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Post by Khalid Fadil on Jun 9, 2011 7:20:17 GMT -8
Being a guitarist as well as a guitar technician, I've collected a mass amount of used guitar string packs over the years. I don't quite like throwing paper away without a care. I always like to find uses for them. As for the guitar string packs, I turned them into envelopes for safe-keeping my specimens! Does anybody else do this? Khalid Attachments:
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Post by prillbug2 on Jun 9, 2011 10:22:47 GMT -8
I used to until some of them started to get moldy. Jeff Prill
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Post by Khalid Fadil on Jun 10, 2011 7:55:11 GMT -8
I used to until some of them started to get moldy. Jeff Prill Well, if you just leave them lying around then I suppose they would get moldy... I keep them in boxes filled with mothballs and silica grains. Anyway, its nice to see somebody else practicing this rare tradition.
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Post by saturniidave on Jun 10, 2011 14:32:20 GMT -8
I should think they make great envelopes Khalid. I would keep them in the freezer though to be on the safe side. Dave
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Post by Khalid Fadil on Jun 11, 2011 7:48:09 GMT -8
I should think they make great envelopes Khalid. I would keep them in the freezer though to be on the safe side. Dave Mothballs and silica don't work...?
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Post by saturniidave on Jun 11, 2011 7:52:07 GMT -8
They should do Khalid, it is mould I was thinking about. I would imagine it is a problem in Malaysia. If you use silica gel it will not be a problem as long as you dry it out regularly. Dave
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Post by Adam Cotton on Jun 11, 2011 12:41:17 GMT -8
Silica gel will only help in the high humidity in Malaysia if the specimens are kept in an airtight box, and as Dave said, you should dry the gel out regularly (heat it up to remove the moisture, and you can use it again).
The alternative to freezing the specimens is to keep your collection in an airconditioned room. The airconditioner dehumidifies the air, but it does need to be running 24 hours a day. It doesn't need to be turned down cool, just cooler than outside. I run my airconditioning at 25C and the humidity in my room is usually below 30%. This is helped by the fact that my room has no windows and the door has a rubber seal in the join to help keep the humidity out.
Adam.
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Post by prillbug2 on Jun 11, 2011 16:44:58 GMT -8
Actually, when I used them, they were in an airtight box. It was the humidity that caused it. We had a very warm, humid summer that year. Jeff Prill
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Post by Khalid Fadil on Jun 12, 2011 9:02:01 GMT -8
They should do Khalid, it is mould I was thinking about. I would imagine it is a problem in Malaysia. If you use silica gel it will not be a problem as long as you dry it out regularly. Dave Well, I've never had any problems whatsoever with mold. I've never had any sort of problems, actually... Perhaps my collection is blessed. ;D
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Post by Khalid Fadil on Jun 12, 2011 9:04:05 GMT -8
Silica gel will only help in the high humidity in Malaysia if the specimens are kept in an airtight box, and as Dave said, you should dry the gel out regularly (heat it up to remove the moisture, and you can use it again). The alternative to freezing the specimens is to keep your collection in an airconditioned room. The airconditioner dehumidifies the air, but it does need to be running 24 hours a day. It doesn't need to be turned down cool, just cooler than outside. I run my airconditioning at 25C and the humidity in my room is usually below 30%. This is helped by the fact that my room has no windows and the door has a rubber seal in the join to help keep the humidity out. Adam. Oh, c'mon! You have a whole building built especially for your collection! Of course there wouldn't be any problems. I can't run my AC's 24/7. My bills will sky-rocket!
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Post by Adam Cotton on Jun 12, 2011 23:47:35 GMT -8
Not exactly a "whole building", just a large room on the back of the garage. My aircon bills aren't so bad, because the room is well insulated and has no windows.
Airtight boxes with regularly dehdrated silica-gel should be ok for a few years, but it just takes one catastrophic event to destroy a whole collection (I feel a shudder every time I see pics on TV of floods, earthquakes or tornados destroying houses).
Adam.
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ckswank
Full Member
Posts: 239
Country: USA
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Post by ckswank on Jun 13, 2011 1:27:33 GMT -8
Adam - I know what you mean about the natural disasters. Makes me cringe all summer long watching the Gulf of Mexico. Went through Hurricane Ike unscathed almost three years ago. My biggest concern are the damned imported fire ants we have. They come in the house occasionally through the weep holes around the foundation. If there is anything around for them to eat, they will be all over it in no time. I went collecting in SE AZ two years ago & didn't catch much because the monsoon season was very dry that year & had not received much rain. What little I did catch, I had on 3 or 4 spreading boards on a drying rack. The fire ants came in without me realizing it and within one day I was left with a few wings! Talk about being PO! At least so far, they haven't figured out how to get into my boxes of specimens! Just thought I would share my experience.
Charlie
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Post by wollastoni on Jun 13, 2011 2:13:59 GMT -8
About ants, a friend of mine in Indonesia puts sticky bands on the sides of his spreading boards to prevent ants to climb on it and destroy the leps...
True that they can destroy a lep very fastly...
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Post by saturniidave on Jun 13, 2011 8:03:06 GMT -8
I don't have a problem with ants thank goodness, but I have known Earwigs to find a specimen on the board and eat it. Dave
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Post by wollastoni on Jun 13, 2011 8:22:14 GMT -8
Yes that is unfortunately my story... it happens to me in the Alps last summer with a nice Polyommatus damon...
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