Do humidors shrink?

[Jan Primus]

Seems every winter my borther's and my humidors go down a bit in RH and the never come back up in the spring. I know for sure one of my bro's humidors you could feel the seal to be gone and could thus tell the wood has shrunk. I have a pretty nice Daniel Marshall humi and can't get it over 59%...had no trouble getting 70% when new. I have thrown a 2nd hygrometer in my humi to make sure, plus my smokes are starting to get a touch crispy...I never worried at 62% but now I'm worried it's usually at 58%, plus I'm using 65% beads.

 

[NullSmurf]

Most woods will swell or shring depending on moisture content. I'm not sure shrinkage is your problem, at least not uniform schrinkage. Would you post a few pictures?

Try using a ruler to determine if the door is warped. All is not lost, though. Even if the door warped on you, you can usually reseal and carry on.

 

[sinnyc]

Only after they've been in the pool

 

[Bxcigrfan]

how would you reseal it if it was the seal?

 

[Jan Primus]

Pics would not show anything...on one of my brothers humidors, you can't feel that distinct sound and feel when you close the door. On mine, I can't feel or see a difference but the humidity has steadily dropped the past few years.

 

[mmburtch]

reseason it and see if that takes care of it.

 

[BlindedByScience]

....they must shrink, because every humidor I've ever purchased, even my cabinet, filled right up...!! What the hell..... :laugh:

What Matt said - go through a full re-seasoning process and see what you see.

Good Luck - B.B.S.

 

[jstrat]

Try some beads and calibrate your hygrometer. If you still have a problem then your seal is bad.

EDIT: Sorry, you have beads. Skip to hygrometer calibration.

 

[NiteSeer]

I work a lot with wood. Infact, I am a woodworker and I make furniture. If you apply moisture to wood it expands and some cases it will warp,
especially if has too much moisture. I would check to see if the lid fits flush.

 

[Jan Primus]

I work a lot with wood. Infact, I am a woodworker and I make furniture. If you apply moisture to wood it expands and some cases it will warp,
especially if has too much moisture. I would check to see if the lid fits flush.

Yeah I recall the directions that came with the humidor stating not to season the wood. Looking closely at it, the left corner of the lid is not fitting as tightly as the right corner...when my camera is returned I'll post up some pics, but I don't know if it'll show.

 

[smellysell]

....they must shrink, because every humidor I've ever purchased, even my cabinet, filled right up...!! What the hell..... :laugh:

What Matt said - go through a full re-seasoning process and see what you see.

Good Luck - B.B.S.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

That's exactly what I thought when I saw the title Tom. They must shrink because they always seem like they'll be big enough when I buy them, but never are.

 

[NiteSeer]

I work a lot with wood. Infact, I am a woodworker and I make furniture. If you apply moisture to wood it expands and some cases it will warp,
especially if has too much moisture. I would check to see if the lid fits flush.

Yeah I recall the directions that came with the humidor stating not to season the wood. Looking closely at it, the left corner of the lid is not fitting as tightly as the right corner...when my camera is returned I'll post up some pics, but I don't know if it'll show.

Find a true straight ruler and check the edges where the lid and the main body meet. If you see some gaps, you might be able to take them out with a plane but be very careful.

 

[Jan Primus]

Me trying to plane the humi would certainly make matters much worse....added a bunch more beads, see if that helps.

 

[CigarStone]

A cigar Oasis would reseason and keep it at the level you want. The cost of the CO is nothing compared to the potential cost of your sticks.

 

[AngryFishH]

Maybe I can only see the simple way out but...

isn't this just the cigar gods way of telling you, you need a new humidor?

Preferably larger, maybe a walk-in?



Fish

 

[Maui]

My humidor doesn't shrink but the contents keep going up in smoke.

 

[Jan Primus]

A cigar Oasis would reseason and keep it at the level you want. The cost of the CO is nothing compared to the potential cost of your sticks.

I'm kind of leery about these after reading some people's experience plus they make noise (my humidor is in my bedroom). I might try some 70% beads instead.

 

[Jan Primus]

Maybe I can only see the simple way out but...

isn't this just the cigar gods way of telling you, you need a new humidor?

Preferably larger, maybe a walk-in?



Fish

I couldn't justify another humidor, mine is only a couple yrs old and wasn't cheap...my coolidor outperforms it though and has lots of space left. If I run out of space, I'll do another coolidor...if I win the lotto, then I'll do a walk-in.

That's a beautiful site Maui, if I could afford the cabinet I'd never be able to fill it properly.

 

[Jan Primus]

As an update...I don't think I've had shrinkage problems just not enough water and beads to offset the low humidity here in winter time. I've since added a big bag of 65% beads and she's climbed up to 63% which is just right.