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Maintaining humidity?

M

Mangudai

New Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2006
Messages
44
Hello


I acnt remember the exact specs on my humidor, just that I purchased it off ebay. This can give you a rough idea of how large it is

60842.jpg


Well, Id say up to about two months after I purchased 65 rh beads the humidor was at +/-3 65. But then it started dropping. When I orginally introduced the beads I had probably 6 cigars in my humidor but now I have only two and its been like that for a while now. Maybe 2 months. Whats happened now is that my rh drops quickly and even when I try to add more water to the beads I wont get any higher than 53-55. Do you think I need to re season my humidor or do I need to have more cigars in my humidor to maintain the proper rh? If it makes a difference I use the syringe that came with the beads and follow the provided instructions to moisten them.(5 cc in both holes)
 
Before I added more cigars, I'd make sure the hygrometer has fresh batteries and is accurate (salt-test it) and that the humidor seals well. Put a small flashlight in there and check for leaks; try tugging a dollar bill through the closed lid all the way around it. If thats all good, re-seasoning isn't going to hurt. Can't give you advice on the beads but there is pleanty of other threads on them...they got to run dry sometime, so look up on how to get them balanced. After your happy you got humidity and a good seal, adding more cigars will keep the humidity more stable. 2/3'd full or so is working great in my cheap 100ct humi.
 
If your humidor is not keeping humidity now adding cigars will not fix the problem. A full humidor is easier to maintain humidity with but you have to have everything working together for that to happen. If your humidifier, hygrometer, seal. etc etc is not working properly it won't matter how many cigars you add.

Always start with the hygrometer. What kind of hygrometer are you using? Has it been salt tested?
 
Thanks for the replies



Yes, I actually used the salt test sold on heartfelt and it was -2 from 75. I just put a pretty strong flashlight in the humidor and the side the light was pointing at I was able to see light through the slit. I really dont know what to think. I know someone who has the same one i have with no problems but i suppose quality control may not be the highest.
 
Was it seasoned correctly?. ALso the fuller the humi, the less you will see humidity swings.
 
IMHO, I think the seal on your humidor
is not very good. If you can see the light
from your light source when placed in the
humidor, its usually not a good sign.
You have rh beads and had it long enough
where the humi had time to season.

When you close your humi, does it make
a "whoomp" sound? This usually indicates
a good seal. Also, from your pics the humi
looks about a 250ct. I think you need a lot more
sticks. Stocking the humi with more cigars (almost
full capacity) tends to maintain the rh better.
I hope this helps. :)
 
I can afford to fill it up but the reason its almost empty is because I've been saving for a car. So that leaves me...I have another humidor thats been sitting around without a element, Its a cao one and I know that one is quality. Its just really small I'm thinking to re season that one and put my sticks in there for now. I just want to know for sure though that the large one is/isnt good. When I get home I will inspect the seal closer. I just figured that if it wasnt sealing properly then I wouldn't have been able to maintain rh in the first place but I'm still fairly new to this.

Thanks again.
 
If you have salt tested your hygro's and confident of the acuracy than the next check is the seal of you humidor. You indicated you stuck a flashlight in there and saw light...... thats an issue and depending on how big of a seal leak you have could be a major issue. Keep in mind that it may not be the only issue but going through this checking process in order will help you determine that. What concerns me is that you said it use to maintain close to 65%. Unless you recently jarred or dropped the humidor there shouldn't be much difference in the seal from a few months ago so it suddenly not holding humidity, while possible, may only be part of the problem.

Take your beads and place them in a small jar with your hygro and seal the lid on very tight. Leave it for 24 hours (do not open) and see what reading you get.

Also, several people have been recommending adding cigars. You can also add empty cigar boxes and accomplish the same thing. THe more room you take up the less air that needs to be humidified and the cigars or boxes also act as a buffer since they both will absorb and hold some of the humidity. This will help moderate the swing of RH but from what I understand so far of your problem, this is not the fix for your problem. Most likely its the seal but test your beads in the smaller container first to be sure.
 
Unfortunately I wasnt able to find a jar around the house, do yo have any other ideas? Do you think a zip lock would work? No, ive never dropped it thank God lol but I do feel air woosh when I close the lid.
 
Might I add I found an airtight glass container thats used to store rice and added both the elements and hygrometer. I'll give it a day and let you all know the results.
 
Well, I just took a look at the air tight glass container i put my 2 elements and hygrometer and its @ 65 rh. So i know the hygrometer is on point and the elements are fine(never doubted those tho :p) so this leads back to the humidor. Whats next you think? Im tempted to buy another one.
 
Mangudai said:
Well, I just took a look at the air tight glass container i put my 2 elements and hygrometer and its @ 65 rh. So i know the hygrometer is on point and the elements are fine(never doubted those tho :p) so this leads back to the humidor. Whats next you think? Im tempted to buy another one.
Click to expand...



There are ways to remedy the problem for a tight seal.
Try the "search". I've seen threads where some
of the people here used "sealing tape".

If you looking to buy another one,
check out Cbid or cheaphumidors.com Pretty good deals.
 
Yes, with the hygro tested and then the jar test showing 65 it does appear to be a problem with the humidor itself. We know that you have a seal leak and this appears to be the most logical explanation. If you want to be sure buy some painters tape and after placing the beads back inside of the humidor wrap the painters tape all the way around the humidor's seal a couple of times. After sealing the humidor closed give it 24 hours and see what you have.

If it reads +/-65 its the seal..... if it reads something else it may just need to be reseason.

Good luck!

PS - Seal tips
 
Mangudai said:
Well, I just took a look at the air tight glass container i put my 2 elements and hygrometer and its @ 65 rh. So i know the hygrometer is on point and the elements are fine(never doubted those tho :p) so this leads back to the humidor. Whats next you think? Im tempted to buy another one.
Click to expand...

Your results make me feel good. :D

As the guys said, if you were able to see light coming out of the joint between the lid and the box you definately have seal issues. The advice they gave you is good on the use of the tape. Main thing is that is a nice humi and is worth a little wor to get up to smuff.

David
 
Well, I added two layers of paitners tape and made sure it adhered to the seal all the way around. But, the results were the say, the hygrometer displayed an rh of 48%. Time for a re season.
 
Mangudai said:
Thanks for the replies



Yes, I actually used the salt test sold on heartfelt and it was -2 from 75. I just put a pretty strong flashlight in the humidor and the side the light was pointing at I was able to see light through the slit. I really dont know what to think. I know someone who has the same one i have with no problems but i suppose quality control may not be the highest.
Click to expand...

How long did you leave the hygrometer in the Boveda Calibration pack? It should be in there for at least 24-36 hours or up to 48 if you can be patient.
 
I put a small bowl of water in there tonight, lets see what happens. I'll let it sit for two days.

Edit: I meant a week.
 
Mangudai said:
I put a small bowl of water in there tonight, lets see what happens. I'll let it sit for two days.

Edit: I meant a week.
Click to expand...


I took the bowl out two days ago and checked the hygrometer today. It read 57% rh, I looked at beads in one case and practically all were white. What do you think.. not enough seasoning?
 
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