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Humidor Problems

B

bursty

Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2005
Messages
126
Hey guys,
I am having some problems keeping a steady humidity level in my 30ct humi. While in the humi with my 65% beads, it would not go above 57-58%. At first I just figured it was due to the temperature drop, as I have seen other threads with stories like that on here lately.

The interesting part is that I took all my cigars, my beads, and my hygro and put it in a tupperware container while I cleaned out my humi and inspected it for leaks. Within hours, the cigars were back up to 66% in the tupperware, which lead me to think there is something wrong with the humi itself. I did the flashlight test and also put a dollar bill to check the seal and I couldnt see anything that would lead me to believe I had some major leaks. Maybe I didnt season it properly? Any other suggestions would be appreciated. :whistling:
 
Its directly related to the temp outside. Happens every year. In fact, I'd bet that some of the vets on this board probably get haile will RH questions every winter.

If you've had the humidor for awhile (summer), and it's just starting to drop in RH. Assuming you are using a decent source for humidty (which you are), and the heat has since kicked on in your house, I'd bet you have a bad seal.

This is speaking solely from my own experience however, I could be terribly wrong.

How did you season it?
 
Well I followed the instructions that came with it for seasoning. It said to put a hygrometer in it along with a shotglass of water and let it sit for 48 hours. Once it reached a steady RH, then its good. But I have also read tips about wiping down the inside of the humi with distilled water to soak it so that it absorbs the water, which my instructions specifically said not to do.

I realize there are a ton of temperature related RH questions lately, and the only reason why I posted mine was because I am keeping a very steady 65% RH in the tupperware now. I guess that means I have a leak in the humi. Any ideas on how to fix it or is it just trash?
 
Seeing all the humidor threads involving beads and proper humidification (I'm guilty too), we should probably have a "Beads and humidity FAQ" on the board for common questions/problems like this. Seems like the same issues are raised and it might help if we had a central location to store common questions and answers.
 
I have the same problem with my 300 count. All summer and fall it held perfect 67% RH, all of a sudden the outdoor temp dropped here for winter and I am having a tough time keeping it at 56-57% RH. I have thoroughly soaked my beads and still it will not go up. Outside of the temp change the only thing that I can come up with is the seal on the humi. Will my smokes be okay for the winter at 55-57% RH?
 
SabresFan said:
I have the same problem with my 300 count.  All summer and fall it held perfect 67% RH, all of a sudden the outdoor temp dropped here for winter and I am having a tough time keeping it at 56-57% RH.  I have thoroughly soaked my beads and still it will not go up.  Outside of the temp change the only thing that I can come up with is the seal on the humi.  Will my smokes be okay for the winter at 55-57% RH?
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Same here...I just e-mailed Viper to ask him if using 75% RH beads will make a difference. I' using 65% now. I looked last night for a large "Tupperware" contianer, big enough to hold my humi with an air tight seal but I didn't find any :( . So I wait for Viper... :D .

************************Warning Newbie Advice below**************************************************************************

As far as your smokes at 55/57 %RH, some members prefer their smokes at an RH of 58/62%, thats a little low for me. I had a smoke last night and the wrapper began to crack. Also there are oils in your smokes which you would not want to have dry out on you, once that happens I don't think you will able to recover your sticks...

C&R
 
...it's not an echo in here; I'm fighting the same thing. Got to believe it's the weather.

I know the RH is really low, as both my wife and are are starting to have to use stuff on our faces for dry skin. She's got a floor standing waterfall, and rather than add water once a week it's been almost daily. Our home doesn't have a humidifier in the central heat system (about 15 years old), and when that baby kicks on for the winter, the house gets really dry. The colder it gets outside, the more the heater runs, and the dryer it gets. My desktop, which usually runs 65-68% with Viper's beads, is struggling to keep 60%. Went through this last year and I've finally come to the conclusion that it's not a "bad seal" per se but rather just about all a wooden box can do. My cooler, on the other hand, is running its normal 68-72% flawlessly. But, it's a big plastic box with a very good seal....

What I do is take the sponge humidifier element that came with the humidor, drench it with distilled water, and put it in the box. Seemed to even things out and the sponge does dry out amazingly fast. Of course, keep in mind that this is the humi I smoke out of, so it gets opened up and "fiddled with" at least once a day, more often on the weekends. You can see the digital hygro drop like a rock as soon as the lid is opened; by the time I get the thing ready to close the hygro has dropped to well below 50% and heading south fast....

My hygro(s) all salt tested on the money, are consistant, and I trust them. With the above treatment, my desktop runs pretty well at 60-61% and frankly I think that's fine. A very well known FOG on this board has more than once recommended 58-60% for smoking so I figure I'm in good company..... :p

C&R - if you are having cracking issues, I have to believe that you have had conditions that are far below 58% for at least a few days. At 60% my smokes are great and I've never had one crack, split, etc. My $00.02....

Good luck, guys - B.B.S.
 
Thanks for the insight BBS, I followed your advice and managed to get the humi RH% up to a satisfactory level by utilizing the humis credos in combination with the 65% beads. Things have been holding steady at about 68% since.
 
Hey everyone (hey SF, just back from the game with Dallas.... great one! Pres Clinton was in the audience to boot!).

Anyways, my finds are that even if you have a good seal on your humidor, a drop in temps will cause the RH% to drop incrimentally too. I've seen (and this is not scientific facts for everyone, but just my own anecdotes) a drop of at least 2 RH% with roughly ever 5 - 6 degree drop. Again, not a scientific fact you can hang your hat on, but something I've noticed in all my sturdy, well sealed humidors (of which I have 5).

What I've taken to doing is bringing up ALL my humidors and putting them in a room where I know the temps will be a bit higher - namely my bedroom. I put most of the humidors under the bed and a few on the shelves. There, the temps show 61% and the RH% is more managable (I like keeping my puros in a 65 - 67% range).

So far, so good!! :thumbs:

For what its worth,
Darren
 
As BBS emntioned, the solution to low rh for bead users us to add an old fashioned foam humidier soaked with distilled water, set it near the beads.
 
bursty said:
Hey guys,
I am having some problems keeping a steady humidity level in my 30ct humi. While in the humi with my 65% beads, it would not go above 57-58%. At first I just figured it was due to the temperature drop, as I have seen other threads with stories like that on here lately.

The interesting part is that I took all my cigars, my beads, and my hygro and put it in a tupperware container while I cleaned out my humi and inspected it for leaks. Within hours, the cigars were back up to 66% in the tupperware, which lead me to think there is something wrong with the humi itself. I did the flashlight test and also put a dollar bill to check the seal and I couldnt see anything that would lead me to believe I had some major leaks. Maybe I didnt season it properly? Any other suggestions would be appreciated. :whistling:
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whats the dollar bill test?????
 
Dollar Bill test is when you use a crisp dollar bill and place it over the seal of your humi, close the lid, and see if it is easy to pull out or fairly snug, lets you know how good the seal is on your humidor :)

hooiserguy said:
bursty said:
Hey guys,
I am having some problems keeping a steady humidity level in my 30ct humi.  While in the humi with my 65% beads, it would not go above 57-58%.  At first I just figured it was due to the temperature drop, as I have seen other threads with stories like that on here lately. 

The interesting part is that I took all my cigars, my beads, and my hygro and put it in a tupperware container while I cleaned out my humi and inspected it for leaks.  Within hours, the cigars were back up to 66% in the tupperware, which lead me to think there is something wrong with the humi itself.  I did the flashlight test and also put a dollar bill to check the seal and I couldnt see anything that would lead me to believe I had some major leaks.  Maybe I didnt season it properly?  Any other suggestions would be appreciated.  :whistling:
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whats the dollar bill test?????
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I have the same exact problem with my 400 count humidor. The humidity level drops to 60% to 63% inside my 400 count footlocker humidor. I always have to recharge my humistats and the 3 plastic tubes with the beads every week to keep the humidity level at around 70%.

I have another question here that concerns my humidor.
I also noticed that each of the 3 plastic tubes that are inside my humidor are giving off a "plastic" smell. The plastic tubes contain the beads inside them and they have been inside my humidor now for over 1 1/2 to 2 months. The plastic smell doesn't smell that bad, but it is present and it's coming from the plastic tubes.

Does anybody else in here who has the plastic tubes with the beads inside their humidor also have this "plastic" smell coming from the plastic tubes? Is this smell going to get inside my cigars and ruin them? I was told by Viper that the smell goes away after 6 months or so. Do you think that my cigars will taste okay with the plastic smell that the tubes are giving off? I am unable to place the beads in any other type of container becuase there is very limited space in my 400 count footlocker humidor. I want to be able to keep the beads inside each of the 3 plastic tubes because of limited space. I would like to know if it's going to be safe to have the tubes with the beads inside them sit inside my humidor even though they are giving off a faint plastic smell?
 
How often do you have to recharge the humistats and the beads that are inside the plastic tubes when the humidoty level drops to 60%-63%?
I have the same problem like the rest in here where the humidity level inside my humidor drops to 60%-63% after just a few days. When this happens I recharge the beads "and" the humistats. I have been recharging both the beads and the humistats every 5 to 7 days depending on when and how long it takes for the humidity level to go below 65%. Is it normal to have to recharge the humistats and the beads every 5 to 7 days like I am doing here?

I just recharged the beads and the humistats last night. When I checked the humidity level inside my humidor earlier this evening (24 hours later), it was only at 65%. I have the 70% beads inside each of the 3 plastic tubes. Plus, I have 2 humistats which originally came with the humidor. Do you think that it's a good idea to keep recharging the humistats and the beads every few days? That's what I am doing right now in order to keep the humidity level at around 70%. The problem that I am having is that the humidity level is NOT reaching the 70% level. The maximum that it's reached is at 67%. Is the cold weather causing this to happen?

Also, the humistats look dry when I check them. As for the beads, I am unsure how long they take to dry up after being recharged. I would like to find this out. Does the distilled water stay inside the beads for a very long time even when the humistats are currently drying up quickly like they are right now? Do I really need to recharge the 70% beads every 4 to 7 days like I am currently doing right now?

We have been having very cold weather here now for 2 weeks. The heat inside my house is computerized and it's set to no more than 63 degrees. The heat goes on and off every 6 hours, otherwise it will go on whenever the temperature goes below 63 degrees. It doesn't get hot inside the house and it doesn't get too cold either.
 
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