Humidor humidity question

[Arleban]

I just did the salt test for my hygrometer and it's rockin' steady at 74-75%. That's great. My humidor before I just did the test is 63% That sucks. Couple of questions on what to do?

1. I soaked the humidifier in distilled water and held it upside down after that till it stopped dripping. That was around last week, so it shouldn't be a dry issue there. Was that the proper way to do it?

2. The 50/50 solution. If that is the proper way to use the humidifier then I'm worried. Would using the propylene glycol ( I think) help get that % up or is the 63% too low for that to help?

3. If it is too low, and my humidor is a piece o' garbage...any instructions on making a tupperdor? I did a search on coolerdor and didn't find a whole lot here, but I haven't googled yet. So this might be a useless question.

[galaga]

1 Did the humidifier have PEG in it, if not then fill with 50/50 solution insted of water

2If you have a new humidor, then the wood will soak up water until it too acts as a vapor source

3Check for leakage of light by putting a flashlight in your humidor, seal up the leaks with something. I used a strip of laminate between the hinges for my leak.

Want to make a tupperdor, do a search on this board, I think I remember a thread.

Go to JR cigars (jrcigars.com maybe) and look at Steve Saka's humidor FAQ's

[kansashat]

It's easy to make a plastidor, coolerdor, tupperdor whatever. You will need propylene glycol, distilled water, spongue or foam block, a container with holes in the top to make a humidifier (my wife buys those air freshener gels in the little jars {wonder why!} with the lids that have holes in them & I get them after the gel dries up & wash em real good & put spongue chunks & 50/50 in em....they work very well) & a large plastic container or igloo type cooler. If you are putting singles in you will probably need some cedar blocks.

Just remember that too good of a seal & you can overhumidify, plus you will need to let it breath every coupla weeks.

[Arleban]

Originally Posted by kansashat

It's easy to make a plastidor, coolerdor, tupperdor whatever. You will need propylene glycol, distilled water, spongue or foam block, a container with holes in the top to make a humidifier (my wife buys those air freshener gels in the little jars {wonder why!} with the lids that have holes in them & I get them after the gel dries up & wash em real good & put spongue chunks & 50/50 in em....they work very well) & a large plastic container or igloo type cooler. If you are putting singles in you will probably need some cedar blocks.

Just remember that too good of a seal & you can overhumidify, plus you will need to let it breath every coupla weeks.

In your experience, what containers have too good of a seal? also for the chunks/foam, do you just get the pieces damp or have a little solution extra in there? Like damp or wet, I guess I mean?

[txmatt]

I simply cannot stress enough how much better Climaxx media humidification beads are than all other passive humidifcation devices.

Check out bargainhumidors.com and buy a pound of either the 65% or the 70% media. When you get ahold of it ship me a PM and I will help you "fill" the media.

-Matt-

[FrankB]

Arleban, once again, not an expert by any stretch, especially in humidor issues, but 74-75% might be a little high. I think the more experienced apes err to 66-70% as an ideal. I think the logic is that overly humidified cigars cause them to swell, creating issues with burn and wrappers splitting. I know my humidor stays at 68-69% and seems to keep my cigars in great shape. Frank B

[LeafHog]

FrankB,

I think he's saying the hyrgometer calibrated to 74-75% as it should with a saturated salt solution. His problem is that he can't get the actual RH of his humi up to 68%.


I'm with txmatt on this, climmax is the way to go. Definitely do as galaga suggests and check for leaks with a flashlight. If your humidor doesn't seal properly you'll never be able to maintain humidity.

[Arleban]

Originally Posted by LeafHog

FrankB,

I think he's saying the hyrgometer calibrated to 74-75% as it should with a saturated salt solution. His problem is that he can't get the actual RH of his humi up to 68%.


I'm with txmatt on this, climmax is the way to go. Definitely do as galaga suggests and check for leaks with a flashlight. If your humidor doesn't seal properly you'll never be able to maintain humidity.

You are correct. The test is 75% and it my humidor it registers 63%. I would like to try the climaxx beads, but they might take up too much space. I only bought a, uh...um..15 ct. humidor. Yeah, I realized that's a bit small now. That's why I've been asking about a tupperdor. I figure if I can get my issue solved with this humidor I can at least keep it for my "will be smoking soon" pile. It's pretty small, so I might have to buy a mini flashlight to test out the tightness of it.

[LeafHog]

Try a drymistat tube, or I think you can order a tube humidifier from climmax as well.

[Arleban]

Thank you! I will look at that this weekend.

[kamikaiguy]

In a humidor that small a Drymistat Tube will work fine. But Txmatt is right the Climax beads are the way to go for larger Humidors. For a tuperdor. I would get a relatively large tuperware container. Put a dish of climax beads in and get some spanish cedar and line the tuperdor then put in your stogies.

[FrankB]

Originally Posted by LeafHog

FrankB,

I think he's saying the hyrgometer calibrated to 74-75% as it should with a saturated salt solution. His problem is that he can't get the actual RH of his humi up to 68%.


I'm with txmatt on this, climmax is the way to go. Definitely do as galaga suggests and check for leaks with a flashlight. If your humidor doesn't seal properly you'll never be able to maintain humidity.

Hey Leafhog, thanks for the education. Actually have the salt test instructions to try to correct a humidor I couldn't maintain adequate humidity in. Never used it, gave the humidor away and bought another humidor and a digital hygrometer and decided not to be so anal. Workin' for me so far.The anal comment was not intended to be inflammatory, I worried my ass off when I bought my first humidor trying to get it right and I finally decided if my cigars were smoking okay and living in the humidor okay then everything was good!! Frank B

[kansashat]

I may have to try the cimmax beads......sounds like they take a lot of the worry out of the process.
A good tight seal isn't necessarily bad, but you will need to let it breath from time to time.
I've got a Rubbermaid 72 qt that tends to want to run high as it must seal very well. The coolerdors will generally have a very good seal.
One thing I've noticed......if you have lots of cigars in the humidor, they will tend to help humidify themselves so you might need less media.
Again, the climmax beads may eliminate the flux.
The only time that higher humidity is a structural threat to your cigars is when they are a bit dry. They will swell & crack then. If your cigars are well taken care of & they are exposed to higher humidity, I don't believe they are damaged beyond repair. They will become spongy. The higher humidity level will make them burn hotter which will effect the flavor. A couple of weeks at proper humidity & they will return to the proper level with no ill effect.
BTW, I'm no expert either.....JMHO.

[LeafHog]

Originally Posted by FrankB

...I finally decided if my cigars were smoking okay and living in the humidor okay then everything was good!! Frank B

Amen!!

[Arleban]

Originally Posted by FrankB

Hey Leafhog, thanks for the education. Actually have the salt test instructions to try to correct a humidor I couldn't maintain adequate humidity in. Never used it, gave the humidor away and bought another humidor and a digital hygrometer and decided not to be so anal. Workin' for me so far.The anal comment was not intended to be inflammatory, I worried my ass off when I bought my first humidor trying to get it right and I finally decided if my cigars were smoking okay and living in the humidor okay then everything was good!! Frank B

I totally agree with you. The only reason that I'm worried is that my cigars seem a bit dry. They aren't as squishy (not that they were before) and the bands can almost slip off the end without undoing them.