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Home Humi Humidity Level Problems

S

slider9499

New Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2005
Messages
236
I have never had a problem with my home humi until the last few weeks. My box can comfortably hold 75 cigars. The humi level was always between 68-70%, I like 'em a little bit drier than the norm. Over the last few weeks I cannot seem to get that figure above 65%, it even tanked to 60% within the last several days.

I added a new shot of that 50/50 solution as well as adding one of those small viles to the box - it still cannot get above 65%. I then moved it from my kitchen foyer to a hotter room on the second floor of my house. Again, no change whatsoever. I checked the seal on the humidor iteself and it seems to be sealed properly. The box itself is about 2 1/2 years old and is in great shape. I take pride in taking care of my stuff.

Any ideas as to what could be the problem? Needs to be seasoned again? Need to pick up some new gadgets?

Any suggestions would be appreciated
 
I store my cigars between 63-65%. There are many threads to help you here at CP.
 
1.) Replace the battery and calibrate your hygrometer annually

2.) Use RH Beads for simple RH regulation

I also store all my smokes at 65% RH, going higher than 70% RH can create burn, draw and flavor issues. (BTW - If you store at 70% RH, "dry box" for a few days prior to smoking them).

Hope this helps
~Mark
 
Follow these steps, first things first....

1) take a flashlight and put it inside your humidor, close the lid, and turn off the lights. See any light coming from the humidor? If you see no light you can proceed to the second step....

2) check the accuracy of your hygrometer. Do the salt test. Once you have noted if its spot on or +/- you now have the fondation to move forward......

First and foremost.... humidity preference varies. You mentioned you prefer your cigars on the dry side..... 68/70 is not the dry side and if anything is considered wet by most. Regardless of what your preference is getting there is not a problem if you have done the first two steps above and found your humidor to not have a leak and know the accuracy of your hygrometer. A few things that effect humidity swing is how often you open the humidor, how full (or empty) it is, temp, type of humidity device you use. My earlier experience with the 50/50 solutions you can buy in the store was never very good. I ended up buying some Propylene glycol and mixing a 50/50 solution myself with distilled water and it worked fine. I soon found that I prefered my smokes at a much less humidity and moved to silica gel beads. The 50/50 solutions do not stabilize quickly and if you are opening the humidor a lot this could be your problem. I've seen it take several days to stabilize. Also, in theory the Propylene glycol regulates the humidity at 70% so if you are using a 50/50 you should be getting a reading of 68-72.

If after a few days of being undisturbed you still have a lower reading than the humidity level you're after take the 50/50 solution out and replace with a shot glass filled with distilled water. (cup or bowl if a large desktop/cabinet) Leave undisturbed for at least 24 hours. If the humidity rises than you can deduct the problem is with the 50/50 mix.

The hardest part is keeping the lid closed. I recommend only opening it once a day to check it.
 
slider9499 said:
great advice but what is the sale test and how do I do it?
Click to expand...

How to Test and Calibrate a Hygrometer:
1. Fill a milk bottle cap or other small container with salt, and
add a few drops of distilled water - NOT enough to dissolve the salt,
just enough to moisten it. You want the slurry to be thick and pasty.

2. Put the cap inside of an air tight zip lock or plastic container
along with your hygrometer. Then seal the bag or container
(Tupperware works well).

3. Wait 24 hours, then check the reading on your hygrometer without
opening the bag or container (or quickly open the container and check
if the container is not clear).

If the reading is 75%, then your hygrometer is accurate and no
adjustment is required.

If the reading is not precisely 75%, then adjust the hygrometer to 75%
by turning the screw or dial on the back. This must be done
immediately after removing from the bag or container, before room
conditions cause the reading to change.

If there is no screw (or dial) to recalibrate your hygrometer, then
you will just have to remember to add or subtract the difference
between the test reading and 75%, in order to determine the actual
humidity level inside of your humidor. For example, if your hygrometer
test reading was 80%, then subtract 5% from the readings you get
inside of your humidor, to determine the actual levels of humidity
(e.g. a reading of 70% inside your humidor equals an actual humidity
level of 65%).

Hope this helps
~Mark
 
I have this problem every year when the furnace kicks on for the year. We have forced air, with no active humidification. The RH in the house gets really low with the heat on. Even with a good seal, beads, etc. my desktop struggles a bit. I've taken to adding a regular old puro (sponge) humidifier moistened with distilled water to the humi, with the beads still inside the humi. This does the trick and the humidity comes right up.

I like to run my desktop in the 60-62% range, and this is easily maintained with the above process. In the summer, without the forced air running, no puro required.

Good Luck - B.B.S.
 
slider9499 said:
great advice but what is the sale test and how do I do it?
Click to expand...
...send your wife to the mall on a weekend with the credit cards. If she comes home empty handed, saying "we didn't really need anything" you've got a good one.... :sign:

Good luck there - B.B.S.
 
As posted above, the SALT test should give you a reading of 75%. I prefer to leave it for at least 24 hours myself. Undisturbed is the key. Also, if you are using a dial hygrometer don't bother and get yourself a digital one. Those dial mechanical devices are pretty useless and with very few exceptions will not give you any consistency.

Save yourself the trouble of trying to change the reading by dialing it in..... after the test, if the reading is higher or lower than 75%, just tape a piece of paper to it with whatevr the reading is off. Example -3% or +4% and then know thats what you need to add or subtract from whatever its reading.
.
 
Allofus123 said:
As posted above, the SALT test should give you a reading of 75%. I prefer to leave it for at least 24 hours myself. Undisturbed is the key. Also, if you are using a dial hygrometer don't bother and get yourself a digital one. Those dial mechanical devices are pretty useless and with very few exceptions will not give you any consistency.

Save yourself the trouble of trying to change the reading by dialing it in..... after the test, if the reading is higher or lower than 75%, just tape a piece of paper to it with whatevr the reading is off. Example -3% or +4% and then know thats what you need to add or subtract from whatever its reading.
.
Click to expand...


I just did it and will be measuring my digital unit. I'll check it out Monday morning and see what it comes up with. Right now, before I took it out of the humidor, it read 59%. I cannot see how it can be so low - all of a sudden. It NEVER was that low in the 2 1/2 years that I have the unit. The lowest it ever read was 64%. I will be very curious to see how this test works tomorrow morning

Thanks again
 
Be sure to do the 1st step..... you need to be sure your humidor is sealing properly. You need to follow the steps since your problem could be more than one problem. Eliminate them in the order described. Knowing that your humidor is sealing properly is the very first thing you need to do.
 
N2Advnture said:
slider9499 said:
great advice but what is the sale test and how do I do it?
Click to expand...

How to Test and Calibrate a Hygrometer:
1. Fill a milk bottle cap or other small container with salt, and
add a few drops of distilled water - NOT enough to dissolve the salt,
just enough to moisten it. You want the slurry to be thick and pasty.

2. Put the cap inside of an air tight zip lock or plastic container
along with your hygrometer. Then seal the bag or container
(Tupperware works well).

3. Wait 24 hours, then check the reading on your hygrometer without
opening the bag or container (or quickly open the container and check
if the container is not clear).

If the reading is 75%, then your hygrometer is accurate and no
adjustment is required.

If the reading is not precisely 75%, then adjust the hygrometer to 75%
by turning the screw or dial on the back. This must be done
immediately after removing from the bag or container, before room
conditions cause the reading to change.

If there is no screw (or dial) to recalibrate your hygrometer, then
you will just have to remember to add or subtract the difference
between the test reading and 75%, in order to determine the actual
humidity level inside of your humidor. For example, if your hygrometer
test reading was 80%, then subtract 5% from the readings you get
inside of your humidor, to determine the actual levels of humidity
(e.g. a reading of 70% inside your humidor equals an actual humidity
level of 65%).

Hope this helps
~Mark
Click to expand...


Or go and buy the One-Step Calibration Kit from Humidipak - much easier. :thumbs:
 
Ok, I checked the humidor itself - there does not seem to be any leaks at all

I also checked the hygrometer - after 16 hours it is reading a 78% humidity level

OK, now what should I do? :blush:
 
slider9499 said:
........ there does not seem to be any leaks at all

...........after 16 hours it is reading a 78% humidity level
Click to expand...

There does not seem to be any leaks? If you're not sure anything else suggested is somewhat mute.


3. Wait 24 hours, then check the reading on your hygrometer without
opening the bag or container
Click to expand...

I find the most common mistake people make is trying to rush. IMO, 24 hours should be a minimum and if my hygro was not reading 75% at the end of 24 hoursI'd leave it another 24 hours just to be sure of the reading.

Sorry if you answered this before but can you tell us what kind of hygrometer you have?
 
Allofus123 said:
slider9499 said:
........ there does not seem to be any leaks at all

...........after 16 hours it is reading a 78% humidity level
Click to expand...

There does not seem to be any leaks? If you're not sure anything else suggested is somewhat mute.


3. Wait 24 hours, then check the reading on your hygrometer without
opening the bag or container
Click to expand...
I find the most common mistake people make is trying to rush. IMO, 24 hours should be a minimum and if my hygro was not reading 75% at the end of 24 hoursI'd leave it another 24 hours just to be sure of the reading.

Sorry if you answered this before but can you tell us what kind of hygrometer you have?
Click to expand...

Digital (battery operated) Don Salvatore model #1546. It is small, probably about 1 1/2" wide x 1" tall. Here is the link http://www.donsalvatore.net/products/product.php?id=59
 
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