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Double Bass Cheap Humidifier

Dave Irwin

Dave Irwin

May 11, 2002
817
9
59
Alexandria, Ohio
www.afterhours.com
#1
Anyone else tried one of these?

http://www.vesperresearch.com/

Less than $20 , non-mechanical, just sits on the furnace register.

I got one to suppliment my recently purchased Furnace Humidifier on particularly cold days.

So far, since I've had it, temps have dipped to low 20's and my radioshack humidistat hasn't dropped below 36%.
NOTE: I have an analog needle type that shows 8-10% higher so I dont really know where the truth is.....

Here's how it works....
Plastic main compartment w/ water resevoir
Scoop sits over register and captures air
Water absorbing plates sit in grooves within main compartment

Hot air from register flows thru scoop, over soaked plates, evaporating water into the airflow.

If I can keep it well into 30% range during the coldest days, it'll be well worth it......
 
#2
According to the description it says it protects Pianos, but doesn;t mention basses ;)

I have adapted to the nearly desert dryness of Colorado, and I just use one of those dampit rubber-spunge thigns that hangs in my f-hole. We used to use those large humidifiers with resevoirs in the bottom and a fan and filter at top, but it was too annoying to refill the tanks all the time.
 
#3
Man -- function over form right there... If you have floor registers, there are other drop-in products that work on the same principle (sorry, I don't have brand names), but look more or less like they're "supposed to be there." They're about the same price and available at hardware / home stores. As long as you keep 'em filled, they work fairly well in small- to medium-size rooms with closed doors; don't expect one to get a whole floor humidified.
 
#4
Sure enough. A quick search and a couple of other designs came up.....
Not sure about the functionality though. They work on the principle of placing a "sponge" like plate directly over the register.
I would think that they could cause alot more backpressure and prevent alot of air from getting through, particularly when 1st filled.

I'd think the "Breath Easy" would be alot more free flowing.

At the price though, I'll have to try one some time and do the compares.

Thanks,
Dave
 
#6
5stringDNA said:
...and I just use one of those dampit rubber-spunge thigns that hangs in my f-hole. We used to use those large humidifiers with resevoirs in the bottom and a fan and filter at top, but it was too annoying to refill the tanks all the time.
Click to expand...
If that's the extent of your efforts to humidify your bass, you could be in for some nasty surprises.
Recommended reading:http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=156115
 
#10
mje said:
You'd have to refill that puppy at least every couple of hours to make any dent on home humidity.
Click to expand...

Indeed. I can see it now - stringing dampits up all throughout the home like green sausages in a butcher shop... filling, refilling, and more lotsa refilling....

Seriously, that's why I mentioned keeping the door to the room closed - one of those register humidifiers will never humidify an entire home. The place where I used one had no furnace humidifier; I filled the register humidifier once daily, kept the door shut and the humidity never dropped below 50%.
 
#11
Way up here in the frozen north (-21 C at the moment) I have 2 furnaces in the house, oil, and wood for when I'm home. Winter humidity in the house is about 20%.

I tried all kinds of experiments with my guitars a couple of years ago, with Damp-its, Planet Waves, and the little clay filled guitar humidifiers. I installed them and put humidity gauges in the cases with them. I did not find one which would raise the humdity level in the case by more than 1 - 2 %.

My final solution was the big Holmes house humidifier. With the hard water a filter only lasts a month or two, even with frequent soaking.....but humidity now is about 45 - 54%...

Yeah its a pain...it has to be refilled at least once a day in the real cold weather, maybe every second day as temps approach freezing...

But with several HIGH grade guitars, EUB, EB, and of course the Chris....the peace of mind is worth the hassle...
 
#12
...that it's rapid changes in humidity that are hardest on wood. If you're going to go galloping off to a gig through cold dry air, 50% humidity in your music room might be more than you want. This is advice I got from Mike Shank (or more accurately, my understanding of advice I got from Mike Shank, which makes it a little more suspect...)

I've got one of those 12 gallon Kenmores down in the basement with all the music gear. I can keep the Radio Shack hygrometers reading around 40% as long as I don't let it run dry for too long.
 
#13
Jeff Michael said:
...that it's rapid changes in humidity that are hardest on wood. If you're going to go galloping off to a gig through cold dry air, 50% humidity in your music room might be more than you want. This is advice I got from Mike Shank (or more accurately, my understanding of advice I got from Mike Shank, which makes it a little more suspect...)

I've got one of those 12 gallon Kenmores down in the basement with all the music gear. I can keep the Radio Shack hygrometers reading around 40% as long as I don't let it run dry for too long.
Click to expand...

There are some excellent threads on this...which I just perused, and you are making a lot of sense....I'll crank her down a bit...
 
#14
I have an Aprilaire model 700 mounted on the Furnace. It is be bomb. I actually have it backed down a bit to keep the humidity at around 37-38% max. I have always understood that you don't want to keep it tropical in the house if you are going to be lugging the bass in and out all the time. That way, the bass will react to the humidity changes in its new environment less.

Although my bass is a hybrid, so it may be less likely to have issues anyway.
 
#15
A couple houses ago I had a furnace humidifier, but the outdoor unit in my current home precludes that option...

I've got small room units, one of which lives in the "music room" 3rd bedroom-- it is an older warm mist model made by Holmes, which they've apparently discontinued. However, they now offer others that also have humidistats Invalid Link Removed that deserve consideration, and their capacity is bigger than the two I own.

I think it important to have an accurate humidistat in order to deliver moisture only when needed, to avoid mold and other overhumidification issues, not to mention the side benefit of having to refill the sucker as often. ;)

Addendum: Meant to mention that I have another brand I bought last year, with a humidity level control that is just an adjustment knob-- yeah, it works, but the independent electronic readout device I have in that room has proven the level control to be mostly useless, it kicks in and kicks out over an extremely (and generally useless) wide range of room humidity levels. Not of practical use.
 

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