n0Obie questions - 70% seems impossible....

[BlindedByScience]

Gents - being the n0Obie here, I get to ask a dumb question or two.

I have two humis; one I got from cheaphumidors.com (the "Milano") which is roughly 75 stick capacity, and the other a little 25 stick box I ordered from C.I. I have DI wiped, treated, flashlight tested, gelled, sponged, DI/PG'd, etc. until I'm about to make firewood out of 'em both.....:angry2: Seems I can get 50% or 80% but nothing I want to live with, long term. They both seem to seal quite well.

I got a couple of little digital humidity gauges (http://www.littlehavanacigars.com/proddetail.asp?prod=HY1060LT) and salt tested them - both are well within the tolerances the manufacturer claims.

Does it make a difference if the humidity device is on the "top" of the humi, or the bottom? I have a humi-gel I'm trying in the bigger of the two which is currently in the bottom of the humi, and it runs pretty consistantly about 58-60%. That's within the realms of reality but the little humi is all over the map. I have added an extra sponge moist with DI in the little humi as an experement (no sticks were harmed in these tests, trust me) and it gets right up to 80% or so within a day or two. Remove the extra sponge, leaving the small black plastic element (moist with DI/PG) and boom - 50% in two days. I leave 'em closed at least two days between readings, hoping to at least see some type of pattern....:whistling:

I'd hoped to put a week or two's smokes in the little one, using the larger one for longer term storage. What concerns me now is that the volume of the small one is so small, I wonder if daily use will keep it from ever having decent humidity control.

Vern's establishment is in town (...!!...). I've spoken to him on the phone, and I'm going to get a Premier and a Tubos for the two. If they don't make a big improvement, I think I'll take these damn humi's shooting next time I head to the hills....

I'm not patently stupid, and can't imagine what the hell I've done wrong. If one of you guys have suggestions or can at least smack me with the "clue by four" I'd sure appreciate it.

All this stress....I think I'll head out on the deck and fire up a Nat Sherman and have another cup of fresh joe....

Thanks in advance - B.B.S.

 

[psyktek]

Gents - being the n0Obie here, I get to ask a dumb question or two.

I have two humis; one I got from cheaphumidors.com (the "Milano") which is roughly 75 stick capacity, and the other a little 25 stick box I ordered from C.I.  I have DI wiped, treated, flashlight tested, gelled, sponged, DI/PG'd, etc. until I'm about to make firewood out of 'em both.....:angry2:  Seems I can get 50% or 80% but nothing I want to live with, long term.  They both seem to seal quite well.

I got a couple of little digital humidity gauges (http://www.littlehavanacigars.com/proddetail.asp?prod=HY1060LT) and salt tested them - both are well within the tolerances the manufacturer claims.

Does it make a difference if the humidity device is on the "top" of the humi, or the bottom? 

Probably not in boxes that small.

I have a humi-gel I'm trying in the bigger of the two which is currently in the bottom of the humi, and it runs pretty consistantly about 58-60%.  That's within the realms of reality but the little humi is all over the map.  I have added an extra sponge moist with DI in the little humi as an experement (no sticks were harmed in these tests, trust me) and it gets right up to 80% or so within a day or two.  Remove the extra sponge, leaving the small black plastic element (moist with DI/PG) and boom - 50% in two days.  I leave 'em closed at least two days between readings, hoping to at least see some type of pattern....:whistling:

DI being short for distilled water, right? Using a 50/50 solution, right?

I'd hoped to put a week or two's smokes in the little one, using the larger one for longer term storage.  What concerns me now is that the volume of the small one is so small, I wonder if daily use will keep it from ever having decent humidity control.

Vern's establishment is in town (...!!...). I've spoken to him on the phone, and I'm going to get a Premier and a Tubos for the two.  If they don't make a big improvement, I think I'll take these damn humi's shooting next time I head to the hills....

I'm not patently stupid, and can't imagine what the hell I've done wrong.  If one of you guys have suggestions or can at least smack me with the "clue by four" I'd sure appreciate it.

The only thing I can suggest is that you load the humis with what you intend to keep in them. Since you've already moistened the wood and you still can't get stable humidity, I think you need more mass.



All this stress....I think I'll head out on the deck and fire up a Nat Sherman and have another cup of fresh joe....

Thanks in advance - B.B.S.

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[CoventryCat86]

Try the beads, I think that'll take care of most of your problems

During the winter months when the temperature in my finished basement hovers around 62 degrees, I've found that my 65% beads keep the humis at 60%RH which is fine by me. I like my cigars at 60 to 65 %RH

 

[BlindedByScience]

Psyktec - thanks for the reply.

Yes, 50 / 50 ratio of PG / DI, and DI is distilled water.

Been kinda afraid to throw some smokes in there all things considered but you may have a point there.

Thanks for the input - B.B.S.

 

[BlindedByScience]

During the winter months when the temperature in my finished basement hovers around 62 degrees, I've found that my 65% beads keep the humis at 60%RH which is fine by me. I like my cigars at 60 to 65 %RH

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My humi's are in my office, currently about 73-ish but dry as a bone, humidity wise. It did occur to me that the winter months could make this a bit more challenging.....but I'm just blown away at the way the numbers vary in the little one.

Thanks for the input - B.B.S.

 

[CoventryCat86]

Psyktek's got a good point there BBS, put the sticks in and see what happens. Ya got nothing to lose.

I'd still get some beads though......

 

[psyktek]

I'll second the beads (which you're already getting). If the cigars started out in reasonable shape, you should see everything stabilize. Cigars don't lose moisture anywhere as quickly as folks think.

Hey, the next time you see Vern, ask him why he's not answering his emails, specifically ones with questions about the Koolador.

 

[BlindedByScience]

Psyktek's got a good point there BBS, put the sticks in and see what happens. Ya got nothing to lose.

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....nothing? Jeez, I may be a n0Ob but my taste in sticks isn't "that" bad.....

I'll throw half a dozen of my "least desireable" sticks in the little guy, and see what I can see. My biggest concern is that I don't want to lay waste to any cigars while I'm figuring out the issue. I had a few in the little humi and they got pretty damn dry before I figured out I had to pay more attention to the thing.

coventrycat86 is right - the big one has more or less "settled down" around 60% and the contents are quite usable....maybe not "ideal" but very usable. Good enough until I can get in touch with Vern. We'd spoken on the phone a few weeks back, and I've left him a message asking if I can make a "local pick up" of his products. We'll see how the beads work.....I'm hopeful.

Thanks again - B.B.S.

 

[KayakinBoy]

i keep those funete gel packs in mine. They go dry after 6 months, but EShaw can always give me free ones from the boxes that come in. They made my humis steady at 70 and even now when I take them out it stays 70. They are good for leveling it out, IMHO. :thumbs:

 

[wasch_24]

I would think that if you just fill them up they will stabilize. The humidor really needs to remain about 75% full, the humidified cigars help retain the RH inside the humidor.

 

[emodx]

What's the temperature in the room your humis are in? I use %65 beads in my humi. When it is cold on the ship, around 60 degrees or so, the meter will always read right around %60. When I take my humi from the colder room to my shop which stays around 72, the meter jump up to %65. So here is my suggestion.:
1. Buy 3 sponges and 1 gal distilled water.
2. Wet each sponge and put them in sandwich bags.
3. Put 1 sponge bag in each humi.
4. Put both humis in a garbage bag.
5. Throw in the last sponge bag into the garbage bag and tie a knot in the bag.
6. Put the bag full-o-stuff in the warmest room in your house.
7. Come back 2 days later and check the RH level. If the level doesn't get over %75 I would recheck the salt test.

Emo

 

[BlindedByScience]

The story has a happy ending......

Got three tubes of beads from Heartfelt Industries. They looked a bit dry when they got here, so I added 3 mL of distilled water to each tube, and left them to "soak" in the ziplock bags they came in and the wife and I went out for dinner. When we returned, I found the DI had distributed itself quite well through the tubes, so I put them in my problem child humi's.

I put one tube in my small (~25) humi, and two in my mid sized (~125) humi. Been about 36 hours, and the big humi is finally in the low 60's, with the small one is high 50's but the bottom line is that I'll bet things are finally going to stabilize.

Another point is that both of these were relatively new humi's. It just seems like they needed six weeks or so to finally reach equilibrium, humidity wise. Now, with things working, I'm back to putting a week's smokes in the little one, and using the mid sized one for more "long term" storage......though I did pick up a 32 Qt cooler becasue I think the next order of sticks will put me in "overflow" mode.....

Thanks to all for the good advice - and, to Hearfelt for the beads.....

Regards - B.B.S.

 

[Seizure]

Vern != Heartfelt INdustries

Vern runs Climmax website. Viper is the one that owns Heartfelt Industries and Viper's been the more reponsive one with an excellent track record so far.

 

[BlindedByScience]

Vern != Heartfelt INdustries

Vern runs Climmax website. Viper is the one that owns Heartfelt Industries and Viper's been the more reponsive one with an excellent track record so far.

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You are correct and I apologize if I wasn't clear. Vern never got back to me so I contacted Viper / Heartfelt and got taken care of promptly.

Thanks - B.B.S.

 

[viper139]

Vern != Heartfelt INdustries

Vern runs Climmax website. Viper is the one that owns Heartfelt Industries and Viper's been the more reponsive one with an excellent track record so far.

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You are correct and I apologize if I wasn't clear. Vern never got back to me so I contacted Viper / Heartfelt and got taken care of promptly.

Thanks - B.B.S.

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Happy to hear that your humi is balancing out. Remember that you may have to rehydrate the tubes a little motre often until the humi balances out. The you will not need to rehydrate the tubes as often.

 

[viper139]

Vern != Heartfelt INdustries

Vern runs Climmax website. Viper is the one that owns Heartfelt Industries and Viper's been the more reponsive one with an excellent track record so far.

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Seizure is correct.

I am David (Viper139) and I own and run Heartfelt.

Vern runs Climmax. We are two different companies.