Need some help!

[jebloom22]

I've read the seasoning and calibration threads plenty of times. My seasoning method has been to not wipe down the Spanish cedar. What I have done in the past is to saturate a clean washcloth, ball it up, and settle it into a clean ashtray. I then allow the humidor to absorb the moisture for a week at its own pace. (distilled water only, of course)

This time around, I plan to do it sans washcloth so as to be sure I'm not introducing anything to the environment that should not be there (e.g. mold, laundry detergent, etc.). The humidor is in a safe place, so I am not concerned with knocking the dish of water over. When I place my beads order, I will start to season, and if the beads work as well as everyone says, my days of using crystals/PG will be over.

 

[Jwrussell]

Don't think I have a leak in the humidor. Been the same for three humidors in my basement where the ambient RH has been low in the winters. On the new humi, I did do the paper test and the light test (I know it has windows, but shut off the lights and looked all around the lid).

It's a question of how often you are having to refresh your humidification devices. If you are constantly in and out of your humi that's one thing, but if it isn't opened all that often and is still not holding steady for a decent time frame, you may have a leak. With a solid humi, there really should be no where for the moisture (RH) to go to once the humi and cigars have stabilized. Obviously everytime we open the humi we lose some, so again, it's a matter of how often you open it.

As far as calibration is concerned, I used the Boveda 75.5% calibration bag. My Caliber III is dead nuts, but my other digital was off by 8.5% this time (and last time 6 months ago it was off by 4.5%). The one that is off is not being used anymore. Just sticking with the Caliber III. The analog-style digital that came with the humidor is defective, so I'm waiting for its replacement from Don Salvatore. I figure that with the new built-in hygro and the Caliber III, I ought to be on top of things.

I don't mean to ruffle feathers here, but that analog hygro you have coming to you is nothing but decoration. I've yet to come across one that was worth a darn. They are nice to look at and I really wish they worked better, but they refuse to stay calibrated. Stick with the digitals for knowing what your RH really is, and just let the analog sit there and look pretty. :wink:

Again, the three tupperware containers that my sticks are in now are all around 63-65% with 70% crystal jars in each.

This is interesting. I've seen this kind of statement multiple times recently with different humdification devices, but I think mostly with the gel crystal stuff. This really shouldn't be the case if they are supposed to maintain 70%. Interesting.

 

[Jwrussell]

I've read the seasoning and calibration threads plenty of times. My seasoning method has been to not wipe down the Spanish cedar. What I have done in the past is to saturate a clean washcloth, ball it up, and settle it into a clean ashtray. I then allow the humidor to absorb the moisture for a week at its own pace. (distilled water only, of course)

This time around, I plan to do it sans washcloth so as to be sure I'm not introducing anything to the environment that should not be there (e.g. mold, laundry detergent, etc.). The humidor is in a safe place, so I am not concerned with knocking the dish of water over. When I place my beads order, I will start to season, and if the beads work as well as everyone says, my days of using crystals/PG will be over.

Just so we are on the same page, the post above yours was for Pnoguy. :thumbsup:

As to the washcloth, that's not a bad method, but as you say there is the small possibility you are introducing something you may not want to. If you can, get a sterile sponge instead. That will give you the same benefit of more surface area to speed the evaporation while not having to worry about contaminates.

 

[jebloom22]

Thanks, Jason. One thing to note: the analog-style digital hygrometer is digital, not analog. It should be working, but is not. Hopefully the new one does. Here's a link so you know what I'm talking about:

http://www.donsalvatore.net/Analog-Style-Digital-Hygrometer-1539/dp/B004LTZUM4?ie=UTF8&id=Analog%20Style%20Digital%20Hygrometer%201539&field_product_site_launch_date_utc=-1y&field_availability=-1&field_browse=2615079011&searchSize=12&searchPage=2&searchNodeID=2615079011&class=quickView&refinementHistory=subjectbin%2Ccolor_map%2Cprice%2Csize_name&searchRank=salesrank

http://www.donsalvatore.net/dp/B004KTMZ6E

 

[Headbanger]

Jason, the RH is lower due to being colder in his basement. Something you guys in FL don't have to deal with too often.

 

[jebloom22]

Jason, the RH is lower due to being colder in his basement. Something you guys in FL don't have to deal with too often.

That's right. I'm in between Chicago and Milwaukee. My basement seems to hold around 66-67 degrees F. Ambient RH is very low, and I do not currently have central humidification in the house.

 

[jebloom22]

yeah and your saving about $10

you could probably use one on the top and one on the bottom.....

Edit: also have you checked for leaks in your humi>?

I still might buy 3 medium tubes in case I need to expand to one of my back-up humidors. Using more than needed doesn't seem to be a problem, and I do often times open the box more than once per day.

One question I've got is how to re-hydrate the tubes. Since they're not in a case or in a tray, will the "spray bottle" method still work, or do I need to A) remove the beads from the tube first, or B) use the syringe?

 

[Headbanger]

remove tubes from the humi, spritz down the beads using spray bottle or use the syringe, wipe down the container to no excess moisture is on the outside, wait 15-20 minutes to let the RH seep into the container, then put container back into humi. If you use the syringe method might be able to add the distilled water to both sides might work too.

I have kitty litter (same as beads) in nylon stockings sitting on piece of cedar. I remove from coolider, spritz well to turn mostly to clear, then return to the coolidor. I believe beads you will spritz till 70% of them turn white.

 

[jebloom22]

remove tubes from the humi, spritz down the beads using spray bottle or use the syringe, wipe down the container to no excess moisture is on the outside, wait 15-20 minutes to let the RH seep into the container, then put container back into humi. If you use the syringe method might be able to add the distilled water to both sides might work too.

I have kitty litter (same as beads) in nylon stockings sitting on piece of cedar. I remove from coolider, spritz well to turn mostly to clear, then return to the coolidor. I believe beads you will spritz till 70% of them turn white.

If I'm using the spray bottle, do I need to remove the beads from the tubes, or can I spray the tubes with the beads inside? Assuming the tubes are mesh along the sides of the cylinders..

 

[Headbanger]

I have one tube from HF which is a hard plastic type mesh on the sides with plastic end caps that can come off of need be. I tend to spritz them through the mesh leaving the beads on the inside, then wipe down and don't lie them against any cigars directly.

Don't sweat the small stuff too much here brother, you will work things out as they happen.

 

[Jwrussell]

Thanks, Jason. One thing to note: the analog-style digital hygrometer is digital, not analog. It should be working, but is not. Hopefully the new one does. Here's a link so you know what I'm talking about:

http://www.donsalvatore.net/Analog-Style-Digital-Hygrometer-1539/dp/B004LTZUM4?ie=UTF8&id=Analog Style Digital Hygrometer 1539&field_product_site_launch_date_utc=-1y&field_availability=-1&field_browse=2615079011&searchSize=12&searchPage=2&searchNodeID=2615079011&class=quickView&refinementHistory=subjectbin,color_map,price,size_name&searchRank=salesrank

http://www.donsalvatore.net/dp/B004KTMZ6E

Aha! :thumbsup:

Very nice.

 

[Jwrussell]

I have one tube from HF which is a hard plastic type mesh on the sides with plastic end caps that can come off of need be. I tend to spritz them through the mesh leaving the beads on the inside, then wipe down and don't lie them against any cigars directly.

Don't sweat the small stuff too much here brother, you will work things out as they happen.

What he said above. You can go either route. You don't need to remove the beads from the tube either way. And best if you don't open and close it constantly either as it is WAY too easy to end up with beads everywhere. :rofl:

 

[Jwrussell]

Jason, the RH is lower due to being colder in his basement. Something you guys in FL don't have to deal with too often.

That's right. I'm in between Chicago and Milwaukee. My basement seems to hold around 66-67 degrees F. Ambient RH is very low, and I do not currently have central humidification in the house.

Guys, I get that, but what you are talking about really shouldn't have that kind of affect on the RH. Lower temps hold less moisture, but that doesn't mean less RH. RH is Relative, remember, so if you have something that is supposed to hold 70% RH, it should hold 70% RH in (just about) any temperature that we keep cigars in. This is why folks with winecoolers sometimes run into the issue of crazy RH swings. In many cases it has more to do with the change in temperature than anything else.

An example. Let's say you have your humi nice and steady at 70 degrees and 70% RH and you decide to take it down into the basement where it settles in at 66 degrees. Without anything to adjust the amount of humidity in the humidor, you would end up with 80% RH. You would still have the same amount of moisture within the humidor, but because the temps are lower, the amount of moisture the air can hold goes down and therefor the Relative amount of humidity must go up.

Humidification media, be it beads, pg and distilled water in foam or the gel crystals (like we are talking about here) work to adjust the amount of moisture in the air so that the RH stays steady at whatever the set-point for that media is. So in this case, that 70% gel should be keeping the RH at 70% regardless of the 66-67 degree temperature.

 

[jebloom22]

Glad you guys talked through this one, thanks. I decided to skip the case and instead I just ordered 3-65% tubes (medium sized). I'm going to start re-seasoning the humi tonight, and expect it will be nearly ready when the tubes arrive. I just sincerely hope that the mold between the humistat and the cedar lid didn't get a chance to spread when I was wiping it off.

 

[ItalianCustom]

I would moistureize 2 of the tubes per directions and leave one dry....since they only release/absorb at 65% you should be ok

 

[Headbanger]

I store the coolers in the basement and I use about 2 pounds of KL beads sometimes running Oust fans so IDK. One colidor has the 4oz 65% HF beads, makes little difference in that size container. All coolers are over 80-90% full with sticks in boxes.

Summer heats max 73 degrees in the summer with ambient RH with dehumidifer running is in the low 60%RH to upper 50%RH range. All the coolidors in the summer stay at 67-68%RH without having to spritz very often.

Winter cold the basement is in lower to mid 60 with a whole house humidifier set point of 45%RH. All the coolidors in the winter stay right about 63%RH, 65%RH right after spritzing the beads then slowly drop. The cigars are happy so I am happy.

There seems to be a correlation of ambient heat and higher RH versus cooler and less RH how they effect the RH inside the coolidors. Maybe I set the hygro when it was warmer, IDK that either.

Posted this for bloom, Jason, or others that are following along.

 

[Jwrussell]

Glad you guys talked through this one, thanks. I decided to skip the case and instead I just ordered 3-65% tubes (medium sized). I'm going to start re-seasoning the humi tonight, and expect it will be nearly ready when the tubes arrive. I just sincerely hope that the mold between the humistat and the cedar lid didn't get a chance to spread when I was wiping it off.

Don't stress over the mold, brother. Every cigar you will ever put into your humi will have mold spores on it/in it. It's just a fact of life. Just keep the RH where it needs to be and all will be good. :thumbsup:

 

[Jwrussell]

There seems to be a correlation of ambient heat and higher RH versus cooler and less RH how they effect the RH inside the coolidors. Maybe I set the hygro when it was warmer, IDK that either.

Posted this for bloom, Jason, or others that are following along.

It's interesting, Steve. I've seen others recently note that they think the 65% HF beads tend to hold closer to 67-68%. I haven't noted if those comments noted temperature, but temp plays a big role in how the RH reads, so it's hard to judge the comments. You are correct that I don't get to deal with the lower temps on a regular basis. And it's not just living in FL, it's having a wife that screams everytime the thermostat drops below 72 degrees! :crosseyed That being said, we've had some cold nights recently when I forgot to switch the heat on and I've gotten up to note that the temp in the cooler was well down and the RH well up. By the time I get home, the temps are back to normal as is the RH (sticking right at 65-66% since I set the cooler up about a week ago).

Based on the comments I've seen, I'm wondering if some of the humidification media out there is really designed to hold a specific RH% AT a specific Temp. I suppose it may be that these various media hold there RH great within a certain temp range but go a little screwy outside of it? Dunno.

 

[jebloom22]

Just an update:

Got my HF beads a few days ago from David. Right out of the envelope, these babies are working well. While I re-season my humi, I have my cigars divided into 3 sealed tupperware-style containers. I pulled the crystals out of each, and I replaced with the 65% medium tubes. Perfect 65/65 within minutes. Can't wait to get the sticks in the humi with the beads. Great stuff so far!

 

[Jwrussell]

Good to hear! :thumbsup: