Taylor 5565 Hygrometer: Review

It’s impossible to talk about pianos, piano tuning, and piano care without talking about humidity.

(Click on each picture above for a larger view!)

A first step in understanding how humidity is effecting the piano, is knowing what the humidity is in the home or room where the piano is located.

Here is a hygrometer I like:   Taylor 5565 Hygrometer/Thermometer .   Its easy to read, never needs a battery replacement.  But what I really like about it is the calibration ‘screws ‘ accessible from the back (see above photo), which can be used to calibrate both the hygrometer and thermometer using a sling psychrometer.

Many of my customers will buy one a few weeks before my next visit so I can calibrate it while I’m there.   If you already have one, I’m always happy to check the calibration and adjust it for you while servicing your piano.  Your Heating and AC technician might also be willing and able to calibrate it for you!   Many of them carry a very accurate Industrial grade hygrometer/thermometer for checking the temperature/humidity when servicing your Air Conditioner!

I can almost guarantee the Taylor 5565 will not be in it’s best calibration right out of the box.   I don’t know why that is, but it seems to be true.  But once it’s calibrated, it tracks just fine, is accurate and reliable.

I am not a fan of most  ‘digital’ hygrometers.

We brought 3 or 4  small digital hygrometers with us when we moved to Tucson.   With fresh batteries in each, I placed them side by side and after a few days each one gave a different humidity reading.   And it was not only a percent or two.  There was a 15 % – 20% difference between them!   And of course, there was absolutely no way to calibrate them.

I’m sure there are accurate digital hygrometers out there.  Our HVAC guy has one that costs about $400 and of course, it checks out just fine.   But it’s a commercial model for making instant temperature and humidity measurements while doing Air Conditioner work.

Some of the digital hygrometers can also be reasonably accurate in the midrange, but in the drier or more humid ranges, my experience indicates they seem to be less accurate.

But none of the digitals I’ve ever seen or checked have any way of calibrating them!   Make sure whatever hygrometer you get can be calibrated!    As if you couldn’t tell, I think that’s really important.

So, I still like this analog Taylor 5565.   Many vendors, including Amazon, carry this Taylor 5565 Hygrometer.

I’m sure there are other good analog hygrometers out there that can be calibrated, but since I’ve had one of these for some years now, I know it works great, and can feel good recommending it.