Salt test

[DUFFER]

[funkymunky]

Is there a wrong way to do a salt test?
I bought a digital hygrometer and did the salt test. The hygrometer read 66% after 8 hours with the salt paste in the ziplock that was in a ziplock.
So I returned it.
I Did the same test with the replacement and it reads 66%.
Do I have to have an exact amount of salt, or water? How big of a ziplock is too big, or too small? Do I have to wait longer than 8 hours? Or do I have the worst luck trying to find a decent hygrometer?

[edisonbird]

Same thing happened to me, I just got a new Diamond Crown digital, it read 66% after the salt test, my old Diamond Crown read 70%. I think there can be as much as a 4% error, at least according to Diamond Crown. If you think of a solution let me know.

[JKeats]

a couple of problems with the way you conducted the test...

first.... use a tupperware instead of a ziplock. personally, i use a tupperware and then put a large ziplock around that. you need to be certain that you have a completely air tight seal.

second.... 8 hours isn't nearly enough. i wait 12 hours at least before i assume that things have balanced out inside of the tupperware.

if you use a tupperware and wait 12+ hours and you're still reading 66%, then don't worry to much about it... just make a note that you have to add 4% to the reading.

good luck!

[hot4stogies]

I had very similar results with my RS hygro. I gave up on the salt test (which is accurate) due to the flakey nature of the digital hygro. I grabbed two known good and high quality analogs that I had been using in other humis and calibrated those with the salt test which showed me that they were still dead on accurate. I then put them in a real humidor with the digital and low and behold the digital read low by about 8% just like the original salt test had indicated. I followed the calibration technique on the cigargroup.com's FAQ's for my hygro model using the humidor as the environment and it has been very reliable ever since.

Two things, IMHO, cause the weirdness seen with the digital hygros and the salt test. One: they are simply shipped uncalibrated and usually on the low side. Two: they seem to be very sensitive to temperature and shock due to movement. Mine would change 2-3% just from picking it up in the baggies to read it. I am convinced that they need a stable environment and a real humidor setting to reamin accurate.

Hope this helps you out.

[Mowee]

Actually if you are reading 66 then you are 9% off. Remember the salt test should display 75% RH. I use either tupperware or a ziplock. The key on the ziplock is making sure the salt is not soaked ( because the ambient air could be higher than 75% depending upon the time of year and a/c in the house and you don't want the salt to be saturated so the reading goes too high.)
and being sure you have some air in the baggie so the moisture can circulate.

I use plain old analog hygrometers cause they are easy to calibrate ( the little screw on the back.) Good luck.


A good cigar is a smoke.

[JKeats]

oops... you're right. my bad. sorry for the mistake. hope i didn't waste 12 hours of time for anyone. lol. i just did a salt test myself... i knew it was 75% when i did it... don't know what i was thinking in my previous post.

thanks for the correction!