Hygrometers

azfarrier · #1 03-18-2018, 09:00 PM

So i am currently using the Oasis OH-2 but it never reads over 35% in the case. While I do live in Arizona I use the Oasis OH-5 Plus+ humidifier which is designed for dry climates. I have to think that the hygrometer is not giving me an accurate reading and needs to be calibrated. I'm currently doing the salt test and while it has not been a full 24 hours yet it has been about 12 and the hygrometer reads 66%.

So I have two questions. First, even in Arizona my hygrometer should read 75% during the salt test, correct? Second I've been looking at the new D'Addario Humiditrak. Seems like a really cool idea. Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with it yet and what your thoughts are on it.

Thanks for any help.

Rev Roy · #2 03-18-2018, 09:28 PM

Been using Humiditraks in all my cases for the past few years. Work great. No complaints.

azfarrier · #3 03-18-2018, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rev Roy

Been using Humiditraks in all my cases for the past few years. Work great. No complaints.

Do you find the app works well on your phone? Do you monitor multiple guitars with the app?

Rev Roy · #4 03-19-2018, 03:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azfarrier

Do you find the app works well on your phone? Do you monitor multiple guitars with the app?

Yep...works fine.

RefrigRaider · #5 03-19-2018, 06:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azfarrier

So i am currently using the Oasis OH-2 but it never reads over 35% in the case. While I do live in Arizona I use the Oasis OH-5 Plus+ humidifier which is designed for dry climates. I have to think that the hygrometer is not giving me an accurate reading and needs to be calibrated. I'm currently doing the salt test and while it has not been a full 24 hours yet it has been about 12 and the hygrometer reads 66%.

So I have two questions. First, even in Arizona my hygrometer should read 75% during the salt test, correct?

Yes

Quote:

Second I've been looking at the new D'Addario Humiditrak. Seems like a really cool idea. Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with it yet and what your thoughts are on it.

Thanks for any help.

You're in a good position. If your hygrometer reads 66 in the salt test, it's reading 9 lower than the actual RH -- meaning when it shows 35 in the case, it is actually 44, which is ideal. I'd repeat the salt test to confirm the 66 and just continue down the road of life without changing anything

Athens · #6 03-19-2018, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RefrigRaider

................. If your hygrometer reads 66 in the salt test, it's reading 9 lower than the actual RH -- meaning when it shows 35 in the case, it is actually 44, which is ideal................

Well, not exactly. That's only if the hygrometer is linear. Most are not, unless you're get into expensive lab type instruments. Even those have some degree of non-linearity but it's usually calibrated and known.

I have a wireless station with 3 small remote temp/humidity sensors that do well in the mid range, say 35% - 80% rh, but one of the remote sensors drops to single digit readings for anything under 30%.

But, again, most of what we use is close enough to tell us if the RH is getting to the point where we should address it.

What I didn't like about the Humiditrak is that you have to register and do it through their web site. I don't know if that's still the case.

ljguitar · #7 03-19-2018, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azfarrier

…I've been looking at the new D'Addario Humiditrak. Seems like a really cool idea.

Hi az

It's a cool looking key fob, but any product which has 62 reviews on Amazon and 32 of them are negative…I tend to avoid.

As for the 'salt test' - we live in a dry climate and if I do the bottle cap test the salt runs dry before 24 hours. If I use a larger quantity of salt/water in a sealed Tupperware container then it lasts to give me a more reliable reading.

These past few years I just buy under-$10 hygrometers from Walmart and then if one goes wonky, toss it and get another. How do I know if it's wonky - I have three in the room where I play/display guitars. They all read within a couple points of each other. I just need to know when to raise or lower humidity, I'm not trying to reproduce museum accuracy.

Earl49 · #8 03-19-2018, 09:33 AM

Inexpensive hygrometers are kinda notorious for being inaccurate. Most people buy three and take the average. Or just ignore the outlying reading.

I've done the salt test. With table salt, you get 75% RH. All that really shows is that the device is accurate at 75% - which we normally don't care about.
With other types of salts you can use the same test process for 45%, 50%, etc. Another way I've tested mine is to put them outdoors. We live about three miles from the airport, so the reported TV weather humidity is about the same as our yard. If it is within 5%, good enough. Remember that indoor RH is much different if you heat or air condition - or cook, or shower, or......

mercy · #9 03-19-2018, 09:57 AM

Get a certified Hygroset unit and then you will know exactly what the RH is and you will know if your unit is correct.

guitar george · #10 03-19-2018, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Earl49

Inexpensive hygrometers are kinda notorious for being inaccurate. Most people buy three and take the average. Or just ignore the outlying reading.

I have 4 of these and none of them hardly ever read the same even when I put them side by side. I really have no idea what the actual humidity level is, but, they are all accurate enough to tell me when the humidity is too low or too high.

azfarrier · #11 03-19-2018, 01:16 PM

Thanks for the replies everyone. I redid the salt test and it read 64%. I contacted Oasis and they are going to send me one of their Boveda one-step calibration kits. I'll retest it then and recalibrate the hygrometer if need be. Hopefully my salt test is innaccurate because the hygrometer can only be adjusted +or- 5 points. My hygrometer is currently reading approximately a 10 point difference.

In the meantime I also ordered the Humiditrak and I'll see how it is in one of my other cases. Thanks again for all the replies and I'll let you know how it all works out.

Casey86 · #12 03-20-2018, 05:55 PM

I have a couple of cheap hygrometers that work accurate once I calibrated them.

I notice that when rh is low during dry winter spells I can tell simply by feel, as in ...if I need chapstick or moisturizer the hygrometers confirm low rh. My carved upright bass really changes it sound in low rh too.

anodyne · #13 03-20-2018, 06:31 PM

I have a couple of these ... seem to work well enough:

https://www.amazon.com/SensorPush-Wi...1592272&sr=8-1

mz-s · #14 03-20-2018, 06:45 PM

I use these: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Portable-Ac...4383.l4275.c10

I have one in my guitar room, one in my guitar case, and one beside my thermostat.

And these three agree in one.

No need to be more complicated for me.

AcousticWoody · #15 03-20-2018, 07:10 PM

I go cheap on hygrometers, myself. I have less than $10 invested in 3 of them and they are all within a percent of each other. I get them on sale at PetSmart or a pet store with reptiles. The store used them and they all seemed to work pretty well. Not one guitar or finish crack in 13 years so they must be close enough.