How to make your own Dry Box

Note:

When you use the dry box for the first time, put the silica gel & hygrometer inside the box and keep the box empty & airtight for a minimum of 6 hours.

The reason?

Because when the silica gel is used for the first time, it is in full strength means that it will absorb the moisture in full capacity making the dry box drier than anticipated.

It is based on my friend's personal experience, he put his camera & gear inside the brand new dry box & silica gel; and he found out that the RH level was 35% (too dry). After several hours, the RH level stabilized to 50% and stayed around that level until the silica gel needed to be recharged / renewed.

Three essential things you'll need to make your own dry box:

1. Airtight container

2. Silica gel or small wireless dehumidifier

3. Hygrometer

Choose the right size container that will fit all your camera gear (camera & lenses).

The airtight container will prevent the outside air to enter into the container hence maintaining the right RH inside it.

Place the sealed container in a cool dry area

Cost: Start from $8.00 from Amazon or less than $20 at any of your local / DIY store

Wireless Dehumidifier

A small dehumidifier is totally wireless and is able absorb moisture from a small contained container unit. The unit does not need a battery / electricity to operate and simply hang it inside the container.

The beauty of this unit is it is rechargeable / can be renewed. The unit has a special color moisture meter crystals indicator which changes from "blue" (when dry) to "pink" (when wet). When the indicator is pink, simply remove the dehumidifier from the container and recharge it for 8 - 10 hours.

Please recharge it in a well-lit ventilated area as when you recharge it, the crystal will release all the moisture from the dehumidifier into the air, so it's ready to absorb the moisture again (the indicator will once again turn to "blue" color)

The unit can absorb approximately 6 ounces of moisture so for a small container, it will last up to 3 - 4 weeks before you'll need to re-new it.

Cost: Wireless Dehumidifier starts from $20 on Amazon

Silica Gel

There are many varieties of silica gel, the most common one looks like this:

You may have already saw this kind of silica gel inside your new handbag or your camera box. The above small bag of silica gel was from my new handbag.

Silica gel is essential as it absorbs the moisture from a small closed unit and prevent the molds / fungus to grow in it. It's particularly important to have silica gel if you store your camera gear for a long time in a closed unit. It is also recommended to have few small bags of silica gel inside your camera bag if you plan to travel for few days in a humid area.

Silica gel is reusable. If the silica gel is no longer absorbing the moisture or its color changes, you can simply fry or heat them up in an oven with low heat for few minutes. Then it is ready to be used again.

Silica gel is inexpensive, you can buy them from in small bag / pouch / packet like the above picture, you can buy the gel separately and put them inside the bag yourself or you can also purchase one like these below:

Peli Desiccant Silica Gel

A highly recommended silica gel from Pelican, it contains 40gr of silica gel unit and protects up to 3 cubic feet of enclosed space. So you can use this unit inside your own dry box. No electricity / battery needed.

This unit use a blue & pink color indicator, if it's pink, simply re-charge it in the oven and the unit is ready to be used again.

It's small (only 2x4 inch), light and will also fit into your camera bag.

Cost: Silica gel costs from $2 on Amazon

Hygrometer is used to measure the relative humidity (RH) level.

For preventing your camera gear from molds and fungus, the storage box / dry box will need a RH level of 40 - 50%. If the hygrometer shows that the RH level is higher than 50% or lower than 40%, then you'll need to check the silica gel. Lower means you'll need more silica gel to absorb the measure or maybe the silica gel needs to be renewed / recharged. Higher means the dry box is too dry and you may need to remove some of the silica gel from your dry box.

It is very important to have hygrometer in your dry box.

You can purchase an analog hygrometer which is pretty cheap, around $5 - $10. Or you can also purchase a digital hygrometer which costs around $15 - $40.

Before your first use, I suggest you to calibrate it first to ensure it will give you an accurate reading.

I currently use the analog hygrometer:

It is a very small hygrometer, only 2.25" diameter and can be easily placed inside the dry box using the magnetic mount. Before I first use it, I calibrate it using this inexpensive small envelope:

Cost: $9.15 for the hygrometer and $8.48 for the calibration pack

At the moment, there are many companies selling dry box. I personally recommend the dry box manufactured and made by Pelican and it's also the brand most recommended by many photographers all around the world.

The Pelican's dry boxes are airtight, waterproof and strong. You'll need to purchase the silica gel separately, but you can get a pack of 40gr silica gel from Pelican for less than $20.

These boxes are also great for traveling. If you have couple of lenses and all other camera gear, you may not be able to bring them into the cabin as a carry-on luggage. Most likely you'll need to check them in and you can have a peace of mind to store all your expensive camera gear in these strong Pelican Dry Box. Importantly, it will also ensure your camera gear dry and prevent them from molds and fungus.

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