Drguano Posted January 30, 2014 Posted January 30, 2014 My lesson (self taught) of the week. The weather in Minnesota has been cold and dry. My hygrometer readings have descended to the mid 50's in three of my four humidors. I have been using the cat litter crystals and decided it was time to go pro and ordered a pound of Heartfelt beads. Then I thought I might as well calibrate my digital puck hygrometers. I did so using the damp salt method. They were all off. After calibration, the four boxes all show 68%. My question, how often do my fellow sub-arctic dwellers calibrate their hygrometers?
Omecene Posted January 30, 2014 Posted January 30, 2014 I live in Pittsburgh and like most of the country, it's been very cold and very dry as of late. That said, I've never calibrated my hydrometers aside from the initial calibration when I first got them (I have 3 Xikar digital hydrometers in my wineador). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Oscar300 Posted January 30, 2014 Posted January 30, 2014 I dont use them, I know when the cigars are not right and I never trust the hygrometers. I use beads for what its worth.
shlomo Posted January 30, 2014 Posted January 30, 2014 Once when I got it, but as said above, I know what I want to feel and hear in a cigar. If something is off, I adjust. Although....I may calibrate again soon. Been a wonky winter.
GernBlansten Posted January 30, 2014 Posted January 30, 2014 Another Minnesota guy here. Once per year. I use the Boveda calibration kit. Easy to use and supports a local business! Edit: To actually answer the OP's question.
CUBANO Posted January 30, 2014 Posted January 30, 2014 Mainly when I have to replace the battery, other than that very rare.
HabanoHam Posted January 30, 2014 Posted January 30, 2014 Every 6 months for me, just to be on the safe side.
Drguano Posted January 30, 2014 Author Posted January 30, 2014 I calibrated last summer and did it again out of curiosity. I was surprised to see four of five (3 Xicar and two mystery models) were reading 10 to 15% lower than my last calibration. I suppose one or the other calibrations were off. My sticks feel and smoke just fine and I am not at all anal about r/h. I'll shoot Xicar an email to ask what could cause these devices to drift in their readings.
hdryder Posted January 30, 2014 Posted January 30, 2014 I generally change the batteries in my hygrometers every fall and check the calibration then
PapaDisco Posted January 30, 2014 Posted January 30, 2014 I've recalibrated twice in the last 6 months. More out of curiosity than anything. I have three hygrometers and while you can learn how far off a unit is at 75% (salt test), that gap won't be consistent throughout the hygro's range. I have two hygrometers that are both exactly 5% low on the salt test (they both read 70%), but when I put them in a 65% humi one reads 62.5% and the other 61%. The further away your rH gets from the calibration point, the greater this sort of inaccuracy. I imagine you guys in the Great White North are really having a humidity challenge this winter.
Dbone Posted January 30, 2014 Posted January 30, 2014 Man, Minnesota has had it bad... I've been watching. I use Heartfelt beads and as long as the beads look good, half clear half opaque, I know I'm good. When I see too much of one or the other then I know how to adjust. It's dry in the house here too from the long cold winter.
GernBlansten Posted January 30, 2014 Posted January 30, 2014 Man, Minnesota has had it bad... Another 5" of snow today. Nice for us. Two summer's ago I picked up a cooler and did the conversion. I have been very pleased with how low the maintenance is during the winter versus the desktop.
Drguano Posted January 30, 2014 Author Posted January 30, 2014 My most stable storage is my 54 quart stainless steel Igloo.
GernBlansten Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 ^ Nice rig! Curious how many boxes it fits?
MadMax Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 I just calibrated mine this week using the Boveda Calibration bag for three days and it was dead on! I thought it would need an adjustment after changing the battery. I'm using 12 Boveda 69% packs in my huge igloo cooler in the basement in NJ. It's a steady 68%, In the spring, summer, and fall I leave the lid cracked no humidification and it's 65% the whole time.
Bclass1 Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 For what its worth, I calibrate and change the battery's once a year like most...I have 3 hygrometers as well in my cabinet and use HCM beads not heartfelt. This winter has been very rough in the northeast as well. Cold and dry. My canister ran out of water within 2 months at one point..
nikonNUT Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 I just calibrated mine as i was getting the blinking d7 Both were 8% low. Now I just need to dry out the KL
dvickery Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 never calibrated any of my hygrometers ever ... i smoke a cigar and know if i need humidity . have 3 hygrometers ... years ago i stopped replacing the batteries in 2 of them ... 3rd one i rarely look at any more . derrek
potpest Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 I use 65% heartfelt beads and my Caliber 4 reads 64-65% straight out the box so i'm not messing with it. Is the salt test considered accurate, I remember reading somewhere that it wasn't an accurate way of calibrating?
Bclass1 Posted February 1, 2014 Posted February 1, 2014 I use 65% heartfelt beads and my Caliber 4 reads 64-65% straight out the box so i'm not messing with it. Is the salt test considered accurate, I remember reading somewhere that it wasn't an accurate way of calibrating? It's not accurate because many people don't make the solution correctly, either too wet or too dry... Just use the Boveda pack 1 step calibration kit. I was able to calibrate 3 hygrometers using 1 pack at the same time..
TheDistrictJP Posted February 2, 2014 Posted February 2, 2014 I have been freaking out watching a humidor of mine creep down to 59, while the vinodor stays solid at 63. This happens every year when the weather and HVAC cycles change in the house I think. Seems like only the wood humidor is affected, not the Vino or coolers. I replaced the weather stripping but there was no change so I now have a Hydra going.
Edwhatever Posted February 2, 2014 Posted February 2, 2014 Traditional hydrometers do look a lot nicer in a humidor. I have a digital hydrometer now thats out of batteries. I didnt bother to replace them cause thats how much I trust my Boveda Packs. (Boveda if your reading this, sponsor me )
Drguano Posted February 7, 2014 Author Posted February 7, 2014 So, there was a post questioning the accuracy of the salt test. This was nagging me so I bought a Boveda Calibration Kit and popped in three of my pucks that were calibrated a week ago with a shot glass half full of wet salt. Here is a picture of the pucks after 24 hours in the Calibration Kit before I reset them to 75% rh.
Fosgate Posted February 7, 2014 Posted February 7, 2014 I had the same problem just the other day. Here is my documented problem and fix. http://forums.cigaraficionado.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9426054/m/5747000542
Drguano Posted February 7, 2014 Author Posted February 7, 2014 My humidification is fine, I use Heartfelt beads in one humidifier and unscented cat beads in the other three. I was surprised to see three hygrometers that had been calibrated a week ago read 68%, 77% and 90% after spending 24 hours in the Boveda calibration kit. I have two more pucks being calibrated now. It will be interesting to see how close they read to each other tomorrow. In theory, they should all read 75% if last week's salt calibration was accurate or they should at least be close together at whatever setting, not the 22% variation that I got.
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