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New humidor

K

Kenny

New Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2016
Messages
5
I am having issues with my humidor. I got a new humidor for Xmas and I seasoned it with distilled water and did the Salt test with my hygrometer and the humidity will not rise above 50. I am using the black ice gel and still will not rise above 50% humidity. It's a desk top humidor that holds up to 50 cigars. Any advice or tips would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
-How did you season it?
-Did you check the seal?
-What is the highest the hygrometer has read, i.e., first reading after determining the humidor was seasoned, as well as what was your deciding factor that it was, in fact, seasoned?
-what color is the humidor? :D
 
I wiped it down with distilled water and waited for 24 hrs and after it was dried the humidity was up to 90%. Then I added my cigars and the black ice humidifier device and from that point the humidity dropped to 50% and thats what it's reading now. I'm from pa so maybe it's the weather.
 
If it was truly seasoned (deeper into the wood), it would not have dropped so quickly. Without seeing if you have true cedar, a veneer, etc. I'd say to place a shallow bowl of distilled water for 2 weeks.
Check the bowl of water after a week to make sure you don't have to add more water. Put in safe place to prevent spills, etc. Then take a reading and see what is going on. Google how to check the lid seal. If you go two weeks, and the seal checks ok, and it still drops like a rock, it's not absorbing enough moisture, i.e., crap humidor. You might then have to add more humidifiers to keep it at your target humidity. If you just did the wipe thing, and running the heat, it's double trouble, imo.
 
Wiping it down lightly only speeds up the seasoning process a bit, it isn't the seasoning process on its own. It takes more time than 24 hours to season a humidor, even one of that size. I recommend the wipe down, but then placing the humidification device in there alone for a couple of days. I have even added a small bowl of distilled water in there to sit alone. Allow the wood to really season and soak in the humidification. Your not going to get a good feel of what the humidor is really stable at for a few days.

Keep in mind when you add cigars, if not previously humidified, they will soak up your RH like sponges. Which could be the reason for the drop in RH as well. In short...I just don't think you seasoned it well enough. Could be a seal, yes, but until you've let the RH stabilize over a few days you may not know that for sure.
 
Yes, what brickhouse said. I was just going to add that about the cigars. What are you keeping them in while seasoning the humidor?
 
I keep them in the plastic wrap. I'll just redo the whole process again.
 
I would also recommend that you check to make sure your hygrometer is calibrated and accurate. If I knew how to put the thread link in here I would, but a search for "salt test " or something similar would probably work. If you can't find it, I would be happy to write the procedure for you.
 
I always do the "WET RAG" test.

The Towel Test:
Dampen a towel (not dripping wet, but good and damp), then wrap the hygrometer in the towel for 30 to 45 minutes. Then unwrap it and read the humidity (quickly). If your hygrometer is perfectly calibrated (few are) it will be reading exactly 100% humidity. Most likely, it will be reading somewhere between 80 and 90%. At this point, whatever the hygrometer reads, you can either set the needle to exactly 100% immediately after the test, or if you're a little lazier, make a mental note of how far over or under the actual humidity is from the reading from your hygrometer.
 
bugg4672 said:
I always do the "WET RAG" test.

The Towel Test:
Dampen a towel (not dripping wet, but good and damp), then wrap the hygrometer in the towel for 30 to 45 minutes. Then unwrap it and read the humidity (quickly). If your hygrometer is perfectly calibrated (few are) it will be reading exactly 100% humidity. Most likely, it will be reading somewhere between 80 and 90%. At this point, whatever the hygrometer reads, you can either set the needle to exactly 100% immediately after the test, or if you're a little lazier, make a mental note of how far over or under the actual humidity is from the reading from your hygrometer.
Click to expand...

Bugg, I'm not trying to bust your balls too much, but I have never heard of such a thing. Where did you get this from? No offense, but this seems like very poor advice. Care to site your source on this?
 
Brickhouse said:
Bugg, I'm not trying to bust your balls too much, but I have never heard of such a thing. Where did you get this from? No offense, but this seems like very poor advice. Care to site your source on this?
Click to expand...
This is a very old method, used years ago before digital hygrometers.
 
MadMonk said:
This is a very old method, used years ago before digital hygrometers.
Click to expand...

But even with analog hygrometers we use the salt test for the accuracy. I don't see the accuracy in the 100% humidity test.
 
When it comes to really knowing what your hygrometer is reading, I don't think you beat the Bovida Cal Kit:

http://www.amazon.com/Boveda-One-Step-Hygrometer-Calibration-Kit/dp/B000A3UBLA

For the price of a decent cigar, you can know, without question, what your hygrometer's accuracy is. Salt test is OK if done properly, but this solves the whole problem and removes any question, IMHO.
 
Brickhouse said:
Bugg, I'm not trying to bust your balls too much, but I have never heard of such a thing. Where did you get this from? No offense, but this seems like very poor advice. Care to site your source on this?
Click to expand...

I will say that having done a little more research I do see some instructions using the towel method. I hadn't seen that before. I still think it is rather inaccurate, but it's there. I'm with Tom. I'd go with Boveda as a primary, salt test as secondary, and I guess the towel method last.
 
Brickhouse said:
But even with analog hygrometers we use the salt test for the accuracy. I don't see the accuracy in the 100% humidity test.
Click to expand...
It was probably before knowledge of salt testing really took off and spread. I'm going to guess I learned it from one of the instruction sheets from one of my old desktops. Also, could have been via ole Lew Rothman.

Hell yea, go with what Tom said. Why go backwards?
 
Brickhouse said:
Bugg, I'm not trying to bust your balls too much, but I have never heard of such a thing. Where did you get this from? No offense, but this seems like very poor advice. Care to site your source on this?
Click to expand...
No problem heres a few just let me know if you need more. ;)

http://www.cigarone.com/cuban-cigar-culture/calibrating-humidor.php

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Cigars-2143/2008/6/Calibrating-Hygrometer.htm

http://www.cigargeeks.com/community/boxx/knowledgebase.asp?iid=21&Cat=1

http://www.kingofthehouse.com/hygrometer/

http://www.cigarsinternational.com/cigar-101/article/29/salt-test
 
BlindedByScience said:
When it comes to really knowing what your hygrometer is reading, I don't think you beat the Bovida Cal Kit:

http://www.amazon.com/Boveda-One-Step-Hygrometer-Calibration-Kit/dp/B000A3UBLA

For the price of a decent cigar, you can know, without question, what your hygrometer's accuracy is. Salt test is OK if done properly, but this solves the whole problem and removes any question, IMHO.
Click to expand...

I usually recheck mine once every 3 months, I have way to much money in my humidor not to. I agree with the Bovida Packs but when money is tight or you wanna do a quick check you cant beat a salt or rag test. I prefer the rag test since it quicker. but 2 of the 4 times I check mine each year it is with the Bovida Pack.
 
bugg4672 said:
No problem heres a few just let me know if you need more. ;)

http://www.cigarone.com/cuban-cigar-culture/calibrating-humidor.php

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Cigars-2143/2008/6/Calibrating-Hygrometer.htm

http://www.cigargeeks.com/community/boxx/knowledgebase.asp?iid=21&Cat=1

http://www.kingofthehouse.com/hygrometer/

http://www.cigarsinternational.com/cigar-101/article/29/salt-test
Click to expand...

Thank you much, I appreciate it. I hadn't see this before or maybe just ignored it after I became overly familiar with the salt test. At any rate, it appears to be an accepted method, even if outdated. Which would make the advice/suggestion you gave just fine. I retract my "poor advice" comment, and have learned something today.
 
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