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| | | Forum Newbie
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 11/25/2005 7:26 PM
Posts: 2, Visits: 1 |
| | I am going to use my planet waves guitar humidifier for the first time. How may syringes of water should I use to get it started? |
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Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 2/15/2006 9:55 PM
Posts: 157, Visits: 1 |
| I was hoping I could scare up a .pdf file of the instructions, but no such luck yet. I don't think you can put too much water in the humidifier, per se-- when the phenolic foam sponge inside has absorbed water to its full capacity, water will come out the round side vents. (Just to point out the obvious, one will want to do the prep work away from the guitar.) Then, shake off the excess droplets, let the outside air-dry, and that should do it. Hope that helps. |
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Supreme Being
Group: Administrators
Last Login: 2/5/2008 8:24 AM
Posts: 321, Visits: 505 |
| I don't have a pdf handy, but recommend the following:
1) Inject distilled water into humidifier over a sink or elsewhere where you do not mind some drippage. 2) Keep slowly filling the unit until it is clear that no more water is being saturated by the phenolic foam. The unit will “overflow” at some point and that’s how you will no it is filled. A completely dry unit will take in 3-4 full syringes. 3) Remove syringe, and shake humidifier vigorously to ensure that all excess water is removed. The special phenolic foam will not drip, it is the excess water that is being removed at this point. 4) Place the humidifier back inside the guitar between string 3 and 4. 5) You will develop a feel for when this needs to be changed, but it will depend our your particular climate/environment where the guitar is being stored. As MJF mentioned, you can't harm the unit by overfilling, so just try to keep it moist. We suggest you fill the unit once a week in the beginning. If it will only takes in one full syringe or less, you can spread out the filling to once every other week. Also, for best results keep the guitar in a closed case when not in use. If you don't have one already, you may want to consider getting a hygrometer. This will help you gauge what the relative humidity is in your case at all times. We offer a great one, and there are others on the market as well: http://www.planet-waves.com/pcaredetails.aspx?ID=1  Hope this helps! Matt |
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| | | Forum Newbie
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Last Login: 11/25/2005 7:26 PM
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| | Thanks for the help guys. |
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| | | Forum Newbie
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 12/19/2005 9:04 AM
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| Could someone please explain this part:
"4) Place the humidifier back inside the guitar between string 3 and 4."
...in detail. I can't understand why they didn't supply a picture of how to place the unit. |
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Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 2/15/2006 9:55 PM
Posts: 157, Visits: 1 |
| Here's a picture I snapped with my phone camera... I tried to get an angle where you can see how the humidifier sits; as you can see, the 3rd and 4th strings are slightly displaced, but that doesn't do any harm. 
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| | | Forum Newbie
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 12/19/2005 9:04 AM
Posts: 2, Visits: 1 |
| Ok, thanks a lot for your help!! I think the humidifier I bought is a larger type. And since the guitar is a steelstring, it's nearly impossible to get in there (it kind of covers nearly all 6 strings). The guy in the music shop obviously suggested a humidifier too large for my instrument.
Thanks again for your help! |
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| | | Junior Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 1/15/2006 9:56 PM
Posts: 13, Visits: 1 |
| I hate to break it to you all, but phenolic foam is what florists call "oasis". Buy a cut-flower arrangement for your girlfriend and save the green foam, and you will have yourself both a guitar (or cigar) humidifier and a happy girlfriend. Ok, maybe that's a little extreme, so stop by a florist's shop and just buy the foam. It will probably cost you about a dollar. The main thing about the guitar humidifier (the thing that makes it something other than just a wet sponge) is that it doesn't allow the wet foam to touch the wood directly, so remember to put the foam in a perforated plastic container somewhere inside the case, where the humidity can get out but the wood won't get wet directly. The PW acoustic guitar humidifier sits between the strings inside the sound hole, which is a great place since it is the biggest empty space inside the case.
Keep in mind that despite what some people think, there is such a thing as too much humidity. Too much humidity can cause warpage or mildew. You defintely don't want warpage, and if you get mildew inside your guitar, you will never get rid of it. That's why you need a hygrometer, and you need to check it regularly. I did not see a mention of the price of the hygrometer on the Planet Waves site, but you can get one from indoorhealthproducts.com for $18.95 with free delivery.
The bottom line is that indoor humidity varies greatly with outdoor weather (unless you have a completely closed system). Yesterday my indoor humidity was over 50% and I was able to shut off my humidifer for the day. Today, outdoor humidity was 34% (high for the day) and my indoor humidity was about 15%. Today was definitely one of those days when you would want to run a humidifier and put some oasis in your guitar case and inside the body of your piano, and pots of water on top of the radiators, and anything else you could do to keep the indoor humidity up to protect your fine pieces of woodwork.
HTH,
John Nasta
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