I know this may come across as too anal, so I should start off by saying that I'm not at all worried about my sticks and I'm not really "concerned" about a few fluctuations in humidity. I'm just a bit of a nerd/engineer, and I have a compulsion to understand how things work.
My problem:
I bought a cheap humidor online about a month ago. Standard plain and simple 50 count. I've checked the seal in all the ways I know (dollar bill test, flashlight test, makes a "whoosh" sound when you drop the lid) and it seems good. I've got 20-25 cigars, a digital hygrometer (did the salt test for 24 hours), and a 1 ounce tube of 65% Heartfelt beads.
I seasoned the humidor for a few days with just a dish of water in there until it came up to 70%, then moved my cigars in, and it stayed between 65% and 70% for about a week. Since then the beads don't look dried out, but the humidity will drop about 1% per day. When it gets down to 60%, I'll add water to the beads, although they still look about half clear. The humidity will rise back up toward 70% (I'm probably over-hydrating the beads) and then fall back down again at the same rate.
Like I said, I'm not really worried about the cigars, but would like to understand what's going on. As far as I can tell there are three options:
A) I have a cheap humidor that won't hold humidity. Although the seal seems fine to me.
2) I'm doing something wrong with my setup. I consider myself a smart guy, but I am new to the hobby.
D) Is it possible I got 60% beads instead of 65%? I ordered 65% and the tube has blue caps. I don't know how the orders are filled or if that kind of mixup very likely. I guess I could try waiting longer and see if it steadies out at 60%.
Any other ideas, or some other experiment I could try?
My problem:
I bought a cheap humidor online about a month ago. Standard plain and simple 50 count. I've checked the seal in all the ways I know (dollar bill test, flashlight test, makes a "whoosh" sound when you drop the lid) and it seems good. I've got 20-25 cigars, a digital hygrometer (did the salt test for 24 hours), and a 1 ounce tube of 65% Heartfelt beads.
I seasoned the humidor for a few days with just a dish of water in there until it came up to 70%, then moved my cigars in, and it stayed between 65% and 70% for about a week. Since then the beads don't look dried out, but the humidity will drop about 1% per day. When it gets down to 60%, I'll add water to the beads, although they still look about half clear. The humidity will rise back up toward 70% (I'm probably over-hydrating the beads) and then fall back down again at the same rate.
Like I said, I'm not really worried about the cigars, but would like to understand what's going on. As far as I can tell there are three options:
A) I have a cheap humidor that won't hold humidity. Although the seal seems fine to me.
2) I'm doing something wrong with my setup. I consider myself a smart guy, but I am new to the hobby.
D) Is it possible I got 60% beads instead of 65%? I ordered 65% and the tube has blue caps. I don't know how the orders are filled or if that kind of mixup very likely. I guess I could try waiting longer and see if it steadies out at 60%.
Any other ideas, or some other experiment I could try?