Climate Control Challenges

Hey all,

I live in Colorado where summers are hot and winters are cold and relative humidity is notoriously low. Add to that, most houses here do not have central air conditioning as a standard, but we have heating. My concern is growing as we approach the colder months and the care of my instruments is gaining higher priority, especially now that I have finally raised the funds and ordered a new Pono RTSH-5. During the spring and summer maintaining the right tempurature hasn't been much of a challenge and all that has been needed is a good humidifier in my cases. But soon, I will need to find a solution to the dropping temps (even temps inside our house can be lower than ideal for instruments as running the heater is costly).
I was thinking of building some sort of makeshift "humidor" - mainly, just some enclosed space, i.e. a cabinet, box, or closet, where I can more easily maintain a consistent tempurature and humidity. Any ideas? Is there anyone here that might live in similar conditions and what solutions have you discovered?

Thanks

Supermoderator Staci (wickedwahini11) has posted photos of the climate-controlled case she's been using for her ukuleles. (A photo of the case is her current avatar.) She lives in Southern California, so the particular climate control issues she faces may be different from yours, but she might be able to talk with you about the particulars of her climate-controlled case.

In Minnesota we have the same problems. You really need to have a way of seeing how dry in is where the uke is stored. You can get a hygrometer at any cigar store or many music stores. http://elderly.com/accessories/items/OGH2.htm is a nice one for in the case. I store all mine in hard side cases with home made humidifiers using water absorbing crystals from a garden center and it seems to work well.

Good luck and keep us posted

I'm planning a wall-mounted case. I'll start with a kitchen cabinet. They're available in all kinds of sizes, shapes and styles. Humidity controls will be pretty simple to install. Fortunately, I have a humidity controlled house and my acoustic instruments are in a room with additional climate control. But, the same idea should work for your purposes.

Check this out - http://www.zorb-it.com/overview/

I'm planning a wall-mounted case. I'll start with a kitchen cabinet. They're available in all kinds of sizes, shapes and styles. Humidity controls will be pretty simple to install. Fortunately, I have a humidity controlled house and my acoustic instruments are in a room with additional climate control. But, the same idea should work for your purposes.

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Yeah, I was thinking something like this; a box or cabinet to convert wherein I could maintain consistent temp/humidity. For clarification I guess I should say, I'm not as worried about the temp/humidity in my home as I am the fluctuation of conditions in said home. This is a great idea, thanks stevepetergal

Check this out - http://www.zorb-it.com/overview/

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Interesting. I may even consider this at some point in the future; that is, if I land the job I'm looking at...extrememly humid environment, practically underwater; the type of place where you go outside from an airconditioned room and your glasses (and everything else *instrument finishes*) instantly fogs over...you feel like you just jumped in the ocean. Thanks for sharing Pukulele Pete

Thanks guys for sharing your tips. Much appreciated. I'll update with what I come up with

Get one of those ductless Mini Split systems and use in one room, your music room! They will air condition or heat just a single room. You can find room humidifiers anywhere. They are not super cheap, but they are efficient. Many companies make them like LG, Diakin, Mitsubishi, Toshiba, Fujistu, Samsung, Sanyo etc... google it