Being a noob to the cigar world this is all virgin territory to me, so any help is greatly appreciated.
Several weeks ago I purchased a Hygroset Adjustable Hygrometer and a Humidipak 1-Step Calculation Kit. To calibrate I placed the hygro inside the Humidipak bag, made sure the seal was tight and then placed the bag inside a small Tupperware container with a translucent lid to insure an airtight enviornment. I set it in a dark area of a room with the ambient room temp being 75*F. Let it sit for 36 hrs and the final reading was 73% RH. I adjusted the dial 2 clicks clockwise and pressed the re-set button. I then re-did the test for another 36 hours the same way and the hygro stayed at a steady 75%.
I then purchased a cheaper Springfield temp/hygro unit from Wal-Mart a week ago. I did the test the same way with this unit. Final RH reading was 80% so being that it is not adjustable I know I have to subtract 5 points from its claculation.
Now here's the confusing part. I realize that storing my cigars in my humidors at a room temp of 75*F may be a bit risky (even though I do the 24/72/24 fridge/freezer/fridge routine) I came up with a solution. I am a homebrewer and have a chest freezer in the garage with an external Johnson Thermostat Controller hooked up to control my fermentation temps. Currently I am using it to store my bottled beer. I figured If I set the temp at 65*F it would be a nice cool enviornment for my humidors. I also keep 3 large containers of Damp-Rid in the freezer to keep the condenstion down and prevent any rusting of the seams. I set the controller at 63*F with a 6* differential to keep the compressor form cycling off and on too often. Therefore when the temp reaches 68*F the unit kicks on and brings the temp back down to 63*F.
So I figured perhaps it would be a good idea to calibrate both hygros together in that particular enviornment since that is where they'll be working. I did the same routine with both hygros in the Humidipak bag placed inside the Tupperware container. Set in the chest freezer for 36 hrs. Final check revealed both reading a temp of 66*F. However, now the adjustable Hygroset which I thought had already been calibrated to 75% read 78% RH and the Springfield read exactly the same, 78%!! No more 5 point difference now as previously recorded calibrating it at 75*F in the house.
I'm totatally confused as what to make of this and which readings are accurate.
Any suggestions or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. THANKS!!
Several weeks ago I purchased a Hygroset Adjustable Hygrometer and a Humidipak 1-Step Calculation Kit. To calibrate I placed the hygro inside the Humidipak bag, made sure the seal was tight and then placed the bag inside a small Tupperware container with a translucent lid to insure an airtight enviornment. I set it in a dark area of a room with the ambient room temp being 75*F. Let it sit for 36 hrs and the final reading was 73% RH. I adjusted the dial 2 clicks clockwise and pressed the re-set button. I then re-did the test for another 36 hours the same way and the hygro stayed at a steady 75%.
I then purchased a cheaper Springfield temp/hygro unit from Wal-Mart a week ago. I did the test the same way with this unit. Final RH reading was 80% so being that it is not adjustable I know I have to subtract 5 points from its claculation.
Now here's the confusing part. I realize that storing my cigars in my humidors at a room temp of 75*F may be a bit risky (even though I do the 24/72/24 fridge/freezer/fridge routine) I came up with a solution. I am a homebrewer and have a chest freezer in the garage with an external Johnson Thermostat Controller hooked up to control my fermentation temps. Currently I am using it to store my bottled beer. I figured If I set the temp at 65*F it would be a nice cool enviornment for my humidors. I also keep 3 large containers of Damp-Rid in the freezer to keep the condenstion down and prevent any rusting of the seams. I set the controller at 63*F with a 6* differential to keep the compressor form cycling off and on too often. Therefore when the temp reaches 68*F the unit kicks on and brings the temp back down to 63*F.
So I figured perhaps it would be a good idea to calibrate both hygros together in that particular enviornment since that is where they'll be working. I did the same routine with both hygros in the Humidipak bag placed inside the Tupperware container. Set in the chest freezer for 36 hrs. Final check revealed both reading a temp of 66*F. However, now the adjustable Hygroset which I thought had already been calibrated to 75% read 78% RH and the Springfield read exactly the same, 78%!! No more 5 point difference now as previously recorded calibrating it at 75*F in the house.
I'm totatally confused as what to make of this and which readings are accurate.
Any suggestions or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. THANKS!!