So after the few bombs and cigars I had bought I had to go from tupperware to a small cooler. Go ahead and laugh. Anyway Its a smaller cooler on wheels ( just for temp storage until my humidor is here ) and the humidity in there is not constant i dont think. I have 16oz of beads and i did the watering instructions as on the bottle. Since the beads are 65 percent I really dont need a digital hydrometer right? Since the beads take in and put out humidity at 65 percent? I do have one in there though. Reason Im asking is because I did the salt test and im not sure how accurate I did it. I'm at work now so I'm going to have my girlfriend let me know what its at here shortly. I put them in there about 4pm est. So 3 hours later I'm not sure if the humidity leveled out or not yet. I did put one cigar box in there too. Its around 75 to 100 cigars. Im just worried about screwing them all up...

Say the humidiy goes a little low and then goes a little high and then stablizes from then on. Will they go bad or the longer they sit they will go back to a perfect smoke.
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You are worrying too much imo, brudda. Cigars are much tougher than they are given credit for. If they are in a good cooler, don't worry about them. The humidity will usually rise slightly when you introduce new, wetter cigars in there but they will stabilize over the next few days to a week. When you open the lid, the humidity will go down but when you close the lid, it will stabilize shortly after you close it. Don't fret and enjoy the smoke. :-)
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Oh ok I thought these were delicate. Or atleast I got that vibe from the way some people talk
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You don't want the RH to get real high because the wrappers may split. But they can survive minor fluctuations.
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Like I was saying since the beads are 65percent then in theory I wuldnt need a hydrometer right? Since the beads regulate up and down to get the humidity at 65 percent?
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In theory right but all else wrong. Unfortunately it is not a perfect world. It takes a week or more to level out and if you are opening and closing it very much it might never level out. It take a lot of patience and like a new baby you have to learn to not be too nervous about perfection.:-)
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Just talked to my girl friend and she said its 65 inside of it. SO maybe the salt test didnt work right and it is infact an accurate hydrometer. Since the beads are 65 and meter says 65 Im going with that for now.
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This reminds me when I started my first humi. Don't worry your stick will be fine. Don't do like I did, openning the box every 15 minutes to see if the humidity is OK, this is what screwing everything up.
Enjoy the hobby buddy and don't worry.

Frenchie
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Um, if the salt test didn't work, how do you know if it's accurate? And it's hygrometer. :-)
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I swear I think you guys found one of my first threads from the old site and are making fun of me... Even the misspelling was in there!!!

Like others have said though brother... just relax and enjoy the smokes. It will be a while before you decide what RH you like your smokes at anyway. Until then anywhere between 50-70 is fine!!
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I salt test for 24-48 hours. :-) After that if it says 65% then you are low. If it says 75% then you are on and no adjustment needed.
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I used the Bovida calibration kit on both an older trusted hygrometer and the new one I just put in my brand new cabinet. Both were within a couple of degrees of 75% and both read about 65% give or take a couple of degrees in my ity bitty 12 bottle vino and my new cabinet humidor. I got to trust the beads and for the life of me can't figure out why I even bother looking at the hygrometers since you can look at the beads and tell when they need water added. In my cabinet since I'm still breaking it in I also have the small Hydra for active humidification. All of this info I learned from reading the posts of the experienced BOTL on this site.
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On cigarsmony.com it says 12hrs. Ok Ill do the 24 hr test and see what it says.
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I have never been able to do it inside 24hrs with the salt test. It has be a bit quicker with the boveda kit. So your plan is good.

Frenchie
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My salt tests always seem to level off within 12 hrs. Seems to vary from person to person, though I'd guess ambient environment plays a role somehow.

Keep in mind you may need to check your beads more often once we hit the dry winter season here in MD. My humis were a pain in the ass to deal with until I eventually gave up and put 'em in a cooler.
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/\ Oh hai fellow Marylander
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That's me, I never salt test for longer than 3-4 hours, MAYBE overnight.
But I am also not telling people how to do it right. That would be irresposible of me.
But don't get confused either. When you do it right, your Hygro should read 75%.
Adjust to THAT number. It only gets to read 65% when it gets PUT somewhere else.
Not that you said anything about that, but people will read the thread here and might
get twisted up. Or I might twist them up, lol. I have not had a hygro in any of my ice chests
for 6-7 years. I trust my beads and keep them supplied with water. I also find that in my ice
chests, there is rarely a need for white beads to absorb moisture. I always lose. Cause it's a
dang ice chest. So I keep em wet most of the time. I do leave a few whities, but it's mostly
a waste of time for my sitcho.
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my salt tests are usually pretty close in 3 hours but it would depend on the hygrometer.
Salt Test Instructions Linky
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:-) I don't use one either. and I've never had issues. As long as your cooler is fairly airtight or close, you shouldn't have to worry. The beads will take care of everything. If you want some extra assurance, maybe put a strip of rubber with adhesive backing around the edge where the cooler seals.
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