Cparker
  • Cparker
  • Connoisseur Topic Starter
Monday, November 8, 2004 1:15:00 PM
My wife is asking for a wish list for the holidays.

Anyone have any experience with a moisture guage/cigar meter ? Seem like it might be a nice gadget to have if they work.

Thanks

CParker

ericsgr
Monday, November 8, 2004 1:19:00 PM
I just got one of those Dri-Damp meters. It is not working all that well. Actually, it works sometimes and sometimes it doesnt. If someone has one of these, can you tell me if there is supposed to be a "ring" of some sort of material right near the point on the part that you insert into the cigar. Is that supposed to be there or is there just an indentation in the needle? Mine has a ring of some sort just after the sharp tip and I am wondering if it is supposed to be there. Wish I could be of more help.......but mine is not working all that well right now if that is of help at all.
SteveS
Monday, November 8, 2004 2:02:00 PM
IMO, there's gotta be better uses for the $$ ...

dunno if they work or not, but after a while, you sorta learn by how the cigars feel whether the humidity is right ...

hell, I can't even find my digital temp/humi gauge half the damn time ... I know it's in one of those 11 or 12 storage units, but most of the time, I don't spend much time looking ... the way the unit smells when you open it and the way the cigars feel is as informative as any gauge could be ...

Of course, I know guys for whom toys of that sort are important ... if you're one of that type, it might be just the thing ...

PurpleSageRighter
Monday, November 8, 2004 6:32:00 PM
I've got my bid on one rat now. If I get it, I'll get back with y'all with my own IMO.

PSR

donutboy2000
Monday, November 8, 2004 6:37:00 PM
A cut & paste review from another site:

I think it is safe to assume that the demographic that includes your avid cigar smokers, also encompasses a fairly high ratio of folks that like their "electronic gadgets". At least that's why I'm thinking I ended up purchasing the Dri-Damp.

The thought process behind this little guy is that you can test the individual moisture level of your cigars. Now for the folks with larger humidors, this could be advantageous in checking for any humidity differences throughout the humidor. For those with smaller size humidors, it may not tell you about variances, but it should confirm what your gauge is telling you. That is, if the product was worth a damn.

First off, the Dri-Damp gauge only gives you a three level measurement consisting of "Dry", "Good" and "Wet". Okay, this should be decent information; at least I can tell approximately how that tobacco inside my stogie is feeling.

So off to the first test. A nice sized Churchill from a small cabinet humidor. The humidor was indicating 71% humidity, so I expected the Dri-Damp to indicate on the border of Moist and Medium. Stick the probe in the cigar (this was somewhat painful, but didn't seem to do any damage) and what do I get...DRY!!! You got to be kidding me! How can my cigars be dry! Oh my gawd, what is wrong with my humidor! A quick test of another cigar from another part of the humidor and what do I get..."DRY". Full blown panic now sets in. A couple more tests, a couple different cigars...DRY. Is it true...could this electronically controlled, scientifically measured, state-of-the-art Habitat Monitor controlled humidor be failing me? Read on.

A few deep breaths later, I start to thinking that these cigars feel pretty good, they don't seem dry, they roll nicely between the fingers without cracking, and they smoke OK. Luckily for us, we have another humidor to test. This one indicates 69% humidity, and again, all cigars tested indicate dry.

Now we're starting to chuckle. The final test follows. We set a smaller humidor we have to be brought up to 80% humidity. In this humidor we put some cigars we don't care much for. We patiently wait a couple weeks for the humidor to jack up on moisture, all the time looking suspiciously at the Dri-Damp sitting on our desk.

Sure enough, two weeks later the feet of the cigars have exploded, they feel wetter than a Seattle morning, and our trusty Dri-Damp indicates they are still "DRY", but have moved up a little closer to "Medium". At lwast when we dipped the Dri-Damp in water it indicated "Wet".

Bye Bye Dri-Damp.

Cparker
  • Cparker
  • Connoisseur Topic Starter
Tuesday, November 9, 2004 5:54:00 AM
Thanks for this information.

I am thinking a nice ceramic ashtray may be the what to put on the list....don't even have to replace a batter.

Cparker

Cparker
  • Cparker
  • Connoisseur Topic Starter
Tuesday, November 9, 2004 5:54:00 AM
Thanks for this information.

I am thinking a nice ceramic ashtray may be the what to put on the list....don't even have to replace a battery.

Cparker