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hygrometer question

tuckaholictuckaholic Posts: 22
in Cigar 101
I'm back... once again.  LOL.  Everything has been going fairly well.  The only question is now.  I did the salt test to calibrate the hygrometer.  It read 55-60.  Is it normal for a hygrometer to be off this far?  Could I have done the salt test wrong?
This is how I did it:
I filled a shot glass with salt and enough water to create sort of a salt paste.  I put the shot glass with the hygrometer in a freezer bag.  I let it sit for a few days.  Over the period of the few days, I consistently received a reading no different then when it was sitting out in the open air.  55-60. 

On the upside of things,  I did place and win 5 or 6 on Cbid.  I ordered an assortment of the cigars suggested and also a few samplers. 

Comments

  • Jetmech_63Jetmech_63 Posts: 3,451 ✭✭✭
    Cbid rules! Every time i go on that site my wife gets p!ssed because she knows whats about to happen :)

    Sounds like you did the salt test right. I have always used a soda cap filled 3/4 the way with salt then enough water to get it wet, but no standing water on top when you look at it at an angle. Put the hygro and the cap in a ziplock for 8-10 hours and calibrate it. Now i have a Xicar digital hygro and for some wierd reason it took twice to calibrate...after the second it was fine. It's extrememly accurate because(after i talked to a few cigar guys at work) i took it in and calibrated it against a device used to calibrate barometric pressure and RH on aircraft, and it was only .8 off.
  • tuckaholictuckaholic Posts: 22
    Maybe i'll try running the test again.  Thanks again.  I can see the problem with Cbid.  It is entirely too easy to bid.  Even easier to win.  LOL..
  • dtrdwngsdtrdwngs Posts: 74
    I have just about given up on the hydrometers. I have 2 digital and several analog. I have calibrated all of the analogs but the digitals cannot be calibrated. They all read differently in the very same humidor. Even the digitals are different. Not one has ever been the same. I have an Oasis XL in there putting out humidity at 70%. Each hydrometer reads from 60-86%. I give up.
  • gmill880gmill880 Posts: 5,947 ✭
    86 Surprise [:O]
  • dtrdwngsdtrdwngs Posts: 74
    It is a digital that gets up to 86%. The other doesn't read nearly as high. It's so weird. The analogs are not even close to each other or the digitals.
  • phobicsquirrelphobicsquirrel Posts: 7,347 ✭✭✭
    Get a boveda calibration pack. I stopped using the salt test, couldn't really get it to work right.
  • phobicsquirrelphobicsquirrel Posts: 7,347 ✭✭✭
    The little havanna digi's are good. cheap and seems to be pretty stable.
  • phobicsquirrelphobicsquirrel Posts: 7,347 ✭✭✭
    Also adding cigars that are dry or wet can effect the RH as I noticed for a week or so then once they sat a little bit the rh went down to about 67. But I would say get a boveda cali pack. Should fix your problems. Oh and if you calibrate a digi hygro again, go a head and take the battery out for a few hours then put it back in. It clears it.
  • Jetmech_63Jetmech_63 Posts: 3,451 ✭✭✭
    phobicsquirrel:
    Oh and if you calibrate a digi hygro again, go a head and take the battery out for a few hours then put it back in. It clears it.


    Crap!....That woulda been a handy bit of info about a month ago :)
  • phobicsquirrelphobicsquirrel Posts: 7,347 ✭✭✭
    Yeah there must be a small capacitor or something in them.
  • TumblerTumbler Posts: 338 ✭✭
    I have about 5 of the hyrometers and I don't think I have one now that will calibrate to 75%. I run out of adjustments. The only one that seems to be correct is the Xikar which sets automatically to 75 when I push the button. The rest I had to put notes - add 4% or add 8%. Perhaps I should take the battery out and give that a shot. Even a capacitor wouldn't take 2 hours to drain off though.
  • jlmartajlmarta Posts: 7,881 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Boy!  It sure sounds like a buncha folks are having problems with hygrometers.  I'm not saying I'm a genius, but I've got a digital that I got from Heartfelt industries - - same place I got my humidity beads.  These guys are great to deal with and I've never had a problem with calibration or accuracy.  You might want to have a look at their webpage.

    I must be lucky bcause the salt test has alwaays worked well for me, too.

    Marty 
  • TumblerTumbler Posts: 338 ✭✭
    I want to be a genius, just don't think I have the tools... :)
  • gmill880gmill880 Posts: 5,947 ✭
    I'd like to have a genius...no wait thats a genie Big Smile [:D]
  • dtrdwngsdtrdwngs Posts: 74
    An update on my hydrometer situation. I took out the battery on one digital and put them in the other one that was off. It came on, flashed a bunch of crap and turned off. Tried the other battery and same thing. Okay, that one is junk which explains the 86% reading I was getting. Put the battery back in the other one. Eventually, it calmed down and was at like 76%. Today it reads 72%. The analog is now at 58 instead of 60%. The Oasis XL reads just above 70% so that is the one I believe. I figure it's sort of close to the average of the other 2 so must be the most accurate. The 2 digitals came from Cuban Crafters free in orders I placed so I guess you get what you pay for. The analog came with that humidor which also came from CC. I am going to purchase a couple of digitals from elsewhere very soon. By the way, the cigars feel nice and springy like they are supposed to. Not too much moisture and not dry and hard.
  • Bad AndyBad Andy Posts: 848
    the analogs are usually far off, they are mainly for looks, grab one from ccom or maybe heartfelt, they are reliable
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