Hey all, my brother has fallen down the slope pretty hard and had to upgrade to a coolidor that he is having problems with. He got a 70 quart and is using a pound of beads which is twice that is recommended.
He is mainly keeping boxes in it but he can't keep the humidity down, it is staying between 70-75%. He keeps the coolidor at his shop which is not heated and the temperature drops down into the 40's. He has put the beads in almost dry to help with the high levels. He has heard that with cold temperatures the humidity level will go up in a confined space like a cooler. Does anyone know if this is true and if so what would you recommend to try to reduce the humidity. If he opens the cooler for a couple of hours it does drop but then by the next morning it's back to the 70's. We're in the DC area and the humidity is fairly low now so not sure what to recommend to him. So any help would be appreciated.

MarioF
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What RH beads and has he taken the beads out and dryed them since the onset of this project?
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Has the hydrometer been calibrated?
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After calibrating, check the seal on the cooler :-)
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He's using Cigarmony beads at 65%
His hygrometer has been checked with the salt test over 24 hours and is within 1 percent
The seal was really tight

Thanks for your answers so far
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Take the beads out and forget it for a while. I have a cooler that I have no humidification in and it stays around 62%.
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:-)

Also, the cigars may currently be overhumidified.
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If there is any room in the cooler, some empty cigar boxes or the wood from broken up cigar boxes will help absorb excess humidity and will help regulate it in the future.
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Open the lid a couple times a day to let the moisture escape. I have three coolers and only have beads in one. But I dont pay a lot attention anymore, they dont even have hygrometers. As long as things are smoking well I dont stress. :-)
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Is he using a digital hydrometer?

I read on another forum there may be an issue with some digital hydrometer. If the temperature is 67 F or less, then it adds 5% humidity to the real humidity. If the temperature is more at 68 or more, then it is the correct humidity. There was a thread I think on ICC.

I purchased the round digital meter from heartfelt and tested it and found this to be true.
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Also, if there are frequent temperature fluctuations, it could be bad for the cigars. I would recommend that he just move the cooler, perhaps to a closet in a temp controlled building?
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:-) except that you have to know the humidity in the shop.

While I do have gauges and calibrate them, I've found that watching the beads closely seems to be a reliable method as well. Oh, and one thing to remember: keep the beads spread out. A pound of beads in a small ball isn't the same as a pound spread out in a shallow pan.
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Doesnt the humidity go down when the temp goes down? When i have a power outage and the vino resets to the lowest temp setting the RH drops til i turn the temp back up.
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If your beads are working properly they should maintain the RH. If the RH is not being maintained then one ore more of the following is true

• Coolidor is not sealing well
• Beads are not working
• Hygrometers are not correct

You have tested and calibrated the hygrometer and you have said that the coolidor seals well, so maybe the beads are not working. Are they new? You might try putting some of the beads in a ziplock with a hygrometer to verfiy that they are at 65%.

Also, (all things being equal) when the temp goes down the RH goes down -- air is less dense at lower temperatures.
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That Is Always The Case In My coolidors.:-)
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Thanks Michael.:-)
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I Thought You Were Right, Greg!:-)
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:-) and :-)

Plus - Is your hygrometer at the top of the cooler or the bottom? Humidity will be higher at the bottom.
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Humidity should be higher at the top of the cooler since water vapor is lighter than atmospheric air.
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Sorry, I had it reversed!

That would be the reason my hygrometer is kept at the top of my cooler!!:-)
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