Humidification Troubles

[theyerb]

Hey guys!

I'm a newb to the community but not too new to cigars, granted I have MUCH to learn! I just got a new shipment in of cigars: Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, Punch, some Kahlua cigars-- and they arrived from Famous in excellent condition. I put them in my humidor but the humidor kept dropping to 60%! The humidor is relatively new and good quality IMO. To raise the humidity I put in several additional home-made humidification sources: a dish with a soaked paper towel (pure water), a shot glass of water, a gel pouch, and a home-made Cohiba tubo stuffed with soaked paper towels with holes in it. You'd think that would do it! The humidor still barely reaches 68%. Should I wipe it down with distilled water, (carefully and slowly, of course)? Should I wait for it to reach equilibrium? I don't want my beautiful smokes to dry out. Cheers Sry for the long post.

[pakrat]

Did you season the humi first? If not, then it wouldn't hurt to wipe it down with a barely damp rag using distilled water. Then leave the bowl and shot glass in it until the humidity comes up. You can keep your stix in a tupperware container with your gel pouch until the humi holds your desired humidity.

[chippewastud79]

68% is not a bad humidity to have and it sounds like you have way too many humdification sources in your humi to over compensate for not having seasoned it properly. I can only assume your humidor is not that large (100 count or so).
I would make sure the humidor is stabilized before I put the cigars in there. It sounds like you are trying to season and store at the same time. Put the cigars in a zippered bag with a damp paper towel or some sort of humidifier and season the humidor properly first. Also make sure your seal is proper with the "flashlight" or "dollar bill" test.
I would also advise against storing the Kahlua cigars with your non-flavored cigars unless you want some intermingling of flavors.

I hope by "pure water" you mean distilled water too.

[Munkey]

If you have an analog hygrometer, odds are your not getting an accurate reading. You didn't mention what you are reading with, so that was my first thought.

[theyerb]

I think I'm going to like it here! Thanks for the help guys. I'm going to re-condition it as advised. Cheers

[Racer3]

Originally Posted by Munkey

If you have an analog hygrometer, odds are your not getting an accurate reading. You didn't mention what you are reading with, so that was my first thought.

Im with Munkey on this one I would salt test your hygrometer, that was also my first thought.

[madurolover]

I would also advise against wiping the humidor down with water. Although many do it with no adverse effects you are still taking the chance of warping the wood which would lead to it never sealing correctly.

[D_A]

Originally Posted by Racer3

Im with Munkey on this one I would salt test your hygrometer, that was also my first thought.

And then buy some beads.
http://www.heartfeltindustries.com/c...ies.asp?cat=11

[Tour De Cigar]

Originally Posted by madurolover

I would also advise against wiping the humidor down with water. Although many do it with no adverse effects you are still taking the chance of warping the wood which would lead to it never sealing correctly.

im with you all the way on this one and thats the problem Im having with one of my old humi. which was my first humi... I also advise against the wipe down..