Humidity question

Timbuck

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According to the local university weather report the outside Temp is 17 C and the RH is 90%...according to the gauge in my unheated insulated workshop the Temp is 23C and the RH is 36%....Question is my gauge faulty ?
I have now placed the same gauge outside to take another reading..I will report back later.
 
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A warm volume of air is able to hold more water than an equal volume of cold air before saturation. So your warmer shop should have a lower RH. I don't know what the formula for interpolating 90% at 17 to 23C, but I'll take a guess that your gauge is ok.

Nelson
 
To calibrate/check a hygrometer put it in a confined space with a saturated salt solution. Something like a tupperware box with salt and water slurry in the bottom and some sort of shelf for the meter to sit on. It should read 75% +/-1% under those conditions.
 
36% anywhere in the UK today seems like wishful thinking Ken! My insulated heated workshop is registering 23 C and 53% RH ... but the dehumidifier has been running most of the day to keep it there.
 
36% anywhere in the UK today seems like wishful thinking Ken! My insulated heated workshop is registering 23 C and 53% RH ... but the dehumidifier has been running most of the day to keep it there.
yes my gauge seems ok after a while outside..it soon rose up to 79%.. put it back in the workshop and now it's down to 38%. But the temp has gone up a bit...turned out to be quite a nice day in the end , after a lot of rain this morning.
 
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Hygrometer gauges are notorious for being misleading and inaccurate. I read somewhere that to measure true humidity it was necessary to use something call a a "sling hygrometer" or some such sort of medieval device. A device which one spins through the air. I don't think so. I don't have the time. Would make my arms tired. Humid is humid. Dry is dry. And then there is in between. Then there is the psychrometer which is a true Boy Scout lab set up type device. .. Interesting that there was such a change from outside to inside your shop. Maybe it is all that old wood soaking up the moisture?
 
It's a sling psychrometer. I have one. It's just two thermometers, one has the bulb end covered in wet cloth, the other is 'dry'. You don't have to spin it in the air, you can use a vacuum cleaner to pull air across both the bulbs.
Common household salt isn't the best for testing a hygrometer, it's too high for our range. Potassium carbonate is much better at 43% RH. Ours is a small range - between 35% and say 55% - everything out of these should be of no relevance. So you use the hygrometer like a traffic signal, once it starts to approach 35% RH you better start doing something about it.
 
Hygrometer gauges are notorious for being misleading and inaccurate. I read somewhere that to measure true humidity it was necessary to use something call a a "sling hygrometer" or some such sort of medieval device. A device which one spins through the air. I don't think so. I don't have the time. Would make my arms tired. Humid is humid. Dry is dry. And then there is in between. Then there is the psychrometer which is a true Boy Scout lab set up type device. .. Interesting that there was such a change from outside to inside your shop. Maybe it is all that old wood soaking up the moisture?
The shed is lined wth 25mm polystyrene on all four walls plus the ceiling and the window is shuttered and there is a thick fitted carpet on the floor...The RH is nearly almost always just below 40% if I want to increase it I just leave the door open. I've noticed that when I'm heat bending with a water spray it starts to increase pretty quick.
 
I would be a little suspicious Ken. I have a fully insulated (50 mm kingspan) heated workshop with thick carpets, but I have to run a dehumidifier to maintain humidity between 50% and 55%. Very rare for a day when it doesn't need to run. I have two good quality humidity gauges, and I periodically calibrate them both against a Casella National Physical Laboratory approved aspirated hygrometer (wet/dry bulbs with controlled airflow via clockwork motor & fan).
40% in the UK on a regular basis, even indoors, sounds too low too me. The Casella was the bargain of the century - I used one for test work in my previous life and knew it cost the company well in excess of £500 ... I got one in mint condition for £35 from eBay :D.

This one is a bit more expensive ... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/2226...=9041093&device=c&campaignid=797602469&crdt=0
 
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I would be a little suspicious Ken. I have a fully insulated (50 mm kingspan) heated workshop with thick carpets, but I have to run a dehumidifier to maintain humidity between 50% and 55%. Very rare for a day when it doesn't need to run. I have two good quality humidity gauges, and I periodically calibrate them both against a Casella National Physical Laboratory approved aspirated hygrometer (wet/dry bulbs with controlled airflow via clockwork motor & fan).
40% in the UK on a regular basis, even indoors, sounds too low too me. The Casella was the bargain of the century - I used one for test work in my previous life and knew it cost the company well in excess of £500 ... I got one in mint condition for £35 from eBay :D.

This one is a bit more expensive ... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/2226...=9041093&device=c&campaignid=797602469&crdt=0
You were right Paul the gauge is duff....I ordered two more gauges...they arrived this morning I set them up alongside my original ..after a while I checked the RH, The original read 39% the two new ones read 59% & 60% the temps were all the same tho'...The original one is now in the bin.
 
A lotof people put humidity and air temperature together. They shoudl be; btu a third component - air movement needs to be factored in. You move the air, you lower the humidity. It's as simple as that. So as well as keeping my workshop warm, I have the window open. Sounds counter intuitive don't it. I guarantee however that the humidity always goes down when I open it and is assisted when I put the desk fan on. RH is also an overated measurement. What does it really mean when you take measurments in four different places in the room and the readings are all different? An average is unhelpfulif your uke hangs by the storage heater or by the pot plant...
 
You mean you have no pot plant in your living room? Man; I thought everyone had them. FWIW: RH in my conditioning room went from 41% to 39%. Nice and cozy in there too.
 
Not right now , but I tried growing one about 5 months ago , the first time since 1974 . It grew terrible but it was fun to be able to do it without fearing being arrested and put in jail.
 
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