Heartfelt Beads Question

[Cigar FF]

I finally got around to replacing my gel humidification with 70% RH beads. I put 1/2 of my 1/2 pound bag of beads into the humidor early this morning in a mesh bag. I opted to use a spray bottle with distilled water and only wet approximately 80% of the beads as the website mentions. I let it sit for approx. 10 hours and monitored the RH and it was still low. I added some more beads thinking I may not have put enough in. I now have 3/4 of the beads in the the humidor. I'm pretty certain my humidor is a 75-100 count so having 3/4 of a half pound bag should be more than sufficient based on the measurement tool on their site. I did not spray the beads after adding more as I didn't want to over saturate.

Does it take a while for the RH to stabilize after adding the beads? It was at least 10 hours before I added more and the RH was lower than it was with the gel. Being new to the beads, I am not sure how long it takes for them to balance out the RH. At this point, I'm starting to think my seal is no good as the RH was oddly lower than when I first started using it. I've changed everything but the humidor so this will be the last straw before I invest in something better. I want to make sure I am allowing enough time for things to level out.

One last thing, placement of the beads... I have a shelf and I put the beads on the bottom of the humidor to the right. There are vents but I have my cigars sitting front to back on the shelf while the shelf vents are right to left. Does this make a big difference? I spread the cigars out a little more on the shelf to make sure the air could circulate properly. I'm scratching my head trying to troubleshoot the dipping RH.

TIA

 

[2K6TBSS]

What are you seeing for RH in your humi? A few points one way or the other isn't a big deal. If you are seeing big differences, then you should worry. You have plenty of beads, just give it some time.

 

[Cigar FF]

Well I woke up this morning and checked and it was still the same. I'm leaning towards a real crappy seal on the humidor. I think I am going to put the smokes into some Tupperware and see if that brings the RH up.

What are you seeing for RH in your humi? A few points one way or the other isn't a big deal. If you are seeing big differences, then you should worry. You have plenty of beads, just give it some time.

Currently, it's sitting at 60%. When I used the one-step Boveda pack for calibrations, I was 1-2 points less. My readings is approximately 10% less than what it should be (70% beads). I would imagine at this point the beads should have stabilized at least a little bit and brought things closer to 70%, no?

Anything else I am overlooking and can troubleshoot?

 

[{tpc}]

sounds to me like you are doing everything right. If your troubleshooting the seal, I would probably run some masking tape around the lid and let it sit for 2 days or so and then see if it improves. If it does then you know its probably a bad seal.

When looking at the charged beads are they still clear though? If they look like they came (white not clear) then they have expelled their moisture they were holding already for one reason or another. Maybe a recharge and more time will help level it out. Tupperdores always come in handy for holding smokes while you are trying to get everything set up, but I wouldn't be suprised if when you move the smokes back in, it dips down again. This could be a result of under humidified smokes sucking some of it up, but if you can keep the humi consistent without smokes it shouldn't take much time to keep it consistent with them.

 

[Cigar FF]

Thanks for the response guys. I'm still quite wet behind the ears and want to make sure I'm doing things right. I would like to broaden my horizons and try new smokes but I certainly do not want them to go to waste b/c of faulty equipment. The humidor is my last step in solving this. Finding the right one is for a whole other thread. I have been searching around here so I hope to find something reputable to purchase if I go down that road.

sounds to me like you are doing everything right. If your troubleshooting the seal, I would probably run some masking tape around the lid and let it sit for 2 days or so and then see if it improves. If it does then you know its probably a bad seal.

I tried the dollar bill test and 2 of the 3 sides were weak. I didn't think much of it b/c when I let the lid close on its own, it closes gently and does not slam. Being that my humi is a glass top, this could be the issue too. Although, I do like that I don't have to open the lid every time to check the RH. Lastly, the analog hygro is on the front. I pulled it out once to calibrate and had no clue that the hole was cut all the way through to the cigar storage area. Hence, I'm leaning towards a bad seal. I'm going to bring it back to where my wife purchased it and see what they say. I don't think I should have this kind of issue and I really haven't added that many sticks lately. Maybe 10 or so since early December?

When looking at the charged beads are they still clear though? If they look like they came (white not clear) then they have expelled their moisture they were holding already for one reason or another. Maybe a recharge and more time will help level it out.

The beads are mostly clear. There are probably like 10% which are white or not as clear but at least 90% of them are clear.

Tupperdores always come in handy for holding smokes while you are trying to get everything set up, but I wouldn't be suprised if when you move the smokes back in, it dips down again. This could be a result of under humidified smokes sucking some of it up, but if you can keep the humi consistent without smokes it shouldn't take much time to keep it consistent with them.

When I did add the 10 or so smokes last month, they were ordered online from JR. After the fact, I read that these types of purchases usually yield dry sticks and thought that was the problem. As I put them in the humi, I re-hydrated the gel pack. The RH went up a little but fell back to where it is now.

 

[Light this!]

It sounds like you maybe don't have enough cigars in the humi. You mentioned that it was a 75-100 ct and you have about 10 cigars in it. Having either too many in a small humidor or not enough in a large humi can throw your levels off.

 

[Cigar FF]

Very interesting... I never thought that could have an impact. The 10 was my last shipment but there are about 30 in there currently. When I had less, the humidity was around 70-72%. Odd.

 

[2K6TBSS]

It sounds like you might have a weak seal. Like TPC said, try putting a layer of masking tape around the edges to see if the seal issues goes away. With 30 sticks in the humi you should be fine with the quantity problem.

It does seem like you are doing everything right on your end though.

 

[Cigar FF]

Out of curiosity, will the masking tape pull off the finish of the humidor? I want to make sure before I try it.

 

[2K6TBSS]

You shouldn't be putting it on the finished surface, but it shouldn't pull the finish off. I would put if on the inner lip portion of the humi box (not the lid). Hope that makes sense...

 

[Pipe Smoker]

I feel your pain brother. I went through the exact same thing. Ultimately I gave up on the humidor and bought a cooler. I'll bet dollars to doughnuts you'll do the same thing, if for no other reason than sticking around this place will dramatically increase your need for storage capacity.

Either way, best of luck.

 

[MrAnderson41]

It sounds like you maybe don't have enough cigars in the humi. You mentioned that it was a 75-100 ct and you have about 10 cigars in it. Having either too many in a small humidor or not enough in a large humi can throw your levels off.

While that sounds like a great excuse to go on a spending spree to fill up the humidor I wouldn't say that having too many or too few would "throw your levels off". My understanding is the fuller you keep your humidor the more consistent, or accurate, your readings become (i.e., they don't vary greatly).

The issue the OP is having sounds like an issue with precision. He can't get the humidor to the desired RH level, which shouldn't necessarily have anything to do with the number of smokes stored in the humidor. In fact, when you season a humidor (something I assume the OP has done) you are waiting for a desired RH to be reached without any smokes in it all.

 

[Cigar FF]

To touch on the tape/testing option, I should basically fold the tape over the bottom lip of the humidor to make the seal a little tighter correct? I was thinking that it would be difficult to get a good seal if I taped the outside around 3 sides of the lid. Sounds stupid but thanks for clarifying.

I did season the humidor for a week +. When I first added cigars. my RH was pretty stable, around 70-72%. There were maybe 10-15 in there for a while. I dont know if the opening of the humidor has broken the seal down a bit but my RH has not been the same for weeks. Although when I last smoked a cigar from there, it had a nice draw and did not feel hard as if it were dried out. I may have learned something about how to store my cigars in the future though so this is a plus.

I'm just concerned that I am using 70% RH beads and my RH is 59-61% consistently now. My wife bought the humidor as a gift and I don't think she spent a hell of a lot of money on it. I didn't think I was going get as obsessed as I've become. Once I found a smoke that I liked, I purchased a number of them. I'm still thinking I may need to upgrade and get something better. I think the size is fine for me now but something of better quality. I plan to continue troubleshooting for the learning experience but I think I may be due for an upgrade. The question now becomes, what do I get? The search continues.

Thanks for the continued help. I'm glad I'm not losing my mind...yet. :whistling:

 

[MrAnderson41]

I did season the humidor for a week +. When I first added cigars. my RH was pretty stable, around 70-72%. There were maybe 10-15 in there for a while. I dont know if the opening of the humidor has broken the seal down a bit but my RH has not been the same for weeks.

I'm just concerned that I am using 70% RH beads and my RH is 59-61% consistently now.

So you had 10-15 in there when it was 70% and now you've got 30 and it's at 61%. That could indicate the sticks you added were low on moisture and sucked up some of the RH but you also say it's been a number of days since you've added them and the beads are still mostly clear (greater than 75%). Keep in mind your hygrometer will be +/- about 2% and the beads themselves are about +/- 2% as well so if you are reading 61% you might actually only be as little as 5% (68% - 63%) off or as much as 15% (72%-57%).

All of that being said, provided when you seasoned your humidor you got stable readings for 2-3 days before putting cigars in, I'd say all signs point to the seal.

 

[2K6TBSS]

Have you considered that maybe the seal around the glass has a leak in it? I have a glass top also, and I was having some minor stability issues (nothing like you are having). I pulled the silicone out and re-sealed the glass top, and all issues went away.

Just be careful if you decide to re-seal the glass. Make sure that you get a silicone that is food safe, I used silicone sealant designed for fish tanks. There have been a lot of members here that have used the same silicone with great results.

 

[Vicster]

I am no expert but one item that I do not believe I read was did you calibrate your hydrometer? You could be chasing the wrong problem.

 

[Cigar FF]

When I used the one-step Boveda pack for calibrations, I was 1-2 points less.

I covered that earlier in the thread but thanks for the suggestion. I tend to overlook the common, basic things from time to time.

As for the seal around the glass being a concern, I absolutely thought about this. I see a lot of advice steering people away from glass tops but I also see people making an argument that they aren't that bad. I had no problems early on and don't know what would fail in terms of a seal in an 8 month period. I can see opening the humidor 20 times per day but there are far more days than less where I don't open it.

I was pondering whether it was even worth it to try the tape test as if its not the lid seal, than it could be the glass or the analog hygro hole. As I mentioned earlier, I think I'll try it just to learn something. Nonetheless, I'm frustrated and disappointed that I have to return a gift. At the same time, I want to be sure I'm not throwing money away on smokes. I guess the moral here is.... I'm hooked! lol

 

[MilesMingusMonk]

I am no expert but one item that I do not believe I read was did you calibrate your hydrometer? You could be chasing the wrong problem.

A common mistake - it is called a hygrometer , which is used to measures relative humidty. (A hydrometer measures specific gravity of a liquid.)

Cigar FF - use sailmakers wax to improve the seal on your humidor. My recommendation : remove the cigars from your humidor and store them in a tupperware. Silicone the glass top and around the worthless analog hygrometer, wax the lip, re-season your humidor using your beads and a shot glass of distilled water inside the humidor. Wait a week+ without obsessing about it. Most importantly, have patience.

 

[{tpc}]

I think I overlooked the analog hygrometer part. Spend $20-$30 and get yourself a decent digital one. Calibrated or not, I wouldn't trust the analog one. It looks pretty and for the most part your friends and family won't even understand if its working correctly, so they will still think it is "cool", only you will know the difference.

I could easily see the possibility that when you had the gel in there that the analog could have been reading spot on, yet be 9-10% over. You remove the gel, add the 70% beads and then it reads 61% and it freaks you out. The reality is that your at 70%. It would make sense at that point that your beads are still 75% clear (or still have humidity yet to be released) because its actually stable.

This would also mean you likely have a decent enough seal. I would do exactly as MMM stated above and add in a good digital hygrometer...I would bet your problems become solved.


I've never used the gel but when I've seen it, it always looked a little too "wet" to me. Plus the analog's calibration could be quite a bit off at either end of the spectrum. Think of it like this, if the low side is 50% and the high side is 80% the spot right in the middle, 65% would be the most accurate spot on the scale. Anything above and below could be a few percentage points off and since we are only talking a few points anyways...well I think you get the picture. Patience is the key though, and don't get too obsessed with it, especially if they are smoking good!

 

[Cigar FF]

I guess I expected (in my head at least) that you all read my previous posts in other threads about this. I apologize for not stating it at the start of this thread but I wound up purchasing a digital hygro (Caliber III) when I first noticed the issue and I did a Boveda 1-step calibration to make sure I couldn't screw anything up. The results were 1-2% less which I noted on the back of the hygrometer. I'm understanding that technology is not perfect but I may have been more concerned about the accuracy had I not read some info here so thanks!

Ironically, the difference between the analog and digital fluctuates throughout the day. Early in the morning, they both read fairly close to one another. By the 5 o'clock hour, my analog reads mid to lower 50's but the digital is steady at 59%-61%. I don't understand that but it's just an interesting observation I thought.

I am going to adhere to MMM's advice and see where that gets me. I went from a crap stock plastic hygro that leaked to the gel which seemed to be great for a while. I've now taken the advice from here and went with the beads. I've done everything but replace the humidor and re-season. And that's where I head.