Honeywell TM005X Wireless Indoor/Outdoor Thermo-Hygrometer
by Honeywell
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List Price: Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Honeywell TM005X Wireless Indoor/Outdoor Thermo-Hygrometer
Customer Review: I'm happy!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have a need to humidify in my home during the winter months when the electric heat is on. It's bad for my skin and my lungs. I had a really cheap "hygrometer", made I suspect to look good mounted on the wall. Humidity is really kind of an odd thing to measure. As someone mentioned relative humidity is best measured with a sling hygrometer, and even then I'd guess making the measurement can be bungled. So I did a little research and found the most likely to work well is the mechanical type (I believe a got a Conan(?)) that I knew I could trust, and also picked up this Honeywell kit because I couldn't resist the price. I've not had any problem with syncing mentioned by others. I finally replaced the batteries on general principles after about 18 months and the only difference I noticed was that the big display was easier to read from across the room. Anyway, when I first go the pair I checked them side by side for several hours. Temperature readings were within 0.3 or 0.4 degrees. Humidity read 2% different (and about 4 to 6% lower than the mechanical unit). The difference seems to be about the same at 30% and 60%. I have used the remote unit in my garage (unheated and uninsulated) where it reads 30% to 75% depending on the weather and season. I've also used it in both the fridge and the freezer where both the temperature and humidity readings seem to make sense.
Overall, I'm very pleased with the units, especially for the super low price! I ended up getting a Kenmore 5 gal humidifier, which by the way is a great unit, mainly because of the low fan noise. It also has a built in hygrometer which seems to read fairly close to the other units and is probably adequate for humidifying needs, in retrospect. But I use the Honeywell all the time to satisfy my curiosity. I've considered getting another 1 or 2 remote sensors, but for $4 more than the price of 1 remote, you can get a spare base unit. The high/low memory is useful if you're a curious sort too. I'm happy - would do it again.
Customer Review: A Bit Large, But Works Well
Summary: 4 Stars
It isn't very elegant, but gets the job done. The main unit is a bit large. You can easily see it from anywhere in the room with the basic display with large digits. However to see the reading from the remote sensor or to change it back you have to walk over to it and press the channel button to cycle through the 4 channels. The button is stiff, so unless mounted, you have to pick it up and press the button with your thumb. You have to cycle through blank channels not in use but not a big deal. It might have been nice for it to cycle automatically over time through channels in use. The remote unit had a very small display of its own which is really nice so you don't have to walk back to the main unit and change the channel to see what it thinks the humidity is where the remote transmitter is located. So I just use them mostly as independent units that I just read if interested when in the room. Infrequently I will cycle through just to see when I am near the main unit.
The measurements seem accurate. It tooks a little while to equalize at first, but seems accurate ever since. At least both the unit and remote probe read very similar measurements when you sit them right next to each other if you let them equalize to the room conditions after being moved. Honestly, I still didn't know if the whole measurement system was accurate or not, so I bought the Chaney Indoor Thermometer and Humidity Gauge (Acurite) to get a 2nd opinion. Between the 3 pieces, the main unit and remote probe of this one, and the Chaney/Acurite all seem to agree, varying by small amounts. So I am pretty confident in them to have a decent idea. I don't know that I would count on them being perfect if you need to know by the exact single digit without any degree of error for precise expert baking needs. But accurate enough for me as far as I can tell unless all 3 are way off.
Customer Review: Very easy to monitor remote locations - Nice big numbers on display
Summary: 5 Stars
I got this unit to monitor humidity in my crawlspace following work I did to keep it dry. It has worked flawlessly since installation 2 weeks ago and saves me having to enter the crawlspace to read an analog hygrometer I had installed previously.
I also need to keep up with changes in conditions outside which helps me understand any changes in the crawlspace. So I decided to buy two extra sensors to monitor conditions elsewhere. When I went to purchase the sensors I noticed that the sensors were $2 more expensive than the original unit which comes with one sensor, so It was cheaper to buy the combination package. Each of the base stations does receive the signal from the three remote sensors, so now I can monitor conditions from more than one location in the home.
The remote sensors claim to be weather resistant, I installed the external sensor under the eaves on a north facing elevation of my home, hopefully it wont get too wet there.
One handy feature of the base station is that it records maximum and minimum temperature and RH.
If you get one of these units, purchase lithium batteries if you expect the sensor to be subjected to freezing temperatures, the instructions suggest lithium batteries for cold environments, alkaline batteries fair poorly in cold conditions. I found using lithium batteries made all the sensors read the same relative humidity, with alkaline batteries I originally installed there were small variations between units.
I am very happy with this unit and have found no faults saving I'd like to see a back-light and/or external power supply for the base station.
JP
Customer Review: Accurate!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was most interested in the humidity measurement. I conducted a calibration****(See update at end of review) with a sling psychrometer. A sling psychrometer measures wet bulb/dry bulb temperature and is the least expensive (albeit a bit tedious to use) and most accurate way to determine relative humidity (RH).
I needed to know relative humidity for curiosity indoors and for a chamber in my basement used to dry cure sausage (I needed a 70%RH environment). The Honeywell unit was spot on with the sling psychrometer (and temp. was accurate as well).
The unit is new; I need to check it over time for accuracy. However, it's running very well so far and the price is right. I'll be buying more remote sensors [...] I found the remote sensor part no. is TS33C, can find them on Amazon with that search).
The majority of complaints say the humidity is "off." However, I didn't see a single valid calibration conducted.
Update 01-March-2009
I just took the main unit, the sensor and sling psychrometer. The conditions in my home at time of testing were 68F and 30% relative humidity.
Main unit read 68.4F/30% RH
The Sensor: 68.0F/30% RH
Sling Psychrometer: 68F/31% RH
The sling psychrometer consists of two sealed thermometers and will never need a calibration, it is an accurate standard. This Honeywell Unit is pretty darn good.
Update 13-Dec-2009
Someone contacted me and corrected a big point. I did not calibrate the unit by adjusting it to a known standard, I simply compared the values. My apologies for this rather serious error.
Customer Review: As a thermometer yes, but a hygrometer not
Summary: 2 Stars
I have purchased this due to the high reviews. It however turned out to be a disappointment. First of, I did followed the instructions to put batteries in remote unit first, reset it, then put batteries in the main unit. Every time the main unit gets reset, it seems to start from 80F temperature & 20% in humidify, and very slowly adjust from there. After numerous resets, I was still unable to get the main unit to display same info shown in the remote unit, even when placing them side by side. The main unit seems to always be 4-8% off in humidity compared to the remote unit. As for temperature, the main unit also varies from the remote unit. It can differentiate from 2.6 F to as accurate as 0.1 F, compared to data shown in remote unit. The remote seems more accurate then the main unit. The main unit and the remote unit have buttons (requires paper clip to reach) to adjust the display from Fahrenheit to Celsius & vice versa. I however, was unable to get the remote to display in Fahrenheit. It was stuck displaying in Celsius.
Other than these negatives, the unit itself is pretty nice. It has a big display; the digital numbers are about 1 inch in height in the main unit. The remote unit also has a digital display, although it's much smaller than the main unit. I guess if you're looking for a unit to just display the temperature, this may not be a bad device. However, as a hygrometer, this definitely is not the unit to be using for accuracy. I will be returning this unit, since I am looking for a hygrometer...