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Acrylic Cigar Jar Humidor Help

K

Kllian

New Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2009
Messages
30
I bought a friend of mine a Acrylic Cigar Jar Humidor as a birthday present. I added some distilled water to the humidifier inside the jar and waited for the rh to balance out. After the jar is closed for about 12 hours, the rf is getting up to 82% so I crack open the lid and it goes back down, but every time it's sealed it goes way up.

I used distilled water and I've wanted to wait before adding any cigars so that I dont ruin them. The local shop told me to add a few cigars and the rh would balance out but it has not. I added 5 cigars I just got to the jar and the same problem still exists. I've used two different hydrometers to verify its not something funny with the hydrometer and both have the same readings. One of the two hydrometers is a diamond crown, the other is radio shack (just cause I had it lying around). The temp in the room is around 65'f.

I'm very new to cigars and humidors so I'm looking for any advice or tips on how to level out the rf of the humidor.

Thanks!
 
Acrylic is non-porous and doesn't need to "season" like a wooden humidor does. If you use straight distilled water, there's no control of the humidity. You need to use a solution designed for the process; usually this is a mix of distilled water and PG (propylene glycol) and can be bought from most cigar sources.

Long term, humidity control beads are the way to go, but for a "starter" humi, the PG solution should straighten things out.

Make sure your hygrometer has been calibrated; if not, you're basically guessing as to what the RH really is. Search will turn up many threads on this subject.

...and fill out your profile and make a "hey there" post in the new guys forum.....;)

Regards - B.B.S.
 
Perhaps taking the humidifier out and letting it dry a bit. I wouldn't add any cigars to try and balance the RH out, as that would probably ruin said cigars. Just my opinion.

Please take the time to post an intro in the intro forum and let us know about yourself. It's forwned upon here at CP not to.
 
I was thinking about picking up the humidity control beads this afternoon from the local shop. seems the better way to go with a jar like that and will be easier for my buddy to maintain it. both of the hydrometers were calibrated and I even picked up a calibration pack just to verify I was doing the salt tests correctly.

thanks for the feedback, and ill go post an intro now.
 
Yes...You need something to control humidity...beads or even a couple boveda's.
 
Ask your cigar shop for a piece of cedar too (like the ones they use to fill the 25th space in a 24ct box) that'll help stabilize it too.
 
tmoney2007, good idea, i started him off with 5 cigars i know he likes and left room for him to add more.
 
I would go with the boveda. An added bonus is it would last a very long time due to the cigars not having to compete with cedar for humidity.
 
i stopped by the shop and asked for beads and the lady looked at me like she had no idea what i was talking about. they had a tube of drymistat so I got for the time being until the boveda arrives. on a side note, i asked how often she calibrates her diamond crown hydrometers and she replied with, why would you ever calibrate them, they dont need to be calibrated. it was my understanding that all hydrometers should be calibrated once or twice a year, is that right?
 
Here is my opinion, based on a good amount of experience. With the boveda, you don;t even need a hygrometer.
They do have a tolerance, so figure out if you want 65% or 69%. I calibrate my hygrometers every 6 mos to a year.
But, I also give my cigars the squeeze test, to see how they are doing. While you are getting comfortable with the Boveda, go ahead and throw a hygrometer in there to get a warm fuzzy that your target humidity is spot on.
I like the boveda better than any other humidificaton device going. Yes, they can cost a bit more, but if I have a $300.00 box of Padron sleeping, to me, it is damn cheap insurance. Basically 1% of the cost of the cigars, for 6 mos to a year.

Edit to add: This applies to food containers, jar humidors. etc. I.e., non porous containers.
 
When I was first starting out, I had a Tupperdor, which, like an acrylic jar, needs no seasoning and does NOT stabilize. What I eventually did was take a chunk of Spanish cedar out of a cigar box, wet it down with distilled water every so often, and keep it in there. That's really ALL it took.

My cigars smoked fine. :thumbs:

Point being, in a nonporous container, very little humidification is needed. Heck, cigars will stay good on their own in a Ziploc for close to a week!

Sounds like you've got it well in hand, but my advice would've been to pull the humidification device out, put the cigars IN, and then order a bead tube or Boveda pack.

~Boar
 
drymistat gel worked out really well, 65% rh this morning. I went ahead and ordered the boveda pack and will use that once it comes in, thanks for the tips guys!
 
Kllian said:
drymistat gel worked out really well, 65% rh this morning. I went ahead and ordered the boveda pack and will use that once it comes in, thanks for the tips guys!
Click to expand...

Drymistat tubes are pretty cool. I would keep an eye in the Humidity. If it wants to get too high, I start covering a couple/three holes with black electrical tape.
 
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