Humidor question to all BOTLs living in a dry climate

boydmcgowan

Hi Guys I live in Northern California, so not super dry, but certainly not a humid area. So this question goes out to those living in dry areas. . . . .

How often do you reseason your humidors?

I have 2 humidors, and both use 70% beads. My small one (~40 sticks) is locked in between 68% and 70% at all times. I love it. My Larger one (~125 ct) though has been giving my problems though, the last 6 months or so. Had the humidor for about 5 years. I can't get the humidity over 65% unless I put a dish of water in it, which isn't going to happen.

I have a half pount of beads spread out over the two humis with the vast majority of them in the larger one so I know I have enough. I also apply water to them fairly frequently and still can't get it over 65%, with is usually sitting at 63%.

So what do you all think?

I use the same digital hygro in both. Not the same brand, but the same one, I rotate one digital hygro around really just to make sure my analog ones are spot on, and they actually always are. I'm suprised by the lack of trust in those things. So I know its not a recalibration thing.

I know I'm giving the beads enough water, so I know its not that.

Maybe I need to check the seal again? Or maybe I need to empty it and reaseason it? Am I over filled? and the humidity isn't getting enough space to circulate?

So how often to you all reseason your humis? What do you guys think about my other thoughts?

j0z3r

I don't think you should ever have to reseason a humidor provided it was properly seasoned in the first place and humidity was maintained.

I've had issues with humidity dropping, but typically nothing a little booster in the form of a 72% Boveda pack or two or a gel jar.

jliu

I second Joe. Also, during the winter months, I would use a little dish or cup and just put distilled water in it and set it in my humidor. That seemed to have kicked up the humidity level as well. If all else fails, lets just smoke all of them ok?

jliu

wait. I don't want to smoke the dried up ones. I wish you can delete posts on this forum. Oh well, at least I just padded my post (just kidding. I'm not one of those guys. nope).

boydmcgowan

jliu:

I second Joe. Also, during the winter months, I would use a little dish or cup and just put distilled water in it and set it in my humidor. That seemed to have kicked up the humidity level as well. If all else fails, lets just smoke all of them ok?

hahaha, I season the humi this way, but I'm WAY too clutzy for a dish of water in there once there are cigars in it. I'm a cello off kind of guy, so thats just a problem waiting to happen.

boydmcgowan

j0z3r:

I don't think you should ever have to reseason a humidor provided it was properly seasoned in the first place and humidity was maintained.

I've had issues with humidity dropping, but typically nothing a little booster in the form of a 72% Boveda pack or two or a gel jar.

Well I probably didn't season it properly when I first got it, but I honestly don't remember though, it was a while back. But I did re-season it properly about a year and a half ago when I upgraded to beads and a digital hygro.

Interesting that your both saying that you should never have to reseason it. I thought I read some article in one of the Ccom newsletters that actually recomended it every so often. Not sure though. I'm going to try and find that article.

In the meantime since I'm confident the hygro is right, I'm going to check the seal on it, I guess thats the one thing I didn't do. Heck maybe its got a bad seal and this is a good excuse to go get a bigger humi. And I should probably try more humidification. Never used a gel jar or a boveda pack. Off to check heartfelt's website to see what they have . . .

boydmcgowan

boydmcgowan:

I thought I read some article in one of the Ccom newsletters that actually recomended it every so often. Not sure though. I'm going to try and find that article.

found it.

Check the Jan 2 2011 news letter for the full article, but here is part that I was referring to.

"I recommend seasoning your humidor twice a year as the weather changes and maintaining two humidors; one for your everyday sticks and one for the blends you’d like to age. Follow this simple advice and you’ll find yourself consistently maintaining a humidor filled with well-aged cigars, year-round."

Course I only did it once and then got lazy and never dit it again, but now I'm having trouble keeping my humidity up so I might give it another go.

jliu

interesting. now i gotta move ALL my sticks into tupperwares and season the humis. freaking great.

boydmcgowan

hahaha, well I'm a big advocate in the "if it aint broke don't fix it" mentality, so . . . . . if your good then why bother.

j0z3r

boydmcgowan:

j0z3r:

I don't think you should ever have to reseason a humidor provided it was properly seasoned in the first place and humidity was maintained.

I've had issues with humidity dropping, but typically nothing a little booster in the form of a 72% Boveda pack or two or a gel jar.

Well I probably didn't season it properly when I first got it, but I honestly don't remember though, it was a while back. But I did re-season it properly about a year and a half ago when I upgraded to beads and a digital hygro.

Interesting that your both saying that you should never have to reseason it. I thought I read some article in one of the Ccom newsletters that actually recomended it every so often. Not sure though. I'm going to try and find that article.

In the meantime since I'm confident the hygro is right, I'm going to check the seal on it, I guess thats the one thing I didn't do. Heck maybe its got a bad seal and this is a good excuse to go get a bigger humi. And I should probably try more humidification. Never used a gel jar or a boveda pack. Off to check heartfelt's website to see what they have . . .

Well Boyd, I'm going by my own experience. Now I'm hardly the most experience or knowledgeable guy here, but I know what has worked for me. I won't give advice if I don't have first hand experience doing it that way.

So basically my way works for me, but I'd suggest doing what you're comfortable with, but more importantly what works for you. If there is one thing I've learned, it's that there is usually more than one way to get something done, the trick is finding the one that suits you best. Good luck however you should choose to do it.

danielzreyes

I don't see anything wrong with keeping it at 65%. I keep mine at 65-68%.

jgibv

boydmcgowan:

"I recommend seasoning your humidor twice a year as the weather changes and maintaining two humidors; one for your everyday sticks and one for the blends you’d like to age. Follow this simple advice and you’ll find yourself consistently maintaining a humidor filled with well-aged cigars, year-round."

Glad you posted this question (and for everybody's answers) because I've been having some problems too the last few weeks. My RH in my 150-ct glass top has been slowly dropping for about 2 weeks now and I've checked it with 3 hygros too just to be sure & they all read the same. And this morning I saw it was down to 54%...FFF!!!!

My coolidor and smaller 50-ct are fine, it's just the glass top giving me problems one. I have no idea what the cause would be -- haven't added a large amount of new sticks recently - I've added humi-packs, recharged the beads, and even removed some of the sticks thinking it was too full..... ugggh.
Looks like I'll transfer all the cigars to the coolidor this weekend and try reseasoning the humi that's giving me problems.

boydmcgowan

jgibv:

boydmcgowan:

"I recommend seasoning your humidor twice a year as the weather changes and maintaining two humidors; one for your everyday sticks and one for the blends you’d like to age. Follow this simple advice and you’ll find yourself consistently maintaining a humidor filled with well-aged cigars, year-round."

Glad you posted this question (and for everybody's answers) because I've been having some problems too the last few weeks. My RH in my 150-ct glass top has been slowly dropping for about 2 weeks now and I've checked it with 3 hygros too just to be sure & they all read the same. And this morning I saw it was down to 54%...FFF!!!!

My coolidor and smaller 50-ct are fine, it's just the glass top giving me problems one. I have no idea what the cause would be -- haven't added a large amount of new sticks recently - I've added humi-packs, recharged the beads, and even removed some of the sticks thinking it was too full..... ugggh.
Looks like I'll transfer all the cigars to the coolidor this weekend and try reseasoning the humi that's giving me problems.

Let me know how it works out man. I'm curious. I've only done this once and it was a pain, so I'm using it as a last resort. . . .

The Sniper

j0z3r:

I don't think you should ever have to reseason a humidor provided it was properly seasoned in the first place and humidity was maintained.

I've had issues with humidity dropping, but typically nothing a little booster in the form of a 72% Boveda pack or two or a gel jar.

^ This

Russ55

It's pretty dry here, and I don't re-season, but I use Boveda packs in my wooden humidors, and beads in my coolers. Beads are great, but I never get the results I want in actual humidors. Experiment a bit I guess.

boydmcgowan

j0z3r:

boydmcgowan:

j0z3r:

I don't think you should ever have to reseason a humidor provided it was properly seasoned in the first place and humidity was maintained.

I've had issues with humidity dropping, but typically nothing a little booster in the form of a 72% Boveda pack or two or a gel jar.

Well I probably didn't season it properly when I first got it, but I honestly don't remember though, it was a while back. But I did re-season it properly about a year and a half ago when I upgraded to beads and a digital hygro.

Interesting that your both saying that you should never have to reseason it. I thought I read some article in one of the Ccom newsletters that actually recomended it every so often. Not sure though. I'm going to try and find that article.

In the meantime since I'm confident the hygro is right, I'm going to check the seal on it, I guess thats the one thing I didn't do. Heck maybe its got a bad seal and this is a good excuse to go get a bigger humi. And I should probably try more humidification. Never used a gel jar or a boveda pack. Off to check heartfelt's website to see what they have . . .

Well Boyd, I'm going by my own experience. Now I'm hardly the most experience or knowledgeable guy here, but I know what has worked for me. I won't give advice if I don't have first hand experience doing it that way.

So basically my way works for me, but I'd suggest doing what you're comfortable with, but more importantly what works for you. If there is one thing I've learned, it's that there is usually more than one way to get something done, the trick is finding the one that suits you best. Good luck however you should choose to do it.

Thanks Joe, your input was EXACTLY what I was looking for. Not articles, or a list of what should be done by thte book, but a variety of opinions on what works for other CA BOTLs as the seasons change and it starts to get dry. So I really appreciate the opinion. Thanks man.

The one time I did this it was a pain, hahaha, so I don't want to do it again. So the plan for me is just to check everything off the list one thing at a time until I figure it out.

1. Hygro Calibration? - Confident here.
2. Are there enough Beads - Yes, too much probably.
3. Are they hydrated well enough? Last night added about 15 mls of distilled water to the half pount of beads I have in there. It turned way over half, crystal clear. This mornig I showed 65%. Better, than the 62/63% I usually show. but I aim for 68% - 72%.
4. Check the Seal - next up on the list, I'm thinking this is the problem actually, because when I take the drawer out I can see light through form one side to the other.
5. Empty it and reseason it is the last resort here.

Thanks for all the input guys. I'll keep this updated as I figure it out.

Now to search a thread on how to fix a bad seal. Painters tape?

jgibv

boydmcgowan:

Let me know how it works out man. I'm curious. I've only done this once and it was a pain, so I'm using it as a last resort. . . .

Will do, Boyd.

As far as the suggestions of adding boveda packs...I've tried and it doesn't seem to be helping. I had some of the small, shipping sized, humi pillows but they weren't doing much so I added 2 boveda 69% packs and haven't seen the RH rise at all.
How long would it take for the packs to affect the humidity? Maybe I've not waited long enough?

boydmcgowan

danielzreyes:

I don't see anything wrong with keeping it at 65%. I keep mine at 65-68%.

Totally agree here, that there's nothing wrong with 65%, but I have 70% beads and sit consistently at ~62/63%. That sounds like user error on my part. So I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong. And I know I'm not damaging anything becuase anywhere from probably high 50s to low 70s is fine, but I just prefer the chewy texture of the smoke when I ckeep it close to 70%. Personal preference is all.

boydmcgowan

Russ55:

It's pretty dry here, and I don't re-season, but I use Boveda packs in my wooden humidors, and beads in my coolers. Beads are great, but I never get the results I want in actual humidors. Experiment a bit I guess.

Thats some food for thought, thanks Russ.

catfishbluezz

I'm closing in on year two in the central valley which is very dry. Only time I has to reseason, was due to improper seasoning. I do it for a solid week with little or no wipedown past the first day and mine are solid with beads. I have a harder time adding boxes to my cooler and typically have to reseason with each new box.

jgibv

Boyd, just a little update for my humi issues:

So over the weekend I smoked a few cigars from the glass top/low RH humi and they all smoked fine. They weren't dry, when I squeezed them they still had a little "give", and they all tasted great....so that got me thinking about what some other causes/solutions to the problem could be, then it hit me....

My humis are all kept in the finished part of our basement - but the last few weeks it's been raining and our dehumidifier has been running almost non-stop (we keep it set at 40% RH).
However in the winter we don't run the humidifier since the air is dry anyways....so I thought, maybe the dehumidifier is drying out the glass-top humi since it is not as thick/insulated as the coolidor.

So I brought the humi upstairs last night, and at the time the RH was still at 54-55ish, but this morning it was up to 62%.
I'm going to keep an eye on it for the next couple weeks, but I'm hoping this solves the problem and I don't have to reseason it....

Obviously this may not be a possible solution for you since you live in a dry climate - but what if you got one of those small, room humidifiers and kept it in the room with your humidors? If you "humidified" that room and raised the RH of that space, maybe it would help keep your humidors from drying out so much since there wouldn't be as much of a difference between the outside air humidity and humidors?

Roberto99

jgibv:

Obviously this may not be a possible solution for you since you live in a dry climate - but what if you got one of those small, room humidifiers and kept it in the room with your humidors? If you "humidified" that room and raised the RH of that space, maybe it would help keep your humidors from drying out so much since there wouldn't be as much of a difference between the outside air humidity and humidors?

I've wondered about that same thing. I purchased a room humidifier a couple of years ago for my bedroom that has a humidity % dial on it. My guess is that it is not sensitive enough for cigars, but was thinking about setting that to 60-70% inside the small room the humidors are in. (In the winters here RH gets down into the 20's inside)

jgibv

Roberto99:

I've wondered about that same thing. I purchased a room humidifier a couple of years ago for my bedroom that has a humidity % dial on it. My guess is that it is not sensitive enough for cigars, but was thinking about setting that to 60-70% inside the small room the humidors are in. (In the winters here RH gets down into the 20's inside)

I'm sure it wouldn't hurt - this seems to be doing the trick for me. Day 2 now and my humi is up to 65%. And I don't know what else the RH rise could be attributed to other than the fact that I moved it upstairs, away from the dehumidifier.

I'm thinking if the RH in the room is higher - then it's not going to "suck" the moisture out of your humidor as much. I'm sure there's some science to back this up but that's way out of my area of expertise.

boydmcgowan

jgibv:

Roberto99:

I've wondered about that same thing. I purchased a room humidifier a couple of years ago for my bedroom that has a humidity % dial on it. My guess is that it is not sensitive enough for cigars, but was thinking about setting that to 60-70% inside the small room the humidors are in. (In the winters here RH gets down into the 20's inside)

I'm sure it wouldn't hurt - this seems to be doing the trick for me. Day 2 now and my humi is up to 65%. And I don't know what else the RH rise could be attributed to other than the fact that I moved it upstairs, away from the dehumidifier.

I'm thinking if the RH in the room is higher - then it's not going to "suck" the moisture out of your humidor as much. I'm sure there's some science to back this up but that's way out of my area of expertise.

Glad things are looking up for your humi . . . . Still working on mine, I need to update the progress here at some point today.

Also another thing to keep in mind is the room temperature. For Some reason when its warmer the humididty rises, probably b/c more is evaporating into the air, but I honestly don't know why that is. So if you used to have it in a basement I'm assuming thats the coolest place in the house and moving it upstairs it is now in a nice warm room. Even a 5 degree change would have an impact there. Plus it would be a great excuse to use at home if you "needed" to keep the humi in the house. hahaha.

jgibv

boydmcgowan:

Also another thing to keep in mind is the room temperature. For Some reason when its warmer the humididty rises, probably b/c more is evaporating into the air, but I honestly don't know why that is. So if you used to have it in a basement I'm assuming thats the coolest place in the house and moving it upstairs it is now in a nice warm room. Even a 5 degree change would have an impact there. Plus it would be a great excuse to use at home if you "needed" to keep the humi in the house. hahaha.

Very good point, Boyd.
And you're right, the basement is the coolest place in our house....I didn't keep it in the basement because of temp, but rather because that's the only room where I could have all of my cigar-related paraphernalia in one spot (humidors, coolidor, display shelf for empty boxes, etc)

And yes, there has been a slight rise in the temperature reading on my hygrometer since I brought it upstairs.
In the basement it was usually right around 69-70 degrees, but now that it's been upstairs it's been right at 73. Like you said, I'm sure this slightly higher temp has an impact on the RH of the room too.

Hope you're getting yours figured out and that you don't have to reseason it.....let us know the results.

boydmcgowan

boydmcgowan:

j0z3r:

boydmcgowan:

j0z3r:

I don't think you should ever have to reseason a humidor provided it was properly seasoned in the first place and humidity was maintained.

I've had issues with humidity dropping, but typically nothing a little booster in the form of a 72% Boveda pack or two or a gel jar.

Well I probably didn't season it properly when I first got it, but I honestly don't remember though, it was a while back. But I did re-season it properly about a year and a half ago when I upgraded to beads and a digital hygro.

Interesting that your both saying that you should never have to reseason it. I thought I read some article in one of the Ccom newsletters that actually recomended it every so often. Not sure though. I'm going to try and find that article.

In the meantime since I'm confident the hygro is right, I'm going to check the seal on it, I guess thats the one thing I didn't do. Heck maybe its got a bad seal and this is a good excuse to go get a bigger humi. And I should probably try more humidification. Never used a gel jar or a boveda pack. Off to check heartfelt's website to see what they have . . .

Well Boyd, I'm going by my own experience. Now I'm hardly the most experience or knowledgeable guy here, but I know what has worked for me. I won't give advice if I don't have first hand experience doing it that way.

So basically my way works for me, but I'd suggest doing what you're comfortable with, but more importantly what works for you. If there is one thing I've learned, it's that there is usually more than one way to get something done, the trick is finding the one that suits you best. Good luck however you should choose to do it.

Thanks Joe, your input was EXACTLY what I was looking for. Not articles, or a list of what should be done by thte book, but a variety of opinions on what works for other CA BOTLs as the seasons change and it starts to get dry. So I really appreciate the opinion. Thanks man.

The one time I did this it was a pain, hahaha, so I don't want to do it again. So the plan for me is just to check everything off the list one thing at a time until I figure it out.

1. Hygro Calibration? - Confident here.
2. Are there enough Beads - Yes, too much probably.
3. Are they hydrated well enough? Last night added about 15 mls of distilled water to the half pount of beads I have in there. It turned way over half, crystal clear. This mornig I showed 65%. Better, than the 62/63% I usually show. but I aim for 68% - 72%.
4. Check the Seal - next up on the list, I'm thinking this is the problem actually, because when I take the drawer out I can see light through form one side to the other.
5. Empty it and reseason it is the last resort here.

Thanks for all the input guys. I'll keep this updated as I figure it out.

Now to search a thread on how to fix a bad seal. Painters tape?

Allright so my seal was a bit loose, it failed the "whoosh" test pretty bad and I think it only passes the dollar bill test because it has a lip on the lid. So I added a strip of painting tape all around the entire lid and now it fits REAL snug. So its ugly, but I'm liking the feel. That got me up to 66%. Which is solid, and I should have been happy with that, but seriously, I got 70% beads . . . . I would have expected 66% out of freshly recharged 65% beads, not from saturated 70%.

So I'm in the process of reseasoning . . . .

I wiped the inside down pretty good and it was up to 85% then fell back later that day so I wiped it down again, and it again went up to 85% and now has fallen slowly back do 66 degrees and 69% and has held steady. I'm going to watch it for another day and if its still steady I'm going to slowly start filling it back up . . .

Hopefully this gets it over the hump and will last me for until I plan to upgrade to a nicer humi. Its weird though, I'm pretty sure I reseasoned it in late winter last year and it was rock solid all the way until a month or two ago. This year its stayed cold until a month or two ago . . . . so I might have to give it a tuneup once a year as the seasons change from the cooler weather to the warmer weather.

boydmcgowan

boydmcgowan:

boydmcgowan:

j0z3r:

boydmcgowan:

j0z3r:

I don't think you should ever have to reseason a humidor provided it was properly seasoned in the first place and humidity was maintained.

I've had issues with humidity dropping, but typically nothing a little booster in the form of a 72% Boveda pack or two or a gel jar.

Well I probably didn't season it properly when I first got it, but I honestly don't remember though, it was a while back. But I did re-season it properly about a year and a half ago when I upgraded to beads and a digital hygro.

Interesting that your both saying that you should never have to reseason it. I thought I read some article in one of the Ccom newsletters that actually recomended it every so often. Not sure though. I'm going to try and find that article.

In the meantime since I'm confident the hygro is right, I'm going to check the seal on it, I guess thats the one thing I didn't do. Heck maybe its got a bad seal and this is a good excuse to go get a bigger humi. And I should probably try more humidification. Never used a gel jar or a boveda pack. Off to check heartfelt's website to see what they have . . .

Well Boyd, I'm going by my own experience. Now I'm hardly the most experience or knowledgeable guy here, but I know what has worked for me. I won't give advice if I don't have first hand experience doing it that way.

So basically my way works for me, but I'd suggest doing what you're comfortable with, but more importantly what works for you. If there is one thing I've learned, it's that there is usually more than one way to get something done, the trick is finding the one that suits you best. Good luck however you should choose to do it.

Thanks Joe, your input was EXACTLY what I was looking for. Not articles, or a list of what should be done by thte book, but a variety of opinions on what works for other CA BOTLs as the seasons change and it starts to get dry. So I really appreciate the opinion. Thanks man.

The one time I did this it was a pain, hahaha, so I don't want to do it again. So the plan for me is just to check everything off the list one thing at a time until I figure it out.

1. Hygro Calibration? - Confident here.
2. Are there enough Beads - Yes, too much probably.
3. Are they hydrated well enough? Last night added about 15 mls of distilled water to the half pount of beads I have in there. It turned way over half, crystal clear. This mornig I showed 65%. Better, than the 62/63% I usually show. but I aim for 68% - 72%.
4. Check the Seal - next up on the list, I'm thinking this is the problem actually, because when I take the drawer out I can see light through form one side to the other.
5. Empty it and reseason it is the last resort here.

Thanks for all the input guys. I'll keep this updated as I figure it out.

Now to search a thread on how to fix a bad seal. Painters tape?

Allright so my seal was a bit loose, it failed the "whoosh" test pretty bad and I think it only passes the dollar bill test because it has a lip on the lid. So I added a strip of painting tape all around the entire lid and now it fits REAL snug. So its ugly, but I'm liking the feel. That got me up to 66%. Which is solid, and I should have been happy with that, but seriously, I got 70% beads . . . . I would have expected 66% out of freshly recharged 65% beads, not from saturated 70%.

So I'm in the process of reseasoning . . . .

I wiped the inside down pretty good and it was up to 85% then fell back later that day so I wiped it down again, and it again went up to 85% and now has fallen slowly back do 66 degrees and 69% and has held steady. I'm going to watch it for another day and if its still steady I'm going to slowly start filling it back up . . .

Hopefully this gets it over the hump and will last me for until I plan to upgrade to a nicer humi. Its weird though, I'm pretty sure I reseasoned it in late winter last year and it was rock solid all the way until a month or two ago. This year its stayed cold until a month or two ago . . . . so I might have to give it a tuneup once a year as the seasons change from the cooler weather to the warmer weather.

Just circling back here for anyone who's curious. I know I know you've all been on the edge of your seats waiting for my humidor update . . HAHAHA.

SO, I added about half my cigars about 2 days after this post. The humidity fell to 66% as expected and then rose back up to 69/70%. So I added the remainder of my cigars in and they humidity dropped again, as expected and rose up a bit and now is steady a few ticks under where I'd like it to be.

I'm holding steady between 65% and 67% which is good, I was hoping for a few more % points but what can you do. I might also add in another humidification device as that does tend to raise it up a few ticks.

So there you go. I'm learning that reseasoning once a year as winter gives way to spring might be an annual thing for me but I still might need to add a bit more humidification in there I think a small heartfelt bead puck on the shelf and maybe a few boveda packs in my back pocket for emergency use. Heartfelt here we come.

jgibv

Glad to hear you got it figured out, Boyd. I'm sure this thread & info will come in handy because I have a feeling that someone else will encounter this problem in the future....

Sorry that the solution is reseasoning everything though, what a pain.