why use Boveda calibration kits?

[Bruce T.]

I have not used Boveda packs yet. I use kitty litter and it works great. I have a couple of Bodeva packs coming with a cigar order this week. Since everyone says they are so good I was thinking of doing a calibration check of my hygrometers with them. I am going to put a Boveda into a ziplock with my hygrometer.
People often talk about the calibration kits from Boveda but why are they better than just using a basic Boveda pack?

Bruce.

 

[sofc]

I have not used Boveda packs yet. I use kitty litter and it works great. I have a couple of Bodeva packs coming with a cigar order this week. Since everyone says they are so good I was thinking of doing a calibration check of my hygrometers with them. I am going to put a Boveda into a ziplock with my hygrometer.
People often talk about the calibration kits from Boveda but why are they better than just using a basic Boveda pack?

Bruce.

I'm not convinced that they are. From what I've seen, they're essentially a boveda pack in a zip lock bag.

 

[Cigary43]

Bovedas tend to be used in smaller groupings of cigar humidors..small count size. I'm like you those who use KL as their primary RH media and it works perfectly but not everybody shares that sentiment. I bought one hygro years ago that is perfectly set up and I use that one to test the other 30 hygros I have...the other hygros are nearly perfect with about 7 of them being 1% off....I can live with that. While Bovedas can be recharged it becomes labor intensive to go back and recharge them when all I have to do with KL is spritz a couple of times to bring it back where I like my RH.

 

[joe45]

I believe it has to do with the percentage of the calibration kit. Meaning if your hygrometer is good at 69%, it may be inaccurate at a different percentage, but if it is good at 75% (or whatever the calibration kits are) then it is good across the board. I'm sure someone can give you a more technical answer.

 

[StogieNinja]

The adjustable hygrometers available usually reset to 75% due to the "salt test."

So Bovedas calibration kit is also 75%.

 

[sofc]

The adjustable hygrometers available usually reset to 75% due to the "salt test."

So Bovedas calibration kit is also 75%.

They have several different humidity levels.

 

[danmdevries]

It's no different than a regular Boveda.
I prefer to keep at 65ish, so if questioning I'd just check against a 65 boveda, want to make sure they're reading correctly at the humidity level where I keep my smokes.
But since I threw a dozen Bovedas of the same humidity as the pound of beads in each humidor I've never had an issue. I trust the Boveda more than the hygrometers. When they start to get dry, I overcharge my beads, the Bovedas recharge, the rh inside doesn't get that high (might climb to 69-71 after the overcharge) and all's well.

 

[StogieNinja]

They have several different humidity levels.

I was responding to the OP's question about why the 75% Calibration kit instead of a regular basic Boveda, and Joe45's hypothesis that the calibrating to 75% made the hygrometer more accurate at other levels.

What I meant was that the old "salt test" calibrates to 75%. So when manufacturers made the push-button calibration hygrometers, they made 75% the number the hygrometers reset to, since the salt test was generally the only way to calibrate at home back then.

So when Boveda put out their calibration packets, they made the test bag a 75% bag because that's what all push-button calibration hygrometers reset to. It has nothing to do with accuracy at other levels, it's just what the salt test gave and the rest followed.

In other words, there's nothing special about 75%. Unless you're using a "one-button calibration" hygrometer, use whichever bag you like. In fact, use the closest to where you want your rh to be, that'll give you the most accuracy.


My process is to use the 75% kit to measure, reset the hygrometer to 75%, wait 24hrs to ensure stability, then transfer the hygrometer to another bag with a 65% Boveda, wait another 24hrs and confirm accuracy again. So far it's worked out for them within +/-1%

 

[sofc]

I was responding to the OP's question about why the 75% Calibration kit instead of a regular basic Boveda, and Joe45's hypothesis that the calibrating to 75% made the hygrometer more accurate at other levels.

What I meant was that the old "salt test" calibrates to 75%. So when manufacturers made the push-button calibration hygrometers, they made 75% the number the hygrometers reset to, since the salt test was generally the only way to calibrate at home back then.

So when Boveda put out their calibration packets, they made the test bag a 75% bag because that's what all push-button calibration hygrometers reset to. It has nothing to do with accuracy at other levels, it's just what the salt test gave and the rest followed.

I was responding to another humidification thread.

 

[StogieNinja]

I was responding to another humidification thread.

Did you have weird issues yesterday too? I swear a few of my posts ended up in completely wrong threads...

 

[sofc]

Did you have weird issues yesterday too? I swear a few of my posts ended up in completely wrong threads...

I meant "yet another" that happens sometimes when the mods want to mess with you.

 

[Whtwtrman79]

The regular bovedas are +- 1%, the calibration kit has less variation as I asked the boveda guys if I could use a 65 to calibrate

I'm ok with +-1%

 

[Bruce T.]

So it seems unanimous. The calibration kits are no better than the basic Boveda packs.
I just got a free 69% pack in a shipment of cigars I just bought. I put it in a bag with a couple of hygrometers to check them. The were off by only 1%. Free calibration kit. Cool.

 

[marshall9779]

A regular boveda is only as good as a cal kit if you can adjust you hygro to any RH. My only resets to 75 so I need the cal kit.