How often to add water to foam element

[Toaster]

I've got 3 desktop humidors, 1 "tuperware-idor" and 1 55gal coolerdor.

My coolerdor stays at near 70% all the time, with little to no intervention from me. (this is my long term storage stuff... I put stuff in here to age, its got some isom, some premium, some crap, some weed , you know- its a mixture of stuff )


My 100 stick humidor where I keep only ISOMs, with 2 "burn safe" triangle foam filled elements, is a little bit of a jumper- from 65'ish to 75'ish- but generally it runs a little dry- which is ok, since that seems to work out a little better in my opinion.

My 75 stick desktop, I keep in the entertainment center cabinet, next to my cigar aficianado's, and basically houses mild and flavored cigars, which I rarely open, and only has a round hockey puck (foam filled) element, stays at 70% like a rock! And you can tell by the cigars inside- they are near perfect. (same I don't smoke mild or flavored cigars anymore! )

My 150 stick desktop with 2 square foam elements, and a tray on the bottom for lighters, cutters, etc. This is where I keep my domestic premium stuff- I'll admit I'm in and out of this box alot- but I have a hard time keeping it at 70%. My local herfers tell me to add water every couple of months as needed... THAT'S NOT GONNA CUT IT. I add water to these 2 elements about every 30 days, and at the end of those 30 days- the RH can drop to as low as 60%! I usually add when I see it approaching 63% (since I figure 65% is probably near normal)...

I've tried soaking the elements in water- I know you're not supposed to- and you're supposed to only fill them about 50% so they can remove excess humidity, but I don't seem to have any excess humidity! All my elements are foam filled, they've all been replaced with new florist foam, all have been PG'd (50/50 mix), and I only use distilled water (of course).

I've got digital elements, and have done the salt calibration test- which I think is a waste of time- btw, but they are all a little off, which I marked on them with a sticker, and of course I'm taking that into consideration when I read the RH level... so my questions are:

What is the proper amount of water to add to a foam element?
Full? half? a few teaspoons? etc...


How often to you add water? do you add it by a set system or just watch the RH and go from there? (I'm adding like every first week of each month- almost like clockwork).

Any advice would be appreciated...

Here's a couple of things I know will come up: On the troubled humidor, the seals are good, I did use a bowl of water for the first 30+ hours- and actually re-did this about 3 months or so ago, I have tried the dollar bill trick on the seals.

Ok- Shoot.... :thumbs:

 

[Phil]

bro! If your in and out of the humidor a LOT then your going to need to fill up the credo MORE often!

If this is your MISC. humidor (wich it seems to be) you need to realize that lots of smokes may be dry when you put them in there. In that case they are going to SOAK up all the moisture from the credo and U are going to have to add water or 50/50 to it a lot.


My suggestion would be to try and use verns beeds and maybe buy a box of cigars as a "buffer" for THAT humidor.


Hope that helps U a bit

 

[sir-smokes-a-lot]

i usu. fill mine every two weeks or so as I have a few that are dry that are currently next to it.
that, and i go in and out few times a week.

:thumbs:

what works for me is a shot glass of dist. water.
it does a good job of keeping things level. and the foam vents can be opened or closed to help keep things under control.

 

[Wascal]

This time of the years is hard on Humis also. Due to the heat being on and drying the air. Everytime you open that humi your letting in very dry air. I find I'm adding water about every 2 weeks to my smoking humi. The coolerdors are so air tight you shouldn't notice much difference.