Accu-Rite

[ZBP]

Has anyone ever had trouble with their accurite recording humidity? I don't know if there is a problem with mine but it says the humidity is at 99% and there is no condensation in the tub. I am going to add more holes, currently there are only 9 on each side, but I just want to make sure the problem isn't with my hygrometer.

[mikel81]

Did it get wet? Maybe there is water inside throwing off the sensor.

[Evenstar]

Mine did the same in my tubs for the first week.

How long have you had yours in there?
Is there a water bowl in the tub too?
Do you have any holes drilled in the tub currently?

I added a few more holes in my tub, made sure the unit wasn't wet in any way, and gave it a week. The percentage started dropping once the air flow (from the holes) improved. Now it sits nicely at about 70%. It does tend to rise to 80-90% when I refill the water bowls though, then drops by that evening back to 70%.

My guess is that you just need a few more air holes and to give it a chance to settle. It seems to take these units longer to adjust to humidity than it does to adjust to the temps.

[Slim]

Pull it out of the tub and see if it lowers while measuring your room's ambient temp. The change will not be instant. Accurites take a while to settle when you change the environment.

[kitedemon]

Yes they have a very fragile sensor (carbon disk) and it is susceptible to dust and other junk. I too would move it and see if it changes. Perhaps place it in a zip lock bag with some rice grains it should read very low RH and the rice will dry it out if it is wet. I have owned three and never found them to be very accurate. Was it ever correct? The error range when I checked about 5 years ago was quoted as +/- 20% so if yours is on the extreme end it could be as low as 80% but usually when they read 99% it is an error of some sort. You might also try removing the batteries for 20 min and replacing them and see if that helps.

[ZBP]

I pulled them out while I went to the store and they dropped to 54 and 50 from 99 and 89 respectively. I think I just need more holes in the tub which I will be making soon. The thermometers where in there for about 8 hours when they had the 99% humidity reading.

[ZBP]

I have the thermostat back in and it is about 62% and is not increasing as fast as It was before, I am hoping the new holes will keep the humidity stable around this point, but I was wondering because it was about 4% higher then the other thermometer should I say that it is at about 58% or assume that the other one is reading low?

[kitedemon]

Having two units read differently is not surprising I would either test them or split the difference.

[drezden]

That's crazy you posted this. Because just the last few days I've noticed my acu-rite has been reading 99%, and i keep drilling holes in the top of the tub to lower the humidity, but now that I think about it it, I wiped the bottom of it with wet disinfectant to clean it, and that must be effecting it. Maybe someone similar happened to you?