Hygrometer calibration

[RonC]

I have been using the salt test for about 5 years, and I get good results. With the introduction of the Boveda pack from Humidipak, there will be no more salt tests for me. I have been using the 69% Boveda pack for my personal humidors and for business purposes. Just amazing results. Humidipak claims accuracy within a half a %, and they are not lying. I have checked and rechecked and tested and retested using expensive hygrometers that have been tested in certified labs. The Boveda pack is accurate. whether you have a $10 hygrometer, or a $300 hygrometer, the Boveda is what you should use to calibrate your hygrometers.

[Bman]

Hey Ron ...where are you getting these from ...I'd like to check all of mine.....Bman

[RonC]

will mail a couple paks to your business. get yourself a 5" x 6" clear kitchen canister.make sure it has a flip top lid with the clamp and the rubber gasket . you want a nice airtight seal. drop the 2 humidipaks in the canister along with a hygrometer. wait 12- 24 hours, and your done.

[Bman]

will mail a couple paks to your business. get yourself a 5" x 6" clear kitchen canister.make sure it has a flip top lid with the clamp and the rubber gasket . you want a nice airtight seal. drop the 2 humidipaks in the canister along with a hygrometer. wait 12- 24 hours, and your done.

Hey thanks a bunch..can you do multipule units in the same test or can you do multipule test with the same humipak ??

[RonC]

2 humidipaks in that canister should last at least 6 months to a year. do one hygrometer at a time. you should be able to do at least a couple hundred tests. that enough for ya?

[Jwrussell]

Where can one get these Ron? Are these the same humidipaks that I seem to be seeing in the latest shipments of 'gars I've been getting in? And are they all calibrated the same, i.e. 69%?

Thanks

[RonC]

fuente and Torano put them in their boxes to keep the cigars fresh during shipment. I believe they use the 70% paks. remember that the humidipaks are still good if they have a jelly like feel to them. once they start getting hard, they are no good. send me your address if you need a couple.

[Jwrussell]

You are too kind Ron, I'll let you know. I believe I still have a few in my tupperdor from the last shipment I got in of Torano boxes. I'll check them to see if they still feel right. If not I'll shoot you a pm, I appreciate it. I'll have to pick up one of those kitchen jars. Big Ziploc no good, eh?

fuente and Torano put them in their boxes to keep the cigars fresh during shipment. I believe they use the 70% paks. remember that the humidipaks are still good if they have a jelly like feel to them. once they start getting hard, they are no good. send me your address if you need a couple.

[RonC]

I like the airtight kitchen cannisters. in an airtight container, the humidipaks will be accurate within a half %. That info is from the Humidipak company, and they are not kidding.

[schuellk]

Here's a link to get some at Bargain Humidors

http://www.bargainhumidors.com/bh/itemdetail.asp?SKU=ACC-BOVEDA

[Jwrussell]

Thanks so much for the humidipaks! I really do appreciate it. Now to track down a spare cannister...Can't wait to here what the wife has to say about that! :lol:

[RonC]

the cannister and humidipak combo works great.

[Jwrussell]

:lol: Of course it figures that my wife gave away the canisters we had. Looks like I'll have to pick one up from Target.

[Poni]

fuente and Torano put them in their boxes to keep the cigars fresh during shipment. I believe they use the 70% paks. remember that the humidipaks are still good if they have a jelly like feel to them. once they start getting hard, they are no good. send me your address if you need a couple.

The fuente paks work well.

[gvlagos]

these sound great...i stumbled across them a few days ago when i was at the bargain humidors site...i'll have to pick a few up soon :D

[Jwrussell]

Ron, for future reference, do these come in packs of a certain number? Or are the X$/pack. Checked the web site, wasn't sure and couldn't respond on the thread in the Retailer forum.

[RonC]

They are sold individually. available in 65,69, and 72% levels.

[brian_10101]

Another question for Ron....

In an early thread you suggested to test only one hygro at a time. I have purchased 2 of the 2'fers of the Perfecto hygros and was going to test them in the matched pairs they came in using the Boveda packs. I was just curious as to the reasoning behind the single testing.

Thanks much,
Brian

[RonC]

I had experienced slight differences in test results when testing a group of hygros as opposed to testing them one at a time. I dont know why, I could just be crazy. So I got in the habit of just testing one at a time. I know many knowledgable people who test hygros in batches, and the results are fine. Try it both ways, and let us know.

[MaduroManiac]

I did the same thing. I slipped an Extech hygro that was cal'd to 75%. I used a pouch from a Hemingway box. Came right up to 69 and change. I put a Perfecto in, it came up to 69. When I slipoped a second Perfecto in, they all read different http://www.botl.org/community/forums/images/icons/icon9.gif

-MM

[brian_10101]

Well....

I just ordered a few of the 65% Boveda packs (they were out of the 69%) and will do the same thing with each matched set of the Perfectos. I have a "Cigar Jar" humidor that's doing nothing at the time so I will use that. I'll start off with the first one on it's own and see what it does. Once it stabilizes I'll drop in the matched one and watch the readings. Once they both stabilze I'll remove the first one. I'll do the same thing with the second pair I have.

I know...it's a tad anal but I guess it's just my engineering background coming out -


Brian

[Jwrussell]

Don't worry Brian, I'm here ot keep you company on the anal side. I'm retesting all of my Hygro's in a new air-tight canister I picked up with two 69% humidipaks inside. Taking notes on where each one is after 36-48 hours and then switching.

[brian_10101]

Here's a question in regards to the ambient temp in the "testing chamber".....

My lovely wife likes to keep the house in the 73-75 degree range however there is a room where I keep the vents closed. That room is right in the 55-57 temp range. The cabinet humi is in the main part of the house (I know, I know) and I was looking for opinons as to which would be the best place for the testing.

My thought process says to test the hygro in the same environment in which they will be living but I was also wondering if the lower temp would give a more accurate reading.

Any inputs?


Thanks,
Brian

[Jwrussell]

Actually Brian, I think you would have trouble in that 55-57 temp range. The 73-75 range is going to be where you want to be. Hell, my house stays in the 75-77 range from here until Winter rolls around again (the reason I'm so happy about the prospect of a coolerdor this year). I've noticed very little change in RH on my hygros while testing them, given time to settle even when the temps range from 70-75 degrees.

It just seems to me like you are going to have trouble keeping any real humidity up when dealing with the 55 temp range.

[brian_10101]

Thanks Jason....

After having my first cup of coffee this morning and actually getting my brain to function, I also started thinking about the lower temp and possible problems with maintaining a good RH in that environment.

Good to have others out there to slap me upside the head every now and again.


Brian

[Wasch_24]

The temp does play a big role in the RH you are able to maintain. When I moved my Vicksburg to the basement for a week the temps never got above 63 degrees. At that temperature it was rock steady at 63%. Sunday I moved it up to the dining room and the temp is constant at 68 degrees and the RH climbed back to the 65% level, right where it should be with my 65% beads.

I never changed a thing in side the humidor. I agree with the reccomendation to test them in the environment your humidor will be in.

[Jwrussell]

Happy to oblige, bro! :jonesing for smilies smily:

[Jwrussell]

Hey Brian, how'd your tests work out? I've tested all my hygros with the humidipaks and now I've moved on to the salt test. I'll post my humidipak test results this evening just for the hell of it, and the salt test results once I'm done.

[brian_10101]

Oh boy....

Now you're askin' for it. I have created an Excel spreadsheet to track what I have done / am doing in regards to the Perfectos (where's the geek smilie when you need it?).....however it is on my home computer and I never transferred it my laptop (which I'm on right now). I will post it to the web tonight so you can see the progress. One thing I can say is that the readings between the first "matched pair" did NOT change by adding / removing a hygro during the tests. I have been allowing a 48 hr. time period between each change that I make. I have also been comparing these to my previously used Western Digital hygros that were in the humi. I just finished up with the first pair testing and placed the first Perfecto (#3) from the second pair into the "testing chamber" last night.

The speadsheet will explain it all.......well, in theory.


Brian

[Jwrussell]

I did 36-48 hours with mine and didn't see much of difference between those that went 36 or 48 hours. The 48 hour reading was always the same as the 36 hour. Doing the same with the salt test right now. Anybody know if more or less salt messes up the readings? I've read a Tablespoon of Salt, but I just poured some in to a cap until there seemed to be enough. I'm still early enough in the going that I can disregard the current test and replace the salt mixture, just don't know if I need to.

[brian_10101]

I always used a cap from a 2 liter bottle and filled it with salt. I then added a few drops of water and mixed it using a toothpick to make sure all the salt became moist. This was done using a quart sized mason jar as the "test chamber". It always seemed to work.


Brian

[RonC]

too much salt is no problem. too much water is a problem.

[Jwrussell]

Cool, I make mine so that the salt is like wet sand.

[RonC]

i use a lot of salt, and make sure that there is a little bit of dry salt remaining in the mix

[brian_10101]

Here is a link to the spreadsheet I have posted on the web......

for whatever it's worth.

http://www.warpbubble.com/humidor/hygro_readings.htm


Brian

[RonC]

wow, you are more anal than me....LOL

[brian_10101]

I warned you......

LOL

[Jwrussell]

Nice set up Brian. Here's my slightly less anal version:

Sealed container with two 69% humidipaks
Perfecto 77 degrees 74%
Oregon 78 degrees 70%
RadioShack 75 degrees 71%
Thompsons 78 degrees 71%

Salt test ongoing

[Jwrussell]

Well, here's the salt test folks:

Perfecto 78 degrees 81%
Oregon 76 degrees 78%
Thompson 73 degrees 77%
Radioshack 77 degrees 77%

Not sure what was up with my perfecto...sucker just reads high. The Oregon threw me as well. +1% on the humidipak and +3% on the Salt test. Weird.

[Jwrussell]

Folks, the Boveda Calibration kit works WONDERS! I highly recommend it.

[thebigo]

Is this like a bag that I throw my hygrometer into or am I going to have to find an airtight cannister and throw them both in there?

[Fox]

Nice zip-lock baggie with the packet inside. Put your hygrometer inside and let it sit for 36 hours. The packet has the instructions, but I found that 24 hours was not quite enough. After 36 hours, the reading was perfect and stayed that way. USPS said you would have it by today, but now I am guessing, tomorrow?

[thebigo]

I'm sure it will take longer than just tomorrow. My humi isn't even here yet and it says that it shipped from NJ on the 22. I'm just impatient. I'll keep you all up to date on this humidity problem.

[thebigo]

Actually...funny thing. It was dry out the other day and so I left the desktop open and the rh went down to 60 when I closed the box and it is still only up to 65 after 2 days. So I'm still waiting to see what happens when I test it and I'm going to put my beads in the oven if it gets to a high rh in there again.

[thebigo]

I put my hygrometer in the humidipak for 36 hours. The pack said to keep it between 65-75 degrees Farenheit. The problem is that the temperature in my house fluctuates a lot.

What I've been seeing is that the humidity is fluctuating in the bag with the temperature. The thing is that when the temp went down, the rh would go down sometimes and up sometimes. I left it in there for 36 hours and it was reading something like 80%rh @ 60ish degrees.

So I kept the hygrometer in there and turned on the heat at around 4pm today. Tried to keep the temperature around 70 degrees. I have kept it around 70 degrees for about 6 or so hours now and it's presently reading 79% @ 69.6 degrees. It's been around those numbers for hours. The pak is a 75%, by the way.

Now when I had my hygrometer in my humidor, before I tested it in the pak, it was reading between 67-70% without much fluctuation. I have 65% beads. Those of you with 65% beads...do they hold the rh at a rock steady 65?

Any input?

ps- just looked over at it and now it's reading 78% @ 68.4 degrees.

[Jwrussell]

If you can keep it steady temp wise for a day you should get a general idea. But it sounds like your reading 3-4% high.

[thebigo]

It's in my humidor right now with 65% beads and it's reading 68% so I think you're right. Is that something to take up with the person I bought it from or is it just something to deal with?

[Fox]

It's in my humidor right now with 65% beads and it's reading 68% so I think you're right. Is that something to take up with the person I bought it from or is it just something to deal with?

You can go either way. A lot of people just mark them with a + or - and the % difference so that they know what the actual reading is.

[Jwrussell]

Are you talking about the hygro or the humi? Humi: either way, up to you. Hygro: the all vary, just mark it +/- and leave it at that.

[thebigo]

should I keep the rh reading at around 68-69 since it is reading high then?