Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

I bought a humidor. I also bought the Humi Care Hygrometer, Bead Jar and Seasoning Wipes. The temp in the humidor stays at 68 and the humidity is around 74. I seasoned it per their instructions and then filled the jar with purified water. The temp and humidity fluctuates throughout the day. I have about 30 Makers Choice, a Behike and a few CAO Brazillia's in it. What am I doing wrong.

Thanks in advance for helping this newbie!

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

OK, my turn.

I am curious that you filled the bead jar with water. I am unfamiliar with the bead jar but if it was full of the humidity beads that I use, I would only have wet the beads, not saturated them. Other than that, you may have to wait a fair amount of time for the humidity to settle down, as on the order of a week or so. What % beads did you get? Your temp will fluctuate with the weather. And also, read the stickies at the top of the page in this forum and be patient.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

A lot of the difference could also depend on the size of the bead jar and the size of the humidor. Beyond that what galaga said is dead on.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

I'm guessing the bead jar has the type of beads you can find at local craft stores, that will absorb water. I ran them in my Hydra knockoff to replace the foam. They're not like Heartfelt or HCM beads, where they're at a certain % humidity level.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

The bead jar is the 4 oz bead jar from Humi Care with blue beads in it. It states that it would keep at 65-70%. I just spoke to my roommate and she says it's at 78 degrees and 74% humidity. Should I pour some water out? I'm not good with patience or I would've read the directions where it says to put a small amount of water in it!! But i got a new toy and wanted to play with it!! I've had it for about two weeks.

Thanks guys.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

You should pour ALL the water out, Marc.
There shouldn't be any more water in there than the gel can absorb.
I'd go so far as letting them dry out a bit more in a colander or something.
Good Luck!!! :tu

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

Thanks Scott. I'll do that as soon as I get home. Are they supposed to stay dry?

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

Not dry but no standing water in the container. I would be concerned with the temp as well if I read that 78 degrees right.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

The high temperature will also lend itself to higher humidity readings.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

All the advice above is good. I'd just amplify the point that it takes quite a while (days) to stabilize. And, the more times you open it to peek at the hygro reading, the longer it will take. Pour out the excess water and take a reading once a day for a week. Then, report in.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

I poured the beads into a colander and drained the water out, then poured the beads onto a few paper towels. Put the beads back into the jar. It now reads 73%/75 degrees. Unfortunately, because I'm not a patient person, I keep opening the humidor and checking on it. I'll leave it alone until tomorrow.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

We've all been there. Once you get the humidity where you want it, don't fret over the occasional spikes/dips in humidity levels. It happens. Cigars are resilient. They can take those fluctuations and will be just fine. It's long term exposure to those conditions that could eventually affect them.

Heck, my coolers run about 60-61% during the winter, because the furnace dries the house out. Even for the couple of months they're at that humidity they smoke fine (some people even prefer them at that level). Come spring, the coolers bounce back to 64-65%, right at my preferred point.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

Out of curiosity -- what is the ambient humidity and temperature in the room where you keep your humidor? If the values in the room are close to the values that you are seeing inside your humidor then you do not want the Humi Care gel "beads" to be wet at all -- you want to absorb moisture, not release it.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

I dont know what the humidity of the room is, but the room temp is anywhere from 75-77. I live in Fort Lauderdale, Fl. The current outdoor humidity is 74%

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

That's basically what the Humi-Care bead jars are. They are super-absorbent polymer (SAP) gel chunks, it's the same stuff that is in the beads that expand when you get them wet so you can fill a vase and stick plants in them, the powder inside that water pillows, the gel inside xikar humidifiers, etc... Basically a horrible misnomer by the marketing department at Cigars International (they own the Humi-Care line).

They kind of run around high 60's to low 70%s RH, but they aren't all that accurate. They are good for leaky humidors, since they hold a ton of water and release moisture pretty rapidly. They will absorb moisture from the air, but only very slowly.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

Is the room air conditioned? AC will dehumidify the air.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

Yes, the room is air conditioned. I noticed that when I emptied out the water from the jar, the beads were huge Probably the result of retaining all that water.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

[pedantic]
They're not beads. They are a hydrated gel matrix.
[/pedantic]


Yeah, SAP is nuts like that, some of them will absorb something like 1000x their weight/size in water. I've seen some that a teaspoon's worth will hold a gallon of water.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

CI calls them beads, Adam. I looked them up earlier.
That's where that's coming from.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

Scott, I know that. Note my comment in post #16 about how it's a horrible misnomer.

In fact, one of these days, I'm going to kick Steve R. in the nuts for it.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

I used those humidification gel-bead-like things for a time. They come ready to go so you should not add any water to them until they shrink to about half of their original size. eventually your container will look like it's only about 1/3 full. That's when you want to add a little bit of water.

If you really filled it up with water then you will need to let them dry out for several days at least. I would leave your humidor closed with no humidification in there while this is happening. How far the humidity drops will be a good indicator of how well it seals.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

I took the beads out and replaced them with a Boveda pack. Not sure I should've done that. The temp is 64 and the humidity is 74. I admit, I have no idea what I'm doing but my sticks aren't as spongy anymore. The humidor has no leaks in it. i put a flashlight inside, closed it and didn't see any light in the seal.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

Guessing here you live and the fact you seasoned it (assuming you left it closed long enough to season) it is seasoned to or at least holding 74%, with you living in such a humid area it might be a trick to lower the humidity of it, I'm sure more others will have more info or help on this.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

Give the boveda pack some time.

Remember, if your cigars are smoking how you like them, the numerical value of the humidity is irrelevant. Don't worry about temp at all, that's why it's called "relative humidity", it's a sliding scale based on the temp.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

Nothing else matters. Period.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

The Boveda packs and the better quality beads are very reliable, if you give them some time alone, undisturbed. This assumes the conditions in the room, around the box, are reasonably stable. It's hard to figure how you got to a temp of 64 in S Florida, unless you have the 'dor directly under an air conditioning register. If there's a stream of refrigerated air blowing on the box, on and off, move it.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

Just a thought... If the beads are some generic type and not working for you, consider replacing them with a Boveda pack or two. I use them in my desktop / 150 count humi and the humidity is rock solid at 67%. And you can recharge them when they dry out. I think it was Scott that posted the lazy way to do it and it works perfectly. Best four bucks per pack I've spent. Those bad boys are definitely set it and forget it for about 3-6 months between recharges! :tu

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

Is this the reason why I had to drop my cabinet to 60% as of late. My temp has gone up to mid 70's. During the colder months, temps would be in the low 70's and my setting would be closer to 63-64%

I've been trying to makes sense of this.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

:tf

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

This is getting to be very frustrating. I just checked the numbers and it's holding at 62% and 71 degrees. I closed the lid on the Humi Care Bead Jar and let the Boveda pack take over. The sticks seem to burn unevenly and are getting dry and a little brittle. I seasoned it with the Humi Care wipes. The directions said to wipe it down ever 24 hours. I used all four wipes and left it closed every 24 hours after I wiped it down. I'm thinking of just taking all humidity packs out and just let the sticks sit in the humidor. Any thoughts.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

You might be overthinking this a bit, if you trust the hygrometer and the hygrometer says 62 then it is 62. Cigars take a while to adjust, they don't change over night. You could always put a few in a Tupperware with a humi pack and let them sit in there awhile, or even a plastic ziplock bag.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

I completely missed that, brother. My bad.
I thought I read everything, yet my internet attention deficit disorder

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

I totally agree with you Adam. I do tend to overthink. I think I trust the hydro, it's the little blue one I bought from CI. I thought that with the boveda it would keep a constant 72. If this is what it is, then so be it. I smoke more than most people. About 4 Makers Choice during work hours and then one or two better brands, CAO or Brick House at night, so my humi is opening and closing alot. I was never a cigarette smoker, but I really enjoy puffing on the sticks. I'll stop obsessing over this. It's driving me a little nutty, and I'm sure people here are tired of reading my comments. Thanks to everyone for their help.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

Just be comfortable, Marc.
Enjoy your smokes.
I used to keep mine on the shelf in the office in their boxes. I had zero problems, but I smoked fast. :D
If I lived in Florida, I wouldn't own a humidor. :tu

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

Are you using enough Boveda packs for the volume of your humidor?

I definitely recommend splurging on some Heartfelt or HCM beads. If your humidor is sealing properly, they work great. If your humidor is a little leaky, they still work great, just with some occasional TLC. If you're in and out of your humidor as much as you say, they still work great.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

Well, I finally achieved success! I called CI, where I got the humidor from. I explained the problem I'm having, they said they've had a lot of complaints about that humidor and they'll send me an upgrade. I received the upgrade, seasoned it and it now stays at a constant 73/73. I took the old humidor, resealed it and now it's at a contstant 73/73 as well. I'm using a Xikar 4oz humidifier in both of them. I use one for the cheapies and one for the good sticks. Thanks everyone for all your help.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

Glad things are working for you. When I first started keeping cigars late last year I was keeping them at about 72% humidity. Found a lot of cigars were hard to keep lit. Per common recommendations around here I knocked it down to 62%. Cigars started burning and tasting better. Of course, that's just my experience and opinion. If cigars stored at 73% taste good to you, roll with it.

Re: Humidor temperature and humidity.
 

True. They are also known as floral beads (used by florists). I replaced the green foam with these in my Cigar Oasis II-XL, which hold about a quart and a half of fluid in the reservoir. Used about half a teaspoon of these floral beads that are smaller than a grain of rice. After adding DL, they swell to the size of large marbles and hold the moisture for a long, long time before more DL is needed. They are cheap, too.