Yet Another Humidor Question

[JohnPublic]

Salutations,

I've just recently began smoking cigars on a regular basis and as such have been on the lookout for a humidor. I found one second-hand and am now having a doozy of a time getting it to level out at a consistant humidity and find myself here, seeking your expertise and guidance.

The humidor was originally purchased in a Colibri gift set that came with the humidor, a colibri lighter, a cigar case, and cutter. It is, of course, spanish cedar on the inside and I believe has a redwood exterior. I have had some difficulty locating details online, but have seen it mentioned here and there and believe it to be a quality box as the set retailed for around $500. The person I recieved it from assured me that it had been keeping proper humidity and pointed out that the hygrometer was dialed into 70% on the nose. He was using only distilled water in the humidifier, which he was only recharging every few months.

After getting it home I filled it with a 50/50 activation solution as I noticed the sponge was almost bone dry and stocked it with a few cigars. The hygrometer quickly rose and was soon reading 80%. Worried I left the box open and took out the humidifier. After time things settled out and it was again at a constant 70%, without any humidifier in it and my cigars seemed to be getting very dry. I then salt tested the hygrometer and found that it is 9 degrees too high. Perfect! My 80% was correct after all, it was the hygrometer that was off and not the humidity level, right? It sure seemed that way, but now after having it set up a few days with the humidifier in place and the knowledge that my hygrometer is reading high I'm getting a reading of 85% r/h. This puts me at an actual r/h of 76% (If my salt test was correct.)

Now the questions: from other posts I have read here on the board the consensus seems to be to leave the box open for a few hours until it settles back down. Is this a permanent solution or something that will need to be done on a daily/weekly basis? What causes this overhumidification? Is my humidor shot and should I replace it? What are more permanent solutions to this problem?

On another note, can a humidor be re-seasoned? I have read many times the process for breaking in a new humidor and seasoning it. Is there a way to "reset" it and start from scratch with a fresh seasoning? I ask, because with a second hand humidor I cannot be sure if it was done properly first go round.

Lastly, if anyone has seen my particular humidor before and can confirm the outer finish to be italian? redwood it would be greatly appreciated. The colibri gift set at the bottom right of this page contains a humidor whose hinges and inside wood cut are identical to mine, but the finish on mine is considerably darker. Perhaps this one is lighter from the flash of the camera.

Thank you for any insight you can give.

[cls515]

Seasoning your humidor refers to wetting it with water. Since water evaporates, I don't think that re-seasoning it is a bad idea if you are unsure it was done proplerly the first time. I probably would. 76% is a little high, and your humidifier is probably at fault, or you may not have given the wood in your humidor enough time to lower the humidity. The cedar is used because it has the ability to absorb and release water thus leveling out the humidity silimar to the humidifier. If I were you, I'd order the 65% beads and not worry about what is wrong with the humidifier.

[basil]

I agree with cls515 - get the beads for a more permanent solution.

It's been pretty dry in the Hill Country - right now the rh in Austin is 50. A small humi is going to fluctuate - humidity leaving when you open it and then building back up when you compensate (and maybe over-correct?). It could be that the box came from a climate where the rh is more cigar- friendly and rh maintenance wasn't an issue.

At any rate, a more permanent solution here is a larger box with a very good seal, filled over 1/2-way with cigars, or, a cooler - 48 quart or larger, where humidity leakage will be much less.

And, analog hygros are often unreliable. Get a digital one.