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Is there a right way or wrong way to do the salt test?

I

iluvmysh

New Member
Joined
May 18, 2006
Messages
236
I put a water cap filled with salt (ionized salt if it matters) with enough water to make the salt damp. It is still in crystal form so it is not a slurry. I have tried two walmart hygrometers and the first one was off by 14%, this one is off by 12%. It is in two ziploc baggies and one CAO cigar zip air tight baggy. Am I doing the salt test wrong or could they both possibly be duds (knowing my luck, the latter is probably the case). :sign:

Can't beat the $7 price tag though.
 
I bought one of those wal-mart hygrometers a while back for my small desktop humi and it was off by about 10% the first time I salt tested it. When I put in the humi with 65% beads it was off by about 14%. I personally wouldn't trust it. I bought another Western Caliber III and it was dead on. No more crappy hygros for me ...
 
My salt test technique:
- Put the salt in a shot glass. That way, it's easy to see how much water you've added.
- Double bag the test environment.
- Wait 12 hours.

I'm not sure how long you waited, but that seems to matter a lot. More or less than 12 hours gives inconsistant readings when I've done the test.

I've got three hygrometers from Little Havana. The last time I had my three in the bag, they were all spot on (I'll take a picture next time). Ninteen bucks, free shipping....easy to recommend. Their lighters are pretty cool, too. Great for the price.

My $00.02 - B.B.S.
 
What BBS said.

All you're trying to do is make a saturated salt solution. I use shot glass in a tupper. Hot water + salt .. make sure there is undissolved NaCl .. voila, saturated salt. You do need to reach equilibrium as BBS says ... I leave it overnight but Ihave a lot of water in there .. if you have a small amount of water it might take longer to get to equilibrium.

My little havanas were off By 2 and 3%.
 
I have the Perfecto from them. It's always been right on and the $20 is worth the peace of mind IMO.

Salt test showed 3% off, 65% humibeads show right on.
 
Hmm.. well I came home last night, and after about 48 hours or so, it was right at 75%. I think triple bagging it worked. The first time I tested it, I didn't think it would leak through the ziploc because when I compressed the bag with air, no air was leaking out. Guess I was wrong. My humidor is at 58% RH right now :(
 
Thats because you keep opening your Humi all the time lol.

58% isn't too bad, won't take you long to get it at 65 to 70%

just add a bit of water and leave the box CLOSED for a few days :)
 
Yea, it's at 60% now. I thought my hygro was off when in fact it was dead on. So when I thought it was 14% off and it was reading 65%, I thought it was too humid, so I left my humidifier out.

Lesson learned, when people say use TWO ziplocs, it's advised for a reason. :D
 
An otterbox is better then ziplocks to do the test in ...
Some good advice I think that was passed on to me by shibumi.
Or you could use a tupperware container!

Good luck,
Rob
 
The otterbox is a great idea. The key is to get a great seal and leave it alone for a good while.

Emo
 
[OT]
Does anyone know where to find a small digital Hygrometer that has adjustments in case its off like some analogs have?

I have never seen one that allows ya to calibrate and adjust like all my analogs.
 
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