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Thoughts on my Humi situation

0 That Guy 00 That Guy 0 Posts: 188 ✭
in Cigar 101
It's not necessarily a bad thing from what I can tell but may become problematic if/when I go out of town.

It's obvious to me that my seal is good not great. I say this because I am using Heartfelt Beads and I am able to maintain a solid RH for about 2 days and then the RH will start to drop at a rate of 1% per day thereafter. The RH in my house is down in the high 40% to low 50% range. Because of this I have been charging my 65% beads to 100%. My RH will climb to and rest at 69% for 2 days before it starts dropping a % a day. So long story short - in a 7 day period I go from 69% on Sunday to 64% by Saturday.

I like this because it says to me that my seal is not perfect and I am getting some airflow within the humidor and not leaving stagnant air sitting. I am also able to maintain my RH for a week but at the same time I am having to recharge my beads once a week to 100% to maintain the proper RH.

Comments

  • gmill880gmill880 Posts: 5,947 ✭
    Is the Humi properly seasoned ? Could that be part of the problem ...you can't rush seasoning ...
  • Jetmech_63Jetmech_63 Posts: 3,451 ✭✭✭
    Ditto that. I tried rushing a seasoning job once and it had me pu;lling my hair out **** w/ my r/h. Also, are you using a calibrated digital hygro?
  • 0 That Guy 00 That Guy 0 Posts: 188 ✭
    I am using a calibrated digital hygro and everything has been good except for the 1% drop after 48 hours of fully charging my 65% beads

    Majority says I rushed seasoning so a reseasoning is what I am currently doing. I pulled all my smokes out and placed them in zip lock bags with humi pillows. I then decided to go with a light wipe with distilled water and placed a bowl with the same in the bottom of my desktop. The humidity is already at 80% and I did it just 10 mins ago. Is the wipe plus a bowl overkill or is this still a good common way to get my humi good and seasoned? I never did the wipe before and I know it's been discussed heavily on here about whether or not to do it but I decided to go ahead and give it a shot.

    I'll let it sit for a good 24-48 hours if not all the way through the weekend to make sure I do it right this time around and then I'll throw my beads back in after that.
  • phobicsquirrelphobicsquirrel Posts: 7,347 ✭✭✭
    0 That Guy 0:
    I am using a calibrated digital hygro and everything has been good except for the 1% drop after 48 hours of fully charging my 65% beads

    Majority says I rushed seasoning so a reseasoning is what I am currently doing. I pulled all my smokes out and placed them in zip lock bags with humi pillows. I then decided to go with a light wipe with distilled water and placed a bowl with the same in the bottom of my desktop. The humidity is already at 80% and I did it just 10 mins ago. Is the wipe plus a bowl overkill or is this still a good common way to get my humi good and seasoned? I never did the wipe before and I know it's been discussed heavily on here about whether or not to do it but I decided to go ahead and give it a shot.

    I'll let it sit for a good 24-48 hours if not all the way through the weekend to make sure I do it right this time around and then I'll throw my beads back in after that.
    I had a hygro that worked great then all of a sudden got all screwy! it's the little havanah and for a while I thought it was great. when I went to re-calibrate it it was about 10 higher than it should be. I pulled the battery out and have yet to put it back in, been about a month or so. maybe it'll work now.. could be the seal though. sometimes humi's are problematic. sometimes it take a little bit of time for the humi to stabilize. Also having it full helps too.
  • 0 That Guy 00 That Guy 0 Posts: 188 ✭
    I feel pretty confident about my hygro even though everything can break eventually but mine is actually a Oregon Scientific Weather Station Hygro. I like this little device because it comes with a nightstand display so I can see the temp and humidity in my Humi from a totally different floor in the house. I keep my humi downstairs where the temp is a constant 68-70 degrees but I do most of my work upstairs where the temp can get up to 78 on a hot day. Another great aspect about it is that I can record the highs and lows of both the temp and the humidity so even if my hygro is reading the proper temp and RH when I check it I can also see if there were any undesired fluctuations throughout the day.
  • Garen BGaren B Posts: 977
    That's a really nice hygro you got TG, where did you get it? Back on topic, did you do the dollar bill test on all three sides that don't have the hinges? Dollar bill test is where you take a single and stick half of it over the lip and close the lid on it, if it pulls free, you have a bad seal, if it has some resistance, doesn't budge or tears, you have a good seal.
  • 0 That Guy 00 That Guy 0 Posts: 188 ✭
    I have not done the dollar bill test and unfortunately I've already started seasoning my humi for the 2nd time. I guess I can always try it real quick and reseason the wood again tomorrow evening for another 24 hours.

    Ok I just did the dollar test and the seal is definitely weak! The dollar bill slid out with ease on almost every part of my humi which certainly has me a little pissed off. I feel like a newb all over again. I guess I'll have to head over to lows tomorrow and get some weather stripping. Has anyone ever used any weather stripping as a seal? If so what kind? Thanks

    As far as the Oregon Scientific Hygro, I'm not sure where I got it but found one on Amazon. Some of the ratings are ridiculously petty. I have had mine in outside conditions for 3 years and have never had a hiccup with it. I'd highly suggest it to anyone who would like to be able to record highs and lows as well as have a separate display in another room away from your humi.
    Link:http://www.amazon.com/Oregon-Scientific-RMR603HGA-Thermo-Hygrometer-Clock/dp/B0006VBBCO
  • 0 That Guy 00 That Guy 0 Posts: 188 ✭
    On the other hand I guess my seal can't be horrible because when I season it with a bowl of water it holds at 72-75% humidity. Then when I place 65% beads in it that are 100% charged it holds at 69% humidity for 48 hours before dropping 1% each day thereafter. So I'm assuming weather stripping may be to thick of a fix and that I may need something slimmer to correct the issue. Any suggestions? I know this is tough to answer without seeing the issue first hand but any help is appreciated.
  • bnccna2bnccna2 Posts: 44
    I have heard of people using painters tape on the lip of the seal before. It's not very pretty but they say it works great.
  • 0 That Guy 00 That Guy 0 Posts: 188 ✭
    I got some nice weather stripping from Lowes. It's only 3/8 of an inch thick and about 3/4" tall. only 1/2 of the 3/4" is sticky, therefore you stick the bottom half to the lip of the seal and let the top half fold back so when you shut the lid the folded half will attempt to spread back out against the lid creating a solid seal. It was $5 for 17 feet
  • Russ55Russ55 Posts: 2,765 ✭✭
    Does it fall to a certain RH and stay there, or just keep plummeting? How full was the humidor when it had cigars in it?
  • 0 That Guy 00 That Guy 0 Posts: 188 ✭
    The RH continues to fall 1% per day. I usually only let it fall to 62% before I recharge my beads again. My humidor had between 50-60 smokes in it and is a 150 count humidor so it wasn't full but wasn't empty by any means.

    I have since reseasoned it and touched up on the seals. I wiped down the wood with a damp sponge and set a bowl of distilled water inside for over 36 hours. The RH climbed to 90% before settling at 78%. I then wiped down a second time when fixing the seals and closed it up for another 6 hours.

    I can already tell a huge difference in my humidor. I have taken the water out and replaced it with 65% beads. I have only charged them to about 50% so they can soak up the excess humidity and my humidor is currently at 72%. It is empty and I will leave it the way it is over night and see where it goes tomorrow by the morning.
  • 0 That Guy 00 That Guy 0 Posts: 188 ✭
    It's morning and my Humi actually climbed through the night to 77% even with the beads in place. I'm assuming this is due to the fact that the cedar is saturated combined with the fact that my humi is still sitting empty. I opened it for a while to let it air out and filled it with cigars again. Since then the RH is settled at 69% for 15mins now so it'll be interesting to see if it continues to sneak upward or come down some.

    My seal is something I may need to address again as I'm not sure there's much air flowing in and out of the humi. My seal still doesn't pass the dollar bill test but I can tell it's much tighter because I have to push down on the lid to shut it and have to hold the base of the humi when opening it. I may also look into the little oust fan as well.
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