Expert: M J Robbins - 4/3/2009

Question
This may be a little long winded but here goes. Ok so I recently purchases the cigar oasis xl and I noticed that the analog hygrometer and the electronic hygrometer didn't match. So I purchased a separate digital hygrometer. Next I put both the digital and analog hygrometer in a plastic zip loc bag with the cap of salt and some drops of water. They are supposed to read 75% humidity after 6 t0 8 hours. Both hygrometers were close within one percent. So now that I know that these hygrometers are accurate I also know that the cigar oasis hygrometer is not. When i calibrate it for 70% the other two hygrometers are about 65%. So I upped the cigar oasis to 75 so the other hygrometers would read 70%. This seemed to work. My question is... can you recalibrate the hygrometer on the cigar oasis? I know this is very ocd but I like everything to be perfect. Again sorry for the long windedness of the question

Answer
The chances of an analog and or digital being close to right is a shot in the dark. Usually depend on them to be 2 to 7% off no matter what your test says. The Oasis will be just as inaccurate. Just 1 high accuracy hygrometer costs $150 or more.
I check my $150 high accuracy digital thermo-hygro every year with a Sling Psychrometer.
All the equipment you have is medium tech. Depend on it for reading close to perfect put never perfect. Forget trying to calibrate the Oasis and just use the knowledge you have to keep the cigars close to what your digital says is right. Feel your cigars and know what you like as far as the humidity is, related to your pleasure in the smoke. Somehwere around 70% is the best,but it can be a little more or less and this is as close as you can get without spending a ton of money. These are the same conditions that most cigar stores in the USA work with.

If you want perfection get a $10,000 Vigilant refrigerated humidor.
Vigilant designed the wharehouse humidor for Swedish Match (Macanudo, Partagas, Punch, Hoyo de Monterey, Rocky Patel + more).They keep the cigars at 65 degrees and 73% humidity just like I keep cigars.

Enjoy
MJR