RH problems?

[Subvet642]

Originally Posted by fencefixer

Josh I hope your day gets better and you get your humi issues resolved.

Too friggin' cute!

[Blak Smyth]

Calibrate your hygro and then put it in with your cigars and beads in the bag/tupper to see where they are at while your new humi gets seasoned. If your cigars are at 70% and your beads are at 70% then when the humi is stable at 70% you should be good to go unless there is a leak. If you put cigars into the 70% seasoned humi and they are anything less than 70% they will begin to suck the RH in and lower your humi RH. Take your time, it will be ready before you know it. I remember when I went through the same issues, it seems like a year but once it is done it is worth it to have a proper funtioning humi.
I hope this is making sense, the coffee sometimes takes over and makes me ramble type.

[shilala]

Originally Posted by smitty81

I think I'm gonna put the sticks in a bag with beads and let the humidor season without the sticks in it.

Thanks

That's exactly what you want to do.
I think you'll have a lot more luck with this next humidor, too. I had one that was all glass in the front and the lid and it was nearly impossible to keep the RH up even with a hydra and tons of beads. There was no fixing that one, either.
If you want, and it really helps, you can add a couple little sponges when you season next time. Wet them with distilled water and sit them on a plate or dish. It increases the surface area dramatically and will deliver a ton more moisture to the air than bowls with water do.
Try not to open the humi at all during seasoning, or maybe just very briefly every couple days to check your dishes and/or sponges. If they need attention, make sure you close the humidor immediately. That'll help keep you moving ahead instead of backwards.

Once you put your sticks and beads in, you're committed. Same thing, try not to open the humi. If you need to check, do it quickly and no more than maybe every couple days.

Something else...
The humidor will stabilize and recover RH a lot better once it nearly full of sticks. It's a lot tougher to maintain any kind of RH in any empty humi. The cigars will act as a water-sink and help to control the humidity with the beads.
If your new big humidor is going to be mostly empty, it's going to be tough to control your RH. That's good reason to fill it up.
3/4's full is probably the best situation you can get, that way it allows for a little order here and there, and leaves some air space for circulation.

[icehog3]

I was smoking La Aroma de Cuba Robustos at 70% for a while. Things (tastes, preferences) change with experience. Lots of experience.

[smitty81]

Originally Posted by shilala

That's exactly what you want to do.
I think you'll have a lot more luck with this next humidor, too. I had one that was all glass in the front and the lid and it was nearly impossible to keep the RH up even with a hydra and tons of beads. There was no fixing that one, either.
If you want, and it really helps, you can add a couple little sponges when you season next time. Wet them with distilled water and sit them on a plate or dish. It increases the surface area dramatically and will deliver a ton more moisture to the air than bowls with water do.
Try not to open the humi at all during seasoning, or maybe just very briefly every couple days to check your dishes and/or sponges. If they need attention, make sure you close the humidor immediately. That'll help keep you moving ahead instead of backwards.

Once you put your sticks and beads in, you're committed. Same thing, try not to open the humi. If you need to check, do it quickly and no more than maybe every couple days.

Something else...
The humidor will stabilize and recover RH a lot better once it nearly full of sticks. It's a lot tougher to maintain any kind of RH in any empty humi. The cigars will act as a water-sink and help to control the humidity with the beads.
If your new big humidor is going to be mostly empty, it's going to be tough to control your RH. That's good reason to fill it up.
3/4's full is probably the best situation you can get, that way it allows for a little order here and there, and leaves some air space for circulation.

Thanks for the great information.

Again, I apolagize to everyone that has read this and has been insulted by my attitude.

You all have been helpful. I am the one with a poor attitude.

[Blak Smyth]

I use to try to keep everything at 70% and I found I had many burn issues. I have found my sticks tend to burn better at 65%.

No worries about the "attitude" brother, just let it go and move on.

[pnoon]

Originally Posted by smitty81

I'm new to having sticks at home but I have had them from different places at different RH levels.

I had some at the mentioned 70% about a week ago and I really enjoyed them a lot.

So you are confident/sure the RH from which you smoked is accurate?

To your second point, "some last week" tells me yo are basing your decision on a very small sample. I would guess your enjoyment was due more to the stick itself than the RH.

Your best bet is to get the humidor stable at any RH first. Then worry about adjusting to a particular number.
Posted via Mobile Device

[smitty81]

Originally Posted by icehog3

I was smoking La Aroma de Cuba Robustos at 70% for a while. Things (tastes, preferences) change with experience. Lots of experience.

you didn't like 70%?

[smitty81]

Originally Posted by pnoon

So you are confident/sure the RH from which you smoked is accurate?

To your second point, "some last week" tells me yo are basing your decision on a very small sample. I would guess your enjoyment was due more to the stick itself than the RH.

Your best bet is to get the humidor stable at any RH first. Then worry about adjusting to a particular number.
Posted via Mobile Device

Yes, It was from that java I had. I like them more moist and chewy. It seemd to smoke fine.

I will play with the rh like you say after the humidor is seasoned.

Thanks pnoon.

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by smitty81

you didn't like 70%?

I did.

Then I went 65% and liked it even better.

Now I store at 61-62% and my cigars smoke wonderfully. And age wonderfully as well.

[smitty81]

Originally Posted by icehog3

I did.

Then I went 65% and liked it even better.

Now I store at 61-62% and my cigars smoke wonderfully. And age wonderfully as well.

But then they arnt chewy then.

[smitty81]

I will keep this humidor and give it longer to season.

With two bowls of water in there, it has been holding at 70% moisture for two days.

How long do I leave it sit at 70% before I procede to put the cigars in?

Does 70% sound about right for the ammount of RH being held in the humidor or does/should it get higher than that while seasoning? (lets just assume the hyg is correct for this question)

I would think a humidor that seals properly should be able to hold about 80% RH but maby i'm wrong?

[Subvet642]

When I seasoned mine, RH got up to about 85%, but that was with a calibrated hygrometer and beads in it. It quickly dropped to about 70% - 72% when I removed the cup of distilled water, and beads and sticks brought it down further to 65%. That's about a 20 point drop between seasoning and storage. It's been stable at ~65% ever since.

[ApexAZ]

Originally Posted by shilala

If you want, and it really helps, you can add a couple little sponges when you season next time. Wet them with distilled water and sit them on a plate or dish. It increases the surface area dramatically and will deliver a ton more moisture to the air than bowls with water do.

I did this and it worked great. My RH only drops when the beads need to be recharged.

[dwoodward]

Originally Posted by smitty81

I guess I just dont think a seasoned humidor should drop 5-10% after I take the bowls of water out unless it leaks. Thats what I was asking here.

Is it normal to drop that much.

I guess if two weeks isnt long enough, someone should change the sticky on seasoning humis.

The sticky is fine, you just didn't follow it's directions. Seasoning takes patience. You are just way to eager to use your humidor. I hope you get your moneys worth with the new humidor, but you will have the exact same problems if you throw your cigars in after only 4 days of seasoning.

From another thread:

Originally Posted by smitty81

When is my humidor ready to hold cigars?

Its been seasoning for about 4 days or so and the RH is at 65 according to the hygrometer.

Can I throw my beads in and cigars and call it good?

Yes a BOTL gave some poor advice telling you you should do this. But I am pretty sure you had heard from many of us 2 weeks minimum before your humidor even arrived..

[smitty81]

Originally Posted by dwoodward

The sticky is fine, you just didn't follow it's directions. Seasoning takes patience. You are just way to eager to use your humidor. I hope you get your moneys worth with the new humidor, but you will have the exact same problems if you throw your cigars in after only 4 days of seasoning.

From another thread:



Yes a BOTL gave some poor advice telling you you should do this. But I am pretty sure you had heard from many of us 2 weeks minimum before your humidor even arrived..

not to argue but the sticks were in there for 2 days before I noticed I had problems, then they came out.

[dwoodward]

Originally Posted by smitty81

not to argue but the sticks were in there for 2 days before I noticed I had problems, then they came out.

I don't know what this has to do with what I said? My statement still stands, 4 days is not long enough. Not trying to bust your balls bro, just saying you sent your humidor back blaming it for your RH problems when you didn't season it properly to begin with.

[fencefixer]

Hypothetical question then.. if his humidor isn't "seasoned right" and it was packed full, what if you add extra humidifiers etc., will it season properly eventually?

[smitty81]

Originally Posted by dwoodward

I don't know what this has to do with what I said? My statement still stands, 4 days is not long enough. Not trying to bust your balls bro, just saying you sent your humidor back blaming it for your RH problems when you didn't season it properly to begin with.

I don't think some of you are understanding what I did.

I have been seasoning it for 2 weeks. After 2 days, the humi was at 65% so I put the sticks in. Noticed a problem and took sticks out two days later. Put sticks in baggie. continued seasoning. Put sticks back in 2 days ago. RH dropped and, sticks and beads dried up after a 2 days or so. Took sticks back out.

Just thought id try to clear that up. It has been seasoning for over 2 weeks, I never took the water out ever during these 2 weeks.

[dwoodward]

Originally Posted by fencefixer

Hypothetical question then.. if his humidor isn't "seasoned right" and it was packed full, what if you add extra humidifiers etc., will it season properly eventually?

Originally Posted by fencefixer

Hypothetical question then.. if his humidor isn't "seasoned right" and it was packed full, what if you add extra humidifiers etc., will it season properly eventually?

Maybe, but the dry cedar will still suck up some of the RH from your cigars.