Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have three well-loved, well-stocked, and well-seasoned humidors and I was looking for a way to easily monitor the temperature and humidity of all three. I also wanted a way to track the indoor temperature and humidity so I’d be able to diagnose any unexpected changes inside the humidors. What’s more, I was hoping to find something that would be attractive sitting on my desk. I was therefore thrilled when I came across this AcuRite Home Temperature and Humidity Station, a product that seemed to do exactly what I had in mind. The weather station comes with three remote sensors that collect humidity and temperature data and send that information back to a base station, which itself monitors the temperature and humidity of whatever room it’s in. The readouts of all four units are displayed on one screen, simultaneously. No need to toggle between screens. The four sensors’ readouts are color-coded (remote A’s information is blue, for example) and each can be assigned a unique label for added clarity. Wonderful! Out of the box, the setup is easy: install batteries (not included) and follow the directions to make sure the remotes are toggled to A, B, and C (all three of mine came preset to A). Once on, I set the date and time information and made sure to enable the feature that auto-dims the screen at night and auto-brightens it in the morning as I’d read reviews about the screen being too bright at night (I haven’t found the brightness to be bothersome, but the auto-dimming feature is nifty so I’ve left it enabled). Then I set out to change the label for each remote. That’s when I began to notice that AcuRite places a premium on style at the expensive of substance. You cannot create your own labels for the sensors. Instead, you have to choose each label from a list provided, and each of those labels can only be used once. That was a sad revelation in my case, because there is only one “Humidor” label (which can only be used once), and I really wanted three. I ended up calling my three sensors “Humidor,” “Storage,” and “Other.” I was pretty bummed by that, but I was about to discover that the labeling concerns were the least of the AcuRite’s problems. A few hours after unboxing and with the three remotes sitting right next to the base station, the readout showed four different temperatures spanning 8 degrees, and four different humidities (all of which seemed awfully low) spanning 12 degrees. Fortunately, the station can be calibrated easily. In fact, that the remote sensors can be calibrated remotely (calibration is performed at the base station) seemed a major plus. I calibrated each of the three remotes individually, using a 75% Boveda pack and a tight-sealing ziplock-style bag in which I also placed a Caliber 4R hygrometer that I knew to be accurate. In each instance, once placed in the calibration bag, the Caliber hygrometer began to adjust quickly and was resting at 75% within 12 hours. Each AcuRite remote, on the other hand, took much longer. In fact, it took between 5 and 10 minutes (depending on the remote) to register any adjustment at all! When a sensor is registering 35% humidity and you move it into a small, enclosed 75% RH environment, I expect it to begin adjusting very quickly or else it is badly, badly calibrated. 24 hours later, the remotes had only registered a climb to roughly 65%. It took nearly 48 hours before they seemed to stop at or near the 75% target at which point I made the final adjustments. But at least I got everything set up, right? Wrong. After each remote sensor had been calibrated, I moved it into its intended humidor. I also placed my Caliber 4R hygrometer next to the AcuRite sensor just to double-check the AcuRite’s accuracy. The Caliber 4R quickly registered the shift from a 75% RH environment, to the dry room, and back to the 68% RH humidor (maintained using active humidification devices). Within just a few minutes the Caliber 4R had stabilized at the correct RH. The AcuRite sensors didn’t fare as well. To their credit, the AcuRite sensors registered the humidity change when I removed them from the calibration bag (they dipped from 75% down to 71%), but once in the 68% RH humidor the readout moved back up to 73%. Even an improperly calibrated remote should register a 7% decline when moving from the calibration bag to the humidor, but all I got was a 2% dip. I’ve found the weather station to eventually be accurate, but it takes 36-48 hours for the unit to adjust to changes in humidity. Even subtle shifts take more than a day to register. This is fine if you want to know what today’s humidity is like two days later, but in the world of cigar humidification that information is rather useless as it means that it might take me two days to notice a humidification problem, by which point my expensive cigar collection may be irreparably damaged. The AcuRite 02083M Home Temperature and Humidity Station is a great idea that looks nice too, but it’s poorly engineered making it little more than an expensive novelty item that will occupy a prominent place in my next garage sale. However, it really does look the part and the temperature readings seem accurate (once calibrated), so if you are only needing to monitor temperature in multiple spaces, then this might be a nice device for you! However, cigar enthusiasts: save your money. Stick with your trusted hygrometers and just check them periodically.