Please help problem with humidor

[njsarge54]

Hi,
First let me say this is a great site.
I have been a casual cigar smoker for about two years, but have recently purchased a humidor.

I seasoned the humidor by wiping the inside with distilled water, left wet sponge in overnight, repeated process another day. The humidity stayed at a steady 70% using digital hydrometer and griffos solution in element in humidor. I added about 25 cigars with no problem cigars were ok. I added about 15 more a week later, the humidity stayed the same but I noticed my cigars seemed to be drying out. I recharged the the element in the humidor and the humidity stayed at 70%.

I would appreciate any help as I have about $125 in cigars that I do not want to lose.

thanks for the help

[feldspar]

Buy a tube of Heartfelt Industries humidity beads. http://www.heartfeltindustries.com/c...ies.asp?cat=11

Wet the beads with distilled water and place it in the box.

Problem solved. Seriously, those things are amazing at keeping your humidity constant.

Edit: A few more thoughts. Are you sure your hygrometer is properly calibrated? Even the digital ones can be a bit off, and that could make a difference. Use the search function on the boards to find some info about hygrometer calibration.

Also, how's the seal on your humidor? Try closing the lid over a dollar bill. The bill should be difficult to pull out with the lid shut. If the seal is loose, then that could affect the humidity in the box. My humidor has a pretty weak seal, so I keep it shut as tightly as possible with duct tape.

You could also try re-seasoning the humidor. Really soak the walls with distilled water. Spanish cedar can absorb quite a bit of moisture.

Another thought: were the cigars dry before you put them in? In that case, you'll have to bring them up to 70% RH very slowly. Again, use the search function for info on that.

I can't think of anything else right now. Hope some of that is helpful!

[ReV]

if the rh is staying steady, beads wont help... gotta be that the hydrometer is reading high... i had the same problem because i did the salt test 3 times and it kept saying 5 under... well, my sticks were dry so i salt tested again and it read 1 over this time... I broke down and bought a One step calibration kit from heartfelt and sure enough, it was 1 over... now i have no problem.

[njsarge54]

I'm going to do the salt test. I will let you know the results. Thanks for the advice, I hope I can get this right, it is kind of frustrating.

[njsarge54]

I have had the salt test going for about 10 hours. Reading at 73-74%. How long should I keep up the test?

[ReV]

12-24 hours... looks like its reading high, so where you think its holding at 70 rh, could only be 60... after 12-24 hours it should be locked at 75%

Check this out

[njsarge54]

I got the 2oz 70% beads from heartfelt. Is there an optimal placement in the humidor for the tube? I currently have it along the top inner wall where the hinges are for the top.