I bought a humidity guage from Radio Shack to check the accuracy of the analog guage that came with my humidor. I freaked out! Humidity in the box was 58%. I cut some oasis and pressed it into one of the wife's tiny tupperware containers and hosed it down with Mr. Moisture. Fearing that I had dryed out my Punch Rare Corojo Pita's, I just had to smoke one... with a couple of fingers of Dalwhinnie on the side. Ahh, caught it in time! No crunchyness, nice oily finish, and a pleasant smoke to boot. The only thing I noticed that was different was that the ash was very flaky; missed the ashtray a couple of times.

Just checked the humidity. It's now at 71%. Feeling pretty relaxed now.

Another success story.

essentially you checked one gauge that is not zeroed in with another one not zeroed in. you now have no real resolution. there has been a lot posted about how to set the guages, both analog and the funky one with the needle. if you want the articlethat also gives you a lot of info about huimidity and making humidifiers, i'll be happy to send you a copy that i copied from the web. [email protected]. bottom line is, if you made a good humidifier, all the guage tells you is you are a pro.

Don't get too caught up in that 70 % factor......mine varies but hovers around 77 % and all is fine! As long as you keep it around 70 % plus minus 6-7 % never on the lower end however you will be fine. Been doing it for years and yet to maintain a level 70 % and all my cigars are prime at any time.......

Peb,R U sure that dalwhinnie didn't have anything to do with U missing that ashtray? X

Rather than do the salt test a lot of people are starting to use the Fuente humidipak bags to zero in their hygrometers. I have two of the Radio Shack units and it was necessary to calibrate them. They were off about 6 or 7 degrees. Always important to calibrate. ORV

digital hygrometers are much easier and very accurate...and you don't have to calibrate.

Thanks Rick. I did calibrate the cheapie needle hygrometer using the salt method. I re-read the directions for the digital Radio Shack hygrometer/thermometer. There was no direction on how to calibrate it so I would assume that it was calibrated at the factory.

http://www.cigargroup.com/faq/----- 
and search around. you will find among other bits of good info, humidifiers and hygrometers, what they do and how to calibrate and make a better humidifier than you can buy for next to nothing.

Rick,Buy it for next 2 nothing,huh? For a minute I thought I was listening 2 a used car salesman. I think U were one in a former life. X

I think the analog hygrometers are accurate enough once calibrated. The problem is that the needle can stick. I bought a digital recently too(Don Salvatore). Says factory spec is +/- 5%RH. An acceptable variation. I put it in and...54%! I took the back off the dial type and poked the spring...down it went. I thought my humidifier was working exceptionally well! Oddly, the cigars were smoking ok. Yeah, the dial looks nice viewed through the glass top. But I will be using the digital for a backup!

Since I like vodka, what's the deal with adding it to your humidor??? USAHOG said he did (to ammo cans)...dunno the quantities and if you mix it with distilled water or add it solo? What's the BEST solution for a small humidor...I'm talking just bigger than a regular cigar box. SLIMBOLI, I know you great success at humidity levels...what, if any, is your experience with alcohol other than as a beverage?

NOT a good idea at all ... it would ruin the wood. However, there are non-wood units made especially for the purpose however (I have two of them) ... you thinking of flavoring some cigars??

This may sound too simplistic, but the way I calibrated mine was to leave it ouside for a few hours and check the humidity level on the local weather channel. I was within 2 degrees, so I figured I was close enough.

I am happy to report that the Radio Shack 63-1013 is reading 75% right out of the box after 24 hours using the salt calibration method. The cheapie analog one was at 85%! I calibrated it two weeks ago using the salt method. Wonder how it got out of whack? I reset it to 75% and put it back into the salt compartment to recheck.

Got several digital thermometers/humidity indoor/outdoor units from Walmart and did the salt test on both of them. One was 2% under and the other was spot on. I marked the one that was a little under so I know upon first glance to subtract two points. I then put one each in with the analog units and one analog was 10 off!!! the other was 8 off. Luckily, I got the digital units shortly after getting the analog units. I now use the digital units exclusively. I prefer about 68% for my 'gars and over the last few years, my smokes have been awesome. I've even seen a handful of my premium, special occasion smokes develop a nice bloom, so I know everything is hunky dory.

So how do I know how much distilled water to add to mine??? A drop, a teaspoonful, or hold the darned thing under water? Sheesh, you forgot...I don't know my A$$ from a hole in the ground here! There has to be a starting point, eh? My hygrometer is way low, at 63%...HELP! AND WHAT IF I DON'T USE DISTILLED WATER??? Will I go directly to Hell or just the cigars?

Espychick,Buy humidifier solution thats 50/50 PG to distilled water. Put solution in shallow bowl and let humidifier soak for a few mins.,wipe off and let set for a few mins. U use dis wawa so not to build up sediment in humidifier. The 50/50 solution auto keeps 70% in humidor. X

Marla if you e-mail me your address I'll send you more than enough 50/50 solution or you can buy the cigar store stuff for about $8-10 a bottle.I have about 1+1/2 gallons of it.I can send it to your business addy as well.After you use this you only add distilled water as needed,this will help your humidor keep a more constant humidity 70%.You only need to recharge the humidifier every year and a half or so with the 50/50. [email protected]