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Can't get humidity high enough

C

christ0pher

hispanohablante
Joined
Jan 5, 2005
Messages
155
Well, I have a little problem.

Had this humidor for ~4 months..First 3 months it worked good, 67-70 F at 69-71%...
Last month or so it dropped off to 60%ish, so I tried added more (distilled) water.
(old school sponge-type humidifier like this http://www.bargainhumidors.com/bh/itemdeta...?SKU=HUM-25KIT)

Didn't change over a week. I've tried added more every week, and the sponge seems to "absorb" it, but there is no change with hygrometer reading. It's a Western brand "Caliber" model.

Could the winter temps have something to do with it? Ambient inside temp I keep it around here has dropped from 70-ish to around 64 or 63, I like it cold in the winter.
I figured this wouldn't change the h1umidor though because it's closed up and in a closet.


Do I need to change the thermostat back, or does that big of a change even make a difference?
 
I can honestly say do the "Salt Test" on the hygrometer first. I can not remember exactly who posted it but it is listed here, in great detail, how to do it. This will tell you how much or if the hygrometer is off.

Is the sponge dried out completely each time you are adding water? I thought that I was having a "leakage" problem so I went ahead and added a sealing weather stripping to my humidor. Just a thought.

I would presume that you have already read the following recommended posts but if not I think they will help guide you. If you read the post I had "Humidity Problems/Beads vs Hygrometer" you can see what I went through and all the great suggestions that were made. I would also recommend reading the post "Good Digital Hygrometers".

Any other suggestions by the more experienced?
 
Winter air is much drier than spring/summer. It seems to me like you are opening up your humi too often. Nice to look at but once a day should be enough unless you smoke more than one a day. :cool:
 
The main thing to remember is that during the winter you are running heaters, they dry the air. If you have a fireplace, or Gas/fire type heaters, it gets worse. I had that problem with the Sponge Humidifier as well. It was imposible to regulate during the winter. I switched to Climmax Beads and they work great. When my RH starts to drop, I put a jigger of water in the humi and let the beads recharge for a day or two then take it out. I end up needing to do that maybe twice a year.
 
Cold air holds less water than warm air, making it harder to humidify the air. The beads seem to be working great here in Milwaukee, but my apt is closer to 70. If they don't solve the problem, I'd bring up the temp a couple degrees, that may help alot.
 
There's nothing wrong with 60%. I wouldn't worry about it. You'll probably find your cigars smoke better at that RH anyway ;)
 
Wow ! Thanks for the replies..Salt tested my hygro last night..it is off by 4%, which means the cigars have been at 56% for a bit..I will get some beads and try that out.

Thanks!
 
Also, if your sticks were at a lower humidity for an extended amount of time, they will absorb moisture for a while, and coupled with the aforementioned dry heat and cold-air moisture saturation, you could be adding water for a while until they come up to an acceptable (to you) RH.
 
I had the same problem. In the summer and fall, the foam worked fine, but I had to switch to beads when winter hit.

If you need some for your desktop humi, PM me with your address and I'll send you some. They're half 65 and half 70......
 
During this time of year I added A shot glass full of solution or distilled to the humi, If you have the room. At least until you get the beads.
 
Okay, doing that now...another question:

I understand when I get the beads, I will put them in the humi with the credo device (and perhaps a shot glass) to get them humidified. my question is, do I ONLY put water in the credo or is it okay to add a 50/50 solution of h20/pg, or does it matter?

edit: spelling
 
With beads, it doesn't matter. I "seasoned" or activated my beads using pure distilled h2o, but for the shot glass, since it is the evaporation that does the work, I use plain Tap Water
 
I had the same problem and I just started running a room humidifier to make sure the humidor wasn't just taking in cold dry air and since doing this I consistetly keep the humidor at 70.
 
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