I see a couple of replies noting use of both a Boveda-49 pack and an Oasis-18 in-soundhole humidifier. I just did that last night (10/31/2023) with all 28 of my solid-wood ukes.
The Oasis-18 tubes are all hung from the strings into the top/neck-end of the soundhole (except for two resonator ukes, where they are in the case by the headstock) and the Boveda-49 packs are generally laid over the bottom/bridge-end of the soundhole under the strings — and for most of the instruments there is a small amount of soundhole airspace between the two. All are in hard cases, stored on wire rack shelving in my basement, “handle up” on their sides.
In the summer, that part of the basement is dehumidified by my waterproofing system’s dehumidifier (a standing unit positioned in the corner, accompanying an in-floor-edge wall drainage system) to a trustworthy uniform 45-50% (I have an ambient hygrometer on the shelving unit, as well as small in-case “cheap” hygrometers that all read at pretty much 44% to 46%). Over the summer, I just keep a Boveda-49 bag in the cases.
I live in Cleveland, Ohio, where the summer humidity can often be 70% or more, in a 90+ year-old house with a boiler, with no A/C, so my 1st & 2nd floors are regulated with floor dehumidifiers that can keep things at a reliable 45% to 50% ambient humidity.
In the winter, Cleveland humidity can often go quite low, to, say 15% — but, with humidifiers in the basement and the 1st floor, I can keep things at a relatively stable 40% to 45% throughout (often at the higher end in the basement area where my instruments are kept). (Note, throughout the year, I play pretty much all of my ukes at regular intervals, so they get ambient “air” from my living room too).
Now, after all that “set up” to my question . . .
Just after doing the “Oasis-18 + Boveda-49” set-up, I did an internet search about whether I should do the “two-piece” humidification strategy. My thought is that, over the winter, the Boveda-49 pack will “do its thing” to stabilize things at 49% while the Oasis-18 soundhole tubes would “help out” during the challenges of a Cleveland winter (tempered by my rather dedicated manual floor humidifier efforts — I have 4, two in the basement, two on the 1st floor).
The “internet view” seems to be not to “supplement” the Boveda-49 packs with in-soundhole humidifiers. But here, I see a number of folks do the same Boveda + Oasis strategy that I just put in place (in the previous three winters, I have been “Oasis-18 only” over the winter, refilling every Sunday — which was a schedule that worked out fine, as the Oasis-18s were still “half full” after a week).
Thoughts about whether I’m overdoing it with the two-piece strategy — or whether it is a good plan for where I live, . . . despite the “internet view” to the contrary.
