Humidor temperature and humidity.

[T.G]

Originally Posted by shilala

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

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.

[Sweet_Leaf_PDX]

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.

[cigarmarcfl]

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.

[AdamJoshua]

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.

[T.G]

Originally Posted by cigarmarcfl

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.

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.

[pnoon]

Originally Posted by T.G

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.

Nothing else matters. Period.

[Wharf Rat]

Originally Posted by cigarmarcfl

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.

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.

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!

[equetefue]

Originally Posted by T.G

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.

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.

[AdamJoshua]

Originally Posted by badbriar

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!

Originally Posted by cigarmarcfl

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.

[cigarmarcfl]

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.

[AdamJoshua]

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.

[shilala]

Originally Posted by T.G

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.

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

[cigarmarcfl]

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.

[shilala]

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.
If I lived in Florida, I wouldn't own a humidor.

[Porch Dweller]

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.

[cigarmarcfl]

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.

[joatmon]

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.

[Brlesq]

Originally Posted by T.G

[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.

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.