I am getting some soon apparently, but i have like 20 cigars atm, so they're in the little humi
[Reply]

If it's just a matter of a week or so until your extra beads arrive then I wouldn't worry about it.
[Reply]

It sounds to me like your desktop humi leaks like a sieve.
If you want to prove me wrong, try this...
Put your desktop in the vino. Check it's RH prior and leave it shut while it's in the vino.
Set wet sponges (or wet paper towels on a plate, or whatever) in the vino and raise the RH of the vino as high as you can get it.
Let the whole deal sit overnight.
Next day, remove the desktop and quickly check the hygrometer inside.
If it says anything different than what it said when you started this project, it's leaky.
[Reply]

What i did was, I took all cigars/puck/hygros out of the humi, and put them in a plastic bag. In a matter of hours, the hygros went from reading 51% and 50% RH in the box, to 53 and 56%(newer and recently calibrated one) in the ziplock.

Does this prove it was a leaky humi?

If so how do i reinforce the seal?
[Reply]

I did something like that, but not exactly...I took a bowl of water and put it near the bottom of the vino while the box humi was inside. It got so steamy in there, to the point that the hygro outside the humidor inside the vino stopped being able to read humidity, it maxed out. I only did this for around 5 or 6 hours, but the humidity inside the box didn't go up, it was still 51% - So now i'm really puzzled.

If possible i'd like to fix/save the box and have it be usable. If it's not possible I guess i can always use it as a drybox and buy new humidors down the road if i ever have money again. Let me know what you think Shilala (and others)
[Reply]

So i figure its either the seal. Or it's not seasoned right and still absorbing humidity. Whatever, maybe i'll make the ziplock my new permanent storage device. .....ZIPPADOR!
[Reply]

did you do the light test?
[Reply]

Did you read the first page??????

:-):-):-)
[Reply]

Rh at low temperatures can be very difficult to maintain. But trust in your beads. It can be difficult, most of us have been through this before. In time you will learn to trust the way your cigars are smoking more than anything else.
If they smoke and draw well, you are doing good.

One thing I did not see is if you calibrated your hygrometer using the salt test.
It could be your hygro is reading low. No problem, just remember to add or subtract the % of deviation. The more smokes you add will also help maintain a constant Rh. :-)
[Reply]

do I ever?
[Reply]

<== :-)
[Reply]

Myles, how frequently are you opening the humidor to check humidity? Do you live in a dry climate? Where in the house do you store the humi's.

Other than the above, sounds like you're doing all the right things.

- salt tested the hygrometer
- checked the seal,
- appropriate quantity of humidifying media,
- recognize that cigars may absorb moisture,
[Reply]

I think Myles likes to be confused and make things more difficult than they need to be.



:-)



This thread should be active for about 2 more months at this rate.


Good morning MYLES!!!!:-)



(small, logical steps will solve the problem.)
[Reply]

No, it proves your beads are dried out, unless of course you have 55% beads that I'm not familiar with.
Either that or your hygrometers are wonky, or they need new batteries.
I'm not even remotely convinced that your hygrometers are accurate. That's because the information you're giving doesn't jive.

If you want to check your puck, put it in a quart ziplock bag with your hygros for a few hours and then check your hygros.
My guess is that your hygros will end up reading 53 and 56.
At that point you can assume A.) Your beads are dried out. B.) You miscalibrated your hygrometers. C.) Your batteries need replaced in your hygrometers.
[Reply]

I have 3 hygrometers in the large ziplock with my cigars and puck. The brand new digital one i salt calibrated reads 58. The other digital one reads 56. The 3rd one, analog, reads 59-60ish. Because they are all so close, I feel that the humidity is likely in that range.

The puck was charged fine when it was in the humidor. Upon moving everything to a ziplock, humidity went up.

to me that means that either i have a leaky humi, or a humi that's still absorbing moisture.
[Reply]

When everything was in the humidor, i was opening it once a day, when i would grab a cigar to smoke. It was in a closet, or inside my vino (which is currently in said closet)

The climate is very dry inside my condo, 20% ambient humidity or less. I'm fine with the way it is now, like i've said the cigars are smoking fine. I just want to save my humi if its leaky/unseasoned, i payed a lot of money for it! (75 big bux!)
[Reply]

Morning Pete.
I definitely do NOT like to be confused, and i'm fine with the current situation of 56-60% RH and having everything in a ziplock bag. People keep responding tho Pete, and i feel obligated to re-respond!
[Reply]

fear my zippador

http://goaly.org/IMG_0144.jpg
[Reply]

Lookin good, brother. :-)
What RH%age is your puck?
I read your last comment and yes, either the new humi is still seasoning or it's leaky. We can't say it's leaky if it hasn't seasoned, though.
A great way to season it is to put it in the vino with a bunch of sponges.
Open it and let it soak that high humidity for a few days.
You should also put your puck in the super-wet vino. That way the beads can suck up all the water that they can hold.
When you put the puck and cigars back in your newly seasoned humi, fight the urge to open 20 times a day. Check it once a day, max. Open and close it very quickly.
If you can avoid opening it for a couple days, that'd be great.
When you ultimately open it, if the RH is much below the RH reading you noted from the "puck and hygros in the ziplock" experiment, then there's a problem. You have a leaky humi. They're VERY common, so don't sweat it.
In many instances a humi has to be well seasoned before it seals good.
The wood will swell so that the seal surfaces will touch, thus creating a good seal.
Using the vino to season the humi will move things along very well.

Another thing that will help keep that little humi humidified is to add more beads and/or get a lot more cigars in it. Cigars are a buffer. They hold water that they can share and give up. They help control your RH.
So go shopping. :-)
Even a nice box of $20 cbid smokes will help. :-)
[Reply]

Did you do the Drop test on the humi?

This isnt a smart A$$ answer it actually works. Crude, but functional kinda like me lol.

Lift the lid of your humidor about 2~3 inches then drop it. If the seal is "good" you should hear a sorta whoosh sound as the air cushions the fall of the lid. If it just goes smack closed your leakier than well something leaky :-) :-)
[Reply]