Need assistance choosing a hygrometer and humidifier

[investandprosper]

I just got my first humidor (100 count, it's the CLASSICO ROSA from Cuban Crafters), and I want to make sure I do this right. The hygrometer that came with it is really low quality as far as I can tell. I did the salt test and after a few hours the status didn't change. I'd like to get a digital hygrometer, and the "gel" humidifier as I have read it's better ... could someone be so kind as to point me in the right direction of which one to buy?

As far as the humidor goes, it looks good and has a snug lid, so I'm not worried about the construction of it. The wood is a kind of red color, smells of cedar, so I think it's safe to assume that it's genuine spanish cedar. The wood smell is quite strong, is this normal?

Thanks in advance. I'm so glad there is a forum like this with such dedicated members.


Edit: I've read that the HygroSet II Digital Hygrometer is a good one. Anyone think otherwise?

I've also read that the Boveda is great (link). Not sure which % to choose.

 

[Kid Montana]

Any adjustable digital hygrometer will serve you well. A salt test takes at least 8 hours before you can be confident in its reading. Also, make sure you are doing the salt test correctly.. Most members here would steer you away from any gel humidification devices and towards Heartfelt Industries humidification beads.

 

[investandprosper]

Any adjustable digital hygrometer will serve you well. A salt test takes at least 8 hours before you can be confident in its reading. Also, make sure you are doing the salt test correctly.. Most members here would steer you away from any gel humidification devices and towards Heartfelt Industries humidification beads.

Thank you! Testing the hygrometer again overnight.

 

[Nickc]

I have had personal experience with the Savoy meeter and also the Xikar which is adjustable. I must say the Savoy is calibrated from factory and it has been spot on since the day I received it. I also do agree that Heartfelt Beads would be your best bet.

 

[investandprosper]

Thanks for the tip on the Savoy, Nick. I'll go check it out.

I did the salt test on my hygrometer again, using a coke bottle cap as that guide instructed, with the same result. After 6 hours it has not moved from 58%. Looks like I will be ordering one today.

 

[Forge]

You can see my thread about comparing hygrometers in this forum. Hygroset II gets my vote.

As for humidity..... it tried the gel, 2 weeks later i was using heartfelts and glad i switched. I had issues getting the gel to hold a steady humidity in both my large and small humidor. Switched to heartfelt and gave it a week, both are exactly at 65% (the beads i ordered). Couldnt be happier with Heartfelts. Make sure you follow the seasoning guide here if this is a new box.

If you need gel, PM me, I have a bunch to sell now

 

[investandprosper]

Thanks guys. Maybe a question for Fia or some of the other Hawaii residents on the board ... it seems that the room is more humid than inside the humidor! I seasoned mine properly and the humidor reads 74 RH most times. I did the salt test on my hygrometer three times to makes sure it was calibrated. It shouldn't be over 70% RH, should it?

I ordered a Hygroset II and the Heartfelt beads. When they arrive I will do everything over again to make sure. I have cigars on the way, so hopefully I can get this taken care of before hand.

 

[Nervjiggy]

Thanks guys. Maybe a question for Fia or some of the other Hawaii residents on the board ... it seems that the room is more humid than inside the humidor! I seasoned mine properly and the humidor reads 74 RH most times. I did the salt test on my hygrometer three times to makes sure it was calibrated. It shouldn't be over 70% RH, should it?

I ordered a Hygroset II and the Heartfelt beads. When they arrive I will do everything over again to make sure. I have cigars on the way, so hopefully I can get this taken care of before hand.

The way I understand it you only charge 70-80% of the beads so the others can absorb humidity to bring it down to whatever % beads you have. I use 70% beads myself and a Xikar hydrometer.

 

[Nickc]

Thanks guys. Maybe a question for Fia or some of the other Hawaii residents on the board ... it seems that the room is more humid than inside the humidor! I seasoned mine properly and the humidor reads 74 RH most times. I did the salt test on my hygrometer three times to makes sure it was calibrated. It shouldn't be over 70% RH, should it?

I ordered a Hygroset II and the Heartfelt beads. When they arrive I will do everything over again to make sure. I have cigars on the way, so hopefully I can get this taken care of before hand.

Humidor's are not air tight, so the humidity in the room will affect the RH in your humidor. If you notice that it won't stay down, try removing your humidity beads for a bit and letting them dry out some. Then place them back in to absorb excess humidity.

I know here in MA it gets really humid in the summer so I do not even use a humidity device from like June to September. If you don't have a AC in the room you can put one in the window as well that will help keep the humidity down and help regulate temps. Other then that, a dehumidifier in the room will help as well. I am in the process of moving my cabinet into a room with a AC unit in it to regulate temp and RH when I get back home in two week...

 

[investandprosper]

Thanks for the advice, it will prove most helpful. I'll try taking the humidity device out (it's one of those junk plastic ones with the powder in it) to see if it will regulate the RH. When seasoning the humidor I left the small bowl of distilled water in for a couple of days to make sure that it was nicely absorbed, I hope I didn't over-do it.

I'll post back the results =)

 

[thechenman]

Thanks guys. Maybe a question for Fia or some of the other Hawaii residents on the board ... it seems that the room is more humid than inside the humidor! I seasoned mine properly and the humidor reads 74 RH most times. I did the salt test on my hygrometer three times to makes sure it was calibrated. It shouldn't be over 70% RH, should it?

I ordered a Hygroset II and the Heartfelt beads. When they arrive I will do everything over again to make sure. I have cigars on the way, so hopefully I can get this taken care of before hand.

Humidor's are not air tight, so the humidity in the room will affect the RH in your humidor. If you notice that it won't stay down, try removing your humidity beads for a bit and letting them dry out some. Then place them back in to absorb excess humidity.

I know here in MA it gets really humid in the summer so I do not even use a humidity device from like June to September. If you don't have a AC in the room you can put one in the window as well that will help keep the humidity down and help regulate temps. Other then that, a dehumidifier in the room will help as well. I am in the process of moving my cabinet into a room with a AC unit in it to regulate temp and RH when I get back home in two week...

Same here in NY...beginning in June to September, I don't need to use any type of humidity device for my humidors. The ambient humidity in the air, even with the A/C going is enough to keep my humidors anywhere from 61% rh to 65% rh, if I keep them in the basement.

 

[Nickc]

Thanks for the advice, it will prove most helpful. I'll try taking the humidity device out (it's one of those junk plastic ones with the powder in it) to see if it will regulate the RH. When seasoning the humidor I left the small bowl of distilled water in for a couple of days to make sure that it was nicely absorbed, I hope I didn't over-do it.

I'll post back the results =)

Unless you soaked the wood there is no over doing it. Take the humidity device out and just let it slowly come back down.

 

[investandprosper]

Thanks for the advice, it will prove most helpful. I'll try taking the humidity device out (it's one of those junk plastic ones with the powder in it) to see if it will regulate the RH. When seasoning the humidor I left the small bowl of distilled water in for a couple of days to make sure that it was nicely absorbed, I hope I didn't over-do it.

I'll post back the results =)

Unless you soaked the wood there is no over doing it. Take the humidity device out and just let it slowly come back down.

I made sure not to soak the wood, I just lightly wiped it down using distilled water. I took the humidifying device out to let it settle down. My beads should come tomorrow, so I'll be able to get this thing set soon. Thanks everyone for your help, I'll post back when I have the Heartfelt beads and the Hygroset II installed.

 

[investandprosper]

The Heartfelt beads and Hygroset II arrived today, so I got a little head start. I am doing the salt test on the Hygroset II. It's so humid here that I haven't needed to charge the beads yet. So far so good.

 

[Fia]

Good you got the beads...sometimes when it gets really humid, you need them to absorb too much humidity. I like the 65% beads and they have been very reliable. I only need to add water to them every 3 or 4 months.

 

[CRQuarto]

I'll add to the troop that recommends Heartfelt Humidity Beads. I'd have to say that this was the best damn investment Shant and I made for our stash. Effortless upkeep (in truth, next to none...I recharge 'em maybe once every few months, if that), and superior customer service from them as well. As for hygrometers, head to your local Walmart and buy a couple digital ones for around $7, calibrate them, and call it a day. You can't get much more simple than that. :thumbs:

 

[Nickc]

I'll add to the troop that recommends Heartfelt Humidity Beads. I'd have to say that this was the best damn investment Shant and I made for our stash. Effortless upkeep (in truth, next to none...I recharge 'em maybe once every few months, if that), and superior customer service from them as well. As for hygrometers, head to your local Walmart and buy a couple digital ones for around $7, calibrate them, and call it a day. You can't get much more simple than that. :thumbs:

Hydrometers from Walmart... What.. What.... How accurate are these price drop specials????

 

[Nervjiggy]

I'll add to the troop that recommends Heartfelt Humidity Beads. I'd have to say that this was the best damn investment Shant and I made for our stash. Effortless upkeep (in truth, next to none...I recharge 'em maybe once every few months, if that), and superior customer service from them as well. As for hygrometers, head to your local Walmart and buy a couple digital ones for around $7, calibrate them, and call it a day. You can't get much more simple than that. :thumbs:

Hydrometers from Walmart... What.. What.... How accurate are these price drop specials????

They are, from my experience, very inaccurate.

 

[souldog]

Hydrometers from Walmart... What.. What.... How accurate are these price drop specials????

They are, from my experience, very inaccurate.

Trust me when I tell you both: Don't overthink it. These crazy cigar companies want you to buy the $35 dollar hydrometer that will accurately tell you your humidity within .0001% accuracy and also cooks your breakfast in the morning and drives your kids to school.

Bottom line, in my opinion, unless you have an Aristocrat or some crazy lifelong cigar storage system, don't waste your money on those ridiculously priced hydrometers. The ones from Wal Mart take a little extra time and effort, but in the end they still read your humidity as well as the $35 dollar ones, and you're the slick fellow who only spend $7 bucks. That leaves you $32 dollars for cigars.

Yes, you might have to remember to write down on the back of the hydrometer, "Add 4 when taking reading," so that you know when the hydrometer reads 66% it is actually 70%, but it's a small price to pay.

Don't buy into the overpriced bulls**t and just buy one of those Wally World ones. They're just as good as any other hydrometer out there, they just need a little extra love.

 

[4cbln3]

Thanks guys. Maybe a question for Fia or some of the other Hawaii residents on the board ... it seems that the room is more humid than inside the humidor! I seasoned mine properly and the humidor reads 74 RH most times. I did the salt test on my hygrometer three times to makes sure it was calibrated. It shouldn't be over 70% RH, should it?

I ordered a Hygroset II and the Heartfelt beads. When they arrive I will do everything over again to make sure. I have cigars on the way, so hopefully I can get this taken care of before hand.

Sorry so late to the thread, IAP, what Fia said is true, the beads do better for absorbing humidity here than adding humidity. If you use a wood humidor just spray only 30% off the beads once in a while. It takes weeks for the humidity to dissapate and you need to add again. If you jump to a cooler one day, let the beads dry out and you'll never need to add water again as the humidity in the room will be sucked in when you open to grab smokes.
In fact, I did a test one day, I left a hygrometer in a box of yard gars and put them where I store my rice bucket in the kitchen cabinets. After 4 months, the humidity read 61%. Sh*t, we could leave all our cigars in boxes here just because of the humidity we get!

Jon said it best, don't over do the thinking process (although it's hella fun to play with our hobby

). Practice on your current sticks and in a couple of months, boom, you'll be cruisin' just fine.