Hygrometers

[5thumbs]

I house my vast collection of guitars (all four) in the same room, separated by a few feet. I humidify them with an Oasis and a sponge/soap dish in each case (belt and suspenders).

All the cases are of similar construction, so I have been satisfied with hygrometers only in the two Guild cases, expecting all four to be fairly even.

But I lately noticed something of a discrepancy between the two hygrometers and decided that I should bite the bullet and buy two more. Then I could accurately monitor the humidity of all four cases, and could also do a trial with all four in the same case to see if one or another is out of range.

…Which leads to a couple of questions. I'm using Oasis OH-2 hygrometers and have been satisfied. But an Amazon search shows other units which appear identical but are 1/3rd the cost. I respect intellectual property rights so am having trouble deciding if:

A. Oasis is really superior, and a counterfeit or clone is blatantly copying the Oasis product, taking advantage of their research and engineering

B. Someone else is doing a better job of R&D, manufacturing, marketing or... and should be considered.

Any thoughts?

 

[Cougar]

I just bought ten small digital thermometers/hygrometers off ebay. Cost $20, so $2 each. They might be off on the relative humidity by a couple percent, but that doesn't bother me. I had a couple cases that needed one, and I wanted to put them around the house, mainly for their (F) temperature reading.

 

[jfilm]

I see the "Inkbird" hygrometer that looks just like the Oasis... not sure how these things work but could be the same product with different branding rather than a knock off, but it is obviously trying to copy the look of the Oasis. Still $13 though. I also buy the small ones for the cases, and just check them against the one I have for my room (Acurite) to make sure they're ballpark. I've been doing this a while and there aren't any surprises here- it gets very dry in the winter and I just have to keep everything well humidified until spring. These little hygrometers are handy to know the differences between different types of cases I have, gig bags, etc. so I can adjust what I'm doing if any particular case or guitar gets too dry.

I just picked up a bunch of the circle ones because they use one LR44 battery instead of the two that the little rectangle ones use. They're about $2 each. Anyway, I've never had a problem with doing it this way, but I'm sure spending a bit more for more accuracy might be worthwhile depending on your guitar and where you live, and for your own peace of mind.

 

[beecee]

I have four of those larger ones in the picture above. Believe I bought at WMart.

They have stayed within 1% of each other since we moved into the new house and I had a dedicated room.

 

[davismanLV]

I have two whole house humidifiers that tell me (their version of) the RH. No temperature. They're really within 1% of each other. With the new use of the atrium for guitar storage, I bought an inexpensive ($6) thermometer/hygrometer for that room. The RH stays within 1-2% of each other. That's close enough for me. I'm not running a scientific experiment that's going to be published and come under scrutiny. Just tryna keep the guitars fairly safe.

I know some people are bothered by the fact that I don't keep them cased, but a) I like seeing them. And b) If I had to go somewhere, open up the closet, pull a case out, open the case and take the guitar out, and THEN do it all in reverse to play one.... I never would.

 

[GGJaguar]

I know some people are bothered by the fact that I don't keep them cased, but a) I like seeing them. And b) If I had to go somewhere, open up the closet, pull a case out, open the case and take the guitar out, and THEN do it all in reverse to play one.... I never would.

You're probably one of those people who walks around the house in their underwear. jk

 

[fronobulax]

You're probably one of those people who walks around the house in their underwear. jk

Well he as claimed elsewhere to to be partially bionic so...

 

[geoguy]

I also assume that the Oasis hygrometers are re-branded units designed by someone else.

 

[fronobulax]

I have no opinion (shock!!!) on whether there are intellectual property considerations in this choice.

I did go down a rabbit hole because hygrometers have a lot of uses besides guitar cases and some of those uses (cigar humidors) expect a high degree of consistency and accuracy. Two things bear on those and you might decide you don't need any more hygrometers. The first is that hygrometers need to be calibrated. The process varies with the instrument but if it doesn't read 100% under saturated conditions it is not going to be accurate under other conditions. Second, depending upon the quality of the instrument +/- 5% is to be expected. The Oasis specs at +/- 3% which says that two instruments under the same conditions could have readings that differ by as much as 6%.

 

[jfilm]

I have two whole house humidifiers that tell me (their version of) the RH. No temperature. They're really within 1% of each other. With the new use of the atrium for guitar storage, I bought an inexpensive ($6) thermometer/hygrometer for that room. The RH stays within 1-2% of each other. That's close enough for me. I'm not running a scientific experiment that's going to be published and come under scrutiny. Just tryna keep the guitars fairly safe.

I know some people are bothered by the fact that I don't keep them cased, but a) I like seeing them. And b) If I had to go somewhere, open up the closet, pull a case out, open the case and take the guitar out, and THEN do it all in reverse to play one.... I never would.

I wish I had the space to keep them out. Instead I keep a couple within reach at least, and rotate the ones buried in the closet so I actually get to play them!

Seems like I try to sell a couple of guitars every fall, because going into all the cases and doing the humidity check routine for 10 guitars is a lot of work... then in spring I start looking to buy again (short memory). Anyway this winter I'm going to try the Boveda packs so I don't need to do it as often. I need to get the total number down, that's the real issue...

 

[davismanLV]

You're probably one of those people who walks around the house in their underwear. jk

GG, have you been looking in my windows?? At this time of year it's less apt to happen because it's kinda cold now, but in the spring/summer/early fall??

 

[GAD]

Those hygrometers are all the same Chinese units just with some brands putting their name on it. Think the Guild tuner from the ‘80s. Same deal.

If you want a good hygrometer check out SensorPush. Pricey but accurate, made in the US (with a lower priced import sensor option). Comes with an app, reporting, alarming, etc. very nice stuff. I wrote some details about it somewhere here jut I don’t remember where. I can do another dedicated thread if needed.

Edit - found it: https://letstalkguild.com/ltg/index...-i-found-its-a-nightbird.213933/#post-2047465

I can write up an actual review if you'd like. Shouldn't take too long since there's not a lot to say.

 

[GGJaguar]

GG, have you been looking in my windows??

Would that make me a Peeping-at-Tom or just a Peeping Greg?

 

[Roland]

I think that if it were me and all my guitars were in the same room and under the same conditions I would pick a hygrometer, put it on a shelf and throw the other one away rather than trying to get four of them to all agree. I really don't think the guitars are that picky as long as you keep them within the range.

 

[5thumbs]

Yeah, I'm ready to admit that I was seriously overthinking the situation.

...back to "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

 

[Mingus]

I have a bunch of the inkbird units and they are identical to the Oasis units. The problem I found with them is that they are a little slow to react and I need to open the case to actually look at them. Same exact problem with the Oasis.

I recently bought a bunch of Govee Wi-Fi and Bluetooth hygrometers for what amounts to be the same price as the ink bird or even cheaper in bulk. The advantage of those is that they can be calibrated, I can read them on my phone without having to open the case, and they chart historical data and are extremely responsive. In addition to keeping them in the cases, I also have one in each room that I keep guitars in whether I have them out or in the cases. They are so sensitive, that I can look on the chart over the past week until exactly when we took showers because you can see a spike in humidity in the room of about 10% that only lasts for an hour or so. I think being able to see trends over time will allow me a heads up when things are trending downwards humidity wise that I need to replace my boveda packets in the cases or change my humidifier settings in whatever room we are talking about.

 

[merlin6666]

I see the "Inkbird" hygrometer that looks just like the Oasis... not sure how these things work but could be the same product with different branding rather than a knock off, but it is obviously trying to copy the look of the Oasis. Still $13 though. I also buy the small ones for the cases, and just check them against the one I have for my room (Acurite) to make sure they're ballpark. I've been doing this a while and there aren't any surprises here- it gets very dry in the winter and I just have to keep everything well humidified until spring. These little hygrometers are handy to know the differences between different types of cases I have, gig bags, etc. so I can adjust what I'm doing if any particular case or guitar gets too dry.

I just picked up a bunch of the circle ones because they use one LR44 battery instead of the two that the little rectangle ones use. They're about $2 each. Anyway, I've never had a problem with doing it this way, but I'm sure spending a bit more for more accuracy might be worthwhile depending on your guitar and where you live, and for your own peace of mind.

I also bought a bunch of the little ones from ebay but they have long leads with the probes so I can stick them into the soundhole but leave display outside of the case. This is much cheaper than fancy wireless solution. Unfortunately our late cat loved to chew wires and he cut one or two of them. This reminds me to stick them into cases again but with display in headstock area. I just started humidify three weeks ago and guitars already needed to get tuned up.

 

[Gdjjr]

I live in an apartment with 5 uncased guitars (and 3 in cases),in my living room... I have an ACU-RITE hygrometer I got from walmart for 10 bucks... from what I've read, 45% is the perfect RH... on my coffee table, where mine lives, the RH varies from 38 to 50+%... I've not experienced any problems in any of my guitars, but, have noticed they sound better at 48 - 50%... so, my ACU-RITE might be off a tad. So be it, the guitars tell me when they feel good in their sound

 

[Rickenmaxer]

I've been using Govee bluetooth hygrometers for a couple of years now (approx. $15 each). One in the case of my F50 with Boveda humidifier packs, and another in my main room where I rotate guitars displayed on three wall hangers. It's great having the phone app to monitor the differences between the "controlled" environment (in the case, which, as expected is very consisten), vs. the open room varies more widely. It provides a nice history snapshot (hour/day/week/month) to track trends and see how long you may have been below or above ideal range.

Being in South Carolina, we don't usually see overall humidity below 45% except during cold snaps where the heater runs more. But that's rarely for more than a day or two at a time and never to the extreme we had living in the Northeast where wintertime RH would get into the teens. (Then a room humidifier would have to run non-stop just to get to 40% and cause all sorts of moisture condensation issues on windows and sills.) I have a few other cheap digital (4 for $12) units just to compare ranges against, plus our Lennox thermostat tracks indoor RH, though there's no whole house humidifier connected to it. For the most part, they're all within a point of each other when in the same environment.

 

[Guildedagain]

Remember when everybody had those wooden gauge panels hanging from the wall in a conspicuous place?

This is a neat little portable that I keep or use wherever I like, but mostly does RV/Camper duty, rough, 100º, 100% humidity happen frequently, as well as anything winter has to offer. Very reliable gauge actually.

I've always preferred analog.

Airguide, that was the company that made all these, these just happened to be very auto appropriate.