problem with humidity

I love reading the great tips on this forum. I am from washington and purchased a little humidor, 3 levels, holds approx 75 cigars. So I am thinking, I am a nurse and save lives for a living, i should be able to figure out a simple humidor Right....Wrong.... This is for some friends, and i thought i would set it up for them while they are away. So heres my delima.......I seasoned the humidor, salt tested the analog hygrometer which never has rose about 40%. So i then came back to the forum and purchased a digital hygrometer and tested that one. Reading 60%. So i seasoned the humidor again, did the test again, put the hygrometers in there and have waited a week. Now this is with madeline crystals(70) and a foam charged humidifier as suggested to me by my local cigar shop sitting in the empty humidor. ...However, here we sit,,,humidity is now 61% and has not moved for several days. Temp is around 69-70%. If i even open that door for a second it plumets down to around 50%. I did the dollar test which failed miserably and showed no resistance.....If i though the heartfelt industry crystal would work better than the madeline crystals i would go for that as well, but i am suspicious of the seal........How about weather stripping it. It is going to be sitting out for others to enjoy so i want to make sure it looks nice...

1. Do i start all over from the very start.

2. Send the humidor back as the seal seems to be lacking?

3. Or stick to what i know best, saving lives.........

Any input would be greatly appreciated......

I look at weather stripping as a last resort for a humi you can't return or have some kind of attachment to.

In this case. I would return it.

Also keep in mind that when it is full of cigars the cigars themselves will help to stabilized RH fluctuations.

But it sounds like the seal is poor and you shouldn't have to fix it.

Try cheaphumidors.com or tampahumidor.com they both sell quality stuff and stand by their products.

Also, there should be a little dial on the back of the analog model. It allows you to calibrate it. Take the madeline product, put it in a zip lock back with the digital and the analog. Then after 24 hours, turn the knob on the analog to match the digital. Now presuming your digital is working right, your analog will now be approximately within the variable range of the digital.

well i will certainly give it a whirl. The digital hygrometer i got seems a little cheap.Are they all the same. one the back it says it could be off by 5% which seems like a lot to me......Thanks.....

5% is a lot. 3% Is average. But anything between 60% to 70% is fine so if you can get it to stabilize around 65% you should be good.

One more thought...When i looked at it from the side...i swear i can see through the hinges. So i went to the sites you suggested and i see they have the exact same one i have.....i am sure its the seal...i am watching the digital hygrometer in the plastic sac with the crystals and it has already bumped up 4 degress which it never did when it was actually in the humidor itself....Thanks for all your help with this matter.......

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Originally Posted by nhcigarfan

5% is a lot. 3% Is average. But anything between 60% to 70% is fine so if you can get it to stabilize around 65% you should be good.

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My experience is that hygrometers are all off, and many by more than 5% I trust much more in the feel of the cigars inside. Get a hygro you can calibrate and do it with salt or a calibration kit, but then they will vary as the batteries wear down. Best bet, get a tight humidor, then get humidify beads or a cigar oasis.

I attempted to calibrate a digital hygrometer by using the "salt-test" which should yield 75%RH. After 10 hours in the bag it shows only 62%. Is the hygrometer that far off or is the salt-test unreliable?

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Originally Posted by DeeDubya

I attempted to calibrate a digital hygrometer by using the "salt-test" which should yield 75%RH. After 10 hours in the bag it shows only 62%. Is the hygrometer that far off or is the salt-test unreliable?

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I don't think the salt test, done properly, is unreliable at all. Of course, there are variables such as how much h2o you put in the salt, but beyond that I think it should always yield 75%. Let the hygro set for 24 hours, make sure the baggie is sealed tightly, and check it again. It would not be too outlandish for the hygro to be off that much. If you have some gel or beads around you could replace the salt with that and see what you get.

Maybe the hinges are your problem. If they aren't put on exactly correct (level and even) then they can cause a the lid to close slightly off creating a small break in the seal.

Try loosening the hinges by backing the screws off a couple of turns. This might create enough movement to allow the seal to seat tight.

Return the humidor and get a refund.
Go to your local sporting good store and buy a cooler.
Buy humidity beads online and put inside cooler (in a bowl or tray or pantyhose).
Congratulations, you have just created yourself a coolidor.
Not only will you have no leak problem, but you have plenty of room for nice smokes. Just buy a box of your favorite sticks and put the whole box in the coolidor. Not only will your friends be amazed you built your own humidor, but you can pack enough sticks in there of everyone's favorites to make everyone happy. Not aesthetically appealing in the middle of the room, but hey, it works.

Andrew

The salt test should yield 75% consistently as long as the salt mixture is the consistency of paste.

I think your humidistat is reading low. You need to get that straightened out before you proceed any further.

I bought the little round adjustable hygro from Heartfelt along with 1/2lb 70% beads. I followed the salt-test calibration instructions to the letter and this morning it was showing 62%. I don't think the hygro will adjust 13%. I'll jack around with it again this evening. Thanks for the help.

So i checked the digital hygrometer that has the 70% madeline beads in it that has been in a baggie and it is reading a whopping 84% humidity...I am thinking of going and purchasing another digital hygrometer with heartfelt beads...I don't know, or should i put it in the humidor and wait and see what happens....13% seems like a heck of lot of difference between what the beads say and the digital hygromter...What do you guys (or girls) think?

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Originally Posted by onenuttynurse

So i checked the digital hygrometer that has the 70% madeline beads in it that has been in a baggie and it is reading a whopping 84% humidity...I am thinking of going and purchasing another digital hygrometer with heartfelt beads...I don't know, or should i put it in the humidor and wait and see what happens....13% seems like a heck of lot of difference between what the beads say and the digital hygromter...What do you guys (or girls) think?

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Cant go wrong there. Go to www.cigarmony.com and he will take care of you.

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Originally Posted by onenuttynurse

So i checked the digital hygrometer that has the 70% madeline beads in it that has been in a baggie and it is reading a whopping 84% humidity...I am thinking of going and purchasing another digital hygrometer with heartfelt beads...I don't know, or should i put it in the humidor and wait and see what happens....13% seems like a heck of lot of difference between what the beads say and the digital hygromter...What do you guys (or girls) think?

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If you do it right, the salt test is dead accurate. The beads should be really close. Hygrometers can be as right or as wrong as any other piece of digital junk. Be guided by the laws of physics, and do not trust the machines - your smokes are too important, too valuable, to be lax on this one. 13% IS a lot, but I have seen almost as much before. And the analog ones can be worse!