Dropping humidity

[Dr. Marneaus]

So, yeah, I live in a dorm in Las Vegas, and it's winter.

Anyways, I keep encountering these trends in my humi. It seems as though i need to keep wetting the beads every other day, even if I dont open the humi.

I'll wet the beads at night, shut the thing, they're fine for 24 hours, then the next night the RH starts slipping a % or two per day.

Is this because it's so damn dry here? I run a humidifier in my room at night, but not during the day, just not gonna happen. that seems to put my humidity in the room up around 40%.

Or is it because the humidor doesnt seal well? It seems to seal pretty nice, i'll show the humi in a sec.

Or lastly, could the wood of the humidor be too dry? Like, not seasoned enough or it may just be drying out?

I really don't know what to do. It's not a huge issue but I shouldn't have to wet the beads every other day.

I'm running a little more than 2 oz of 65% beads in this humidor:

 

[KeithS]

Adding more beads could help. That way you have more volume to handle and swings you are getting.

 

[burro]

try this:

add another source of humidity either by placing a small piece of sponge, dampened with distilled water, or
a small bottle/medicine cap filled with distilled water in your humidor.

 

[Rebel Herfer]

Do you live in Tonopah Hall? Have you tried higher humidity beads? Also try getting a small sprayer of distilled water and hitting the lid every day or two for a week or so. Remember that the AC sucks all the humidity out and that in those older campus buildings the cinderblocks make for drafty rooms.

 

[Dr. Marneaus]

Nah, i'm in the new building, dayton.

Spray the lid of the humi? Like, mist the cedar?

I had 70% beads for a while but the same stuff happened, but I may not have had enough, but i have a total of a half pound of 65%. I'll try adding like a shot glass of water to it.

 

[Irish]

I had 70% beads for a while but the same stuff happened, but I may not have had enough, but i have a total of a half pound of 65%. I'll try adding like a shot glass of water to it.

I had a few similar problems in trying to get my humi stablized. My solution was a combination of things - me being stupid and not hydrating the beads enough, having to wait for a new shipment of sticks to moisten up, and then more beads.

I have a "120 count" (more like 80 - this one) humi and I initially grabbed a 2oz tube of 65% beads. Once I finished seasoning (2 weeks of the boveda packs, RH stabilized at around 76% about 7 days in), I threw the tube in with about a dozen cigars I had in a small tuperador. No problem for about a week, slightly fluctuating +/- 3-4% but nothing too bad considering the humi was still new.

Then, I got a couple of shipments of new cigars (newbie sampler trade & a couple of 5 packs). A day or two after I put them in the RH dropped down to around 50-55%. I tried rehydrating the beads with a sprayer but coudn't get the RH back up. I put the oasis foam humidifier that came with the humi in (dampened with distilled water) and it brought it back up to 65% and then to 70% - but when I took it back out the RH would drop again.

Couldn't figure it out - the beads looked clear in the tube. Well, I ended up taking the tube apart and dumping the beads into a bowl - more than half of them where white. The 2oz tube is pretty thick, and I guess the spray wasn't getting past the initally row of beads. So I moistened the rest of them, put 'em back in the tube and the humi stabilized out at 65%.

Of course then I grabbed another big lot of smokes. The humi I have has a lower storage area and a pullout tray. I had been for the most part only using the tray, but I'm up to about 80 sticks now so a whole bunch are in the lower area. I noticed the analog hygro mounted in the box had dropped below 60. I have a couple of digital hygros in there, so a put one in the lower area and it confirmed that while the top tray was OK @ 65%, the bottom area was at 55-58%. Another 2 oz of beads in the bottom part and now the whole thing is sitting pretty at 65%.

So, long story short, double the amount of beads that they recommend, make sure they're hydrated, and then be patient This is of course assuming you have a good seal and have properly seasoned the box (you tried the dollar bill test, right?). Sorry for the long post, it was a really slow day at work today! :whistling:

edited for spelling

 

[burro]

couple of things:

1. do NOT spray water directly on wood, you could damage/warp the wood causing a bad seal.

2. Save your money. You don't need more beads, because it is SO DRY in Vegas what you
need to do is keep them CONSTANTLY charged. you do that as i outlined previously.

 

[Dr. Marneaus]

i dont know what the dollar bill test is.

 

[Irish]

The dollar bill test checks that your seal is tight. You basically open the lid and lay a dollar bill on the lip, then close it so half is in and half is out. With the lid closed, pull on the dollar bill - if it easily slides out, the seal isn't good. Do this all the way around the humi to see if there are any spots that aren't sealed well. Here's another thread that explains it along with some other seasoning tips.

 

[Dr. Marneaus]

I checked the seal, it didnt just slide out anywhere. some spots were a lil easier to pull than others, but there was always a good bit of resistance.

Anyways, a shotglass of distilled water seems to be helping. it was opened numerous times last night, and is still reading 63%