Calibrating your Cigar Hygrometer: AKA The Salt Test

[jeepdad]

I did not see a sticky of this anywhere, so for newbs like me.....

To ensure that your cigars are being stored at the correct environment, use this guide to calibrate your cigar hygrometer. It’s always a good idea to check the accuracy of your hygrometer. You can use the Salt Test method on both digital and analog hygrometers. Most hygrometers today can either be adjusted or calibrated to an accurate reading. The salt test method won’t fail you, and it’s very easy to do.

To calibrate cigar hygrometer you’ll need the following:

• Small sandwich ziplock baggy
• Bottle cap from 2 liter soda bottle (works best)
• Table salt
• Hygrometer (whichever one you want to test, digital or analog)

STEP 1: Fill bottle cap with standard table salt; fill about 3/4 of the way up.


STEP 2:
Add tap water to the bottle cap to saturate the salt. If you see water floating on top of the salt, you’ve added too much water. Easy fix for this is to grab a paper towel, and soak up all of the excess water. You want more of a wet sand consistency of water and salt. Again, if you see water actually floating on top of the salt, soak up the excess with a paper towel.


STEP 3:
Place both hygrometer and bottle cap (with salt/water mixture) inside of a small ziplock baggy. Wait 24 hours and come back for a reading check.


STEP 4:
If your hygrometer is perfectly accurate, it will read 75%. Most hygrometers will be +/- 3 %.



If your hygrometer is digital and has a calibration button, follow the directions that it came with to calibrate to 75%.



Digital hygrometers have a calibration button you push, while analog hygrometers have a screw which allows you to adjust the needle accordingly.


If your hygrometer is not adjustable, you’ll just have to make a note and remember how far off it is.


Update: I did the salt test on my new digital Xikar hygrometer. It read 71% RH so this tells me I am four degrees "hot". So, if my hygrometer is reading 72% RH it will actually be at 76%. I want my specific hygrometer to read somewhere between 61-66% which will actually be 65-70%. My hygrometer does not have a feature to be able to adjust the data. Are you confused yet? Yea, I'm new to this as well.

As always I reserve the right to be wrong.

--Dan

[Rob G]

Nice. Just one correction. You want the wet salt to look like wet sand. If it looks slurry then you've added too much water. If that occurs you should dump what you have and start over. Salt is cheap.

[jeepdad]

Thanks Rob. Fixed.

--Dan

[cmbrose11]

Have a couple of questions about this. I myself like to just use the Boveda 75 packs for this.

Would the salt to water ratio move the RH up or down?

For example: 3/4 salt with 1/4 water gives 75%RH

or 1/2 salt with 1/2 water gives 80%RH

Is there really a method to this or is it just get the salt to look like wet sand and it WILL give you 75% without a doubt.

Also, I have heard that different salts will give different results. Something about iodized. Don't really remember though.

[Rob G]

If you saturate the salt, the salt can't absorb excess humidity.

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by cmbrose11

Have a couple of questions about this. I myself like to just use the Boveda 75 packs for this.

Would the salt to water ratio move the RH up or down?

For example: 3/4 salt with 1/4 water gives 75%RH

or 1/2 salt with 1/2 water gives 80%RH

Is there really a method to this or is it just get the salt to look like wet sand and it WILL give you 75% without a doubt.

Also, I have heard that different salts will give different results. Something about iodized. Don't really remember though.

Hey! Welcome to the forums.

The "wet sand like" salt is of course not a scientific description. I'm not a chemist/scientist so the 'how and why' of this is beyond me.

I can tell you that if you do this test on 3 or 4 hygrometers you're going to get slightly different readings on all 3. The analog ones are the worst. Digital ones - well, the box says +/- 1%, you should expect that or return it.

Bovida guarantees their pack - so, i imagine you could buy a 75% pack, open it up and use it instead of the salt slurry to calibrate a bunch of hygrometers in a large gallon zip lock bag or a big flat tupperware or something.

Personally, 65% RH is my 'smoke point', unless it's mid summer and 100% humidity outside. Then, well, you gotta have a wetter cigar, or drawing all that damp air into your stogie is going to cause it to swell and split.

So I keep humidors at different RH. But nothing close to 75% regularly... 70% for long term storage, 65% in the desktops.

[Emmo]

Most of the analog hygrometers come with a set screw. After testing turn the screw to 75%. No calculating the +/_.

[SmoKerch]

Once you get used to what you like, and how you want them to smoke, you can forego the devices. At least, you will not have to worry about them.

As the fabulous grtrx says: "Learn to trust your senses."

Long ashes!

[jeepdad]

Still loving my coolidore!