Review: LaCrosse TX60U-SET WiFi Hygrometer

[Jwrussell]

OK, so if anyone's been following the latest on the WiFi hygrometer build thread, you may have seen this offering from LaCrosse discussed on page 4. Well, I decided to bite the bullet and pick one up to see how it worked. I've always wanted to be able to track what is going on in my winecool-idor so I could get a feel for how often it was cooling and how long it took things to get back to equilibrium once the cooler kicked on. I have a condenser-style unit (Haier) rather than the more popular thermoelectric units out there so knowing how low the RH dips when the unit kicks on and for how long is important to me, and I was never able to get a real feel for what was going on before.

I picked this up from Amazon for $54 with free shipping. There were some other places offering it slightly cheaper, but the shipping charges pretty much evened things out. However, I've since noticed that Walmart shows this available for $46 with Free Shipping to the store for in-store pickup.

The TX60U-SET is a WiFi enabled Hygrometer/Thermometer that communicates with the WeatherDirect.com website to provide you with the ability to both remotely check the readings from your sensor and to download a spreadsheet with up to 30 days of data. Also included is a year's worth of free Text/Email alerts. After that the charge is $9.95/year or $19.95 for 3 years worth. I only seeing the most paranoid and/or dedicated enthusiasts opting for this extra cost, though I do see the benefit in having the system alert you when the batteries need replaced.

Included are two major items. The TX60U-IT Hygrometer/Thermometer Sensor and Secure Weather WiFi Gateway. Both are pictured below. The Gateway comes with an AC Adapter and LAN Cable for connection to your WiFi router.

The TX60U-IT Sensor requires two AAA batteries that are not included.

Set up is fairly straight forward, but things do need to happen in a particular order. I won't go into detail here as the instructions provided are pretty clear, but I will make note of a few pitfalls that I ran into. First of all, don't break open the package and immediately put batteries in the sensor. You need to hold off on that until a specific time. It will help if you have a laptop for set up (preferably one with a working battery so you can have it with you...unlike what I had to deal with, lol). Once you've broken open the package and gotten all the pieces out and unwrapped, you should log on to www.weatherdirect.com and create an account. This is a necessary step and doing this at the same time as setting up the gateway and sensor makes sense as the website will walk you through step by step on what to do next.

After some false starts, I got the system up and running and had the sensor communicating with the gateway. Fair warning, the gateway makes some noise (at least mine does). It's not loud, but there is a buzz that comes from the unit. Also, the advertisements state that the Sensor will communicate with the gateway up to 200 feet away. However, it is important to read the small print on this. That is 200 feet line-of-sight. Anything that gets in the way like doors, walls, glass, etc. will cut the distance dramatically. I haven't measured the distance from my router to my wine cooler yet (*update* about 55 feet away*update*), but I was able to get my sensor to communicate with the gateway over the distance of what amounts to the length of my house (router in very front room, cooler at the back of the house). That being said, my first attempt of just taking the sensor straight to the cooler and tossing it in didn't work. I ended up having to bring it back to the same room as the gateway and then move it by degrees to see where it would lose communication. Thankfully, the second time it never lost signal. I'll update this later to see if this becomes a problem as I move the sensor around the cooler after calibration.

 

[Jwrussell]

Once I was able to confirm communication of the unit inside the cooler I put the sensor in a small tupperware container with a couple of 75.5% Boveda packs for calibration. The sensor has been in the cooler since just before 6pm EST and I can now see from the automatically created excel spreadsheet accessible from WeatherDirect's website that the cooler kicks on approximately every 3.5 hours. I've configured my system to report the status every 5 minutes which is the shortest period of time between reports available. The sensor actually updates every 6 seconds, but will only report to the Gateway every 5-120 minutes depending on how you configure it. This is one small peeve for me as the advertisements claimed that the system would allow you to report every two minutes. But really, every 5 is fine.

I can see from the data provided that the sensor reads approximately 1-2% high as the current readings show the RH bouncing between 77% and 78% with the majority of readings showing 77%. [Update] After giving the sensor more time it finally settled down at +2-3% RH.[/Update] Attached is an example spreadsheet that has been edited to show just the pertinent information of Temp, RH and Timestamp. The full spreadsheet has columns for device ID and name(the system says it can handle up to 20 sensors, though I've seen conflicting information on that), Probe Sensor Temp reading (I'm not using the probe, can't figure a use for it) and Alert columns for the Probe and the Sensor (one each for Humidity and Temp).

The WeatherDirect.com website will also forward a website link to your phone for use in checking the readings via your mobile device. While a full-featured app would be nice, the bare-bones website works fine. My only gripe is that it only shows the most recent measurement rather than a series over time. However, the page is designed to be able to show you the readings on multiple devices, so that is probably why they are only showing you current readings. It is good for a quick, no hassle check on the current conditions of whatever you are monitoring. For those of us with full featured smart phones, it is easy enough to access the full website for more detailed information. The main page, once logged in shows you the 5 most recent readings (20 minutes worth for me given the 5 minute reporting schedule) as well as the link and battery status. The only thing I have not been able to do on my iPhone is to pull the spreadsheet with the historical information. While it is an xls-extension spreadsheet, there is something funky about it that causes an error message when opening on a regular computer about the content not matching the extension. Whatever this is keeps it from opening on the iPhone. Not a big deal, but worth mentioning.

Over all, I'm suitably impressed so far. I'll keep updating this as time passes.

 

[apaniagua]

Wow, excellent bro!! I wanted to dig about this a bit more before trying...but you tried it already! Thanks a lot!

 

[LoneSmoker]

Awesome, I'm glad we have someone testing this thing. I told my wife about it last week... she gave me "the look". I'll be watching to see how this works out.

 

[Jwrussell]

Thanks guys. I'm really liking this set-up so far. The biggest negative is the same one I have been voicing for wireless hygrometers for years now, and that is that no one has yet to come up with one that can be self-calibrated. Granted when I download the spread-sheet I can simply create a formula to adjust the numbers I am seeing and hide the original data, but it would still be nice to be able to adjust the unit from the start.

I will probably pick up at least one other sensor so that I can monitor multiple locations, but for now I'm having fun moving the sensor from place to place. That being said, I need to leave it in one place for an extended period of time. The longest it's spent in one place so far is probably two days.

Now, there is no doubt in my mind that this type of set up is for a specific type of individual. There are tons in this hobby who don't even bother with hygrometers and just trust to their beads or just judge humidification based on how their cigars are smoking and are fine with that. In fact, playing with a system like this would be counter to what they enjoy about the hobby. This is obviously not for them. Then there are the folks like me who get a kick out of knowing what's going on with their storage at all times, or who are really, really...ummm..."diligent" (yeah, you all know the word I'm thinking of) about their storage for whatever reason. Perhaps you collect and at least part of your stash is more investment than hobby. Whatever the reasons, this is for that group.

That being said, here is an example of the type of information I'm interested in and that I've been able to get a real feel for with this system:

As I mentioned, I have a Haier BC112G 30 Bottle Wine Cooler. This is the compressor type, so I have to deal with bigger swings than those with thermoelectric units. Or at least that's the the assumption we all work under. I would be curious to see someone with a thermoelectric unit throw one of these in and see what the results are so we could compare and see how big of a difference it really is. My cooler currently has three double drawers and one shelf in it. The drawers have glass lids so the singles held in them shouldn't be affected nearly as much (if at all) by the swings of RH in the cooler (something I'll be confirming with this set up in the near future). Humidification is covered by HF beads (will have to see if I can note exactly how much) along with some Kitty Litter beads (two large net bags from the pet store full) where the drain (plugged) is to handle any condensation. At any rate, I was curious to to see how often the cooler ran, what the average RH would be and how quickly the system recovered after the unit kicked on to cool.

What I found placing the sensor on the top shelf approximately 3-5 inches from the top and back of the cooler for two days worth of readings. During this time the house AC was set to 77*. Ambient temp in the room was likely a couple of degrees lower, but I don't have any hard data on that.

• The average RH is right at 64.5%.
• The low RH is 51% with the high RH being 69%. It is possible with the 5 minute reporting cycle that these aren't the true lows and highs, but it is close enough for my purposes.
• Each "cooling cycle" (the time from the highest recorded temperature prior to cooling to the next highest reported temperature) was between 2 hours 15 minutes and 2 hours 45 minutes with the most common time frame being right at 2 and a half hours. This is more frequent than I reported in my original post because the temp in the house was warmer.
• Recovery time. This is the big one of course, and I've broken it down to two recovery periods. The first one is what I would call "Initial Recovery" and this is the time it takes for the system to return to the target RH after cooling has begun. I considered my target RH to be reached at a reported humidity of between 64% and 66%. The second recovery period I'll call "Stability Recovery" and I considered this reached when the system returned to a steady and repeated reporting of the target RH.
• Initial Recovery was incredibly consistent. I had one cycle that shows initial recovery to have occurred in 20 minutes. Every other cycle has a recovery period of 25 minutes. Now due to the 5 minute reporting cycles these times may be a bit more regular than they are in reality, but either way it is incredibly consistent. Given that the total cooling cycle does vary to some degree, I think I can be pretty confident in saying that the system as it stands right now recovers between 20 and 25 minutes.
• Stability Recovery was also incredibly consistent. 40 minutes after Initial Recovery the system would read a stable 65-66% RH until the next cooling cycle started up. The system would continue to rise to between 68-69% RH at which point it would drop back down to 65-66% RH. About 20 minutes to hit the high point and another 20 minutes to return to stability.

A couple of last notes. The temperature at which "Stability Recovery" was reached was always 68.6*. This varied only slightly. Recovery was very predictable. RH would come back quickly, then overshoot the set-point of 65%, then drop back down and settle until the next cooling period.

The highest temp I recorded was 70.7* and the lowest 67.2*. Based on this I might kick the ETC down one more degree, but I want to see what the temps and RH swings are like at the bottom of the cooler first to see what the difference is.

 

[Jwrussell]

An interesting observation from this morning. I went to measure the dimensions of my igloo'dor this morning, so I had the lid open for maybe a minute. Probably 90 seconds at most. I went to look at the history of readings this morning just for the heck of it and noticed a slight humidity shift. When I looked at the time, sure enough, it was when I had checked the dimensions. The RH dropped 2% points and recovered in...yep 20-25 minutes. Granted, the drop and recovery weren't as drastic as the ones I noted for the wine cooler, but it still took a 25 minute period for the system to completely recover. Within 5 minutes of the low reading RH had increased by 1% and it took another 15 minutes to get back to where it had been. Also interesting to note is either that since the temperatures are steady or because the RH drop is not so drastic, there is no overshoot on the RH going above the set-point. The beads in the cooler simply brought the RH back to where they had been holding.

 

[LoneSmoker]

Dang Jason, this is great to watch! I agree, it would be really nice to be able to calibrate the sensor. But, like you said, formulas are easy cheesy with Excel. One question, does it create a new spreadsheet/file everytime you download it or is it continuously updated?

 

[Jwrussell]

Continuously updated. Hmmm...I just re-read this and I'm not sure I understood the question. Each time you download the spreadsheet you get a new file, but it is inclusive. I've yet to hit the 30 day mark so whenever I download the file it includes all readings going back to the first time I started it up (5/12).

Some updates. I've had the sensor in my bottom (third) drawer in my humidor since the evening of the 17th. I'm going to give it today and tomorrow before I pull it and check the calibration again. I've had another wireless hygro (the one that reads accurately) and one of my hygrosets in with the wifi hygro so I could check accuracy. I noticed that RH seemed to be climbing but that I wasn't getting the same readings from the other hygros, so I recalibrated all of my other hgros to make sure and it is looking like the wifi hygro is more like 4-5% off. That being said, I also switched out one bag of HF beads for another and the RH dropped 3%. I'll have to check that bag to see what they hold at in a small container. But I want to throw the hygro back into the calibration tupperware for a good solid period of time to see what happens.

The readings in the drawer are pretty consistent. This is the least filled drawer with only about 15 or so cigars at the very front of the drawer. There is a 65% Puck-ifier from Cigarmony.com and a small bag of HF 65% beads in the drawer along with three hygros, so there is quite a bit of empty space. You can still tell when the cooler kicks on and it still is about once every 3 hours, but it varies considerably depending on the ambient temps. Late last week we had some really nice weather and I had a couple of cycles getting close to 6 hours. The recovery time is not as consistent as I saw previously and seems to be averaging a bit longer as well at between 25 and 30 minutes for most readings. As in the igloo'dor, there is very little (if any) overshoot during recovery and once the drawer gets back to the RH reading that was showing prior to the cooler kicking on, it stays there until the cooler kicks on again.

 

[Jwrussell]

So, I've moved the sensor around a bit. I popped it into a mostly full box (slide lid) over the weekend and confirmed that the environment within the box is quite stable. Even though the environment in the open within my wine cooler has some significant swings, the environment within the box only moved a couple of percentage points and recovered fairly quickly. I didn't really track this all that well, but may try to do so in the future. It's interesting to me in that I believe it shows to some degree the hygroscopic nature of the cigars themselves along with the spanish cedar box as there is obviously no humidification media within the box (though there is a bag of 65% beads close by outside).

So, what really prompted me to post an update were the readings in my second drawer. For the past few weeks it has been in the lowest (3rd) drawer which has very few sticks in it. This leaves a LOT of empty space, and even though there is a bag of beads and a puck-ifier in the drawer, the swings are still somewhat substantial. Not anything to really be worried about, but not insignificant. Below is the pertinent data:

• Average drop in RH at beginning of cooling cycle: 2-3%
• Average recovery time: 35 minutes

So, like I said, not anything I'm worried about, but still substantial. The RH would typically stay at it's lowest point for only 5-10 minutes before recovering to within 1-2% of the previous high.

NOW, fast forward to this weekend when I moved the sensor to the second drawer. This drawer is chock full of sticks. There is a bag of beads in the drawer, but the main point here is that while I could stuff a few more sticks into the drawer, it's pretty close to as full as it can go. So today I downloaded the spreadsheet and checked the last 24 hours worth of readings. And?

I can't even tell when the cooling unit kicks on for sure at this point. There is certainly a difference in temperature and I can watch it fluctuate, but the point where the cooling unit kicks on and starts to cool is no longer an easily defined point. In fact, the difference between the highest temperature and the lowest temperature in this drawer is .8 degrees (and that's because of two high temps at the very beginning of the data, if I ignore those it drops to .5 degrees). And the RH? It meanders a single percentage point, between 65% and 66%.

So, I've managed to show something we already knew. A full humidor regulates RH much better than an empty one. That much didn't surprise me. What did surprise me is the fact that the temps are much more stable when the drawers (humi) are full as well. The top or first drawer is less full than the second, but still pretty full, so it will be interesting to see what the readings are from there when I move the sensor again (probably next weekend).

Some final notes on the product:

• I've yet to lose connectivity between the sensor and the base, even with the sensor enclosed in a slide-lid cigar box.
• The product specs say that the data in the spreadsheet will cover 30 days. I pulled down the data today and I can only go back to the 14th of May. Not a huge deal, but not what was advertised.
• I don't know if I mentioned it elsewhere, but I calibrated this thing a couple of times and it is at least 5% (reads high) off from where it should be. I plan on picking up another sensor and we'll see if it's any better. Not a huge deal, but a pretty big gap and a warning for anyone using one of these to be sure to calibrate it.

 

[JNT]

Thanks. This is great info.

I like to keep all my singles in empty boxes, inside my coolidor, for neatness. I also believed that the environment inside the boxes would be more stable, and subjected to less swings, as I frequently go in and out of my humidor. Your findings seem to confirm that.

Keep posting your findings. I'm really interested in recovery times as a result of your post now, as I never thought about them before.

Just out of curiosity. How many cubic feet it your set up? How much beads do you use? Roughly how many cigars are stored? for you to see the 20-25 minute recovery time.

 

[Jwrussell]

Thanks, JNT! I really enjoy digging into this stuff.

I have a 30 bottle higher, so it's just shy of 4.5 Cubic Feet.

I have quite a bit of overkill as to the amount of beads in there. I have two 8 oz. bags of 65% HF beads plus almost 2 lbs of kitty litter where the condensation collection area is. It's way more than necessary, but I had them sitting around so figured what the heck?

Of course I also have beads in each of the three drawers, but they all have glass tops so are pretty much sealed containers in their own right.

The Igloodor I mentioned is a 48qt. Based on my calculations that's about 1.68 cubic feet. I have about 12 ounces in there.

I plan on checking these same readings when the HCM beads arrive. I'll replace the HF beads with the HCM beads and see what the difference is in recovery times and stability. I have some other ideas I want to test out as well. I'll post whatever I find here.

 

[Jwrussell]

OK, so I have a quick update for any who are following this. I've switched out most of the HF beads for HCM beads in the wine cooler and igloodor. I've pulled the kitty litter beads and the bulk of the HF beads out of the wine cooler, leaving only one bag in one of the drawers (it seems to hold a bit higher RH and I want that for my NC sticks). The other two drawers have 2 oz HCM bead sticks in them. One has one, the other two. No real reason behind that other than I bought one for each drawer and am not using one of them in the top drawer as planned. There are two 8 oz HCM bead bags in the wine cooler, one at the bottom and one on the shelf in the middle and 3 8 oz (have to double check, but pretty sure that is what they are) bags of HF beads in the condensation tray at the back/bottom of the cooler. The drawers have been moved so that they start at the top of the cooler. I've taken some readings on the middle shelf of the wine cooler (out in the open) and in the second drawer (sealed with a glass lid). These are not exactly comparable to my previous readings as the "out in the open" readings I took with the HF beads was from the top of the wine cooler. The drawer readings however I can compare with similar drawer readings.

Out in the open
Very similar to what I found with the HF beads.

The high/lo was 68/54. This compares with 69/51 with the HF beads, though I don't read much into the difference of lows as I seem to remember that the average low was higher than 51 in that instance. In general, the swing in RH is pretty close.

Initial and Stability Recovery: 25 mins and 35-40 mins respectively. At least in the environment of the open air within the wine cooler, there is no appreciable difference between the HF/KL combination I had working and the HCM/HF combination I have in there now.

Second drawer: sealed
The readings for the sealed second drawer are as boring as they are consistent, and there is really no difference to report between the HCM and HF readings. 65%-66% readings the entire time. This is the mostly full drawer with a single 2 oz bead stick in it.

I wouldn't call this conclusive evidence by any means, but so far I'm not seeing anything that confirms the oft stated claim that HCM beads recover faster than HF beads. I will be transferring the hygro to the igloodor next to see what there is to see there. I don't expect much in the way of fluctuations as it is a more consistent temp and completely sealed, but once it has had a couple of days to settle in I will again open the lid for a minute and then check the readings to see what the recovery is.

One note about the unit itself. I don't know if it has something to do with the receiver, the hygro transmitter, the battery or where I had the unit placed, but I noticed that I was getting quite a few skips in reports over the last few days. Mostly it would just skip one reading. So instead of every 5 minutes, every so often I would notice I only got a reading after 10 minutes, then it would go back to every 5 minutes. One of those skips though was for a 30 minute period. This was when the unit was on the middle shelf of the wine cooler and I haven't seen a skip since moving it to the second drawer. I'll check to see before I move it again if it appears to have been where it was located or if there might be something else going on. The system isn't telling me there is a battery issue, so we'll have to see.

 

[La Chupacabra]

But Boss.......I have to leave work early ! My RH Just dropped 5 degrees. If I don't get to it right away my cigars will disintegrate.
All kidding aside, thats a pretty cool Gizmo. But I think it would drive me back to the point of obsession. Out of site - Out of mind.

 

[Baddevildog82]

Great information. I am planning to get a large (280 bottle) Vinotemp with a solid wood door, and I have been looking for a good WiFi Hygrometer since I won't be able to see the readout through the door. This sounds like it would be a pretty good solution.

 

[Jwrussell]

Great information. I am planning to get a large (280 bottle) Vinotemp with a solid wood door, and I have been looking for a good WiFi Hygrometer since I won't be able to see the readout through the door. This sounds like it would be a pretty good solution.

It's a great solution so long as you are content checking the reading either on your smartphone or on a computer. That is the only drawback (other than that you can not self calibrate) I see with this product. There is no display unit that can be placed outside the unit to view easily.

Another option for you might be the standard wireless hygrometers. Do a search for wireless hygrometer and you should come up with a number of options. Oregon Scientific is one of the major brands. You get a base station that displays the readings and that can handle up to three wireless sensors.

 

[Swif]

Great information and will fallow as well.

Would you say with you research that sealed drawers in a wine cooler is better for single sticks?

 

[Jwrussell]

Swif, I would say most definitely yes, but there is a big caveat in that statement. My wine cooler is a compressor cooled unit, rather than the more popular thermoelectric. I have no experience with the thermoelectric units, so I can't really comment as to how big of a difference there is in those types of units. I would expect it to be much less. In my case though, absolutely I would say a sealed drawer (the drawers I have are glass topped) is a must. To be honest, I'm saving up my money to get some bigger "drawers" for the boxes in the unit as I just don't care for the swings in RH that come with the compressor kicking on and off.

Thanks for the comments.

 

[dangles]

jason,

thanks for that thorough review. it was very informative and has pushed me a bit farther toward purchasing this system.

i do have some questions for you, though...

i'm actually not a cigar guy at all, but i came across this thread on a google search regarding the system in question.

are you ready for this? probably not, but here goes

i actually collect and breed boa constrictors

(giving some time for that to settle in... lol!)

in my hobby, temps are VERY important, and there is no shortage of hobbyists who have lost tens of thousands of dollars worth of boas (or other snakes) because of temperature issues. i'm sure it's similar in your hobby, but some some of these are simply irreplaceable.

i've been searching for a way to help prevent this (or at least catch it before serious damage is done), and what REALLY draws me to this system is the email/text alerts that are available. to be notified in real time (or close to it) in the event of a power outage or a thermostat/heater malfunction would be PRICELESS - especially for me as the winters around here can be harsh and i am gone for longer periods than most due to my job.

so allow me to pick your brain...

when it talks about notifying you when it loses connection, is that only when the base station loses contact with the sensor (as would happen with a dead battery or the sensor being out of range) or also if the base station itself loses power (as would happen with a power outage)?

i read that the first year of notifications are free. i know you said you don't have much use for them, but have you tested them out (or would you be so kind as to test them for me? )?

if so, how long does it take from the event in question to the email/text notification?

with the excel docs, i know only the most recent 30 days are available, but could you just copy/paste them into one "master document" as you get them to keep a running log for an indefinite period? i wouldn't think this would be an issue...

i know you said you don't really use the temperature function so much as the humidity function, but would you mind maybe running some simple tests of the temperature function as well? accuracy isn't a huge deal for me, but i would at least like to know if it works as advertised and sends notifications when the temps exceed or fall below the user-defined parameters and how long this takes.

i'm sure more questions will pop into my mind, but that's all i've got so far.

thanks again for the great review!

-chris

 

[dpricenator]

damn jason, that's a lot of typing

 

[CWS]

Strangest post yet. I hope Jason can help him. Maybe he would like to try a cigar to go with his boas?