What's wrong with my humidor??
 

Hi all, I'm having a problem with my humidor and I'm at my wits end trying to figure out what's wrong.

I bought a small desktop humidor from another BOTL on here a few months ago. It's small, but very nice and solid, not one of those cheap boxes. I noticed immediately that it wouldn't stay humid. Heartfelt beads, Boveda packs, sometimes both wouldn't raise the humidity. I think I had an 82% RH pack in there once and the highest it will read is 65% at most. I did the dollar bill check for leaks, recalibrated my digital hygro and still no luck.

Yesterday I decided to re-season it. Wiped it down, left a moist sponge and a new 72% pack inside. 18 hours later I took a peek inside and it's only reading 65%.

What's going on? Will continuing the seasoning process help at all? Or is something else wrong? Thanks.

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

Im no pro but I may be able to help. I've read that using a super fine sandpaper and running it around the inside of the humidor, blowing out all of the dust, and then reseasoning it may help. Im hoping those fellow BOTL that are woodworkers may be able to offer alternatives.

Hope this helps!

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

If could be the device that you are testing the humidity with.

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

65% is fine. Don't sweat it, but if it's bugging you, you could try calibrating your hygrometer. Search "calibrate hygrometer".


:tu

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

This is at 65% while seasoning though, with a soaking wet paper towel inside. Under normal conditions with my 72% beads it would barely read 60%.

I'm certain it's not the hygro has I've recalibrated it and it's reading fine now that I moved my sticks to a tupperdor.

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

It appears the humi isn't properly sealed. Some people have simply put weather stripping on both the lid and the base and that was enough to fix the issue while others had to do much more work to get it to seal properly. Try weather stripping and see if that helps. If not you might have a big project on your hands.

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

Sounds like a job for...


{drumroll}












Blue masking tape. :tu

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

I used blue painter's tape on mine. It may or may not help. Is this humidor glass top? If not, try a flashlight test.

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

If it doesn't help, try green, pink or red tape!

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

If it's a sealing issue, shouldn't it have not passed the dollar bill test?

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

In addition to the suggestions above you might try the Flashlight test (this will not work so well if your humi has any glass): put a lit flashlight in your humi, and go into a darkend room and see if you can see any light. If you can see light you have a leak and the light will give you an idea where the leak is so that you can fix it.

As has been suggested, puttling some weather stripping around the lid may help.

Finally, you don't mention this, but if you humidor has any glass then the seam where the glass meets the wood is likely the source of a leak. If this is the case, get some clear silicone sealer (caulk) and seal the seams around the glass. Shilala has posted a nice guide that explains how to do this right, your you can do it the easy way without removing the glass. Your choice.

Make sure to give your humidor plenty of time to air out after applying an sealant.

Good luck!

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

There's your problem. You have to use a hundred dollar bill.

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

I used a large plastic bag just to stablize once and it worked like a charm. It could be that your Humi is not fully seasoned, it can take while, could be a crappy hydrometer, could be a bad seal could be....

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

Could you elaborate and using a plastic bag to stabilize? I will try the flashlight test, but other than that, I've already checked the hygdro, the seal, etc. No clue what's left..

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

I'd wait longer than 18 hrs. before checking the humidity levels. Sometimes it takes a few days (sometimes even a week) for the rh to stabilize while you're seasoning your humidor.

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

I would be interested where you live because here in the Boston area it takes me a great deal of effort to keep my humidors and coolers at optimum humidity. In addition before you use weather stripping or painter's tape, I would prefer to see you go to a craft store and grab a wheel of either sail maker's wax or quilter's bees wax and rub that on the upper and bottom surfaces where the top and bottom of your humidor meet until the surfaces feel tacky and they slightly adhere when you try to open your humidor.Think of the effort required to separate two pieces of paper attached by rubber cement. This is very good at sealing the humidor and does not deface it like painter's tape and weather stripping do. Any further questions, feel free to send me a pm. I will be out of town until Saturday but will respond then.:tu

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

If the paper towel inside is still wet I'm guessing your hygro should still read higher than 65% unless there is a giant leak which I would think if it were that bad the dollar bill test would have been a big failure. Do you have another hygro to put in there along with the one your using now for a side by side comparison? Also is your hygro a digital model or analog? If it's not digital I would be willing to put the problem solely on the hygrometer and say the box is more than likely fine. I have had leaky boxes before but if I had a big source of moisture like a bowl of water or floral foam the humidity would still be sky high.

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

Forget about what the hydrometer says.

How are the cigars?

Too many people get stuck on the hydrometer, don't let the tail wage the dog. If the cigars are good, that is all that matters and leave it at that. Hydrometers not always accurate and your humidor will be at its best once it's filled.

Don't bother with the seasoning and over humidity. Your cigars could get moldy and your just asking for beetles should there be a spike in heat.

A humidor does not need to be super tight, it needs to keep your cigars in nice smoking condition, that's it.

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

Smart ass! :r:r:r

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

Sorry but gotta say that it is a hygrometer, not a hydrometer.

A hydrometer is a device used to directly determine the specific gravity, or density, of a liquid. This is often used in winemaking, maintaining aquariums, etc. A hygrometer is an instrument used to measure the moisture content of a gas, as in determining the relative humidity of air. :tu

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

Take the smokes out, dump a gallon of distilled water in it with the lid forced closed, and see how bad it leaks. :tu

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

Get a small bowl. Fill it with distilled water. Microwave water to just get it warm. Put in humidor for a couple of days. NO PEEKING! Then stick your hygrometer, digital is the best, in and wait 24 hours. Take water out, wait a day then check reading. If satisfactory, put sticks in and enjoy.

I agree with Taltos too. Weather conditions can adversely affect humi conditions inside. I live in N Illinois and I am constantly charging beads in the winter, and I rarely touch them in the summer.

If the sticks smoke to your liking, then you might not have a problem at all. My humi's have dipped down in to the mid 50s and smokes still smoke great.:ss

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

Holy farq I'd love to see someone do this!!

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

A good hygrometer is a requirement to keep you and your cigars happy. Even if you have recently tested your hygrometer -- do the salt test again and make sure it really is working correctly. If it is an analog hygrometer get a digital one ASAP.

The point of the humidor is to protect your cigars. Otherwise, you might as well just leave them sitting out on a counter or desk somewhere.

Having said that, I think the point of the above post is that you don't need to over do it. I think the 80/20 rule applies here....

I personally, think that spending a little time up front making things right will save you hours and hours of time later on...

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

Then check this out: http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=29667

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

Thanks for all the responses. The hydro- just kidding :D the hygrometer is digital and I not only calibrated it but right now it's sitting in the tupperdor and reading a perfect 70%.

I will try some of the tricks mentioned and maybe just let it be. I can't really tell if they sticks are dry or not because, well, I'm still a bit of an unseasoned noob.

I live in Southern California, but close enough to the shore that it's not Mojave-dry.

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

:tpd: A week is bare minimum. I usually go even longer than that with a new humi. Seasoning is not something you can rush.

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

Boveda Packs Seasoning Packets (82% RH) Recommend Seasoning For 10 Days. I Think I Would Try Seasoning 2 weeks and See What Happens.
GL!:tu

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

Awesome advice from everyone, thanks. I just wiped it down again, rewet the paper towel and placed a shot glass with warm distilled water. I'm going to leave that in for a week or two and see if it improves.

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

I'm no expert on seasoning a humidor, but wouldn't a wet paper towel be prone to growing mold?

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

This Is What I "ALWAYS" Use For All My Humidors. Works Great!:2
http://www.bovedadirect.com/products/index.cfm
See "Boveda 84% For Seasoning Humidor". If You Have A Small Humi, (2) 65% Packs Will Cost You $8 + Shipping And Last Around 3 Months AFTER You Have Your Humi Seasoned Properly. I Would Be Afraid Of Using A Wet Paper Towel, Myself.

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

Back to my original question, how were the cigars before you started screwing around the humidor? Virtually all collectors keeps their cabinets at 65% or even less, and you were are already at that humidity.

Sounds like a waste of time and money over a desktop humidor that is doing it's function already. When humidors are empty, they're never going to hold the humidity smoothly. When they are full, the cigars are what is holding the humidity.

It's better to have your cigars in the humidor than worrying about getting it humid to put the cigars back in.

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

Would it? I saw it suggested somewhere for seasoning. I guess better be safe than sorry.

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

I keep my cigars 59-63% and they are just fine. I think you are worrying too much. 70% is too high, imo.

:2

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

Greg Is Correct!:tu When I First Started The Cigar Hobby, I Read All The Literature That Recommends 70% RH For Your Humi. Then I Read This Forum And Found Out That 63-65% Yields Better Draws & Fewer Burn Issues. :2

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

I always use a small bowl of distilled water. With a wet towel left in the humi, I'd lay it on a plastic baggie or something to avoid direct contact with the wood.

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

No argument with any of that. Just have a feeling that it was never really seasoned in the first place. Put the cigars in a tuperdor until the humi is seasoned, then lay in a decent supply of cigars and try it again.

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

If you have a fireplace I suggest lighting it and putting the humidor in there. If it wants to stay dry, let it fry. :ss

Re: What's wrong with my humidor??
 

Razorhog, nice catch.. :) It took my first humi a week and a half to fully season. Make sure your batteries in the hygro are new. 65 is a ok to me. Thats what I have mine sitting at. Also, it could be from the winter weather.. The air is dry.