the swing in humidity will be a problem?

Scheimpflug · Expire: 2011-11-18

On second thought, you might want to get the desiccant and hygrometer anyway. It would make a great comparison to see what the humidity difference is between [un-vented + desiccant] vs [vented + heat]. Wink

Attila · Expire: 2025-11-18

I store lenses on that way what MO showed, + every box have own humidity meter. I use taller boxes and store lenses in three rows separated by small plastic boxes. All boxes contains humidity remover 0,5kg material in each this is help to keep 25-45 % humidity all time. No ventilation, no extra light based on 4-5 yrs experience it is fine , safe solution.

visualopsins · Expire: 2025-04-11

Wintertime here can be very humid, 99% or more, it rains so much! I use airtight waterproof Pelican cases with renewable silica gel to absorb humidity, and inexpensive digital hydrometer/temperature monitor with high/low memory feature. My system uses three storage areas: one for long term storage, one for items used more frequently, and one for drying items fresh from field before placement in the other two. The third is not necessary; only to reduce frequency of silica gel renewal in the first two.

I am not familiar with lens storage in tropical humidity. Maybe others here living in tropics will have better ideas, however I believe the principles are the same:

1. low humidity keeps fungus from growing.
2. prevent dust to deny fungus a home base to grow.

There can be no denying dust and fungus are everywhere.

Humidity condenses on surfaces colder than ambient air temperature. Warm air has more humidity capacity than cold air. Preventing condensation is paramount in preventing fungus growth.

Prevent condensation by sealing camera and lenses inside a plastic bag before moving camera and lenses from cooler temperature into warmer, then allow enough time for contents to warm before unsealing. In my climate this means sealing before bringing indoors; in warm climate with air cooler inside, this means sealing before bringing outdoors. In cold environment avoid placing cold items inside warm coat, because bodies produce much humidity!

The idea behind light bulb for heating storage container is twofold. Air expands when heated, reducing its humidity. Storing items in slightly warmer air than environment prevents condensation when they are removed, however, notice that condensation can occur when moving from cooler environment into warmer storage. Not recommended in my opinion! Also, 40W is far too much heat for such a small container.

Air flow also prevents fungus growth, however this creates the problems of keeping the flowing air free of dust and humidity. A fan to circulate only the air within the container seems like a good idea, whereas ventilation holes in container create the problems.

LucisPictor · Expire: 2013-12-03

This is an old problem that makes every collector really nervous.
We also have summers with 90% r.h.. In winter it's not that bad and the central heating takes down humidity as well.

In my study where I store my lenses, I have about 30-40% r.h. in winter and 50-60% r.h. summer.
I have my lenses in a cabinet with some chemical dehumidifier and two lamps, a normal one and a UV one. Nothing has ever happened with fungus in there.

Fungus needs
1. high humidity
2. nutrition
3. calm air
4. darkness

Fungus spawn is almost everywhere, so you need to avoid one (if possible more) of these elements and you're fine.

cheve · Expire: 2011-12-06

i use air-tight plastic jar(the type for food stuff) plus silicon gel.

question:what happen when/if the fan stops working for extended period of time?

walter g · Joined: 20 Feb 2010 Posts: 2463 Location: NC, USA

mo · Expire: 2016-07-30

I added the ventilation holes (approx a row of 4 small holes on the front) to some of the boxes, as to my horror when checking my lenses recently I saw that fungus had started to grow inside some of the lenses.
Now that could have been because I mixed the lenses with other already fungusized (not sure if this is a word but you get my meaning) lenses.. Sad

I don't have a humidity reader in them as yet as I have not found any around my area.
Attila do you check your lenses regularly?
I have strong condensation problems in this house you can see the water on the windows in the morning....and dust is a pain.Sounds like I am living in the anti camera equipment house.. Mad

I am looking at different solutions...such as a proper humidity cabinet which to hold all my treasures would be a lot of money.or try to build my own like adityap
This is a site that provides dry cabinets in Oz,they have some good designs.
http://www.drycabinet.com.au/main.html

martinsmith99 · Expire: 2013-11-18

I live in an old cottage where dampness is always threatening. I keep 3 dehumidifiers running whenever the windows are not open (Sept-May). My lenses are stored in a plastic box with 2 rechargeable gel packs.

I used to store them with lens caps off but I worry too much about the elements getting damaged.

mo · Expire: 2016-07-30

It's a hard life using cameras/lenses so many worries Very Happy

I worry about the same thing so put little obstacles between each lens
@martinsmith99
What brand of dehumidifier? Any details as I would like to see what works and what does not,and try and find the best cheap solution that works.
Thanks

adityap · Joined: 11 Aug 2010 Posts: 51 Location: Pune, India

martinsmith99 · Expire: 2013-11-18

@mo - I have had a few over the years and they all do what they're supposed to. I would recommend everyone keep them in their `lens room'.

walter g · Joined: 20 Feb 2010 Posts: 2463 Location: NC, USA

Sorry i missed your post.
1) Your choice of finish your just trying to seal the wood.
4) Fan is optional if used properly. I think it would work fine as a puller in the spot in your drawing. If you got rid of the holes in the top, and used the bottom holes like in your drawing, but only one hole.
It should let in fresh air that would be heated and dried before it got to the lenses.

You could do a smaller mockup out of cardboard and a small electronics fan to see if the design works properly.

Martin brings up a very good point.
I keep my lenses in my lens room. It just happens to be my bedroom also. Laughing

But it's an easy room to control moisture.

walter g · Joined: 20 Feb 2010 Posts: 2463 Location: NC, USA

I also wanted to add this link. I use one,but a diffferent version where I keep my lenses.
http://forum.mflenses.com/hygrometer-to-control-humidity-in-lens-storage-boxes-t31944.html

adityap · Joined: 11 Aug 2010 Posts: 51 Location: Pune, India

So it's finally complete Smile

ajaikumarr · Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2011 5:10 am Post subject:

Seems nice initiative... BTW, how are you going to monitor humidity and do you have any kind of mechanism for cut off power when it reaches above limit? AFAIK, you may find varying humidity in Summer & Winter (even nowadays you can see varying weather climate in a single day)?

I am also having an idea of trying the same with Thermostat (as basically Aquarium guy and used aquarium heater quite lot)... Yet to find out the options... Or may be UV light + some kind of cut off option...

Any sugessions in this...

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9096 Location: Houston, Texas

adityap · Joined: 11 Aug 2010 Posts: 51 Location: Pune, India

Thanks for the tip michael. I had planned on using incandescent bulbs earlier but have switched to two 18w T8 tubes of different color temperatures.
The incandescent bulbs were getting too hot.

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9096 Location: Houston, Texas

Good move.