What are you planning on using it for? If it is just to be used in you ball rack/cage - you really don't need one at all. Generally, I've found that (like Mike said) not only are they fairly inaccurate but having the additional probe in the tubs is just a pain. Unlike a thermostat probe that you can place outside of the tub, the hygrometer probe has to be in the area you are testing and it usually just gets in the way.

If you are planning on using it for incubation purposes, again, some would say that they are unnecessary. Despite being inaccurate I feel that they will give me at least some sense of where the humidity is in the incubation tub. I'm not sure how accurate the one I use in my incubation tubs is, (I have a digital hygrometer/thermometer combo with two probes - I still monitor the temperatures with both my thermostat and my temp gun and the temperature probe from this unit is accurate to within 0.2 degrees).

I use the no-substrate method in method so I really don't have to worry about humidity too much. Using that method allows me to over water without fear of drowning the eggs - this way I always know that my humidity levels will be high enough. I still use the hygrometer, and after the humidity is above 90% (I believe?) it simply reads "High". The biggest problem I have with my hygrometer is the probe - it is fairly small and it does come with a suction cup for positioning, but with the humidity levels that I'm dealing with in the incubator I've always worried a little bit that water will drip down onto it and give me a grossly inaccurate result. How likely that is to happen, I don't know.

Like Mike said... they aren't very accurate, but if you are simply using them for an general estimation you'll be fine. I would suggest that you stay away from the ultra-cheap dial ones and instead go with one of the digital ones. Something tells me that anything costing $2 to buy probably only cost about 50 cents to manufacture - (maybe more, I don't know) how accurate could the manufacturing process be at that price point?
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Stay United!


"...I say 'apparently' because despite all our progress she is not at all a tame or handle-able snake and gettting her from that cage would re-start a war.. and we've had a good armistice for several months now."-Gus Rentfro - I love this quote!

[ Hide Replies ]

• Hygrometer accuracy...very weird. - rdm01, Fri Feb 12 12:20:06 2010
• They don't work - mikebell, Fri Feb 12 12:35:13 2010
• RE: In that case... - rdm01, Fri Feb 12 12:54:44 2010
• RE: In that case... - BrandonSander, Fri Feb 12 14:11:40 2010
• Here's a way to test it - ArtInScales, Wed Feb 17 14:28:10 2010