More Humidor Help!!! =(

[Robinsond]

Ok so I am having more humidor troubles. Last time, the humidity was at 75% with crazy heat and I had to move my 2 humidors to my friends apartment with air conditioning. They were better while there, then when I received them back, the humidity was at around 55 or so...not good. So After switching to a couple of different humidification devices, Different Xikar jars and all that, I finally switched to heartfelt beads. I have a Don Salvatore, probably about 75 capacity, and a glass top that's slightly bigger. I've been having more trouble with the glass top one. Do you think all of the switching humidification devices dried out the humidor itself? I sealed the inside of the glass top the best I could with some aquarium sealant, and I think I did an alright job. I am thinking about sealing the top as well, and though this will kind of reduce the aesthetic value, I really am desperate for help. During the day the glass top lingers around 61 or 62%...Occasionally dropping to 60 or 59% in the evenings...do you think I have to re-season?? I need help...

I'm also worried about my cigars being in the dry conditions...will it have long-term effects? I sure hope not!!

Thanks for any and all assistance!!

Regards,

Dave

 

[dpricenator]

I wish I could get mine down to 62%, I'm stuck at 67. Any lower than 60 and most would say you are too dry. Could just be the change in the RH in the ambient air. You buddies AC would lower the RH in the home and could have had an affect. As long as it's holding fairly steady, and not going below 60%, I wouldn't sweat it too much. I would add add a bit of water to the beads, and and see what happens.

 

[Farani]

I prefer my humidors at 62%-67%. Even thing seems to burn better at that. Below 60% is pushing it, though.

 

[MattBell]

My cooler stays at 65. All the time.

Not sure I understand WHY it does though, so I don't really know what to tell you.

Is the humidor full or is there a lot of empty space? I know that having more stuff in can help level it out. Also, are you sure your hygrometer is correct?

 

[Robinsond]

Yeah they are both pretty packed...the glass-top one a bit less so, but still more than 75% full. I'll try adding more water to the beads...I think the glass-top was at around 58% when I checked this morning, and the other one hovers around 62. So nobody suggests putting all my cigars in a plastic bin with humidification for a few days while I re-season? Not sure if it will help, but I've gone through 2 different humidification devices on each without re-seasoning so that might be an issue. I'm gonna re-seal the glass one on the outside, sure it will look crappy but it's the cigars I'm concerned about. Thanks for all the help guys, gonna go add water to the beads. And I have a couple digital hygros, and they all read the same. Sorry for the jumbled response, just woke up from a LATE night!!

Regards,

Dave

 

[eric_f]

Make sure it's not drafty or the A/C isn't blowing directly on the humidor. I couldn't figure out why my desktop was always low and I had a fan blowing air around...unless the seal is mighty fine, it'll rob your humidity, especially with A/C.

 

[thegoldenmackid]

I'd reseason and recalibrate your hygrometer.

 

[Jfire]

What are your Beads looking like right now are the most important thing.How many Oz of beads first. Then I would say just keep adding water at a couple of sprays from a water bottle a day to them. The humis may be leaking so bad though that even adding water to them may keep them from reasoning daily right now. My honest opinion is to start a coolider or snap top boxes from targ et or wally world if your really not concerned about the humi but the cigars. Seems like the Humis may be a lost cause IMO.

 

[GoingPostal]

yes i say you should re-season it. What % humidity are your beads? while you reseason put your smokes inside an airtight container with the beads, leave them on the whiter side cause humidity will be higher in the plastic container. In my humidors i use double the recomended beads help equalize the humidity quicker.

 

[Robinsond]

They are 65%...I have probably 90% of them clear. I'll pick up a cheap bin at target or something...put a xikar jar in there or something. So much trouble! I'm also short on cash so I hope I can get by with what I'm using...here's a link to the beads I bought: http://www.heartfeltindustries.com/proddetail.asp?prod=RH_Small_65

I did the measurements and it seemed right...probably should have spent the extra few bucks for 2 large ones...UGH so frustrating. I'll have to wait a while if I am going to switch. At which time I'll probably just buy 1 large, and put both of the smalls in one....

 

[GoingPostal]

one question, did you put the jar and beads in the humi at the same time? if you did the beads may have been clogged so you may have to oven dry them. another thing you can try is going up to 70%. i know money is tight but i got some extra i'm not using. pm me if you want em.

 

[The EVP]

Take the sealent off the inside and seal the outside of the glass. Leave a corner open for air flow. Yes, it sort of huts the athestics but do you want your humi to look good or function good? I had all sorts of humidity problems with my Trivoli until I sealed it with the aquarium sealer. I'm using a Cigar Oasis XL set to 68 and it never is off by more than 2% despite that I run my AC almost all day long in the summer.

 

[WkndSmoker]

My largest humidor does not have a great seal. When I first went to beads I had a hard time fighting RH, I ended up sticking with the original element along with the beads. The room stays around 70 degrees year round and has no direct climate control, open door from a large window unit in the house in the summer, just the electric baseboard in the winter, which with colder weather coming on, I tweak the baseboard settings to a thermometer in the room, 70 degrees. When I introduced the original oasis style element back into the humidor I found I could go alot longer without maintenance and my beads stayed about 50/50 clear and white, now I just charge the original element about once a month, and give the beads a spritz about every two months. This is biased as within the past few months said humidor has reached almost capacity, so the volume of cigars helps out as well.

 

[Robinsond]

one question, did you put the jar and beads in the humi at the same time? if you did the beads may have been clogged so you may have to oven dry them. another thing you can try is going up to 70%. i know money is tight but i got some extra i'm not using. pm me if you want em.

I just kind of opened my humidor when I received the beads, took out the xikar jar, and put in the wet beads...not very scientific...Going to run out to target today and pick up an airtight box to store my smokes in while I re-season. I may just put them in there for now, and wait until I figure out what I am going to do with humidification before I re-season. It's such a hassle! Thanks a ton for all of the tips and everything. It's so nice to know that there is this community here that is willing to help and give advice when needed.

Thanks again! :skew:

Regards,

Dave Robinson