Another Newby Humi Question

[banzaiengr]

[SIZE=3]I got a fifty stick humi from Tampa Humidors. I also got the startup kit with it. It contained two bottles of 80/20 solution, a Boveda 84% seasoning pack, a Boveda calibration pack, and and a Boveda 72% humidity pack. I used the seasoning pack for ten days. Meanwhile I calibrated my hygrometer and waited. After 10 days the hygrometer read 66%. I took out the seasoning pack, replaced it with a disk filled with solution and the 72% pack. I’m waiting for a recent order to arrive so I only had 8 cigars to put in the humi. I have only been able to maintain a humidity level of around 60%. I have since wiped it down with distilled water twice. After awhile the level drops back to 60%. I have checked for leaks and have found none. Is this just a problem due to the few cigars I have in the humi and the large amount of air space? Thanks in advance for the help. [/SIZE]

[avid toker]

assuming there are no leaks and you've calibrated your hygrometer, then here's what i propose....
take the 80/20 solution out and continue to season your humi. but instead of using the humidity paks, use distilled water in a shallow dish or shot glass. do not wipe the humi down again and wait for the humi to reach at least 70%RH or more. Once the RH holds steady, then introduce your cigars.

it could be that your humi is still rather dry. remember, patience is the biggest virtue with seasoning humi's. i've had humi's take 3 days to 3 weeks to properly season. hope this helps.

[mosesbotbol]

What's a matter with 66%? No need for wiping down the humidor or open containers of water in the humidor. Just fill it up with cigars and that's it. An empty humidor does not work well at keeping steady humidity. You can have a leaky box full of cigars and the humdity can be fine.

If you ask any collector, the vast majority of them keep their cigars in the low 60's RH.

[SUOrangeGuy]

If the humdior is close to empty thats your problem. The cigars also help to regulate the humidity.

[banzaiengr]

[SIZE=3]O.K., here’s where I’m at with this humidor. I have had a humidification disk, a 72% Boveda pack, and a shot glass of distilled water in it for about a week. I recently received an order of cigars so I currently have about 30 cigars in the humi. The new cigars smoked a little wet, so I took them out of the cello to try and get more humidity in the humidor. After about a day or two I’ve only got 60% humidity in the humidor. Any suggestions. [/SIZE]

[cricky101]

Originally Posted by banzaiengr

[SIZE=3]O.K., here’s where I’m at with this humidor. I have had a humidification disk, a 72% Boveda pack, and a shot glass of distilled water in it for about a week. I recently received an order of cigars so I currently have about 30 cigars in the humi. The new cigars smoked a little wet, so I took them out of the cello to try and get more humidity in the humidor. After about a day or two I’ve only got 60% humidity in the humidor. Any suggestions. [/SIZE]

Yup - Kick back and enjoy one of your new cigars.

[galaga]

Originally Posted by banzaiengr

[SIZE=3]I got a fifty stick humi from Tampa Humidors. Did you do a flashlight test on it?I also got the startup kit with it. It contained two bottles of 80/20 solution, I thought polyethyleneglycol, PEG, worked at a 50/50 mixture for 70% a Boveda 84% seasoning pack, a Boveda calibration pack, and and a Boveda 72% humidity pack. I used the seasoning pack for ten days. Meanwhile I calibrated my hygrometer and waited How accurate was the hydrometer and did you have to adjust it. After 10 days the hygrometer read 66%. I took out the seasoning pack, replaced it with a disk filled with solution and the 72% pack. I’m waiting for a recent order to arrive so I only had 8 cigars to put in the humi. I have only been able to maintain a humidity level of around 60%. I have since wiped it down with distilled water twice. After awhile the level drops back to 60%. I have checked for leaks and have found none. with the flashlight test?Is this just a problem due to the few cigars I have in the humi and the large amount of air space? Thanks in advance for the help. [/SIZE]

I always thought tha PEG worked at a 50% mix. I looked up the Boveda seasoning kit on the Tampa site, they misspelled Boveda BTW. I can't find the directions for using the kit but they do say 50/50 activator solution. Assuming it really is 80%PEG/20%H2O then the solution is pulling water out of your humidor/cigars trying to get to equilibrium, i.e, 50% PEG/50%H2O. Make sure that the directions state it should be a 80/20 mix and not a 50/50 mix.

Originally Posted by mosesbotbol

What's a matter with 66%? No need for wiping down the humidor or open containers of water in the humidor. Just fill it up with cigars and that's it. An empty humidor does not work well at keeping steady humidity. You can have a leaky box full of cigars and the humdity can be fine.

If you ask any collector, the vast majority of them keep their cigars in the low 60's RH.

Originally Posted by cricky101

Yup - Kick back and enjoy one of your new cigars.

[drawfour]

Screw the PG solution. Screw the Boveda packs. Get some beads from Viper (www.heartfeltindustries.com) or n2adventure (www.cigarmony.com). The Puck is a nice all-in-one solution from cigarmony.com, or you can build your own, etc...

They will do an awesome job of regulating the humidity. All you need is distilled water, and they'll emit humidity or absorb it back in as needed to keep a constant humidity level.

[wharfrathoss]

a lot of sticks smoke wet until they've had time to settle after shipping (2 to 4 wks)-sounds like maybe the seasoning was rushed too-just give it time, as long as the RH is between 60% & 70% you're not doing any damage to your smokes-getting the beads is good advice too

[tuneman07]

I personally would be a bit worried about the seal of the humi. Something has to be leaking if you only can get 60% and you have the packets and distilled water. My humi was completely empty and I put 2 shotglasses of water to season it and the humidity was around 80 percent. Every humi is different I'm sure but still 60% with that much water isn't a good sign. I definitely agree beads are the best way to go as well but I think you will find that if you have that much trouble getting above 60% your beads are not going to get it up into the mid 60's, and if they do you will be rewetting them a lot. You might have to keep a shotglass or sponge in there at all times with the beads to get the humidity up where it should be.

[banzaiengr]

Originally Posted by galaga

I always thought tha PEG worked at a 50% mix. I looked up the Boveda seasoning kit on the Tampa site, they misspelled Boveda BTW. I can't find the directions for using the kit but they do say 50/50 activator solution. Assuming it really is 80%PEG/20%H2O then the solution is pulling water out of your humidor/cigars trying to get to equilibrium, i.e, 50% PEG/50%H2O. Make sure that the directions state it should be a 80/20 mix and not a 50/50 mix.

Isn't the solution 80% distilled water and 20% PEG?

[galaga]

Originally Posted by banzaiengr

Isn't the solution 80% distilled water and 20% PEG?

I don't have the bottle so I don't know. I've only ever heard of using a 50% mixture of water and PEG to control the RH @ 70%, never a 80/20 mixture.

[Scimmia]

Originally Posted by galaga

I always thought tha PEG worked at a 50% mix. I looked up the Boveda seasoning kit on the Tampa site, they misspelled Boveda BTW. I can't find the directions for using the kit but they do say 50/50 activator solution. Assuming it really is 80%PEG/20%H2O then the solution is pulling water out of your humidor/cigars trying to get to equilibrium, i.e, 50% PEG/50%H2O. Make sure that the directions state it should be a 80/20 mix and not a 50/50 mix.

Um, what? That makes no sense at all; PG does not try to end up at a 50/50 state with water, it's simply used as a regulating agent. It lowers the normal evaporation rate of the water, so that the evaporation rate and condensation rate are in equilibrium around 70% RH.

Take a look at your calibration. The Boveda calibration pack creates a 75.5% RH environment. If your hygrometer is reading 66%, that means that it's reading right at 10% low. That means that if your hygro is reading 60%, it's actually 70%, pretty much right on. Unless you're telling us your hygro is reading 50%, then disregard.

[banzaiengr]

[SIZE=3]Yes, I did a flashlight test on the humidor. It appeared to me to be sealing properly. When I calibrated the hydrometer it was reading 3% low, so I adjusted it accordingly and it should be reading right on now. I have also put masking tape around the seal since and still am only able to get 60 – 62% humidity. I called Tampa Humidor; they say that the seasoning pack at 84% should properly season the humidor in 10 days. They think it’s the humidor. They are going to pre-calibrate a hydrometer and preseason a new humidor and send it out, GREAT SERVICE!!! They tell me that the owner did quite a bit of research on the solutions and has found that 50/50 gums things up. The 80/20 is what many are going to. Thanks for all the help from the board and please take note of this great service from Tampa Humidor![/SIZE]

[galaga]

Originally Posted by Scimmia

Um, what? That makes no sense at all; PG does not try to end up at a 50/50 state with water, it's simply used as a regulating agent. It lowers the normal evaporation rate of the water, so that the evaporation rate and condensation rate are in equilibrium around 70% RH.

As I understood it, the PEG solution works to release water vapor and to absorb water vapor, depending on the RH.

Take a look at your calibration. The Boveda calibration pack creates a 75.5% RH environment. If your hygrometer is reading 66%, that means that it's reading right at 10% low. That means that if your hygro is reading 60%, it's actually 70%, pretty much right on. Unless you're telling us your hygro is reading 50%, then disregard.

A good point about the calibration of his hydrometer; he never did mention if the hydrometer needed adjustment.