Temp. too high and RH too low -- HELP!!

[ToddziLLa]

Hey folks,

For the life of me I cannot get my new humi stabilized. It is currently running at a stable 72° and 62% RH.

INFO:
- It is a 100ct humi, appr. 13 3/4" x 10" x 6 1/2"
- I am using a Western Caliber III Digital Hygrometer
- I am using 65% beads from Dave in a lid from a candle

I have read through the numerous threads here on humidors, and cannot come up with why this is happening. Could someone offer some tips to get my temperature DOWN and my humidity UP?

[Hammerhead]

Where is the humidor located in a room? Is it near any vents, lamps, heating units, or in the sun?

How much of Dave's beads are you using? You state volume of humidor, but didn't mention the bead volume - possible it's just not enough?

Have you properly seasoned your humidor? How long did you wait until you began using it, and how did you initially get it up to Rh? How many cigars do you have in the humidor?

[ShawnP]

What is the temperature of the room the humi is in??? Is there another room that is cooler or can you turn down the heat in that room???

Did you measure right and get enough beads? Maybe you need more , maybe they could use a little more water.

How often you open that Humi???? I notice that when I open it up alot the temp rises really quick.


Just some thoughts

[kvm]

Have you done the salt test on your hygro? If you know its accurate add more moisture to your beads. As far as temp goes all you can really do long term is keep your humi in a cooler place.

[ToddziLLa]

Thank you HammerHead -- my responses below in red.

Originally Posted by Hammerhead

Where is the humidor located in a room? Is it near any vents, lamps, heating units, or in the sun?
It is on top of my dresser probably about 5 or 6 feet away from the vent.

How much of Dave's beads are you using? You state volume of humidor, but didn't mention the bead volume - possible it's just not enough?
I am using appr. a fourth of the half-pound bag I got...so I would say I am using appr. 1/8 pound of beads.

Have you properly seasoned your humidor?
I think so.

How long did you wait until you began using it, and how did you initially get it up to Rh?
I waited about a week after I got it before I started using it. I did not store any cigars in there until I got my beads and hygrometer.

How many cigars do you have in the humidor?
As of now only 10, varying in size.

[ToddziLLa]

Originally Posted by kvm

Have you done the salt test on your hygro? If you know its accurate add more moisture to your beads. As far as temp goes all you can really do long term is keep your humi in a cooler place.

Could someone go over the salt test in detail? I did it once, but am unsure if it was the "proper" way to do it or not.

[illuminatus]

Post number 4 has a link to a salt test website... don't know if it's the best, but it'll give you a general idea..

[Hammerhead]

Ok, then assuming that the ambient temperature in the room is under 72d, then there's an artificial cause to the temperature differential, and I'd say you need to relocate the unit to another spot. Do you have a cat?

As to the Rh, I'm told it often takes quite a while, sometimes even weeks. Since you don't know what the humidity level was before you put in the cigars, it's possible that you didn't properly season it thoroughly. You also didn't mention if you seasoned the BEADS. If you didn't get about 60%-70% of the beads clear before you put 'em in, then they're going to pull out moisture from the inside of the humidor until they reach 65% themselves.

Another possibility is leakage. Be sure you have a good seal on the box. Many have recommended the "flashlight test". As the name implies, turn out all the lights in the room and put a lit flashlight in the humidor. If you can see light from the seals, then you have leakage, which would explain the loss of Rh.

Hope this helps. Let's keep kicking it down the road 'till we get you sorted out.

[Blueface]

All great advice given.
Would check the hygro to make sure it is accurate.
Next, how are the smokes?
OK, forget about what the hygro says as long as they are OK.
Use that as the baseline and go from there.

If I worried about temp in South Florida, I would be in trouble as my humi is around 75 3/4's of the year.

[cls515]

62% is not off, considering your beads are 65% and most dig hygrometers are only accurate to +/- 3 points.

[Stogiefanatic182]

for the salt test take a bottle cap fill it with salt and add a small amount of distilled water to make a thick paste but dont dissolve the salt. You can then take your hygrometer and the bottle cap and stick it in a tupperware container or a ziplock bag and let sit for 12-24hrs. I have a digital from radio shack and when I put it in a ziplock I only got a reading of 55%. I then put it in a tupperware container and had good success with a reading of 72% which was three off. I would recommend using the tupperware container

[dadof3illinois]

LOL, take a deep breath and relax. Your only worry as I see it is getting your temp down. You live in Ohio, so I assume you turned your heat on. This will raise the temp of the room your in and also lower the RH. So find a cooler place to put your humi, usually on the floor somewhere is the coolest. Now if that works then you might want to add a few more beads and recharge them.

You can't use too much of the beads IMO, heck I use a pound in my 300 ct humi. I keep them in pantyhose so there easy to move around without spilling.

[ToddziLLa]

Thanks a lot you guys. I have taken all of these things into consideration and will do suggestion by suggestion one at a time and see where we stand.

The reason I sounded so urgent is ultimately because I am worried about the condition of my cigars. Will 72°/62% harm them beyond repair? I know what the preferred temperature and RH is, but what is a 'safe' range, and more importantly, as of now do I fall in it? I just don't want my pretties to dry out and become

Thanks again, and hopefully things will even out soon.

[Scott M]

Dude, you're OK...relax.

72F isn't bad. Unfortunately, tobacco beetles like to hatch at close to that temp so you may want to give your sticks a check or two once in a while.

62% is pretty good, considering you've got 65% beads and an analog hygrometer. My hygro is -3%, so if yours is off, you could be sitting pretty and not know it.

Overall, I'd try to make the temp a little lower, but it's not crucial. Just keep saying to yourself: "I'm good enough, I"m smart enough, and gosh darn it, ..."

[Hammerhead]

Todd, after thinking about this a bit more, this might not be the problem you think it is. The WesternIII Hygro is rated to +/-2% and I seem to recall the beads themselves are variable to the tune of about the same amount. So, if your Hygro is -2% and your beads are -1%, then the only thing is temperature, but at 72, it's not worth worrying about.