DesertRat
Perpetual Newbie
- Joined
- Jun 19, 2008
- Messages
- 959
Several months ago I purchased my first real humidor. A desktop model with a glass top (I enjoy viewing my cigars). Ever since I got this thing it has been a chore to maintain. I could never get it to arrive at and maintain a constant RH. I bought three, 2-oz tubes of 70% Heartfelt beads (two more than the recommended for this size) and placed them in there hoping it woud stabilize but to no avail. I have been able to always keep a RH of no less than 65% but only by constant monitoring and adjustment on a daily basis and I could never get it to 70% and have it stay there more than an hour. I thought that maybe since my office RH is always at about 5% it was just causing it to dry out faster than normal.
I remembered where people here mentioned how glass top humi's tend to not be sealed well where the glass is inset but didn't think that was a big issue; afterall, the lid closes softly with a nice cushiony "whooosh" so it didn't appear to be a leaky top.
Finally fed up, I thought to myself that it has to be the lid leaking since there was no other logical explanation. Then came the problem of figuring out a way to seal the lid without using anything with a strong chemical content or smell such as silicone or urethane sealants or standard bathroom caulking
Then, the other day as I was looking in the medicine cabinet for something, I came across the G-U-M Orthodontic wax wax my kids used to keep their braces from cutting their lips and it occurred to me that I had found the answer. I rolled out several long thin strips of the soft wax and pressed it firmly along the edges of the glass where it is set into the wood and smoothed it out like bathtub caulk so that the entire glass pane is sealed tight.
I'm happy to report that after doing this yesterday morning the RH has stabilized at 70% and is holding perfectly. A $2.00 fix that will undoubtedly save me much more in maintenance time and eliminate the potential for damaged cigars down the line.
Danny
I remembered where people here mentioned how glass top humi's tend to not be sealed well where the glass is inset but didn't think that was a big issue; afterall, the lid closes softly with a nice cushiony "whooosh" so it didn't appear to be a leaky top.
Finally fed up, I thought to myself that it has to be the lid leaking since there was no other logical explanation. Then came the problem of figuring out a way to seal the lid without using anything with a strong chemical content or smell such as silicone or urethane sealants or standard bathroom caulking
Then, the other day as I was looking in the medicine cabinet for something, I came across the G-U-M Orthodontic wax wax my kids used to keep their braces from cutting their lips and it occurred to me that I had found the answer. I rolled out several long thin strips of the soft wax and pressed it firmly along the edges of the glass where it is set into the wood and smoothed it out like bathtub caulk so that the entire glass pane is sealed tight.
I'm happy to report that after doing this yesterday morning the RH has stabilized at 70% and is holding perfectly. A $2.00 fix that will undoubtedly save me much more in maintenance time and eliminate the potential for damaged cigars down the line.
Danny
