Hi Allison!
Only the words are different. The time, temp, and results are the same. You are dehumidifying and heat treating the tapes whether you use a dehydrator or a convection oven. It is only the device in use for the same process that differs.
One important detail is to not use a common household gas oven, as gas burning has H20 as a side effect. It needs to be dry in there, preferably with air circulation! A convection oven by definition uses hot air circulation, a dehydrator may need an accessory fan if the heat rising is not enough. That's why I like the Excalibur; they have a fan pushing air horizontally across the tapes, no hot spots.
That said, I usually transfer the tapes I bake the following day, and haven't needed to go back and find out how long the effect holds. But six months or more later, re-baking is needed, according to my experience...
<L>
Lou Judson
Intuitive Audio
415-883-2689
On Feb 24, 2014, at 7:31 AM, Smith, Allison wrote:
> Hello and thanks to everyone who has responded so far to my post -
>
> I'm intrigued by the dehydrator solution. Richard, could you tell me what temperature you are setting the Nesco unit to, when you bake 24 - 48 hours? Is it the lowest setting? If so, I'm wondering if the dehumidification process is less stressful / radical than traditional convection oven heating (higher temp for a shorter period of time) - letting the tape layers relax into place more naturally/gently? Or, does this matter? Anyone done a study?
>
> For those of you using the dehydrating solution - do you have a temperature/time ratio that you generally use, that you would share? Will you tell me the model you are using, with the temp/time?
>
> How have your tapes held up post - dehumidification? Is it similar to baking - where you only get a few plays before the tape needs processing again? Will they bake again if necessary?
>
> Thanks so much -
>
> Allison
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