How long should they "soak"

[Highlander]

I've come pretty close to just stopping smoking as I haven't had a good stick in the last 4 smokes. The main reason, is even though the hygrometer says it's 65 to 70% (depending on the temp, it's been a colder then normal winter here) my cigars seem to be as dry as a bone. In the warmer weather I've tried 3 on my beck deck and didn't even get 1/4 through them as they were awful. (Not junk, Ligas. LFD, and so on) They were Dry, one crumbled under mild pressure.

Sooo....

I went and got some xikar beads and glycol solution. (I had been using distilled water) I emptied the humi, lighty sponged the inside of it with the solution and let it sit for about an hour. Then put the cigars back in and attached the bead container. This morning the hygro read 72% which is the highest its been in awhile. (pretty sure I bo 70% beads)

How long do you think I should leave them alone?

 

[Hendy]

First, it's alway dangerous to moisten the wood in the humi, but you should be ok. That is probably the reason for the high humidity.

Second, go to the beads (less soution). Heartfelt are the way to go and get a couple of fans to circulate the air.

I would just let it go for a couple days. It's should get back to normal by then.

Make sure to check the "seal" of your humi also.

My .04 cents.

 

[GoingPostal]

Sounds like your hygro may have been off in the begining, or as hendy suggested may be a bad seal. I would of reseasoned the humi first, then put cigars back in. Anyhow probably take about 2 weeks to equalize but if your cigars were dry going to take a bit longer to come back maybe a month.

 

[Highlander]

First, it's alway dangerous to moisten the wood in the humi, but you should be ok. That is probably the reason for the high humidity.

Second, go to the beads (less soution). Heartfelt are the way to go and get a couple of fans to circulate the air.

I would just let it go for a couple days. It's should get back to normal by then.

Make sure to check the "seal" of your humi also.

My .04 cents.

Hmmm.. The shop owner I got the beads from said to do it. Not really moisten, just wiped it down. It's a desk top humi so there are no fans or anything else. The hygro is digital and I calibrated it when I got it. It's only a couple of months old. I'll leave it shut for a few weeks.

 

[Jwrussell]

Not to toot my own horn, as I wrote this, but check out this stickied thread: Seasoning

Check the calibration on your hygro again, it can't hurt and it will at least let you know you've removed the most important variable. Anything you do to correct the issue will only cause further frustration if the hygro is not reading correctly. If your hygro was showing stable humidiity at a certain percentage and you are having these problems I almost have to believe it is not reading correctly. Your cigars should not be crumbling at anywhere between 65-70% RH.

Also check the seal on your humidor. Grab a dollar bill or piece of paper and lay it across where the humi closes. You shouldn't be able to pull the bill/paper out (easily) when it is shut. You can also use a flashlight for this if in a dark room. Turn on a small flashlight inside the humi, close it and turn off the lights. See if you see any light leaking through.

Also, did I see that you sponged the inside of the humidor with SOLUTION? I can't say as I know that to be a bad thing, plenty of people wipe or sponge their humi's to season them with distilled water...I don't recommend it, but it's done. But I've never heard anyone doing it with a glycol solution.

 

[SkinsFanLarry]

I'm with Jason on this one, I don't believe in using PG Solution for anything!!

 

[Hendy]

Hmmm.. The shop owner I got the beads from said to do it. Not really moisten, just wiped it down. It's a desk top humi so there are no fans or anything else. The hygro is digital and I calibrated it when I got it. It's only a couple of months old. I'll leave it shut for a few weeks.

No disrespect to the shop owner. My concern is that whatever you wipe it with will contain contaminants. Sponges are definitely something to stay away from due to what they are capable of absorbing. Even new, they are contaminated by what is in the factory.

I suggest a seasoning packet from Boveda. They are made specifically for this application. I would also suggest 2 digital hygrometers. 2 because I am always paranoid of one not working correctly.

Again, this is my observation. Plus, I have a cabinet, so my worries are a little more multiplied.

Good luck.

 

[veeref]

I second the suggestion of checking the seal on the humidor. When I had overflow, I started putting the extra cigars in my wooden desktop with 1/3-1/2 of heartfelt beads. The cigars started immediately drying out because the moisture was leaking out. They turned hard as a rock and brittle and the wrappers started drying out and cracking.

If your humidor is the culprit, you may want to throw your collection into some tupperware or coolers with some beads to re-humidify until you can solve the problem or find suitable storage.

Regards,
Randy

 

[Highlander]

I'll check the seal on the humi tonight. It closes with the "whush" I've heard referred to so hopefully it's ok.

 

[Clint]

RonC is a member, BOTL retailer, Avallo rep, and a GREAT guy here....Shoot him an email or PM.

He will definitely steer you in the right direction, without fail. And without trying to sell you anything.

Best of luck

 

[Highlander]

Just by way of an update.

I must have had some really dry sticks. After a few days of being unopened I checked the humi. Humidity was at 69%, beads were about 1/2 "deflated". I thought what the......

Checked the cigars for texture and they are a lot better. Ones that were bone dry are rebounding nicely. I refilled the beads and left it another day and a half before taking another peek. Humidity at 70%, beads fine, cigars doing good.

It's so nice here today I almost smoked one, but I'm giving them another week or 2.

 

[Dr. Xikar]

Er... hey... you said it was cold and your cigars were crumbly... How cold?

I mean, everyone's jumping on the humidity, I didn't see anyoen ask this... My humidity has stayed solid 65-67% this whole winter, but the temperature dropped from around 67 to 60-63, and my cigars, even though the humidity stayed right, became dry and fragile and crackly...

I'd suspect the cold before the humidity if you had the right amount of heartfelt beads...

 

[Jwrussell]

DX, temperature and RH are linked. When it gets colder, the amount of water vapor that the air can "hold" decreases, therefor the RH increases. So, when the temps dipped, the amount of water vapor that was in the air caused the RH to jump. Your humidification device (beads I'm assuming?) sucked up water vapor until the RH came back down to where it wanted it to be (65% I again assume). This caused the air and the cigars to be dryer. This is why when we talk about keeping cigars we talk about both temperature and RH.

So, yes and no.

 

[76GTFan]

Hygrometers are inaccurate. Never trust them except for a ball park reference. Trust your beads and the way they are smoking. I recently converted a Vinotemp. After seasoning the shelves, I had a major problem with how my sticks were smoking.

Point is trust the beads not the hygro. I have taken a 2 week break just so I quit wasting my cigars at sub prime status.

 

[ShortyStogie]

Flyboy,

I know EXACTLY what you are talking about as this is the same thing that I seem to be going through.

My (calibrated) hygros read within a good range (65-69) for me but the smokes are dry as a bone.

Unfortunately, I have not figured out the culprit yet, but I have come up with a solution that has now kept me dog rocket free for a few months now.

I suspect that the amount of humidification that you are using is just not enough keeping in mind the ambient temperature / humidity outside the humi (I may be waaaay off here, but that's the best thing that I can come up with). I think you also saw that as your beads dried out a lot quicker than you would expect. I feel that even though the seal may be tight (and the ones in my humis are!), the outside temperature still affects the inside to a degree.

As a result, I have been topping up the dw in my beads every two weeks... And they need it by then. Since then, my smokes have been keeping beautifully.

So to recap, the beads are good. Topping up the beads frequently is good. If your humi is large enough, I would also suggest an oasis fan... That keeps the circulation going in the humidor.

Good luck,

Fauzi

 

[SuprHasan]

I suggest a seasoning packet from Boveda. They are made specifically for this application.

This is exactly what you should be doing. It's a few bucks and if you follow the instructions, you can't go wrong. Get the hygro calibration kit from Boveda too.

Once the seasoning is complete (according to the instructions), throw in your cigars and 2 or 3 69/70/72% Boveda (whatever your preference is) and forget about everything else. Worry free cigaring. :cbig:
Of course, if your seals aren't good, all of the above is useless.

Good luck!

 

[Thecatch83]

Used the Boveda packets for two of my digital hygrometers, and it works like a charm. Why take the risk of using the mercurial salt test when for three dollars you can have a proven calibration tool for your prized smokes!

 

[ThankfulJoe]

Just by way of an update.

I must have had some really dry sticks. After a few days of being unopened I checked the humi. Humidity was at 69%, beads were about 1/2 "deflated". I thought what the......

Checked the cigars for texture and they are a lot better. Ones that were bone dry are rebounding nicely. I refilled the beads and left it another day and a half before taking another peek. Humidity at 70%, beads fine, cigars doing good.

It's so nice here today I almost smoked one, but I'm giving them another week or 2.

I know it's hard but it'll be worth it. Nothing sucks like lighting up a HTF/limited stick with high expectations only to realize about two draws in that its not at it's prime.

On a side note, what do ya fly? I'm just starting my civilian FW rating and been dual engine commercial instrument rotary for a few years now.

 

[Highlander]

Ahem...

I was using the cheap floral sponge in a case thing with distilled water prior to getting the xikar beads and solution. It looks like the beads are solving the problem.

I tested the seal with a cash register receipt and it's tight all the way around.

Thanks for all the input!! :smile: