Calibratable hygrometer?

[kvmommy]

I bought a Xikar calibrateable hygrometer. It says to put the hygrometer in a ziplock with a lid and wet salt in a lid, but not wet enough to have water standing in it. It said to leave for 4-8 hours and then hit calibrate while inside the baggie. Well, after I did that I went to the ER and ended up hospitalized for 3 days. So it stayed in there for 3 days. When I hit calibrate it said 70% instead of 75%. shouldn't it say 75%? Did I leave it in there too long? I realized my hygrometer wasn't working because no matter where it is its stuck on 40%, so I got this one. What do you think?

 

[Arielle]

I haven't done the calibrating myself. BUT I did read a zillion post on BYC on how to do it. My suggestion is to redo the calibration as you are not feeling confident in the number. ANd you won't feel 100%, no matter the opinions given here.

Use the search feature for calibrating hydrometer, you will find many posts. Just be sure to read enougt to find the good info like where the amount of salt is MORE than the amt of water and will give you the exact measure of each. Re do the procedure and you will most likely get the same number, but you will be confident of the number.

Honestly, I don't calibrate because, I only need a ball park figure and then candle the eggs to verify the growth of the air cell.

GL

 

[kvmommy]

Thats a good idea...cuz yeah...i'm thinking the salt/water ratio must be off. Thanks!

 

[misslady]

I have a round xikar hygrometer (made for a cigar case I believe, but it is so small it fits great in smaller incubators!) that I purchased from Amazon.com, I also purchased a calibration kit that I felt more comfortable using as there was no water involved, it can be found here: http://www.amazon.com/Quality-Importers-HUMI-CALIBRATE-One-Step-Calibration/dp/B000A3UBLA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319583899&sr=8-1
Mine seemed to be pretty accurate on factory settings as it was only 1% off, but I understand how important it is to have an accurate hygrometer.

 

[cmom]

Here is a great link on calibrating a hygrometer. http://exoticpets.about.com/od/herpresources/ss/hygrometer.htm