Arrrggghhhh! Cursed Humis?

[SiShong]

OK, so I did search and nothing really stood out that would answer my question.

I have multiple Humidors, 2 that hold about 50 sticks, 2 that hold 25, and 1 that holds about 10, but I keep Lanceros in it in so realistically it holds about 20.

The humidity was great at first, after seasoning them, for a very long time, almost 2 weeks, the humidity stayed consistant at 65 for a long time, just using the standard old humi devices that come with them, I have digi's but they kinda suck (battery keeps moving and turning off), that's what I get for buying cheap, but that's not the issue. Hell I had a problem with the humidity being too high at first, the sticky stuff on the back of the velcro or the metal for the magnets wouldn't stick, and still wont, even when I put new ones on. This is like my Humi's are just cursed all of a sudden!

Recently (well a little over a month ago) it seems the humidity dropped to like 50% and I can tell it's not just the digi's messing up, I can feel it in the sticks, and a couple have cracked, and I've done my best to pay attention.

The standard humi devices won't accept any more moisture, no matter how long I try to soak the dang things in distilled water (which was a final desperation attempt) and they don't do squat to raise the humidity, I've done a bunch of stuff I read on here to make sure the humis are sealed like they should be, but come on, I live in Chicago, and the heat in my apartment is from a radiator that never seems to be on, but the temp in the Humis is staying put, it's just the humidity, I cannot, for the life of me, get it up. I don't want anymore casualties, as I'm too broke to replace most of them, lol. So What is my next step? Beads and jars, and gels are great from what I hear, but I worry that they wont be enough, and that I'll blow my wad on them and have poor results, plus I can't fit anything like that in, unless the beads are in a bag and sit on top of the dang sticks somehow, I was thinking about taking some old tubes from my B&M and punching some holes in them and filling them with beads, but then the question is, hoaw many, and how much would it cost to get enough beads to fix 5 humidors all with the exact same problem. I mean I know the weather plays havoc onSticks but this is ridiculous, all 5 humis and humi devices flake out at the same time? Really?

I know the sticks are absorbing whatever moisture they can, and at this point, they are pulling everything they can, I have limisted space, and can't get a new humi yet, so what do I do, I have 170 or so sticks that I would like to keep, they seem to still smoke ok, but I can taste and feel the loss of humidity.

Any suggestions or advice?

 

[Kingantz]

What's the humidity in your home? If it's freezing cold out, it could be the humidity has dropped and is having an effect on your humis. If it were me, I'd get a tupperware container, put the smokes in it with whatever humi device you have, and go to re-seasoning the humis. Then once holding the RH good, put in beads. If it were me.

I take it you're using the plastic rectangular things with the foam in them that came with the humis? If so, open them up, take the foam crap out, get a piece of screen wire or something similar to cover up the openings, get some 65% beads, pour them in, spray 'em down, close it up, and put it in your humis. Or, just buy the replacement bead case that is basically identical.

 

[MadMonk]

What Greg said. Some folks habitually recharge their Humidors at the start of Winter. I find it helps a great deal.

 

[tone-ny]

Do a search out there, there is a treasure trove of info. Greg also gave you some helpful info.

Most of the problems related to fluctuating humidity, have to do with seasonal disorder. Much like humans, changes in the environment, make the humidors go crazy. If you have forced hot air heating, radiant baseboard heat or many of the other heating systems, they all zap away a lot of moisture from the house. Your humidor is a source of moisture and that is where you the fluctuations start. Invest in a small room humidifier to be in the room with the humidors, that should help you out. Another is a coolidor, the humidity in those are very constant and are not subject to the issues that wood humidors go through. As in all things YMMV.

 

[tomthirtysix]

Before you do anything else, get some hygrometers that work. You said yourself they suck. Yes, you can feel the difference in your sticks now, but until you have even an idea of what the humidity is inside, you're spinning your wheels.

 

[souldog]

I take it you're using the plastic rectangular things with the foam in them that came with the humis? If so, open them up, take the foam crap out, get a piece of screen wire or something similar to cover up the openings, get some 65% beads, pour them in, spray 'em down, close it up, and put it in your humis. Or, just buy the replacement bead case that is basically identical.

Hey SiShong, here's a picture documentation of basically the same thing I did that Gregory here is describing. Hopefully it will help you out and you can get an idea of what you need to do:

http://www.cigarpass.com/forums/index.php?...st&p=648774

It's funny what you said about this:

I don't want anymore casualties, as I'm too broke to replace most of them, lol. So What is my next step? Beads and jars, and gels are great from what I hear, but I worry that they wont be enough, and that I'll blow my wad on them and have poor results

because, I basically said the same exact thing here when I was taking the jump to Heartfelt beads:

I have some Heartfelt Industry beads on order and am hoping for the best. I basically don't want to spend a whole ton of money on products that don't work, but I am more than willing to spend a reasonable amount of coin to make sure my investments (AKA "my sticks") are properly stored.

I can just say that 10 months later, I am a very satisfied individual. Just order a half pound of beads for 18 BUCKS and work with that. I will second Greg's suggestion of Tupperware containers, since it doesn't seem like you have the space for a cooler. I agree with everyone else that when the temps are dropping, your cigars' humidity follows suit. It happens... Good luck to ya! :thumbs:

 

[cpprhead59]

I will echo many of the same sentiments the others have mentioned. I have seen drops in humidity in my humi's over the last six weeks as the heat in my home has come on. I have had to re-charge my beads at least once a week due to these drops. The beads I have in my humi's, were basically pure white, showing that they did not have any moisture in them. The ambient humidity in the basement where my smokes are kept, has gone from its usual 55% to near 30% with the heat on.

I am trying to fix this by purchasing a coolerdor, more beads and then using weather stripping around the cooler to improve the seal. The cooler is almost ready to go and I will be putting a combo of my 150ct and 25ct humi's in it as well as empty boxes.

Good luck.

 

[SiShong]

I do want to stress that I did try the search function, and I did find a wealth of information, I just couldn't find something that addressed everything specifically, I'm a details kinda guy. I'll dig some more though, although you guys pretty much told me what I knew I would probably have to do, just didn't want to do, lol!

Going from a humi that seemed to almost have been over-seasoned, to the point of nothing sticky staying sticky because of the humidity, and having to work to bring the % down when last year, to not being able to get anywhere near ever raising the % this year. It's crazy. I really hope there isn't a little gremlin sitting in my cabinet, opening my humis when I'm gone and drinking the liquid out of the humi devices. The fact that I can't get them to accept any more water bothers me too, so they are saturated, and never seem to lose there saturation, but the humidity never seems to do anything but go down, and the seal on the humis is pretty good.

Thanks for all the replies, looks like I need to get some stuff done, to get this stuff fixed up. This is just annoying, as the were fine before and yeah, I know I was expecting a plunge in the winter, but not like this.

No seeing as My humi devices are just leaning against the sides, or something along that line, because I can't get them to successfully stick to the top of the lid. I've read that having the beads, sitting next to the sticks and even touching them would not be too big of a deal, so long as they weren't too damp. Now would it work to buy 5 3x5 mesh bags and just fille them with beads and put them where I have the humi devices now? That would be my first choice of a solution, as I'm just sick of these humi devices and want to throw them away and be done with them, I was recharging them 2 times a week when winter started, and before that, once a month, and this still screwed up, lol!

The hygrometers, all say my house is at about an average of 35% the only problem with them, is not their accuracy, I did test them, but with the fact that the batteries seem to move and disconnect, they give me accurate readings and when I rotate them, the readings in each humi stay consistant, so yes they suck for the battery problem, but when they work they are accurate.

Ideally, I would love a coolidor, or a vinotemp thing, there is just no way I can afford it any time soon, I do web-design and I'm between projects, so maybe in a few months, right now, I'm worried about buying a couple $6 cigars and what that will do to my budget, lol, so I really want to save the sticks I have! But that is definately my ideal plan for the future, it's just getting the sticks I have to survive till that point.

Again, Thanks everyone for your suggestion, I'll do what I can!

 

[Gonnagal]

Definitely some sound advice in this thread, sorry to here about your humis Sishong. Some sound advice that I read on this forum, not sure who said it but it made me totally rethink the way I use to keep humidity in my humidor. We spend a TON of money on the sticks we love, yet we'll use the cheapest possible way to keep them stable. Which is of NO WAY what your doing, sounds like your just having bad luck, minus you saving you have poor hygrometers. Just some food for thought that I really took to heart.