17 replies to this topic

[mateo]

I was having trouble keeping a steady RH so I thought maybe I didn't season my humidor long enough. Saturday night I wiped it down again with distilled water and left the cloth inside for a day. The RH went up from like 53% to 86%. I took out the beads and hours later the RH reading is still 74%. What can I do to get the RH down. Should I put the beads back in? The humidor is empty right now but I have some cigars on the way I am going to need to store.

[haguc]

Are your beads totally saturated with moisture or are they pretty dry. If they are somewhat dry I would recommend tossing those back in and they should soak up the extra moisture and stabilize your humidity. Using the damp cloth you probably would raise the humidity, but that should be fairly temporary because they wood in the humidor probably hasn't stabilized completely throughout it. If your beads are soaked already then I would say open the door for a little bit as long as you don't live in a crazy humid place and then let it sit for another day or so. The high humidity is pretty common when you use that method and you are trying to season a humidor. Good luck to yuo.

[souldog]

Bah, you'l be fine mateo. 74% isn't actually that high. Toss some stogies in there, and leave it CLOSED for a day. If the humidity spikes up to 80% or something the next day you check it, it's not like your cigars are going to grow mold overnight. I think you'll be fine, you just need some cigars to stabilize it. But that's just my advice...


Here's what I think you will really do: What will happen is that you won't put the cigars in, you'll wait until your humidity is down to 70% or 65%, then you will put your cigars in, check it in a day, and find your rH at 60% or 59%, at which point you will create another thread asking how to get your humidity back up...







Save yourself some time and realize 74% isn't the end of the world, and your cigars won't be ruined if you put them in at this point.

[tone-ny]

Oh my gosh, not another one of these threads!!!!!!!

Read the archives there are tons of the same questions, with very good answers.

[Devil Doc]

Oh my gosh, not another one of these threads!!!!!!!

Read the archives there are tons of the same questions, with very good answers.

Search the Bill Clinton thread. There's even advice on how to prevent the effects of Coriolis force on your cigars. It's a real eye opener.

Doc.

[N2Advnture]

Prior to doing anything, I would suggest this:

1.) Calibrate your digital hygrometer (replace the batteries annually and recalibrate twice year)

2.) To properly season, do not wipe down the interior. Simply place a bowl of water in the humidor and keep it close for 7-14 days so the wood can absorb its capacity.

3.) Once properly seasoned, dry the beads with a hair dryer set on low and put them back in.

I hope this helps

~Mark

[BlindedByScience]

What's your ambient RH? If it's 80% in the house, the humidor is going to have a darn hard time maintaining 65%.

souldog24ca's comment is worth considering; line up 50 experienced guys and ask them where they run their humidor. You'll get answers from 58% - 75%.....and none of them is "wrong". In my cabinet, when the pelts run hard, the RH creeps up to the 70-72% range and my smokes are fine. In the winter with the forced air heat on, the RH in the house drops like a rock and the humidifiers keep the cabinet at a steady 65%.

Lastly, the altitude of the cabinet makes a tremendous difference. In some cases, you'll get much better regulation if you nail the humidor to the ceiling. Of course, you'll have to use duct tape to keep the lid shut but this has solved many problems for guys that just can't get it right.

Good luck - B.B.S.

[4cbln3]

What's your ambient RH? If it's 80% in the house, the humidor is going to have a darn hard time maintaining 65%.

souldog24ca's comment is worth considering; line up 50 experienced guys and ask them where they run their humidor. You'll get answers from 58% - 75%.....and none of them is "wrong". In my cabinet, when the pelts run hard, the RH creeps up to the 70-72% range and my smokes are fine. In the winter with the forced air heat on, the RH in the house drops like a rock and the humidifiers keep the cabinet at a steady 65%.

Lastly, the altitude of the cabinet makes a tremendous difference. In some cases, you'll get much better regulation if you nail the humidor to the ceiling. Of course, you'll have to use duct tape to keep the lid shut but this has solved many problems for guys that just can't get it right.



Good luck - B.B.S.

Yup, helps keep the kids from getting in there and ruining your humidity.

[Flatsix]

I'm in line with everyone else. If the rh is off a little, it's not a big deal. I've had the rh in my humidors go from mid 50s to high 60s without any problems. My experience is that you need mass to keep the rh from bobbing around. Calibrate your meter, season with a bowl of water for a day or two, get a couple of boxes of smokes, some beads and throw them in the humidor. If you're not in a position to buy enough smokes to get you the mass needed, go buy some green florist media and put enough in your box to create some mass. If you've got your humidor about half full, the smokes and beads will absorb the excess rh without ruining them and then you can adjust the rh with a spray of distilled water from time to time. Once you get it dialed in, then add in your more expensive smokes.

Don't overthink it. I've found that over obsessing about the rh will do more harm than good. If you're checking it all the time, you'll most likely overhumidify and split the feet of you smokes. Once your rh settles, if it fluctuates too much or too often then you've got a bad seal on your box.

I keep mine in the 60s and they always smoke great.

Let us know how it works out.

[aavkk]

In addition to what Mark mentioned above, Ive had some success by putting the beads into the freezer to dry them out overnight or for a day or two if they are fully saturated.

[mrrt]

Here's what I think you will really do:

AHAHAHA
Your killin me here Jon.

Art

[Pugman1943]

And in the process of this humidification education, not one of us was a decent enough person to offer to help store these stogies while the problem got worked out. Shame on us for the lack for foresight.

I got room for about 20 if that helps, the rest of you speak up before we have to listen a sermon on ruined gars.

[Jefe de Grupo]

You all should check your hygrometers. Didn't read everything here but I had trouble with my humi and decided to ask a FOG at another site what hygro he used and he turned me on to VWR.com they have lab grade hygros and I found out that the 6 other hygrometers I had were pieces of shit. they were off as much as 12-15 degrees of humidity. Get a really good hygro and see what you come up with they are like 80$ but totally worth the piece of mind knowing you have accurate humidity readings. If anyone wants more info shoot me an email or SS and I will send you the link.

[souldog]

You all should check your hygrometers. Didn't read everything here but I had trouble with my humi and decided to ask a FOG at another site what hygro he used and he turned me on to VWR.com they have lab grade hygros and I found out that the 6 other hygrometers I had were pieces of shit. they were off as much as 12-15 degrees of humidity. Get a really good hygro and see what you come up with they are like 80$ but totally worth the piece of mind knowing you have accurate humidity readings. If anyone wants more info shoot me an email or SS and I will send you the link.

7 Opus X Cigars...or a hygrometer?? 8 Oliva Master Blend 3's...or a hygrometer?? 8 Tatuaje Reservas...or a hygrometer??




I think I'll stay with my Wal-Mart hygrometer. Solid.

[Jonesy]

You all should check your hygrometers. Didn't read everything here but I had trouble with my humi and decided to ask a FOG at another site what hygro he used and he turned me on to VWR.com they have lab grade hygros and I found out that the 6 other hygrometers I had were pieces of shit. they were off as much as 12-15 degrees of humidity. Get a really good hygro and see what you come up with they are like 80$ but totally worth the piece of mind knowing you have accurate humidity readings. If anyone wants more info shoot me an email or SS and I will send you the link.

7 Opus X Cigars...or a hygrometer?? 8 Oliva Master Blend 3's...or a hygrometer?? 8 Tatuaje Reservas...or a hygrometer??




I think I'll stay with my Wal-Mart hygrometer. Solid.

What the hell are you talking about?? Uncle Arnold doesn't allow you to buy Opus out there in Cali for $12 a pop!

Edited by Jonesy, 15 August 2009 - 09:30 AM.

[Not A Nice Person]

Geeez, I don't even use a hygro and have no freakin' idea what my rh is and my cigars smoke just fine. 65% beads and spritz 'em whenever they look a little dry and that's it.

Of course, if I had a big honkin' walkin or 10,000 pre-embargo and HTF cigars to tend, I'd likely be a bit more diligent.

~Boar

[scthornton]

What's your ambient RH? If it's 80% in the house, the humidor is going to have a darn hard time maintaining 65%.

souldog24ca's comment is worth considering; line up 50 experienced guys and ask them where they run their humidor. You'll get answers from 58% - 75%.....and none of them is "wrong". In my cabinet, when the pelts run hard, the RH creeps up to the 70-72% range and my smokes are fine. In the winter with the forced air heat on, the RH in the house drops like a rock and the humidifiers keep the cabinet at a steady 65%.

Lastly, the altitude of the cabinet makes a tremendous difference. In some cases, you'll get much better regulation if you nail the humidor to the ceiling. Of course, you'll have to use duct tape to keep the lid shut but this has solved many problems for guys that just can't get it right.

Good luck - B.B.S.

I agree with BBS here, this is a great answer. Also, as SoulDog mentioned above, you should be okay adding your cigars, if you wait and add cigars which act like sponges, the RH will likely end up dropping. It's not too late to follow Mark's instructions on seasoning your humidor either if your cigars have not arrived yet. Give that a try so the wood inside your humidor properly and evenly hydrates.

[N2Advnture]

And in the process of this humidification education, not one of us was a decent enough person to offer to help store these stogies while the problem got worked out. Shame on us for the lack for foresight.

I got room for about 20 if that helps, the rest of you speak up before we have to listen a sermon on ruined gars.

LOL! I thought about offering but am currently taking care of someone else's entire collection while he relocates to another state (not the first time I've done this for someone I have never met).