Hygrometer and Inspection Magnifier
With a hygrometer, it becomes much easier to monitor the humidity in your workshop than working just by " feel,", which can be tricky as the air can seem much drier than it is in reality. Hygrometers can give warning of problems before they happen, such as rusty tools, and excessive warping and working in wooden objects like workbenches or your latest fine furniture project. When one is planning a workshop, a hygrometer can give you important information about what will be needed to optimize the space, or give notice that it might not be at all suitable. We offer combination instruments that also give temperature. Both measures are important, as the amount of tolerable humidity depends on the temperature. More on this! In any case it is a vital piece of equipment for anyone interested in doing fine work.
Accuracy and Tolerances: Spiral hygrometers have a metal spiral that expands or contracts as the humidity in the air changes, moving a hand on the gauge's face. Inside spiral hygrometer. These are the least expensive and least accurate instruments, and normally cannot be re-calibrated. Hair hygrometers use the expansion and contraction of a hair, formerly a woman's hair, now an artificial filament or fiber, to measure humidity in a similar but more accurate way compared to the spiral hygrometers. The humidity is also shown by a hand on the gauge's face. Inside hair hygrometer. Hair hygrometers are more exact and more expensive, and can also be re-calibrated. With humidities under 30% - 35% both types of mechanical hygrometers encounter technical limits to their accuracy. When it would be useful to have reliable readings under these limits, an electronic hygrometer is the only choice. They also provide more accurate readings over the entire humidity range than the mechanical types can. Good electronic hygrometers measure capacitance, meaning that the humidity is measured through the changes in electrical characteristics of a condenser.
If you would simply like to be able to head off problems resulting from too much humidity in your shop, or anywhere else for that matter, then the mechanical instruments will be more than adequate. But as so often is the case, better accuracy comes only at a higher price!
A magnifier, or jeweler's magnifying glass, to monitor fine work such as the cutting edges of tools can seem to some as an unnecessary luxury, but when you get in the habit of having one around, you will never want to be without it. Have a look down below on this page!
The dial has a diameter of 150 mm (6 inches), and so is big enough not to be missed or ignored if it is placed as it should be: where your glance first falls when you enter the woodshop. The hygrometer can give you a warning of increasing humidity and all the problems this can bring, like rusty tools and too much expansion and contraction in the joints of expensive work benches and other furniture in the shop. The green strip indicates the comfort zone for humans. The small scale near the bottom indicates the temperature on the Celsius scale - itself a good thing to have in the workshop, when estimating open times for glues and resins, for instance. In any case, it is important to know both figures, as the level of tolerable humidity depends on the temperature. Plastic housing, for hanging on the wall, cannot be re-calibrated!
Installation Directions
Measurement range hygrometer: 0 to 100 %
Means of measurement: Spiral
Accuracy according to the manufacturer:
Humidity under 35 %: ± 10 %
Humidity from 35 to 75 %: ± 5 %
Humidity over 75 %: ± 10 %
Measurement range thermometer: -30 to +50°
Accuracy according to the manufacturer:
Under -20° C: ± 4°
-20° C to +40° C: ± 2°
Over +40° C: ± 4°
Order nr. 309635
Price € 17.50
This unit also features a 150 mm face and is made by the well-known firm LUFFT in Fellbach, Germany. It has a clean, classic design for fast, easy, and accurate readings. It uses a Durotherm filament to measure humidity, which is more accurate and more stable than the human hairs previously used. The big dial shows the humidity, the smaller the temperature. The red hand on the dial can be turned by hand to set an upper warning limit, or to monitor changes over short periods. The LUFFT Climate Station can be calibrated using a screw on the side of the housing, which is in plastic. There is also a table stand available.
Measurement range hygrometer: 0 bis 100 %
Means of measurement: Durotherm-artificial fiber
Accuracy according to the manufacturer:
Humidity under 35 %: no info
Humidity from 35 to 95 %: ± 3 %
Humidity over 95 %: no info
Measurement range thermometer: -10 to +50°
Accuracy according to the manufacturer:
Under 0° C: no info
0° C to +40° C: ± 1°
Over +40° C: no info
Order nr. 301700
Price € 76.00
When you need accurate readings over a wide range of air moisture contents and very good readability, the Climate Meter DTH200 from Lufft is the choice. A thumb wheel on the right side of the meter allows one to make various adjustments to the meter, to change from Celcius to Fahrenheit, or to set an alarm announcing readings that are higher or lower than desired. Housing in plastic.
User instructions in German, English, French, Spanish.
Uses 2 AAA-batteries, which are included.
The instrument can be screwed to the wall using the bracket supplied, or can be set on a table.
Measurement range of hygrometer: 5 to 95 %
Means of measurement: capacitive
Accuracy according to the manufacturer:
Humidity from 5 to 95 %: ± 2 %
Measurement range of thermometer: -20 to +50°
Accuracy according to the manufacturer:
Under 0° C: ± 0.7°
From 0° C to +40° C: ± 0,4°
Over +40° C: ± 0.7°
Order nr. 301704
Price € 135.00
This folding, high quality magnifier is made in Japan and has a 25 mm diameter lense. The six-times magnification is ideal to monitor the sharpness of cutting edges and fine assemblies. The base plate features a millimeter scale. The frame is solidly built in black aluminum.
Enlarged photo
Order nr. 309620
Price € 17.90
