Humidor Issues

[Cigar FF]

About 6 months ago, my wife purchased a desktop humidor for me. I don't think it was anything fancy but it does have a window on top. I have been unable to locate a manufacturer name on it. (I did try to add a picture of it as my avatar but I was unable to load it. Not sure if there is a restriction for new members but that is for another thread) It came with a standard sponge humidification device and an analog hygrometer. The humidification device wound up leaking all over so I returned it and the guy gave me another device with the gel in it. Once filled with distilled water, the humidity was around 75%-78%. It finally balanced out around 68%-73%. I did not salt test for accuracy (never knew about it until recently) but I did season the humidor with a sponge and distilled water.

I recently added about 15 cigars to the humidor. Prior to that, I had maybe 10-15 in there. I noticed a sharp decline in the RH which now sits around 60% or even sub 60%. What could be the cause of this? I'm pretty sure it's a 100 count humidor as I have plenty of space for more cigars. I know the winter season brings drier air but I didn't expect the RH to drop this much. I thought it was b/c I added some new cigars but the RH never bounced back.

Does the gel go bad after a few months? I've refilled it a few times and the RH will go up for a short time and than drop back down. I have to check to make sure it seals fully but it appears it does. I seasoned and let it sit for 6-7 days. Is that enough time? Should I re-season? If I do re-season, what should I do with my cigars to keep them from going bad?

Lastly, I've wanted to go with a digital hygrometer. I searched the forums and the most recent discussion I saw about them dated back to 2006. I'm sure a few things have changed and some new devices have entered the market. Any recommendations for a good digital hygrometer that is reasonably priced?

TIA

 

[chiefmd]

Hmm. You could re-season it for a week. You can put your cigars in a Tupperware with humidity. Chances are your cigars that you put in there were not at proper humidity and just needed time to acclimate. When you put new cigars in most likely they arent at proper humidity. This is why people let them sit for a while. I use the boveda bags. Some use beads. I'm not sure how well the gel works. I just know I haven't had any mold problems or anything with the boveda bags. I don't even need a hygrometer because they are fairly consistent. At 4 bucks or so a boveda bag is probably not the most efficient use of a humidity device though. souldog recommended one time that I check the seal of a humidor with a dollar bill. You could do that as well.

 

[Cigar FF]

I read about the dollar bill test earlier. I plan on trying it tomorrow. I don't think it's a seal issue b/c when i close the top, it closes softly. It doesn't hurt to check though. I took the cigars out of the shipping box and let them sit for a day before putting them into the humidor. I refilled the gel device prior to putting them in. Originally, I thought that the new cigars were not at proper humidity like you suggest but it's been about a week and the RH is at 58% or so. That is if the hygrometer is accurate.

I'm still pretty new to this so I am still learning about all of the accessories, what they do, how they work etc. I have a ways to go yet. I am happy to finally have a humi in my house and have some cigars to choose from. I want to make sure they stay well nourished though.

 

[Light this!]

Cigar FF, the hygrometers that come with humidors are garbage. Get yourself a digital hygrometer and you can problably pick up a Xixar one for about $20 bucks. Do yourself a favor and also pick up a Boveda One-Step Hygrometer Calibration kit. This is much simpler than the salt test. Start here and know what you are getting for readings. Lastly, I'm pretty sure that this has probably been discussed at great lengths - try searching here at CP.

 

[Cigar FF]

Cigar FF, the hygrometers that come with humidors are garbage. Get yourself a digital hygrometer and you can problably pick up a Xixar one for about $20 bucks.

I definitely plan to do this. I have been looking around the internet and the Caliber III seems to have quite a few good reviews. I tried searching here and I guess my search was too broad but the last digital hygrometer discussion that I found was from 2006.

Do yourself a favor and also pick up a Boveda One-Step Hygrometer Calibration kit. This is much simpler than the salt test. Start here and know what you are getting for readings.

Is there still a shop at CP? I'd like to support the cause if that is possible.

I will try another search and see how others resolved their humidor issues. One can only learn so much in a day...haha

 

[tomthirtysix]

Before going too crazy trying to resolve issues, you may not have any issues. As Light this! said, the analog hygros are pretty much useless. You can pick it up and it will have a 10% swing in humidity just from the motion. Get yourself a good digital hygro, calibrate it, then check the humidity inside your humidor.

While you're waiting for the hygro to arrive, check this thread out for another probable reason as to the humidity drop:

www.cigarpass.com/forumsipb/index.php?showtopic=54228

 

[Cigar FF]

Well I'm glad to hear that the analogs can suck that much. I knew they weren't always accurate but I didn't expect a huge swing. I've read so many conflicting reviews with digital hygro's that I am unsure what to get. I am not that anal about the fluctuations but I'm sitting at 58% and I just loaded a dozen + new cigars in there so I'm slightly concerned. I want my smokes to last and not disintegrate when I light it...lol

 

[Gonz]

This may be totally loony, but if the cigars were dry to begin with, will they have sucked up the humidity and lowered your reading? Also, are you sure the humidification device you have in there is big enough for the size humidor you have? If it's too small, and you live in a dry climate (seems like everywhere now it's winter), then it will seem like it constantly needs recharging, especially if you're in and out of there often grabbing smokes.

 

[broblues]

Get a digital hygrometer and perform a salt test. Calibrate and then see what you have.

 

[Cigar FF]

This may be totally loony, but if the cigars were dry to begin with, will they have sucked up the humidity and lowered your reading? Also, are you sure the humidification device you have in there is big enough for the size humidor you have? If it's too small, and you live in a dry climate (seems like everywhere now it's winter), then it will seem like it constantly needs recharging, especially if you're in and out of there often grabbing smokes.

I first thought it was b/c the new cigars I bought sucked the moisture out. Prior to putting them in the humidor, I refilled the gel humidification device to prevent a drop. A week + later, the humidity is still down and I've kept the gel topped off. I was wondering if the gel goes bad after some time.

I would imagine the analog humidification device is the right size as it is embedded in the outside of the humidor. What I do not know for sure is the capacity of the humidor and at which point I need to add a humidification device. I've tried uploading the humidor as my avatar and it wont allow me to use it. I'm guessing it's a size restriction.

I am going to get the Boveda salt test kit and a digital hygrometer this week. That is my starting point and we'll see what happens from there.

Thanks all for the advice. I re-read the Winter moodiness thread again and I'm sure that has something to do with what I'm experiencing. I'm just wondering why it's dropped to below 60% in there and staying.

Edit: Just thought I'd share what I think may be happening. Being that in the winter months the sun is not as high in the sky, I just noticed that the cantilever of my roof no longer catches the sunlight therefore, the sun now sits on my humidor for more than an hour a day. Granted it's not that warm, I'm sure coupled with a few other things, this contributed to my RH being below 60%. I have since moved it and will keep an eye on the RH. I also purchased a digital hygrometer (Western Caliber III) and Boveda 1-step calibration kit. My next step is to get a new humidification device.

 

[Cigar FF]

Update: Finally got my digital hygro and the Boveda one-step calibration kit (75%). Being that I worked overnight, it's been in there for over 48 hours and I noticed that for most of the time, it sat at 73%. After 15-18 hours, I saw that the temp was down to 67° so I moved it to a warmer room of the house. The humidity was steady at about 72% for a bit and now, I noticed it's back up at 74%-75%. I think it's safe to say that my hygro is -2% but at least I know I have something accurate. Is it normal for the RH and temp to bounce around so much?

My beads should be arriving shortly and I should be in business. Thanks again for the guidance and wealth of information in these forums. I am glad I chose this community and am most appreciative of the advice.Update: I decided to try to calibrate my analog hygro just to see how far off it was and when pilling it out of the front of the humi I noticed that the hole goes straight into the hygrometer. No real seal or barrier therefore, I think that is part of my RH woes. I also did the dollar bill test and 2 of the 3 sides held a weak seal despite when closing or opening the lid, it does not open easily or slam shut. I think I'll be looking for a replacement this week. The analog hygro was only a few points off from my digital reading.