New Hygrometer Day (lol)

Mike McLenison · #1 08-16-2019, 05:20 PM

I've been meaning to get one and this popped up in my Facebook newsfeed. It's $8 total with ($6) shipping; seems like a good deal. It's supposed to arrive before the end of the month. Hope it's in-the-ballpark accurate. I'm in AZ and humidity is low year'round so I've been "feeding" my Martin (HD-35) with a vaporizer in a closed room for 2 hrs each morning. I'm interested in seeing how much of a dose of humidity they receive.

https://tophatter.com/?lot_id=731699...CmzH3Et2W0nSU4

Earl49 · #2 08-16-2019, 05:47 PM

Personally in Arizona I would keep my guitar in the humidified closet all the time except when actually playing, but data is power. And thank you for not calling it a "hydrometer" or "humidistat". Us mechanical engineers appreciate the correct terminology.

Try to find a way to determine its accuracy. Cheaper units can be wildly inaccurate except maybe in the mid range or at one point, and analog devices are notoriously off. Remember that indoor RH in your home has little bearing on what the weather-guessers report on TV, unless your device is actually outside. You can do the salt test, buy a test kit, or you can simply put your hygrometer outdoors for a few hours and see if it agrees with the TV weather report for your area. I happen to live near an airport so the official outdoor RH data there is pretty reliable.

jaymarsch · #3 08-16-2019, 06:19 PM

Congrats! Just know that inexpensive hygrometers can come with cheap batteries so if it gets wonky, try replacing the battery before you give up on it. :-)

Best,
Jayne

llew · #4 08-16-2019, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaymarsch

Congrats! Just know that inexpensive hygrometers can come with cheap batteries so if it gets wonky, try replacing the battery before you give up on it. :-)

Best,
Jayne

I was thinking mine was in need of a new battery. Here in coastal SC we're getting so much rain coupled with the usual 70-85% RH in August it's hard to tell if it's accurate or not? Thundering as I type this!

KenL · #5 08-17-2019, 04:29 AM

Jim, you could send some of that excess humidity my way, it's been around 10% during the day up here. I recharge my Planet Waves humidifiers in each case every 2-3 days, and run a humidifier in my guitar room for several hours each day.

I have a hygrometer in there, and try to get it to 30%. That's about the best I can do.

llew · #6 08-17-2019, 06:10 AM

Ken...oddly enough, I just checked my hygrometer and I'm showing a even 50% in the room where my guitars reside. Sweet!

Silly Moustache · #7 08-17-2019, 07:07 AM

I'm in southern England where RH is rarely a big issue but in the past couple of weeks we have had exceptionally hot days and tropical style rainfall.

Yesterday my Music Nomad hygrometer read getting on for 70% and currently reads 44%.

Weather is all over the place currently.

Mike McLenison · #8 08-17-2019, 09:02 AM

The fret ends of my Martin used to be a tiny bit sharp to the feel, like the neck ever-so-slightly shrunk (probably only a few thousandths). As a result of humidifying the room, the fret-ends are now smooth. I think the guitar sounds better too.

MikeBmusic · #9 08-19-2019, 07:36 AM

Do you pay attention to what comes up in your FB feed for 'sale items'? No one can see that hygrometer unless they sign into Tophatter. I hope you receive something besides credit card bills.

Recently on FB I have seen a camping trailer for $800 (the real ones sell for at least $10000), a portable air conditioner for $84 (they sell for $299), many other things...

Reviews on Tophatter are about 50-50. https://www.trustpilot.com/review/tophatter.com

vindibona1 · #10 08-19-2019, 08:14 AM

I've got a bunch of hygrometers here. One placed in each main room and one in a guitar case. My RH tends to hover around 40% so my guitars hang in my office/studio from spring to fall. After that some get cased and rotated, depending on how much humidity I can keep.

For the most part I've got AcuRite hygrometers. I have 4 of this model and they all tend to be within 1% of each other.
https://www.amazon.com/AcuRite-Humid...y%2C162&sr=1-4

I'm thinking of getting a cheap set so I can have something in all the guitar cases during the winter. Not sure if accuracy is so important or if just getting in the ballpark to insure the cases aren't excessively dry. I've got on Taylor/Extech that cost $25 and doesn't do any better job than the AcuRite hygros. Anyone try these?
https://www.amazon.com/Veanic-Electr...%2C162&sr=1-10

mercy · #11 08-19-2019, 08:25 AM

caliber IV or Hygroset are good. I wouldnt risk my guitars with anything else. The regular salt test is no good because it only tests the hygro at 75%. Well maybe thats a concern for someone but more commonly its low RH thats the concern. You need a test for somewhere around 30%, thats where danger begins for most guitars.

Dbone · #12 08-19-2019, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mercy

caliber IV or Hygroset are good. I wouldnt risk my guitars with anything else. The regular salt test is no good because it only tests the hygro at 75%. Well maybe thats a concern for someone but more commonly its low RH thats the concern. You need a test for somewhere around 30%, thats where danger begins for most guitars.

Apparently 75 RH is the level that you want to calibrate at. Calibrating at anything below this apparently increases the margin of error for the test. This is right from someone at Boveda.

See the recent "SensorPush" thread on here for more info.

jseth · #13 08-19-2019, 09:52 PM

I have an inexpensive hygrometer... did the 24 hhr. salt calibration with it 8 years ago or so... it read low, but only a few points. Gives me a ballpark estimate and that's close enough for me.

After moving to a different place in a different area of town, I decided to salt-test it again... reading was dead-on accurate. So, even with the cheap ones, it pays to stay on top of things...