Stoves and indoor humidity, weather stations?

[kevinmoelk]

I have a tea kettle steaming to help maintain humidity in the home. But I'm wondering what kind of humidity is being maintained. Does anyone have the indoor/outdoor thermometer and hygrometer set up in their homes? If so, what kind of humidity is ideal?

Also, what brands are good? Radio Shack, Oregon Scientific and La Crosse seem to be the dominant makers. They range from $25-300 bucks depending on options. My only requirements are indoor and outdoor temps, and indoor humidity. Wireless would be a must too. Expandable would be nice, but not necessary. Any ideas?

-Kevin

Edit: Here's one I'm considering: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=130066108512&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=003

 

[ChrisN]

In the winter here in New England my inside humidity generally runs between 38 and 50%. I have one of those basic La Crosse digital weather stations that displays indoor temp, one remote temp and rel humidity.

 

[begreen]

I have a tea kettle steaming to help maintain humidity in the home. But I'm wondering what kind of humidity is being maintained. Does anyone have the indoor/outdoor thermometer and hygrometer set up in their homes? If so, what kind of humidity is ideal?

Also, what brands are good? Radio Shack, Oregon Scientific and La Crosse seem to be the dominant makers. They range from $25-300 bucks depending on options. My only requirements are indoor and outdoor temps, and indoor humidity. Wireless would be a must too. Expandable would be nice, but not necessary. Any ideas?

-Kevin

Edit: Here's one I'm considering: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=130066108512&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=003

For your requirements, I'd consider the inexpensive Radio Shack unit. It works very well, large readout and looks nice too. More info in this thread:
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/4675/

My Christmas present was a Davis Vantage Pro2 which is awesome. It arrived just in time to track the storms we're getting.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I have 2. One just monitors the woodstove room humidity/temp. The other monitors the rest of the downstairs and our bedroom upstairs for temp and humidity. Both were purchased at Radio Shack.

Matt

 

[Corey]

Santa brought me an Accurite weather station a couple of years ago. It has the standard temp and humidity for indoors at the base unit plus it can monitor T & H for a couple of wireless remote sensors, too. The base station also has an atomic clock, day/date calender and a barometer with weather "predictor". Pretty neat set up.

For indoor humidity, I have read that 50% is considered "good"...go much lower and you start getting the dry eyes, itchy skin, static electricity, etc. Go much higher and you may start to have problems with mold, mildew, dust mites, etc.

Corey

 

[kevinmoelk]

Thanks guys. I think I'm going to go with a Radio Shack unit for now, looks like it should work for me just fine. I'm not a weather buff, so no need for the higher end systems... though maybe if I have an extra $500 to blow one day I'll get one. From the descriptions even a $500 unit seems extremely powerful, I'm very impressed overall.

-Kevin

 

[Mike Wilson]

Rainwise, LaCrosse or Davis. I use a Rainwise. For your use, LaCrosse makes some very good instruments that only cost a few hundred bucks. Avoid Oregon Scientific at all costs, I have heard numerous complaints about quality and repair issues. Ambient Weather has a good selection and decent prices. Check here for reviews of various stations. As for humidity, I find the house at 40-50% during the winter, with the humidifiers on.

-- Mike

 

[restorer]

Not a stove owner response, but a furniture restorer's response. If you want your furniture to be the least affected by burning wood, keep your humidity at 35-40%. I constantly tell my customers they need to add moisture to their air. YOU need moisture your furnishing need it, too. I live in a desert. People move here from humid climates, they don't understand why their furniture falls apart. They have installed dehumidifiers so their airconditioning works very well. Well, the next day they go to the drug store and buy the maximum size bottle of lotion, because their skin is dry. USE YOUR HEAD......

 

[begreen]

Subjective response. Using our bodies with the new Vantage as a guide. Our house is running about 41-43% humidity in spite of the rain etc. and we're starting to get the dry skin winter itchies. My wife had a minor nosebleed yesterday. So I am leaning towards trying to boost the interior humidity towards 50%. It's gonna be hard with the cold, dry streak they're promising for the end of the week.

 

[mtarbert]

We have had an Oregon for a couple of years and couldn't be happier. We also have a six year old boy so the gizzmo must be robust.Change the batteries once a year and it has worked fine.
Mike

 

[hilly]

I looked into the weather stations in the summer time and I eventually purchased 3 LaCrosse base stations, each with a remote temp/hygrometer. I purchased from a website that sold factory seconds and the reason I got 3 base stations was that each individual remote sensor was the cost of a factory second base station, which came with a remote sensor. Here is the website: http://www.greatbigoutlet.com/browse.asp?cat=1&path=1
One of the stations I purchased was damaged beyond repair, but as I said, I only wanted the remote sensor it came with. Oh yeah, I also got ripped off by FedEx as my "agent" in getting them into Canada. I see that won't be a problem for you.

 

[Highbeam]

I don't know the brands but I have bought several of the base/remote sets that are wireless and read temp/relative humidity/time/date/etc. I use one set for camping since humidity is a big deal in the RV and the indoor outdoor temps are something to play with.

I heat the home to 62 with those little electric fan wall heaters, above 62 on up to 78 I use my wood insert 24/7 unless it goes out overnight. The humidity inside while warm and in the 70s is pretty consistent at 38% and outside RH s usually in the 90s unless we get a cold snap. My house is leaky with single pane windows and no underfloor insulation above the flooded crawlspace.

I love those weather units. My biggest recomendation is to buy one with the largest numbers you can find to make it easier to see from a distance. Get wireless and buy it from wallyworld for a low price. They actually have a decent selection of these amateurish stations. Mine all have atomic clocks too.

 

[hearthtools]

I have a davis vangage pro
Im not uploading to the public at this time due to my server it is connecting to has a virus and will not upload data to the net.
here is my systems Photo and details.
http://www.climatecontrolsystems.org/~davis/Vantagepro2.htm

 

[DriftWood]

I have a old Davis wire unit with wind rain and outdoor temperature, a big round outdoor thermometer, a digital indoor temp with humidity wired out door temp in the bed room, a wireless digital base ( the remote quit) with humidity in the stove room, the set back furnace temperature and a small outdoor thermometer mounted out side the kitchen window. Which one do I use? All of them from time to time.

For real weather forecasts I use the National Weather Survace
http://www.weather.gov/

Check at Target Ive seen deals on the wireless digital ones there.

 

[sgcsalsero]

I have one of those $20 Radio Shack thermometer/hygrometer deals but I recently had our a/c & furnace guy out and he took some readings with an Amprobe tester . . basically snickered and said the Radio Shack wasn't taking accurate readings on RH, the temperature readings were ok