Humidity sky rocketing....

Seems like most of the threads I read on humidity deal with how to keep the humidty high enough. My issue is different.

I got into cigars maybe 1 year or so ago. I bought a humidor (300 capacity) and seasoned it by wiping the inside with a clean rag moistened with distilled water and placing a small bowl full of distilled water in it for about three days. At the same time I did the "salt" test with my hygrometer and adjusted it. After the three days I placed my cigars inside, (I have between 175-200 inside now) My humidification is from 1/2 distilled water and 1/2 Propylene Glycol. I poured this mixture in the two humidification devices and all seemed well for the first several months. Humidity hovered around 71. But for the past few months, my humidty has risen more and more till now it's at 80! How do I drop this back down and keep it from rising like this? And also, does anyone have a theory as to why it would start rising? For the past few months I haven't had much time to smoke so it's been opened very little.

Thanks for any advice.

I couldn't say why your Rh is spiking but I suggest you try using some Rh beads. They absorb as well as release moisture. link. Beads are what most of us use here.

Thank logan! I'll give those a shot. You just put some in a container and put them in with your cigars? Is there a set amount to use?

I have been having the same problem. I have two jars of those ice crystals and about 100 cigars. My humidity is constantly over 70% and closer to 80. Everyone talks about these beads. I am gonna break down and buy some and a digital hygromoter.

I'm not trying to be a smart-ass, but maybe just open the humidor more often until the RH comes down and stabilizes?

As a guess as to why, it sounds typical of too much water/PG solution on sponge humidifiers or crystal/gel humidifiers. Lots of people soak those humidifiers, and then the humidifier can never absorb moisture, and can only release moisture.

Good luck!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by craig

I'm not trying to be a smart-ass, but maybe just open the humidor more often until the RH comes down and stabilizes?

As a guess as to why, it sounds typical of too much water/PG solution on sponge humidifiers or crystal/gel humidifiers. Lots of people soak those humidifiers, and then the humidifier can never absorb moisture, and can only release moisture.

Good luck!

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Didn't sound like a smart-ass comment to me. I've tried that. I've actually left it open for a couple of days and then closed her back up and within a few days it was right back up where it began. I wonder if removing one of the humidification devices would bring it down as well. hmm...

I'm going to put in another suggestion for the Rh beads. go to heartfeltindustries.com, they have a handy calculator on their home page that will help determine how much you will need, They also offer tubes and boxes to hold them, but a lot of people simply use a small dish or two.

Once you get them charged, just watch for your humidity to drop a few points as a clue that you need to spray them with a bit more distilled water.

As for now, removing one or both humidifiers would be a good start, just keep a close eye on Rh

I would also recommend re-testing your hygrometer, just to eliminate it as the problem.

1. Retest our Hygrometer. Salt test to see how off it is.
2. Check the location of the humidifiers. If it's right against the Hygrometer, you will get a higher reading.
3. Definitely upgrade to beads. If your hygrometer is still off, then it's broken. Beads are dead on. Just keep the beads clear (leave some white, so it can obsorb excess moisture).
4. Leave no space. Fill your Humidor with as much cigars as possible. The closer you get to max capacity, the better the humidor will keep it's RH.

Good luck.

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Originally Posted by hendu3270

Thank logan! I'll give those a shot. You just put some in a container and put them in with your cigars? Is there a set amount to use?

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There's a minimum amount you'll need for your humi's size. But you can use more(I do) then what is suggested. The amount needed is calculated by cubic inches so you may have to measure your humi to find the minimum or you can just order more then you think you'll need.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BenjiM

I have been having the same problem. I have two jars of those ice crystals and about 100 cigars. My humidity is constantly over 70% and closer to 80. Everyone talks about these beads. I am gonna break down and buy some and a digital hygromoter.

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Ice crystals only release moisture as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by craig

I'm not trying to be a smart-ass, but maybe just open the humidor more often until the RH comes down and stabilizes?

As a guess as to why, it sounds typical of too much water/PG solution on sponge humidifiers or crystal/gel humidifiers. Lots of people soak those humidifiers, and then the humidifier can never absorb moisture, and can only release moisture.

Good luck!

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This would definitely work in the short run, but I would think that the humidity would increase again after a while. Plus beads are low maintenance and pretty cheap so why not just upgrade.


On a side note, I use 70% beads in my cedar humidors and 65% beads in my Tupperdor. Just seems to work out better that way for me. All of my humis are sitting at 65-71%. Also, the best guide to proper Rh are the cigars themselves.

Ditto on the above. I used the gel crystals and always had a higher Rh than I wanted the beads fixed the problem in a couple days. I purchased 4 humis of varying size before getting my cooler and every analog hygrometer that came with them was off by 8 percentage points or more. I definitely recommend a digital hyrometer. The two I got from ebay were only off by two points though the one from heartfelt was off by 9.

Im not sure what brand you have but the PG I have is pre mixed to keep the humi at 70. Maybe your adding distilled water moved the humidity level up. The beads are by far the easiest. I uses the standard rectangular humidifer case that comes with most humis, measured out the right about of beads and put them in a piece of one of my girlfriends stockings. Easy to add water without making a mess.