How to calibrate your humidity gauge

There's a cheap digital one you can get from Walmart in the plant section. It's about $6 and it's worked great( I have it). I bought a $30 at Petco once. When adding water to the substrate one day I manages to pour water onto the digital guage. BAD. It died and I wasted $30.

 

nice vicki!

 

I'm kewl like that LOL

 

LOL! Good job Vicki!
Why do you think it went from 7% off to 3% off? Maybe it was because I used a different cap. Exactly how much salt do you use?

This is my 1,000 post! Whoohoo!

 

I just wanted to add that I have seen a couple different sites that said the salt test does work for the digital hygrometers. Its all basically the same thing just some directions tell you to use more water or salt. I have tried it with my digital and dial one and it seems to be about right. My digital was off 2% both times and my dial one was off 7% the first and 8% the next, So i think it works about the same.


Edit: I just wanted to add that I got the digital one from walmart in the plant section. Its callled Acurite. I'm not sure if that is the one vicki said about or not.

 

I think I got the same one as you.

 

Super thanks for this info. I would not have thought to look at the plant section, and probably would have wasted the $30. It would be nice to be able to have gauges in every one of my ISO's.

 

How much water should be placed into the salt?

 

Just a few drops. You want it moist.

 

ummm Vivki, how do you Change the reading if there is no screw on the back or sides??? i have the Basic Pecto Brand.

 

You can't. You just have to remember how far off the gauge was (i.e. mine reads about 15% too low) and adjust the reading by that much every time you check it. It's a pain, but it's the only option.

 

I'm useing a little cheep combo from Petsmart, it didn't give any warnings on the salt test... -_- and I dont see any little screws but I'm going to try the salt test over night...

 

Just an FYI on this topic for everyone...I also have the cheapo analog humidity gauge from Petco like it seems many of us have,
I had NO IDEA that it could possibly be wrong!! I was wondering why my humidity would never go above 50 no matter what I did so I found this calibration thing and I tried it out,.
WELL...I put the salt in the cap dropped a few drops of water and sealed it up, I kept checking on it about once an hour, I did the test for 6 hours and it NEVER went past 55. So therefore my tank was always about where it should be (75) and I almost killed my crabs by adding more humidity!!!
Just to test the theory even further I got the cheapo digital one from Walmart and my tank is 79 on the nose for humidity!
stupid cheap thing from Petco, I am writing them and giving them a piece of my mind!!!

 

I tried callibrating my zoo med gauge, but I don't understand how! I was twisting the thingy, but no matter which way I turned it, it went the wrong way. Now the arrow is pointing somewhere that doesn't even have any numbers. Any suggestions?

 

save yourself the trouble go to Walmart and spend $6 on the digital one lol I am not sure some of them can be fixed at all. I know mine can't I just have to remember it is 20 degrees off.

 

Lol I do have a digital one, actually! I just wanted another one for my ISO.

 

Oh so if water gets in, it will read wrong. Also, do thermomters need calibrating becuase mine is always at 75 degrees but I always have a heat source.

 

and what brand is this digital one from walmart?

 

SPRINGFIELD
PreciseTemp

It's white with three gray buttons off to the side. Look in the hardware section and the temperature gages are in there somewhere.

 

could you add pictures to this or a video cause the instructions are kinda of confusing... im kinda of a visual learner lol