I have 6 Hygrometers and...

jd50ae

I trust 2 of them,

I carried this experiment out over a 48 hour period and I am satisfied with it.

All of the meters were calibrated to manufacturers instructions except the 2 "The Caliber 4Rs", which came calibrated.
2 of the standard round gold that come with a lot of humidors.
1 round XIKAR PuroTemp Digital w/ thermometer"
1 oblong HydroSet ll Digital w/ thermometer"

1st day:
Medium size plastic bag with salt water in the middle and the hydrometers were placed,, equal distance, around the salt bowl. Did not touch for 24 hours.

2nd day:
A large plastic bag set up the same exact way. Did not touch for 24 hours.

What I found was, to me, interesting.
The exact same readings from both bags, as expected.
The 2 "The Caliber 4Rs" and 1 round gold read a perfect 70.
1 round gold would not settle down after adjustment---trashed.
The "Hydroset ll didital w/ thermometer" read 3 points higher, and was so marked.
And the round "XIKAR PuroTemp" also read a 70 but would change if it was moved inside the bag, so I don't trust it.

Not much of a variation but interesting.
Any way, I will be replacing all hydrometers with"The Calber 4Rs" as soon as I can.

OK, I wasted some time, but it was interesting and fun.

The salt test wasn't set up to any formula mixture, it was a half pint glass bowl with distilled water and salt. All I wanted was a reading from all the meters. When 2 calibrated factory meters both read a perfect 70 I am happy with that. And the 1 standard gold gauge read a 70 so it was a good indication because it was calibrated to manufacturer's instructions.

Rain

jd50ae:

Any way, I will be replacing all hydrometers with"The Calber 4Rs" as soon as I can

Whatcha gonna do with the old ones?

jd50ae

Rain:

jd50ae:

Any way, I will be replacing all hydrometers with"The Calber 4Rs" as soon as I can

Whatcha gonna do with the old ones?

Well, I don't really trust them and was thinking about trashing them. I would hate for someone to end up with them.

Rain

One man's trash...

Lee.mcglynn

Hhhhhmmmmm just my .02 but the salt test should be 75rh so the one reading 73 is more accurate

New Boots

Lee.mcglynn:

Hhhhhmmmmm just my .02 but the salt test should be 75rh so the one reading 73 is more accurate

Was just going to mention this. The salt test should give you a perfect 75.

roaddevilray

I like my caliber 3 its spot on with my xikar hygrometer.

jd50ae

New Boots:

Lee.mcglynn:

Hhhhhmmmmm just my .02 but the salt test should be 75rh so the one reading 73 is more accurate

Was just going to mention this. The salt test should give you a perfect 75.

I should have said this in the original post. The salt test wasn't set up to any formula mixture, it was a half pint glass bowl with distilled water and salt. All I wanted was a reading from all the meters. When 2 calibrated factory meters both read a perfect 70 I am happy with that. And the 1 standard gold gauge read a 70 so it was a good indication because it was calibrated to manufacturer's instructions.

I have added it to the original post, THANKS.

jd50ae

roaddevilray:

I like my caliber 3 its spot on with my xikar hygrometer.

Saw it in a photo here on the forum.

jd50ae

I really would like as much input from you guys as possible. If I need to adjust some parameters I will.

New Boots

jd50ae:

I really would like as much input from you guys as possible. If I need to adjust some parameters I will.

I'm just trying to understand why you wouldnt just calibrate to 75 for all of them.

Rain

Hygros are the new beads...they suck. Throw in a stopwatch and it works wayyyyy better, much like KL. Right now, my humi is running 43:12 and my smokes taste great.

FireRob

Just curious about your salt and water mix. I see you said it was not an exact formula, but was it a watery solution? I have only looked into how to calibrate a hygro once and used the same method ever since, but what I read on the matter was your looking for a mix of a lot of salt and very little water. Just enough water to get the salt damp/wet and not try to dissolve it. Basically what you end up with is a very grainy pile of wet salt. Anyone else disagree with this (I’m asking)

When you describe yours I am picturing a very liquid solution. Is that accurate?

Why were you not interested in getting the 75rh reading on your hygro’s while going through all this work? Sounds like you put in a lot off effort to find a bunch of hygrometers that are all reading the same wrong reading

Bob Luken

While you did learn which ones will give the same readings, I too am curious as to the consistency of your salt and distilled water ratio. I have read many times and always carried out the directive that says you want your salt to be the consistency of wet sand. Not too swampy and not too dry either. And that consistency should produce a reading of 75%RH.

Bob Luken

Oh, And I'll trade you some cigars for the Xikar and the Hygroset. That is, if you are getting rid of either one.

jd50ae

Bob Luken:

While you did learn which ones will give the same readings, I too am curious as to the consistency of your salt and distilled water ratio. I have read many times and always carried out the directive that says you want your salt to be the consistency of wet sand. Not too swampy and not too dry either. And that consistency should produce a reading of 75%RH.

That is why I said what I did. I wasn't worried about what reading I got so I did not use any salt to water formula. I was only concerned that all the meters were subjected to the same levels. The meters were originally calibrated to the 75 point and of course a salt to water formula.

jd50ae

oops-----dup post.

Lee.mcglynn

jd50ae:

Bob Luken:

While you did learn which ones will give the same readings, I too am curious as to the consistency of your salt and distilled water ratio. I have read many times and always carried out the directive that says you want your salt to be the consistency of wet sand. Not too swampy and not too dry either. And that consistency should produce a reading of 75%RH.

That is why I said what I did. I wasn't worried about what reading I got so I did not use any salt to water formula. I was only concerned that all the meters were subjected to the same levels. The meters were originally calibrated to the 75 point and of course a salt to water formula.

what if they are all off? How do you know then? Personally I'd feel the reading would be more near 98rh then 70. This is one area I feel like you shouldn't mess around with unless you don't care about your hygro readings. Just doesn't really make any sense

kuzi16

FireRob:

Just curious about your salt and water mix. I see you said it was not an exact formula, but was it a watery solution? I have only looked into how to calibrate a hygro once and used the same method ever since, but what I read on the matter was your looking for a mix of a lot of salt and very little water. Just enough water to get the salt damp/wet and not try to dissolve it. Basically what you end up with is a very grainy pile of wet salt. Anyone else disagree with this (I’m asking)

this is the correct way. salt:water = 4:1 by volume.

jd50ae

Lee.mcglynn:

jd50ae:

Bob Luken:

While you did learn which ones will give the same readings, I too am curious as to the consistency of your salt and distilled water ratio. I have read many times and always carried out the directive that says you want your salt to be the consistency of wet sand. Not too swampy and not too dry either. And that consistency should produce a reading of 75%RH.

That is why I said what I did. I wasn't worried about what reading I got so I did not use any salt to water formula. I was only concerned that all the meters were subjected to the same levels. The meters were originally calibrated to the 75 point and of course a salt to water formula.

what if they are all off? How do you know then? Personally I'd feel the reading would be more near 98rh then 70. This is one area I feel like you shouldn't mess around with unless you don't care about your hygro readings. Just doesn't really make any sense

Gee and golly I wonder what the odds on that are...since they were all originally calibrated to manufactures formulas...and they were not re-calibrated from my test-just took a reading....if that were remotely possible then even a formula salt and water would be a complete waste of time and every meter out there is off. So, why don't you perform the same test...?? Use a formula mixture in 1 bag and a non-formula mixture in a 2nd bag. It will take less time to set up then typing your response did.

jd50ae

kuzi16:

FireRob:

Just curious about your salt and water mix. I see you said it was not an exact formula, but was it a watery solution? I have only looked into how to calibrate a hygro once and used the same method ever since, but what I read on the matter was your looking for a mix of a lot of salt and very little water. Just enough water to get the salt damp/wet and not try to dissolve it. Basically what you end up with is a very grainy pile of wet salt. Anyone else disagree with this (I’m asking)

this is the correct way. salt:water = 4:1 by volume.

Thanks for an actual formula......maybe sometime in the future I'll do it again with the formula but as of now I am completely satisfied.