Accuracy of Hygrometers in question!

[El Presidente]

Thankyou for a great post

I will keep it brief.

1. You need to keep your hygrometers in your humidor together for 4-5 days to get an accurate reading. I have found that some digital humidors will adjust their initial reading by as much as 7% during that period. Try it and report back.

2. Digital hygrometers deteriorate at about the two year mark. Even expensive ones. They need to be re-calibrated. This is why new digital hygrometers are generally more accurate than older ones. I always change our hygrometers every two years and I run 4 digital hygrometers in the humidor at a time. Your new high end unit may indeed be an old unit.

3. Nothing beats your sense of touch in determining the perfect humidity for storing cigars.

[avid toker]

And this is where you can drive yourself nuts. Remember, reaction time is key with the hygrometers. Some stabilize within minutes, others can take hours, if not days to properly stabilize.

I suggest you place all of them within a stable control environment and leave it undisturbed for a week and then compare the readings. I have a sneaky suspicion they might all end up close in their readings and not the 11%-12% difference you previously noted.

[Colt45]

I use digitals only - I found the analogs I had to be rather flimsy. The digitals are non

adjustable, and I test them at least twice a year. I keep more an eye on how they

move (two different humidors - the two hygros normally move up or down together),

than the exact readings.

I expect that in certain climate conditions (coldest part of winter, for example), they

may not be 100% accurate reading - wise, but I look for drastic changes. As an

example, if I notice a drop of two points let's say, I won't rush to add water,

especially if both have dropped. I'll wait another day and see what happens.

Luckily, the humidors are pretty stable.

I've learned not to let myself be driven crazy by this anymore.

[Matthew]

» 3. Nothing beats your sense of touch in determining the perfect humidity

» for storing cigars.

Yup. Sometimes your hygrometers make it harder to determine humidity; you need to trust your sense of touch.

However, for peace of mind on humidors I use for long term aging, I use a calibration tool every 4-6 months (Extech).

[Professor Twain]

Great post and discussion. I have had a similar problem with digital hygrometers that don't agree with each other. I got a set of the Radio Shack digital hygrometers which transmit wireless signals to a base. Even being in the humidor for a long time, they register about 9% below my two other digital hygrometers. I've just decided to use my bestt judgement and not to depend on getting precise readings from my hygrometers.

Rob, since you use a lot of these, is there a brand of digital hygrometer that you recommend?

[smokum]

This is a maddening situation. I have a brand new humi that I posted earlier about. I ordered a Bovida kit and adjustable digi so I can at least do a sanity check. Box has at least 90 tons of Exquisicat beads and I still cant get it below 68-69 % even with a room RH in the mid 40's. I'll let you know what I find.

[El Presidente]

» Rob, since you use a lot of these, is there a brand of digital hygrometer

» that you recommend?

PT...I have purchased $2000 Digital Hygrometers connected to my store steam humidifier. They are 3% out first year/ 5% out second year.

I keep a 4-6 simple Digital Hygrometers (Western or Radio Shack). I throw them out every two years.

These 4-6 digital humidifiers get me a "range" and are seldom out by more than 2%. I adjust the $2000 electronic unit accordingly.

So in effect I rely on $20 digital hygrometers and my sense of touch. Why? "BECAUSE FEW OTHER INDUSTRIES ARE SO FULL OF CRAP AS THE AUTOMATIC CLIMATE CONTROL INDUSTRY!"

Today....my 4 digital hygrometers are reading 63%-65% RH. Perfect. My $2000 unit swears it is 55% RH. My fingers know it is 63%-65% RH.

Take away all the flashing lights and electronic gizmo's of my current electronic humidifier.....the heart and soul of it is horsehair. It degrades over time.

[greenpimp]

I have gone through 10 or 12 digital hygrometers. They all suck, some worse than others, and the best I can rely on is a general area of RH between my best two, which is good enough.

And apparently the more I spend, the less accurate they are. My most reliable one---a Thompson's unit from forever ago, I **** you not.

I would call it maddening, but I have learned not to care. I touch em and smoke em and you know when something's off. IME the more you try to accurately quantify it, the further off you find yourself. I find it to be much more of an art than a science.

[PorscheC4S]

»

» I will keep it brief.

»

Okay, I get the hint. My post was VERY LONG.

Thanks for the responses. I'll continue to keep an eyeball on any fluctuations. I know I can use the various readings as a reference point and go by feel and taste. What is bothersome to me is that members of cigar forums compare RH% and tasting notes thinking or implying that the have access to an accurate reading.

EXAMPLE

"I keep mine at 65%."

"I tried 65% for a while, then found 63% made a big difference."

The first fictitious cigar lover at 65% might have a hygro that's 2% high and the second cigar lover at 63% might have a hygro that's 5% low. The first guy lowers his humidor by two points per the advice of the second guy and actually ends up at 61%. While the second guy is actually storing his sticks at 68%. Both now think they're storing at 63%.

A month later the first guy tells the second that 63% (really 61%) seems a little dry with too easy a draw. The second guy is puzzled and swears that 63% (really 68%) has never seemed at all dry and he has a nice resistant draw, but not too tight.

I guess we should all take the RH recommendations and notes from other internet cigarheads with a pinch of salt and maybe a drop of distilled water.:-)

[genevapics]

» 3. Nothing beats your sense of touch in determining the perfect humidity

» for storing cigars.

This is where I am at. Yes, I have a couple of digital hygrometers in my humidor, but for me there really isn't anything like the above statement. My cigars feel good (can I say that? ) but more importantly, they smoke and taste fantastic. Could they be in better condition? Possibly, but for me, it's nothing to lose sleep over. Then again, my collection does not approach the scope of must folks here on this board.

[El Presidente]

» »

» » I will keep it brief.

» »

»

» Okay, I get the hint. My post was VERY LONG.

I wasn't taking a shot at you....seriously...such sublety is beyond me

I hear what you are saying. Without sounding like a tosser I am confident I could "feel" the difference between 2 degrees of humidity (storage) in a cigar frombetween 59-75. 61 feels different to 65 to 67 to 69 to 71. Just experience with a couple of hundred thousand boxes over many years.

The average punter cannot do this and I appreciate that. Unless you are lucky and have one spot on hygrometer (unlikely) you are going to be out. Dual hygrometers help. Three are better and youtake the mean reading unless one is way out. Change them every two years. Regulation helps.

Then one day you wake up and reach for a cigar which feels drier than normal. Your humidity reading hasn't changed. Don't second guess yourself...go buy two digital hygrometers.....use the force Luke....use the force.

[Colt45]

» I guess we should all take the RH recommendations and notes from other

» internet cigarheads with a pinch of salt and maybe a drop of distilled

» water.:-)

I'd agree with you to the extent that it can be difficult to control climate to the exact

point. But I would still take into consideration the spirit of the recommendations.

For example, it has been recommended here to keep some thinner cigars at a

slightly lower humidity than most other cigars - a valid recommendation. So maybe

I can't get a humidor exactly to the suggested point, but I can keep it close, and

keep it there stably.

[Mel]

I've got seven or eight different hygrometers and they all read different. I am disgusted. My cigars smoke good so I will just smoke them and accept the fact that for me they are all ****!

[Taino]

Like others here I have several cheap digital hygrometers in my humi room and cabinet, I rely on them and touch to adjust the humidification units.

Basically I've found that (don't ask me why) hygrometers that consume a lot of battery work better... maybe they don't but at least I feel they are working hard:-D

[PorscheC4S]

This is long, but I think it's of interest to all of us.

I’ve had humidors for about 6 years. My first desktop came with a cheap looking analog hygrometer, so I bought two identical Diamond Crown digital hygros. I’ve trusted these two digitals up until a few days ago. I just bought two of the new adjustable digitals hygros that come with a Boveda “calibration” kit. I’ve used the salt and distilled water in a baggie test in the past, but was always uncertain because of all of the variables (how much salt, what ratio of salt to distilled water, what volume of air in the container? All were unclear in the descriptions I read on the web)

I spent the week using the Boveda kits to test all six hygros (two analog, two adjustable digitals and two non-adjustable digitals). The two analogs were very close to 75% after 32 hours and I adjusted them accordingly. The two adjustable digitals were also very close to 75% and then adjusted. The two non-adjustables read aprox. 3% low and I noted it on them with a sharpie marker. So far, so good.

I then moved all my cigars (ten boxes) and all six hygros to my footlocker size humidor from my Avanti thermoelectric wine fridge. I emptied the Avanti to prepare it for the Johnson Controls external temperature control I was expecting. With the ten boxes stuffed in the footlocker humi., I adjusted the humidification level (Exquisicat pearls) so that the two adjustables hygros read about 65%. Before long I noticed that the two analogs had dropped down to 58 or 59%RH and the two non-adjustables a few degrees lower (remember they were 3% low at calibration). So, I decided, since the four hygros that were lower were all about 6 years old and the two higher (65%) hygros were brand new, I’d trust the new hygros and keep the humidification the same.

This lasted a day and I received the Johnson external control for the wine fridge. I set it up and it worked well. I found one prewired from a reptile supply website. Once the Avanti seemed stable I moved the cigars and the two new adjustable hygros (that I had decided to trust) into the wine fridge as it was very hot and I was having trouble keeping the RH% down in the footlocker humi. That was Saturday. I spent a day monitoring the wine fridge with its new temp control. The RH% only fluctuated about 3% during a cooling cycle (65 to 62%RH). The temp stayed within about one degree F. (65 or 64 degrees).

At this point I’m delighted with the wine fridge, which I had kept unplugged for the winter after getting it in late October. I’m thrilled with the Johnson Controls external temp. control. Later that day I received another package, a fancy looking hygrometer/thermometer from AZ instruments corp. that I won on ebay for $20. It looks much more expensive than $20. It’s a unit about the size of a very large television remote control with a six inch probe that connects to the unit via a thin cable. So I put the probe in the wine fridge and close the door with the probes thin wire running through the seal on the fridge door. To my dismay, this new AZ “industrial” meter is reading 4 to 5%RH lower than the two adjustables I decided to trust and, based on the AZ model # 2701, it might be very old. The model #s on the AZ website are all in the 8700 range.

MODEL #2701

So I took all six hygro and the industrial meter and placed them outside of the wine fridge for about an hour. When I checked them again the two analogs were reading about 40%RH (room conditions, not in a humidor) the two non-adjustables about 3% lower, the AZ industrial about 41%RH and the two new adjustables were at about 52%RH. What had been a difference of between 4 to 7%RH, depending on which “lower” hygro I compared to the two new adjustables at 65%RH was now an 11 or 12% difference.

I now don’t know which, if any, of the hygrometers to trust. I have all six hygros and the AZ meter in the fridge now and all are still about 4 to 7% lower than the two new adjustables. Even the industrial meter’s manual states it’s only accurate within 3% RH and that calibration might be necessary (they sell special kits into which the probe can be inserted for testing accuracy).

I searched the internet and haven’t found a hygrometer, at any price, that claims to be more accurate than the common type meant to used in a humidor. I found one company, Adorini, that claimed their hygrometers were designed for optimum accuracy in the 65 to 75%RH range and that other hygrometers aren’t specifically designed for the cigar users needs. What do you all think? Anyone have similar variances between their different hygros at different humidity ranges? Do you trust your hygrometer?