20 AMERICANMUSICFURNITURE.COM 21 AMERICANMUSICFURNITURE.COM
still not be enough. Your guitars are
typically not going to sustain damage
unless they are stored in excess of
65% humidity, there are some things
you can do to reduce the humidity in
your Guitar Habitat® in the summer.
1. Remove all water from the
humidifier tank. Even with the
humidifier fan turned off, water will
evaporate into the cabinet. In the
summer, you don’t want extra water in
the cabinet.
2. Pick up a box of silica gel desiccant
and put it in your Guitar Habitat®
cabinet. Several types are available
from Amazon.com for under $15.
These are generally adequate for
a few weeks and generally can be
recharged.
3. Place a room dehumidifier in the
room where your Guitar Habitat® is
located. Do not over dehumidify.
The humidity level in my cabinet is
over 50% in the summer and I have
a dehumidifier membrane in my
cabinet.
The dehumidifier membranes have a
typical life of three to five years and
will need occasional replacement
depending on how much they’ve had
to run. You can reduce the stress
on the dehumidifier membrane by
keeping your Guitar Habitat® in
a room kept at no more than 75
degrees Fahrenheit. We have had
customers keep their cabinets in
unairconditioned rooms that are more
than 90 degrees which can damage
the cabinet and the guitars in it.
Can I add an ionic dehumidifier to
my cabinet?
Unfortunately that is not an option.
The ionic membrane dehumidifier
uses a different controller and power
supply than the humidify only Guitar
Habitat® models. It would not be
cost effective or easy to add one
after the humidify only cabinet has
been delivered to you. If you find you
need one, please contact us and we
can help you sell your old cabinet
while we build you a new one with a
dehumidifier in it.
What controls the humidity level in
my cabinet?
The LCD meter in your controller is
NOT controlling the humidity level in
your cabinet. There is a humidistat
in the controller tied to the control
knob(s). The controller is accurate
to plus or minus 5% and controls the
humidity equipment in your cabinet.
We’ve found in testing that these
meters are quite accurate. If you want
to verify the humidity level in your
cabinet, dial the humidity meter down
to zero and then dial it up until the
green light comes on. When the light
comes on, the dial is pointing at your
humidity level.
Is it possible to put mandolins,
violins, ukuleles and other stringed
instruments in my Guitar Habitat®?
Yes it is. We offer inserts that fit in the
guitar openings that are designed for
smaller instruments. These are made
of walnut, cherry, oak or maple and
can be built to fit most any smaller
instrument. They are lined with cork
just like the openings for your guitars.
Humidifier water is pouring out on
my floor:
You have either overfilled the
humidifier tank, or it is leaking. To
remove the tank from the Guitar
Habitat® remove your guitars, remove
the cork topped rails, and remove the
hatch covers. The cover with the refill
light may have connectors that you
need to unplug to disconnect it from
the humidifier tank. Lift the humidifier
tank out of the Guitar Habitat® and
dry the interior of the humidifier box
that the tank has been resting in. Dry
off the outside of the humidifier tank
and take it to your sink. Pour an inch
or so of water in the tank and set it on
a counter for five minutes to see if any
water is leaking. If the tank is leaking,
please return it to us and we’ll send
out a replacement. If the tank is not
leaking, place it back in your Guitar
Habitat® and refill it making sure that
the water does not come higher in the
tank reservoir than the overflow hole.
My humidifier fan is still running
after the cabinet humidity appears
to be higher than my humidifier set
point.
The humidistat is independent of the
controller and is there for reference.
The setting you make with the dial
is what controls the operation of the
humidifier. A variance of a few percent
is not unusual. However, if you have it
set at 50% and it is still running when
your humidistat reads 55%, call for
customer service at (267) 272-2460.
The LCD display on my Guitar
Habitat® controller is blank and not
displaying information.
For new models:
Check to see if the rainbow cable is
properly seated in the top portion of
your controller. An additional place to
check is at the power supply. Remove
the drawer that is on the same side
as your light switch. Once removed,
follow the rainbow cable to check
whether or not it is properly inserted
into the appropriate receptacle.
