Can a Forspark Electric Dry Cabinet be used to store comics? 3 3

[JML38]

hello,  I was think of purchasing an electric dry cabinet to store my cgc comics.  Because you can control the humidity level I thought it may be an ideal storage solution for my comics.  However, these cabinets are airtight and I have heard you should not store comics in an air tight  container do to off gassing.  These cabinets do control humidity so I wondering if they would be ok for comics.  Does anyone use or have experience with storing comics in an electric dry cabinet  like Forspark?

[KCOComics]

I checked out this one on Amazon and it does suggest it can store print paper and books (or at least suggests the humidity level to do so). 

But I don't think paper was ever the concern with safes. It was rusting staples. So I'm really not sure if this will work. 

[AJD]

On 1/21/2024 at 3:00 PM, KCOComics said:

But I don't think paper was ever the concern with safes. It was rusting staples. So I'm really not sure if this will work. 

I think that was fireproof safes, and it was the chemical composition of the fireproofing that caused the rusting.

[Dick Pontoon]

I control humidity in my comic room with a dehumidifier. It takes care of all the books in the whole room, not just what would fit into a cabinet.

[CGC Mike]

On 1/21/2024 at 6:05 AM, AJD said:

I think that was fireproof safes, and it was the chemical composition of the fireproofing that caused the rusting.

Here's what Steve B posted in the thread:

Many fire resistant safes contain insulation, which in turn, contains water crystals; thus the high content of moisture.

[JML38]

I tried a dehumidifier and it worked great bring down the humidity but it caused the room temperature to rise too high.  My comics are in a very small closet.  According to my research these electric dry cabinets are heatless and control humidity with only 2 % fuculation.  They are very small so only my most valuable comics would go in dry cabinet.  I could always open to door on occasion to help with off gassing.  If humidity is set at 40 % year round staples would not rust

[lizards2]

On 1/21/2024 at 6:55 AM, JML38 said:

I tried a dehumidifier and it worked great bring down the humidity but it caused the room temperature to rise too high.  My comics are in a very small closet.  According to my research these electric dry cabinets are heatless and control humidity with only 2 % fuculation.  They are very small so only my most valuable comics would go in dry cabinet.  I could always open to door on occasion to help with off gassing.  If humidity is set at 40 % year round staples would not rust

I love it when you can get some good fuculation, and when things get fuculated.

[KCOComics]

On 1/21/2024 at 9:55 AM, JML38 said:

I tried a dehumidifier and it worked great bring down the humidity but it caused the room temperature to rise too high.  My comics are in a very small closet.  According to my research these electric dry cabinets are heatless and control humidity with only 2 % fuculation.  They are very small so only my most valuable comics would go in dry cabinet.  I could always open to door on occasion to help with off gassing.  If humidity is set at 40 % year round staples would not rust

So it's not really for security, like a safe would be? 

I'm not sure there would be much benefit in doing this over above a room with a dehumidifier or central air. I feel like there is the risk of the "unknown" 

[buttock]

Unless you're in a place where the humidity varies dramatically I think it's unnecessary to have this.  Since you don't know if it's safe, I would pass.  In most cases it's not the absolute temperature or humidity that causes damage, but the fluctuations.  

[JML38]

I tried a dehumidifier and it worked great bring down the humidity but it caused the room temperature to rise too high.  My comics are in a very small closet.  According to my research these electric dry cabinets are heatless and control humidity with only 2 % fuculation.  They are very small so only my most valuable comics would go in dry cabinet.  I could always open to door on occasion to help with off gassing.  If humidity is set at 40 % year round staples would not rust

 

For security it is a stainless steel cabinet with lock.  Not as secure as a safe but there is no need to worry about humidity,  No buckets to empty.   Much safer than a cardboard box.  I found a lot of people using them for stamps and old books even baseball cards.  i do understand the fear of the unknown with this.  I agree with you there.  Trying to find out if anyone as used them successfully for comics.  In my case the temperature of my comic room gets to hot if I use a dehumidifier.

[JML38]

thanks

[Lightning55]

If you put the dehumidifier in the room, instead of in the closet, the temp probably would not rise much, if at all. 

The heat from the compressor on the dehumidifier is causing the small closet to overheat, but it should get dispersed in a decent sized room.  And the closet would still be at the same relative humidity as the room itself.  They do make some operating noise, so in a bedroom could be a problem.

[JML38]

thanks  Good to know

[Juno Beach]

Putting your most valuable comics in something like this seems like a bad idea. Too many unknowns. 

[ExNihilo]

Here's my uneducated take on this.  I don't know how this electric cabinet works, but as soon as you said "electric", I had the following concern.

I have a wine fridge which serves to keep the wine climate controlled, both in terms of humidity and temperature.  The biggest concern is the potential for failure.  If something should happen and the fan or cooling stops working, the electric motor powering the device (which generates heat) might still be working.  And without any active cooling, it turns the wine fridge into a hot box, and the air heats up beyond that of the ambient room temperature.

Now, I realize a wine fridge and the electric cabinet are different.  But I mention it because if there is an element to the cabinet that generates heat, because it's a confined space, anything inside will be subjected to higher temperatures in the event something breaks.