Hey guys! It gets very cold and dry where I live in the winter. While the house stays nice and warm, I know the humidity plummets. I am looking for a guitar case humidifier to use during that time. I am looking at the D'Addario humidipak, the Nomad MN-300 and the Oasis OH-1. The bad reviews for both the humidipak and the Oasis, of which there are few, warn of them leaking into the guitar which scares me. If your not familiar, the case is laid flat with the guitar in it, and they suspend between the strings and hang down into the body with the case closed when not in use. The good reviews, of which there are many, describe both of them keeping a perfect 45 to 55 percent humidity in the case and making for a very happy guitar. The bad reviews for the Nomad say it molds but no issues with leaking but most of the reviews are very positive. Anyone have experience with any of them or any other ones? Always appreciate your input. Thank you. Matthew
Comments
Careful with case humidifiers! I had one leak into one of my guitars a couple of months ago, swelling the top over the binding. I am lucky to have a great luthier in the S.F. Bay area who is doing the repair, and it looks excellent. I have switched to an inexpensive room humidifier. If the room is right, you won't need a case humidifier.
I use the old Planet Waves humidifier which is similar to the Nomad. Suspend between the strings. Works for me. I squeeze the sponge out so that there is no way it can really leak out. I also have two regular kitchen sponges that I wet, squeeze out, then place into a small ziploc sandwich plastic bag with slits cut into it. That goes up in the headstock area of the case. I guess I have to re-damp them every 3-5 days or so...been looking into the humidipaks. Interested to hear if there are any negative experiences with them as they seem to add moisture and then take away depending on the time of year.
I have been using these for several years without issue. They do seem like a very good supplement to the room humidifier I use during furnace season (well, seasons in western NY). I have never had an issue with a rupture or a leak, and depending on how dry conditions are, they can last quite a good amount of time.
I have two humidipaks in the case, one under the headstock, one nestled in the cutaway area. The set comes with three but the oval hole is too small to suspend the double pack in. The pack in the headstock part is in the pouch and wrapped in another cloth so it can't get punctured by the string ends, which I cut pretty short as well. No issues with leaking here but I'm always checking when I pull out the guitar and put it back...
That's exactly how I use mine. It seems to work very well and is basically risk free from a leaking or damage perspective.
It's also nice in the winter to be able to throw the third pack in the case when the other two start drying out. I suppose you can always buy more packs but I've never had an issue with them not rehydrating.
Thanks for all the input. So, I am thinking of buying the humidipak set and cutting the dual pack pouch in 2 and placing one on either side of the body and the third under the headstock. This will solve the humidity issue for the guitar and 2 other potential problems. 1. the pouch won't fit in the holes and 2. if there is any leaking the worst case is a damaged case and not a damaged guitar. Thoughts?
I think that should be fine. One thing I'm careful of is that the packs don't rest against the guitar. Not sure if it's an issue if they do touch the guitar, but I'd like to think a little breathing room is beneficial...