Extreme variance in humidity by inches

[JayBay]

I have a 300 ct humi, and I'm in it every day. I monitor humidity with the analog hygrometer (salt tested and calibrated by me) that came with the unit, and a digital hygro/thermo, as well. I was getting strange readings from the analog unit, which is what prompted the purchase of the digital unit. While tinkering with the two, I got in the habit of leaving the analog unit resting in the top tray instead of using the magnet on the underside of the lid, and keeping the digital unit in the bottom. My readings yesterday were 68% in the bottom on the digital, and 72% in the top tray on the analog. I know the bottom is typically drier than the top - so all is well. For whatever reason before closing the lid this morning, I put the analog unit back on the underside of the lid with the magnet. Tonight, it read 81%. This is just inches away from where it was this morning - but there's a BIG sway in the reading. Has anyone else experienced this? Is this normal?

 

[Tapewormboy]

Analog hydrometers suck. They are notoriously inaccurate. Get a digital.

 

[daniyal]

I don't know if you calibrated your hygrometers but I recommend you should they might be off... In my humidors I've noticed a hygrometer placed on the top tray will read higher than the one on the bottom this can be explained by the upper hygrometer being closer to the humidification unit.

Contrary to what many here have observed I find a good analogue hygrometer to be extremely accurate much more so than the digital counterparts which I need to re-calibrate from time to time but the analogue seems to maintain itself pretty well and is spot on at every calibration.

 

[jfields]

What TWB said. Have two digitals in there Jay.

 

[MandyPi]

I hate analog! Go all digital.

 

[pub spears]

Was the temp steady? What is the humidification method? If you place boyh hgros side by side in the humi, will they read the same? If youre not using beads, then consider getting some. Good luck.

 

[BlindedByScience]

You'll find the altitude of the humidor makes a tremendous difference in RH. I recommend using gorilla glue to adhere the humidor to the ceiling of your home. This will ensure far more consistent readings and proper RH zen for the contained cigars.

...... :whistling:

OK, back to earth here. A couple of things come to mind.

Analog hygrometers do indeed suck. Before you get too spun up, make sure you test your hygrometer(s) using the salt test to ensure they aren't lying to you. While digital hygros are very good, if you have a non-adjustable kind (as I do) being off a couple of points isn't uncommon. If you have more than one hygro, test them at the same time to be very sure about their relative calibration.

How well seasoned is your humidor? Until they are well seasoned, and that can sometimes take a couple of months, wide swings in RH are not uncommon.

What are you using for humidification? Beads are the best there are. Other methods can produce wide swings as you open / close the box.

What is the RH in your home? Mine runs quite dry when the forced air heat runs. If you open and close the lid frequently you can see some pretty wide swings. My humidifiers start up almost every time I open the door to my humidor.

Lastly, try not to freak out too much. A point or three top to bottom really isn't that big a deal; my cabinet is about 6' tall and I know for a fact I get at least two or three points variation top to bottom. This is a hobby and is supposed to be relaxing, right...??...

Regards - B.B.S.

 

[pub spears]

While digital hygros are very good, if you have a non-adjustable kind (as I do) being off a couple of points isn't uncommon.

Regards - B.B.S.

I got mine at Radio Shack several years ago. Always thought it was not adjustable until I took it apart one day and found an screw adjustmet on the board. I had to do the salt test several times to get it right. Of course the readings started to drop as soon as I removed the gauge from the baggie. It didn't seem to have enough adjustment at one point, so I removed the batteries, turned the screw back to center and put the batteries back in. The gauge had the same reading, but now I had more room for correction. Probably alot easier to do the salt test and just note the difference for future reference.