water or solution?

hi all, first post here!

i got a new madelaine monet humidor about 3 weeks ago. i did the whole seasoning thing but i still have trouble. when i keep a wet sponge on a dish along with the humidifier, my level stays at 70. when i take the sponge out, it goes down to about 60. now, the madelaine humidifier says to use madelaine solution exclusively, so that's what i've filled it up with. would it really make any difference if i used distilled water only in the puck? could that be why i start losing humidity when i take the sponge out? the humidor holds about 75 but right now i have 10 churchills and about 5 coronas.

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Originally Posted by primus67

hi all, first post here!

i got a new madelaine monet humidor about 3 weeks ago. i did the whole seasoning thing but i still have trouble. when i keep a wet sponge on a dish along with the humidifier, my level stays at 70. when i take the sponge out, it goes down to about 60. now, the madelaine humidifier says to use madelaine solution exclusively, so that's what i've filled it up with. would it really make any difference if i used distilled water only in the puck? could that be why i start losing humidity when i take the sponge out? the humidor holds about 75 but right now i have 10 churchills and about 5 coronas.

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With the sponges I have found that propylene glycol solution works best but what you really need to do is a salt test on your hygrometer it could very well be reading incorrectly. Do a search and you will find many threads on salt tests, just remember to double bag it. Also you may want to look into getting yourself some heartfelt beads, google search will find them for you, pretty idiot proof and maybe buying yourself a digital hygrometer as they tend to stay consistent longer. I say consistent because with these as well you need to salt test, they are not right on the money often but they will be off by the same amount most times. All you do is find out how much they are off by and then mark them so you know. I have one that is -1 and one -8.

Welcome to Cigarsmokers!

One question I'll ask is, how full is your humidor with cigars? Air is a very poor buffer of hunidity, if you have only a couple cigars stored, every time you open the humidor, you let out all the humidity that your solution is providing. When you keep it at least 3/4 full, there is much less empty air. Cigars lose their humidity at a fairly slow rate under normal conditions, and provide a much needed buffer for rh, allowing humidity to recover much faster after opening.

can't do the salt test. the hygrometer is stuck into the lid with double-sided tape. won't come off.

the humidor is practically empty besides the few cigars i have in there now. i'd say it's like 85% empty.

From the fellow BOTLs that I have talked to, most of them have said stick with distilled water. Some of the cons with using solution is that it will wear out the medium you put it on. So if you have a sponge it will make it stiff and unusable after a while.

I had a friend who had me take care of his humidor and he used the solution. I'm not sure how long he took care of it for but it looked like the humidity pack he used had a bunch of crystallization on it.

I'll stick with beads and distilled water.

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Originally Posted by primus67

can't do the salt test. the hygrometer is stuck into the lid with double-sided tape. won't come off.

the humidor is practically empty besides the few cigars i have in there now. i'd say it's like 85% empty.

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So, this is the round analog hygrometer? notoriously inaccurate. Try to find a digital one, even a cheap one from wal mart is better.

Is there any way you can take up some of the space inside with something? Maybe blocks of wood from cigar boxes? Or, even a bundle of inexpensive cigars would do.

some comments i've read swear that the madelaine solution is great. and the bottle says to use it EVERY time you fill the humidifier. i wondered if it was really that big a deal.

plus, i have 2 boxes of cigars on the way from JR, 25 coronas and 25 lonsdales. i wanted to make sure my humidor was ready to go before i put them in, but that may be the solution right there.

adding solution is really only needed avery four or five times you wet the foam, you can use distilled water otherwise.

I think you'll find things stabilize nicely once you get those cigars in there.

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Originally Posted by bigwhiteash

adding solution is really only needed avery four or five times you wet the foam, you can use distilled water otherwise.

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therein lies my dilemna. the madelaine soultion says to use it every time. if i add distilled water, will this dilute the effects of the soution when i DO use it? i assume it must not be a 50/50 as too much pg will ruin the humidifier. i'm assuming it's mostly distilled water in their solution. it also came with instructions saying NOT to use a 50/50 mixture with this humidifier.

Madeline solution is, I believe, 90/10. However, I do not know for sure.

With 50/50, then I'd do just as bigwhiteash says. Just don't go overboard filling the humidifier with solution or water - BTDT.

JR should ship you cigars that have slightly too much humidity, but you never know.

Good luck!

thank you all very much! i'll let you know what happens.

If you are using a sponge/floral foam, use the solution. My Humidor came with a 50/50 glycol solution and I only use it every 3-4 months. When humidity drops, I refill the sponge/floral foam with distilled water (prior to the 3rd or 4th month). Since the solution is 50/50 or 60/40, whatever, the water will evaporate and leave the glycol percentage. Therefore, you will need to balance it with distilled water.

So, don't use the "solution" but every 3-4 months (some say up to 6 mos). In between, use distilled water. Once you finish using up your solution, buy beads.

I actually still have half a bottle left of my original solution. I use it every now and then as a back-up to my beads. The beads can only hold/release a certain amount of moisture, so I have floral foam as back up........but in reality, the beads do the job right.

ok, my 25 partagas no. 2 coronas came in last wednesday the 21st. i stuck them in that night, removed the wet sponge and refilled the humidifier with solution. humidity was around 72. i checked 24 hours later and humidity was still around 72. i checked today, the 24th, and humidity is down to about 68. not sure as it's analog.

i ordered a box of partagas no.1 lonsdales today. they should be here on wednesday. that'll bring the total cigars in my 75 count humidor up to 66 as i have some assorted ones in there now including 10 partagas no. 10 churchills.

yes, i like partagas.

so, as i have 41 cigars in there now, should the humidity have dropped 4?

I wouldn't worry too much about 4 points, especially on an analog hygrometer. (you're starting to have a bit of money stored in there, you may want to invest in a digital hygro soon).

Just keep an eye on things, open it a little as possible, and you should be OK.

that's what drives me nuts. i don't want to open it, but i have to just to check the humidity level and in so doing, i lose some humidity. shouldn't that stupid humidifier maintain humidity at 70%?!

ok, i've got my humidor as stocked as it's gonna get for now. 66 cigars total in a 75 capacity madelaine humidor. the analog hygrometer that came with the humidor reads 60 and the old analog zoomed hygrometer i got at a pet store years ago reads 72. my cigars all feel just right so i have no idea which one is accurate. methinks the zoomed is actually better.

i hope to pick up a digital hygro up this weekend. can someone refresh my memory and explain the salt procedure again? thanks!

http://www.cigarsmokers.com/showthre...ight=salt+test

Will

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Originally Posted by primus67

that's what drives me nuts. i don't want to open it, but i have to just to check the humidity level and in so doing, i lose some humidity. shouldn't that stupid humidifier maintain humidity at 70%?!

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I don't know the brand off the top off my head but I bought a Hygrometer with a remote sensor so I don't have to open until I want a stick. I wanna say it was around $40.00 at www.centralchef.com I have never had any problems maintaning good humidity granted this time of year ther is more fluxuation but it works like a charm. The sensor it self is about 3 inches in length and 1.5 inches in diameter. It comes with a little adhesive backed metal plate so you can attach it to the lid magneticly and it's not talking up space.

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Originally Posted by CWVA27

I don't know the brand off the top off my head but I bought a Hygrometer with a remote sensor so I don't have to open until I want a stick. I wanna say it was around $40.00 at www.centralchef.com I have never had any problems maintaning good humidity granted this time of year ther is more fluxuation but it works like a charm. The sensor it self is about 3 inches in length and 1.5 inches in diameter. It comes with a little adhesive backed metal plate so you can attach it to the lid magneticly and it's not talking up space.

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you gotta love the modern world!

hey guys, thought i'd give you an update.

i've had my cigars in there for a while now and here's what's goin on. i have the madelaine executive humidor 100 that's supposed to be good for 100 cigars. it's the foam style. i have like 64 cigars in a 75 capacity humidor. in addition to the humidor i have a small saki glass with some distilled water in there. if i take it out, my humidity drops to about 67%. plus, after about 2 weeks i have to refill the humidor because it's practically dry! it doesn't make sense for it to be so dry. i don't get it. i wonder if i just have a bad humidor. this happened to me a long time ago with a credo humidor. i replaced it and it was fine afterwards. but now i don't know if i should replace this one with the same kind or with the madelaine bead style humidor.

also, i am still using madelaine's every time solution exclusively.

btw, here is the humidor i'm thinking of getting. any thoughts on this?
http://madelaine.com/products_detail...30&category=10

Have you done the salt test on your hygrometer yet? If not you really need to. If you can't, then BUY A DIGITAL ONE.
If you're keeping your humidity at 70% it's too high anyway. The cigars will smoke much better at around 65%.
I keep the cigars I'm storing long term at around 70% and move them to a humi with the rh at between 60%-65% for at least a week before smoking. I used to keep everything at 70% but found a higher number of cigars would have burn issues at that rh.

Two things ......

Have you done the woosh test?

Opening and closing the humidor should create a woosh noise as it seals when closing and breaking the seal when you open it. If you don't hear it, you've got a poorly sealing humidor and it's bad.

Second, get the Humi-Care hydration unit along with their digital hydrometer. I use them in all three of my humidors and I'm 69% to 73% right now, and this holds pretty well.



Kris

yep i have a digi hygro and have it tested and calibrated. humidity is right on target.

as for the humidor, the seal is pretty tight. it has pull to it when i open it and i have to give it a little push to get it to close. and not because of bad manufacturing.