Acu-rite Humidity Accuracy

[thefnshow66]

I bought a couple of these a while back from Wal-Mart but i'm not sure where to put the probe at in my tub so i ended upplaced it on the bottom below the bedding (its aspen) where it would read my Hot side temperature. The Acu-rite would read my temperature really well but the humidity was really low, around 39. Now i have these thermometers in a 15 qt tub and i thought that the tub would hold the humidity well but it doesn't seem to be doing the job according to the Acu-rite Unit. So i wanted a second opinion and i bought a Fluker's Digital Thermo-humidity Gauge. I put that in the tub and it says my humidity is 75+. So my questions are, How Accurate are these Acu-rite Thermometers when it comes to measuring the humidity? Could it be because i just have the probe inside the tub and not the actual unit? Everybody says get a digital thermo-humidity gauge and i did that but to have such a big difference in humidity readings is confusing and it makes me wonder if i'm actually giving my snakes to little humdity or to much.

[starmom]

You need to have the entire unit inside the snake enclosure since the Acurite humidity sensor is on the unit itself.

As for accuracy, all of mine read within 4% of each other and they are also all within 5% of all of the other hygrometers that I have tested them against.

[dreese88]

Yes, the unit itself has to be inside of the tub to read the humidity inside the tub. The probe should go under the hide...or just on the warm side of the tub if you aren't using hides in a rack system

Welp...starmom beat me

[thefnshow66]

alright cool, i will try that tonight when i get home. Now about the Flukers Thermo-humidity gauge, Do you think these models are accurate? I have Two little 6 qt tubs that are on the same shelf with the exact same holes drilled in on both tubs and one gives me a humidity reading at 66 but the other one will say 73.

[starmom]

I have read on this forum that Flukers are less than accurate (no pun intended) ; but I have never used one myself

[thefnshow66]

well if that is the case, i'm screwed haha. Those things cost 20 bucks each at the petsmarts/petco. Well the one issue i have with the acu-rite unit is that the wire is so long and the unit is somewhat big, having it inside the tub, especially a 6qt one, doesn't really give the little snakes much room to work with. I know i can hide the wire under the bedding but the unit is so bulky.

[2kdime]

Salt test all your stuff.

Put your device in a ziploc bag. Then get a lid from a pop bottle. Fill it about halfway with salt. Then add just enough water to make it all wet.
Place it inside the bag with the Acurite. Close it and leave it for 2 to 3 hours. Your device should read 75% every time. Neat little trick, but it works.

That way you can judge how far off they are.

Trevor

[thefnshow66]

what would you recommend to use to keep the prob in place under the substrate? I know the probe comes with a little stick on but that wears off over time. I know tape is a no no but is there anything else i can use that would be safe?

[starmom]

Lots of people seem to use cage or tub decorations to hold the temp probe in place. Me? I use a temp gun and only have the Acurites in a few cages and tubs as a humidity check

[tideguyinva]

same here i only have a few in a few cages not all of them. I also use the temp gun for checking temps