Troubles

[Nathan Rahl]

Alrighty, my new humidor came in the other day. I seem to be having a problem though. There is no humidity. When it got here, I salt tested the hydrometer, was only off by a few degrees, but is working. So that's not the problem. I put the humidifier in the thing at about 10:30AM Est yesterday. I checked it periodically through the day, but nothing changed. Finally I just went to bed and let it sit over night. Well, here it is in the morning, about 20 hours after putting it in, and no change at all. Not a single degree.

So, in my mind, there can only be 2 things wrong:

1. The humidor is not holding humidity.
2. The humidifier is not working.

What I intend to do is setup a small tupperdor after work today and see if the guage changes at all. If the guage changes, I know it is number 1. Which will really piss me off. I'm not really sure how I can fix #1, that's why I'm posting here. #2 Shouldn't be to hard to fix, just make myself a new one with beads or foam. No biggie there. BTW I am using just distilled water in the humidor. The instructions they gave me mention nothing about PG. Just use distilled water. I am guessing that might be a problem also.

Hopefully some of you can illuminate the situation for me. Or if you think I am doing just fine, you can tell me to shut up. :whistling:

Thanks!

 

[bhaney]

It sometimes take a week or more for a humidor to get up to 70%. Add some PG solution to your humidifier, put a shot glass filled with distilled water in the humidor and close the lid for like 3 or 4 days. Don't open it no matter how tempted you are. After 4 days or so it should start to stablize a bit. Check where you are at and add more water if needed.

Just remember patience Grasshopper. A humidor will not stabilize overnight.

Brandon

 

[tone-ny]

Another thing you can do is take a sponge that has been moistened in distilled water and wipe down the cedar. That will help to move the process along. For a point of reference I had a humidor take over two weeks to stabilize. YMMV

 

[BlindedByScience]

Another thing you can do is take a sponge that has been moistened in distilled water and wipe down the cedar. That will help to move the process along. For a point of reference I had a humidor take over two weeks to stabilize. YMMV

Be careful with this one - I've seen at least one humi company that says this will "void your warranty" if you wipe the insides down - it can really warp the cedar and then it'll never seal.

What the others are saying matches my limited experience to the letter. I've got a teeny little desktop I got from CI and a 150-ish desktop I got from cheaphumidors.com. Cheap Humi's recommends putting a shot glass full of DI inside the humi for 48 hrs. before you add smokes. That seems like a good idea. Watch the hygrometer and it'll tell you the truth.

Both my cedar boxes were all over the map, humidity wise, for almost a month before they settled down into their nice regular 65-68% range. Seemed like I could get 50% or 80% but not the desired level until they'd fully stabilized. I'd about made them both into firewood but they "finally" settled down and now are very consistant.

How you humidify matters a lot, too. For humidification, I use 65% beads from Viper at Heartfelt Industries. He's a great guy and will take very good care of you. (Note - they are in the middle of a move so they won't be shipping until after the 10th of July + / - ). When I throw a bunch of new sticks in, I'll often take a little 1" cube of synthetic sponge, moisten it then squeeze it almost dry, and put it in the humi along with the sticks (but of course not touching any sticks or wood). Gets some added moisture in the system, as it were.

Good Luck - !!

B.B.S.

 

[Rob_k]

i layed some cutup platic wrap on the bottom of the humidor and on the cedar tray (3" squares) and cut up a new sponge, cleaned out the sponge with distilled water, then soaked the sponges. placed the sponge pieces on the plastic and closed the humidor up. I let it sit for 1 week like this, checking the sponges every 2-3 days. I put my digi-hygrometer in after the 5th day, it read 85%. I then put the beads in (Vipers beads...they are the best, period) and gave it a few more days. took out the sponges, let the humidor settle, been between 63% and 65% since. As bhaney said, patience is the key here.
I would not wipe the cedar down either, every site i have seen strongly discourages this, as the cedar may warp and void your warranty. in the mean time, a tupperware container should be adaqaute, cigars will last weeks in there without a problem, just remember to keep it air tight! my 2pennies, hope it helps.

 

[BlindedByScience]

...and cut up a new sponge,...

QFT. I buy the "cheapest of the cheap" at the local grocery store; the synthetic sponges without any scent, soap, etc. I usually use 'em and toss 'em. Grab a gallon of distilled H2O for about a buck while you are there.....

B.B.S.

 

[BkCloud114]

You must be very careful when moistening down the wood in the humi..... just make them damp... not wet. If you are going to use a shot glass full of water I would use a regular household sponge (anti-bacterial kind) you can cut it to whatever size ya need and no really big deal if it tips over.

I would also check the hygrometer. It might be reading 75% and be stuck at 75%. My father has the same problem with his hygrometer in his very expensive humi. You could probably get a inexpensive digital from E-bay.

 

[Rob_k]

...and cut up a new sponge,...

QFT. I buy the "cheapest of the cheap" at the local grocery store; the synthetic sponges without any scent, soap, etc. I usually use 'em and toss 'em. Grab a gallon of distilled H2O for about a buck while you are there.....

B.B.S.

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WTF is QFT, B.B.S. ?

 

[BlindedByScience]

WTF is QFT, B.B.S. ?

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Quoted For Truth...which is what ALL my posts are, bro.... :laugh:

Cheers - B.B.S.

 

[mhortsch]

I've sworn up and down by this method, and only one member seems to followt his process...and he's the one that told me about it.

Put the humidor inside a cooler. Place a small bowl of distilled water in the humi, leave the lid propped open. Place another small bowl of water in the cooler outside the humi. Leave closed and undisturbed for 1 week.

You'll never have to worry about it stabalizing again...no wipe downs...no iffy periods. Works everytime (unless your humi is to big...)

It works so well I wanna buy another humi just so I can season it

 

[bhaney]

That is also another great way to stabilize a humidor if you have a cooler big enough to put your humidor in. Definately cant go wrong with that method.

Brandon

 

[Nathan Rahl]

Alrighty. I currently have a nice moist sponge sitting in my humidor, along with a refilled humidifier. I am going to try my hardest not to open it once until tomorrow night. Hopefully I will see some changes. I also wiped down the wood in the humidor. I was hesitant to do so, because of what I have read online. But, since it does say right in their directions they give me to do this, I don't think it will hurt it to much. It can't be a breach of my warranty if they tell me to do it. So if it screws up, back in the box it goes.

Thanks for the info thus far.

 

[MilesMingusMonk]

Patience grasshopper.

 

[OutlawD]

I cant beleive that they would tell you not to wipe down the humidor.
Heres why, its KILN DRIED SPANISH CEDAR!!!! That means all the moisture is removed to allow the building process. Humidors are built with wood expansion in mind and if your humi warps after dampening it with a spounge you got ripped off.Trying to rehydrate the wood with your humidifier could take weeks of toil and heartache.
The wood needs moisture to expand and form a seal. Thus a humi not properly hydrated is going to leak. The first humi i got was an inexpensive 45 dollar job.
I dampened it with a sponge let it set overnite repeated and filled it with cigars.
End of story.No rh problems, ever.

But hey thats just my .02

and yes be patient

 

[Nathan Rahl]

Humidity is standing at about 72 right now. I'm still gonna leave it closed till tomorrow afternoon. Let it all soak in. I was kind of surprised to find the sponge still moist after this long. So I guess the humidor holds the humidity just fine. I'm hoping it is the humidifier that is putting out most of the humidity and not the sponge. Maybe I should remove the sponge for the next 24 hours?

 

[emodx]

Humidity is standing at about 72 right now. I'm still gonna leave it closed till tomorrow afternoon. Let it all soak in. I was kind of surprised to find the sponge still moist after this long. So I guess the humidor holds the humidity just fine. I'm hoping it is the humidifier that is putting out most of the humidity and not the sponge. Maybe I should remove the sponge for the next 24 hours?

[snapback]197705[/snapback]​

Maybe you shouldnt worry. At %72 you should fill it up!

 

[Nathan Rahl]

Hehe, good point. I just want to make sure the thing is stable and won't go up or down to much. I probably will fill it up after work tomorrow.

 

[emodx]

Hehe, good point. I just want to make sure the thing is stable and won't go up or down to much. I probably will fill it up after work tomorrow.

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It won't be stable empty.

 

[Panatela]

I cant beleive that they would tell you not to wipe down the humidor.
Heres why, its KILN DRIED SPANISH CEDAR!!!! That means all the moisture is removed to allow the building process. Humidors are built with wood expansion in mind and if your humi warps after dampening it with a spounge you got ripped off.Trying to rehydrate the wood with your humidifier could take weeks of toil and heartache.
The wood needs moisture to expand and form a seal. Thus a humi not properly hydrated is going to leak. The first humi i got was an inexpensive 45 dollar job.
I dampened it with a sponge let it set overnite repeated and filled it with cigars.
End of story.No rh problems, ever.

But hey thats just my .02

and yes be patient

[snapback]197663[/snapback]​

I actually poured a few ounces of distilled water right into my dor. Used a clean lint free cloth to soak up the water and then dampened the sides thoroughly with the wet cloth worked great and immediately maintain 76% which has regulated down to 73% over a couple of days. I now keep the vents on the diamond crown humidifier closed and it is perfect!

Getting your quality cedar wet should not hurt it - i agree.

cheers,
Mike

 

[outlawsp]

If you add water with a sponge, be carefully and not over wet the bottom of your humidor. The bottom is the tiniest part of the box itself.
Inexpensive boxes......I wouldn't even wet the bottom, just everywhere else.