Brit wrote in asking about the “salt test” and the accuracy of digital hygrometers. His concern is that putting a digital hygrometer in a salty environment might corrode the electronics of the device. (The “salt test” involves putting a bottle-cap full of wet salt in a plastic bag which, in turn will produce a 75% RH environment. This is then used to calibrate digital hygrometers.)
I must begin by saying I don’t trust the salt test. I never know how much water to put in the salt and how much salt to use in the first place. I prefer using a Boveda Humidipak for hygrometer calibration. I put one or two of the Humidipaks in a large plastic bag or transparent jar, put my hygrometer inside, seal it, and put it in the same room as my cigars. (RH varies with temperature so it’s good to calibrate the hygrometer in the same location in which your cigars are stored). I check the readings over the next couple of days and use an average of those readings as the final value. I then use a wax pencil to mark the hygrometer with the RH value I need for compensation. (If I’m using a 72% Humidipak and the hygrometer reads 74%, I’ll put a +2 mark on the device.) Some hygrometers can be adjusted and will not need to be marked. This method works very well and I trust it’s accuracy more than the salt test. (But to address the corrosion issue…my opinion is that the hygrometer is in that salt environment so briefly that corrosion is not a factor).
Brit also asked about the need to calibrate digital hygrometers. If you are as anal as I then I would say yes, calibrate all your hygrometers. But the bottom line is that judging proper cigar storage is about smoking and feeling your cigars. Digital hygrometers are accurate enough to provide a good ball park reading and give us the ability to know when the RH has dropped or risen. But I have come across bad hygrometers that were grossly inaccurate and the Boveda test showed that right away.
I hope this was helpful.
Arthur
I recently received from a friend about 30 cigars all individually wrapped in celophane and I put them in my humidor. My questions is should I remove the ceplophane wrappers and keep them on? Thanks, Dominick