Customer Reviews

Quality Importers HygroSet II Round Digital Hygrometer for Humidors

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Bought three (one for each room) + the calibration kit. Calibrated one, and then matched the other two to it. All were within 2% when they arrived, one needed no changes.

Adjusting them is hard, needed some trial and error. I used another meter as a control while I adjusted the first one.

They are very sensitive, touching them briefly will cause the temp and humidity readings to change, so I had to make a change, let it settle for a few minutes, and try again. It sure was cool seeing all three meters read exactly the same when I was done.

These meters are small, about 1.5" across. Mine had stick-on magnets, and the magnet came unstuck after a few months. Pressing it back on has worked so far.

I tried several other (more expensive) consumer humidity meters under $50, and none even came close to the accuracy of these. Some claimed adjustability but they wouldn't adjust at all. My previous one read low by about 6%, and some I tried were off by up to 10%. After that experience I will never use an uncalibrated humidity meter again.

I was worried I would have to buy one of those $100+ laboratory models to get an accurate reading, these guys came to my rescue.

Now my guitars are safe, my shower no longer has mold, and I don't let it get too dry which promotes various infections (sinus and throat). I like around 55-60% relative, and slightly higher when I sleep.

Update: almost a year later, the stick-ons won't stick back on anymore.

The cool part is all three of them still give identical readings, no recalibration seems to be needed, and the batteries haven't run out yet either.

I purchased three hygrometers from Amazon.com.
- Little Havana Hygrometer ($22.59)
- Caliber III Digital Humidifier & Temperature Gauge ($19.99)
- HygroSet II Adjustable Round Digital Hygrometer ($20.00)

Using the salt test, after 9 hours i took the initial recording. I recalibrated the HygroSet II and let them all sit another 4 hours...

- Little Havana Hygrometer ($22.59)
78% RH - 78.6 degrees F
not able to calibrate - same after 4 more hours.

- Caliber III Digital Humidifier & Temperature Gauge ($19.99)
76% RH - 78.3 degrees F
not able to calibrate - same after 4 hours

- HygroSet II Adjustable Round Digital Hygrometer ($20.00)
73% RH - 78 degrees F
After calibration 75% RH and 78 degrees F

I will buy the HygroSet again and highly recommend it. Only reason I didnt give it 5 stars was due to it not being accurate out of the box. Overall, good product for the money.

I am happy I also bought the calibration kit, because the hygrometer I received was off by 2%. It was easy to calibrate and now it works just fine.

Unfortunately, this hygrometer requires on site calibration to work properly. I put it into a water saturated environment and it read 80% humidity. Coming back to this site, I realize I should have bought the calibration kit that the manufacturer offers. The shipping charge makes the whole endeavor a wash. I'll probably throw the thing away. Bottom line, if you buy this product, get the calibration kit at the same time. Hopefully that will make it worthwhile.

If you need a really nice little digital humidity checker for your humidors, I like this little item. I took it out of the box, pulled the tab, put it in my humidor and in an hour I had a reading exactly like my fixed hygrometer. I want a couple more of these for my smaller humidors. The seller was really great. I had the item in half the time I expected and everything was packed well to arrive here safe. Buy the item and use this seller for your needs. I can't recommend this product and the seller high enough.

This is the third one of these I've gotten in just more than a year. They have been used in sheltered locations in blizzard conditions and in hot/humid situations where both the temp and humidity were in triple digits. In waiting a decent period of time before reporting the experience with them, I wanted to be able to give more than just a first impression.

DESCRIPTION: The device itself is 1 3/4 inches diameter, 1/2 inch thick, with LCD readout (not backlit) that's 1/4 inch tall in a window 1 3/8 in wide x 3/8 in high. I think it's easy to read with adequate light. It's powered by a 357A button battery (less than 30 cents apiece if bought in a 10 pack on Amazon) which is accessed by a slide compartment on the back. The battery space is designed under the mounting area so it's easy to replace, although the original is still going strong after a year.

MOUNTING: It comes with a crescent moon shaped magnet built into the back (it's lightly glued and can be removed if desired) and is quite strong and not easily dislodged from a decent metallic surface. An adhesive backed strip with a thin metal pad the same shape as the magnet is also included for use in placing a mount where a metal surface does not currently exist. The adhesive is rather weak and short lasting and I would suggest that double sided mounting tape be used if this method were chosen for a more secure fixture. There is no hole on the back for a nail hanging.

FEATURES: The humidity reading is adjustable by a 3/8 inch diameter rotating dial on the lower right face. Each click of the dial moves the setting up or down 1%. The red button in the top center changes the temperature reading from Fahrenheit to Celsius and there is a small slightly recessed button on the lower left face that needs to be pressed to reset the humidity reading after the dial is moved. It's a safety measure I think because the dial is prominent and easily moved if the operator is not careful, or if children pick it up. Moving the dial without pressing reset does nothing. The temperature reading is not adjustable.

RELIABILITY & ACCURACY: Straight out of the box all three of the ones I currently have were within 2 degrees of a calibrated laboratory thermometer at temperatures varying from 2 degrees F to 106 F. Over time they differ by only one or two degrees generally when placed within one foot of one another for a 24 hour period. Similarly, compared to a laboratory grade hygrometer, straight out of the box they were within 2 points reading humidity, and over time have maintained that degree of accuracy from an 18% to 100% saturated environment. It responds to small changes in temperature (less than 10 degrees) within 5 minutes and humidity (less than 20%) within 10.

The main reason I chose this model over others was the adjustability of the humidity reading. Consumer grade humidity readers are notoriously inaccurate, even ones from famous "Scientific" manufacturers from Oregon. I did place each one in a 75% calibration environment (laboratory grade because it was available, but there are consumer ones available on Amazon that work fine for under $6) and each one read between 74 and 76%. So for the small sample size of 3 devices in my experience, none needed calibration. I tried the adjustment dial anyway, just for fun, and as advertised, one click = 1%. The clicks are subtle however, so be forewarned - you may turn the dial farther than you intend. The device responds quickly so it does not take long to correct your mistakes. Don't forget to push the reset button though, or your efforts will have been futile.

SUMMARY: For the money this is really a very accurate and reliable piece of equipment. It has a major advantage over other humidistats in being adjustable. But I think its greatest advantage is that it comes from the factory actually calibrated, so it's accurate out of the box. For these type devices temperature has pretty much become a no-brainer - even $5 desktop penholders are pretty close. But I have found it rare that humidity readings are anywhere near accurate. For people looking for a temp/humidity sensor for wine cellars or cigar boxes or damp basements for determining when to run a dehumidifier, or dry air during the winter for a guide running humidifiers, this thing would suit well.

Hygrometer was within 2% of the standard when using the calibration kit. Making adjustments was not so easy. Dial is hard to see the index marks to know how much to correct. Might want to use a magnifying glass. Remember to hit the set button after making the adjustment.

I received this as a gift with the Capri 25-50 count humidor with Mahogany finish from my brother, and immediately pulled the battery tab to start it (it uses a button battery, which was a little disappointing considering they're a little harder to replace than a standard AA or AAA. After that I immediately looked up a salt calibration test and the method I found called for placing the hygrometer next to a plastic dish inside a zip-lock bag with a tsp. of salt and just enough water to make the salt damp. After adding distilled water to prevent any differences in readings from using tap water, the salt began to form a slurry inside the dish. Later I read you can use a cap of a 2 liter bottle and fill it 3/4 full and add water, and if there is any standing water on the salt in the cap, you just soak it up with a paper towel, but whatever, it still worked the way I did it. I was supposed to seal the bag with a little air inside and the hygrometer right next to the dish with the damp salt in it and wait 6 hours. At 6 hours, the hygrometer read 75% exactly. This thing was perfectly calibrated at the factory and ready to go when pulled out of the box, but I'm a perfectionist so I had to be sure lol. I would definitely recommend to anyone else looking for a reliable hygrometer considering I checked out a couple through Walmart, and they were either analog and cheap or at least $10 more than this and huge (I mean 7 x 10 inches. This one is about 1 3/4" in diameter and a little less than 1/2" thick with a little sticker pad on the bottom if you want to stick it to a surface (which I didn't do to prevent any problems with changing the battery later on. Also calibrating this is as simple as doing the salt test method, and then turning the dial on the bottom right the proper amount of lines clockwise for positive or counter-clockwise for negative and then pressing the the button on the bottom left to set the proper calibration (easy as pie. The top, red button changes the temperature reading from Celsius to Fahrenheit and back as desired. In summary; ease of use and size makes this the perfect hygrometer for a humidor. The humidor I have has a cedar divider, and I'm using that to separate the 2 ci-gel humidifiers from the area where I'll be keeping my cigars after seasoned. After placing the 2 ci-gels on one side of the divider (which is supposed to be optimal for a 50 capacity humidor,) I had more than enough room to place this hygrometer right between the 2 ci-gel humidifiers making affixing this to the lid or any other surface of the humidor unnecessary. I've also read that some hygrometers have the air intakes on the back which would make using them in a humidor extremely inconvenient with some pedestal to affix it to. This hygrometer has the intakes right on the front with the display and controls. Who could ask for anything more? Right price, right size, right precision, and easy to use. Don't look any further...just buy this one lol.

This is a very sensitive and accurate Hygrometer and seems to be accurate within the range specified (+/- 2% humidity, +/- 1 degree C). It seems to be well constructed and does not look as cheap as it does in the pictures shown on Amazon. It uses button cell batteries which are easy enough to find--I bought a huge variety pack from my local 99 cent store just to have on hand. I dont know what the battery life is yet. Hopefully someone who has owned this hygrometer long enough to know the battery life can chime in. The display is easy to read and calibration is easy.

Here are a few tips for calibration:
1. Dont waste your money on a calibration kit. You can make a BETTER one out of a few household items. Just Google "How to calibrate a Hygrometer."
2. When mixing your salt + water, dont worry about getting the exact amount. Its really the consistency we are after. You want to add just enough water to wet the salt but not enough to dissolve it. You want the consistency of wet sand with no excess water (if you were to tip your container over slowly, no water would drip out). Stir your mixture with a spoon to make sure the salt is fully penetrated.
3. Since the Hygrometer is so sensitive, small fluctuations in the temperature will cause the humidity to fluctuate on the hygrometer (Warm air holds more humidity and cold air holds less). These fluctuations in temperature--and consequently the humidity--can be caused by your home air conditioning cycling on and off or by the body heat from your hand when you pick up the hygrometer. To solve this problem, I placed my calibration kit (sealed ziplock bag) into a thick-walled, closeable cigar box. This helped buffer the temperature and gave me a steady humidity reading as a basis for my adjustments.
4. Most people remove their hygrometer from the sealed, 75% humidity container in order to make adjustments to it. This would allow some of the humidity to escape, meaning to check your work, you would have to wait another day or two for the humidity in the container to stabilize again. If you use a ziplock bag to calibrate your hygrometer, you dont need to remove the hygrometer from the bag to adjust it. Just grip the adjustment knob THROUGH the bag and turn it. Then you only have to wait a couple hours before you can check your work. It takes some coaxing so be careful not to damage your hygrometer or spill the salt + water mixture.

Xikar Hygrometer vs HygroSet II Hygrometer
These Hygrometers are very similar but they are calibrated in different ways.
-The Xikar is easy to adjust. When you hit the center button, the humidity will read 75%. To adjust it, simply place it in a 75% humidity environment, hit the center button and it will read 75%. Done.
-The HygroSet II requires you to turn the dial in small increments and hit the set button until the desired humidity is reached. One notch on the dial is supposed to be equivalent to 1 degree in adjustment. This allows some fine tuning if necessary but is more time consuming and harder to do through a bag.
Whether you prefer ease of adjustment or the ability to fine tune your adjustment, you cant go wrong with either.

OK, it's not easy to know if a hygrometer is reading accurately. Fortunately this unit can be calibrated using the Boveda One-Step Calibration standard, which is very simple to do. Through the calibration process I discovered the HygroSet II was initially off by about 1% and was easily adjusted to read correctly. But realistically, a reading within about ±5% is sufficient for monitoring the humidity in my classical guitar case (a guitar should be maintained in a 40%-70% humid environment so I don't care if it is 50% or 55% humid). This accuracy should be sufficient for most people. For those who demand high accuracy and precision with traceability, you will need to consider a pricey scientific instrument and a periodic calibration service (which I have done during my engineering carrier) - that is not the intent of the HydroSet II. I am confident in my calibration and I can always calibrate again at any time. The thermometer portion of the HydroSet II seems to read about right, but I am not interested in that feature so I haven't bothered to check the temperature reading accuracy. This is a good product for the price and I recommend it for musical instrument monitoring purposes.