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Thread: Hygrometer

  1. #1

    Default Hygrometer

    Hello there everybody from Italy
    I need to buy a good hygrometer to measure humidity in the cupboard where i store my Morgan Monroe mandolin and the two acoustic guitars a Martin 0018 and a cheap Cort gh-qf.
    Until yesterday for a year i stored them in the case into the room out of a cupboard but i did get scare by the fact that my new Martin guitar after a year has developed a higher action which instead was so low when i bought it a year ago , the store where i bought the guitar told me that as far as he s concern the neck is not bending but he thinks that the top where the bridge is could have developed a bump due to too much humidity in the room , what do you make of the problem and if you can give me a tip on a good cheap hygrometer to buy.

    Thanks. Cheers

  2. #2

    Default Re: Hygrometer

    This is is dead accurate, lasts forever, is designed for cigars (humidors). I have three, they have all retained their calibration to within 1% across a few battery changes, and one of them is almost 10 years old.

    When I first started with the hygrometer thing, I bought several consumer humidity meters, they disagreed with each other by as much as 10%. I bought the calibration kit from Amazon, and finally tried the one I recommend. They cam from the factory within 1% accuracy, and could be calibrated to no deviation (0% off). I have used them ever since, they are cheap, dead accurate, small (fits in a mandolin - or cigar - case):

    https://www.amazon.com/Hygrometer-10.../dp/B000H6CZQE

    Here is the calibration kit:
    https://www.amazon.com/Boveda-One-St.../dp/B000A3UBLA

    Edit: I don't think in terms of action WRT to humidity, a sunken top is too low humidity, a bulging top is too high. My first Taylor guitar came with little humidity brochures with pics, warnings, and humidity range recommendations for safe storage. I seem to recall that 40-60% was the recommended range, I had 70% one summer, and the top bulged, bought a dehumidifier after that. I know guys who cracked their guitars from too low humidity.
    Davey Stuart tenor guitar (based on his 18" mandola design).
    Eastman MD-604SB with Grover 309 tuners.
    Eastwood 4 string electric mandostang, 2x Airline e-mandola (4-string) one strung as an e-OM.
    DSP's: Helix HX Stomp, various Zooms.
    Amps: THR-10, Sony XB-20.

  3. #3
    Adrian Minarovic
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, Europe
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    3,462

    Default Re: Hygrometer

    Caliber III or Caliber IV has been recommended by violin folks as one of the best small hygrometers.
    The calibrtion set is just bag of table salt, you can google to find out how to calibrate the hygrometer at 75% or at other values using different salts.
    Adrian

  4. #4

    Default Re: Hygrometer

    Here is the caliber IV: It looks like it gets great reviews:

    https://www.amazon.com/Cigar-Oasis-C.../dp/B00JXOKQVW
    Davey Stuart tenor guitar (based on his 18" mandola design).
    Eastman MD-604SB with Grover 309 tuners.
    Eastwood 4 string electric mandostang, 2x Airline e-mandola (4-string) one strung as an e-OM.
    DSP's: Helix HX Stomp, various Zooms.
    Amps: THR-10, Sony XB-20.

  5. The following members say thank you to kurth83 for this post:


  6. #5
    Registered User Manfred Hacker's Avatar
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    Dec 2006
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    Southern Germany
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    385

    Default Re: Hygrometer

    Quote Originally Posted by kurth83 View Post
    Here is the caliber IV: It looks like it gets great reviews:

    https://www.amazon.com/Cigar-Oasis-C.../dp/B00JXOKQVW
    I have 4 of these and they are great !
    I have never let my schooling interfere with my education - Mark Twain

  7. #6
    Registered User Charlie Bernstein's Avatar
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    Aug 2015
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    Augusta, Maine, USA
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    1,814

    Default Re: Hygrometer

    I dunno. I got a ten-dollar one at a hardware store, and it seems to work fine. Tells me the termperature, too. (They threw that in for free.)

  8. #7

    Default Re: Hygrometer

    I have been through a bunch of hygrometers over the years.. The main take away is that none of the cheap versions are all that accurate. Good ones still need to be calibrated. And even good calibrated ones are most accurate at a certain humidity level.

    In the end, I have decided that most $10-$15 usd ones are fine, despite being a little off. You do need to test it, to see just how far off it is... then, once you know 45% really means 40%, you can use it.
    Robert Fear
    http://www.folkmusician.com

    "Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don't.
    " - Pete Seeger

  9. #8
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    DeKalb, IL
    Posts
    3,633

    Default Re: Hygrometer

    My experience with the hardware store ones has been not good. I had 3 of them sitting side by side. The difference between their readings was almost comic. I bought one of the Caliber IV's. It seems very reliable.

  10. #9
    mandolin slinger Steve Ostrander's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Capitol of MI
    Posts
    2,795

    Default Re: Hygrometer

    Do you live by a lake or by the sea, or in a particularly humid area?

    I have a friend that took his D-18 to his lakefront cottage for the summer. The high humidity caused the top to bulge. The guitar tech at Elderly Instruments told him to watch it as the RH went down as the winter weather got colder and drier. It leveled out and since he has a whole house humidifier at his winter home, it seems to have stabilized. Still not something you want to subject your instrument to, though. Best to control the humidity in your storage area.
    Living’ in the Mitten

  11. #10

    Default Re: Hygrometer

    Well, i live in Milan Italy but my flat is at ground floor , and that i think must be the reason why my 0018suffered humidity however my luthier told me that the action of the guitar got nearly back to normal as he kept it into his humidity controlled workshop ,on top of that he said that those 0018 Martin having "fewer wood" compared to other cheap models can be deemed to suffer humidity much more , in any case i will now store both the mandolin and the guitar in a cupboard with a humidifier inside it and another one into the room
    Just hope the guitar will get back to normal by itself

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