Humidity Problem

[alfredo_buscatti]

Sorry! I thought I was supposed to be rehydrating the sponge with distilled water everyday; in fact, when I remove it it maybe has only 30-40% of the water left in it that it had the day before when, rehydrated, I put it back into the humidor. bobarian, your smiley is priceless!

Plan: rehydrate sponge until it is sopping wet, put it into the humidor and don't open it for two weeks.

Question: At the end of two weeks, whether the rH is correct at that point or needs to be adjusted, am I aiming at 65% rH, the same as my beads?

[bobarian]

Originally Posted by alfredo_buscatti

Sorry! I thought I was supposed to be rehydrating the sponge with distilled water everyday; in fact, when I remove it it maybe has only 30-40% of the water left in it that it had the day before when, rehydrated, I put it back into the humidor. bobarian, your smiley is priceless!

Plan: rehydrate sponge until it is sopping wet, put it into the humidor and don't open it for two weeks.

Question: At the end of two weeks, whether the rH is correct at that point or needs to be adjusted, am I aiming at 65% rH, the same as my beads?

Your goal is stability. Once seasoned your humidor should maintain its Rh for at least 24hrs. Take a reading, then in 24hrs check again and if you are within 2-5% you are good to go. Make sure no more than 2/3rds of your beads are clear and they will absorb any excess moisture. This may take up to a week as they work slowly, but you can put your cigars in once your Rh is stable.

Sponge does not have to be "sopping wet" It will continue to release moisture until the cedar is saturated.

[alfredo_buscatti]

So a sponge wet with distilled water and my hygrometer were the only contents in my humidor for two weeks. Opened the humidor today and removed the sponge. Reading was 67 rH.

My question is: should I have put the beads in the humidor for the 24 hour test? I didn't and don't think so as they would have distorted the reading that I will take tomorrow? I want to be sure the wood has the right moisture, the wood only, for this final step?