Today we have 64rh, which means our environment is not stable. So either my beads are not doing their job, or the sponge did not get enough moisture in. I sprayed the beads lightly, 3 sprays. I will check rh tonight, and again tomorrow night. If it is stable, then we will add. The number one mistake people make is putting in cigars before the environment is stable. You want 2 days of solid rh. If this does not work, I will add more beads.
I just added my KL in my humidor today. I'll check the RH tomorrow to see what it will settle at. I added about ~3-4lbs of KL, and gave them a few squirts to get them going.
That's a ton, it will be rock solid. I did make the mistake of over spraying it once and had to pull it for a few days. It will definately kick out the rh if you overspray it.
Spraying too much water in it. If they are in containers, then you can add more dry KL and it will offset. I've found they need 2-3 spritzed max, once a month.
I was at 65 last night and this afternoon, so I out two completely dry boxes in as I figure this is equivalent if introducing 150-200 humidified cigars in this environment.
Let me say this... Best cigar I've ever had, as in my favorite, is any H Upmann with 6 years or more. I buy them instantly when I see them. The only thing that compares is the behike, which was unreal, but costs significantly more. I love H Upmann.
I've been seasoning for 3 days now. The top of the humi is 72rh and the bottom is 62rh. they have been sitting at about that for 24 hours. Should I move the water and sponge to the bottom to make sure it has been well saturated? If not then im ready for the KL right?
If I could add my experience. I've been using KL for over a year now and I have 3 humidors. All smell really good, like a humidor should. I would say that the KL does absorb odors but in my opinion it has not adversely affected any of my humidors. I have also heard others say that they can tell cigars that have been stored with silica beads. That they have a specific smell to them and they won't use silica beads for that reason. I have not had that experience at all and I believe I'm pretty sensitive to smells/flavors. I also agree with Dustin that my experience has been improved because my cigars are in a much more ideal condition to smoke with the stable humidity provided. Personally, I do not view the beads or the KL as significantly different. The KL product I use is 100% 'silica sand'. The only difference I see besides price is that the 'sand' has some silica dust where the beads do not. So the KL needs to be handled with care to not inhale any dust. Other than that the KL performs great.
FYI...after putting two completely dry boxes in, rh is still at 65. That is why I recommend this method. Once you take your time and do it, rh stabilizes even when you introduce two entire dry boxes. I agree with what Robert said as well in regard to the consistency. I have found that since I moved to nylons, the rh is a bit uneven from too to bottom in my wineador. The rh is higher down below after I sprayed them once so I put some dry beads down there to settle it. The rh is consistent, but for some reason moving where I had them placed changed the top humidity a little.
I've been seasoning for 3 days now. The top of the humi is 72rh and the bottom is 62rh. they have been sitting at about that for 24 hours. Should I move the water and sponge to the bottom to make sure it has been well saturated? If not then im ready for the KL right?
moved the sponge and dish down to the bottom. bottom reads 64rh top reads 65rh. not climbing any higher but evening out. my worry is if I add dry KL, the rh will drop. I guess it would be worth a try or maybe just wait a couple more days. she is pretty big.
If it does, spray it 2-3 times. That's exactly what happened this time, but I did not use a sponge. Out the kl right next to the sponge. If it drops overnight, leave the sponge in another day and spray the beads. Then pull the sponge, rh will go up. They react quick when I give them 2-3 good sprays per bead dish
Checked mine this morning, it seems like it was going lower and lower over the weekend to like 66% and now it was around 70%. So 66-70% on the lower bigger area which has KL and boxes(no cigars). The top just seems to level out around 65%, started at 69%. Might add Cigars tonight, check it when I get home.
FYI...rh drops, so typically the top portion should be lower, and you should keep your beads higher if possible. In humi's, I like them all over which is why I use tubos as well for even humidity.
My humi was at 65 again, so I would say this is effectively seasoned. I'll monitor for any drops. Going forward, if people want to post their findings here, or post their seasoning process here, I'd be more then happy to help. Posting questions here as opposed to PM is more constructive so everyone can see and get help if they have the same issue.
My top part is seperate from the cabnet part. It is it's own smaller humidor for singles. I have my beads all over as well.
What kind of beads? I woudl guess the change is in relation to the amount. Did you spray the beads at all? Basically, you are seasoning two humi's. Check the hygro's next to each other as well.
Meant to say KL (It's alot like the beads lol). the bottom cabnet part is rocking 68-70, i'm going to start putting in cigars in that part. On the top part I have a bowl of KL, spray about 5-6 times on friday but now it's hitting 62%. I might have to add more KL.
Edit: Also both hygros are within 1% of each other.
Ok, that makes more sense. Sounds like the top part did not absorb enough rh. 5-6 sprays is more then enough IMO to add rh. Add more KL, spray it sparingly 2-3 times to bring it up slowly. Quick changes are not desired, stability is.
Ok so I figure I'll show some pics up of what I did. I took out the front part of the wine rack on the lower part and drilled holes on the shelf. I did this for space for my boxes and to get some better air flow.
That's all what I did before I started seasoning. I'm going to keep adding KL til I get stable levels that I like. So far it it seems like when I open the door up, all the humidity flys away. Which I should expect because the door is so huge. lol
If you use boxes to store them in, season them in there and check internal rh. It will give you a more stable environment while the door opens and shuts.
I've been seasoning for 3 days now. The top of the humi is 72rh and the bottom is 62rh. they have been sitting at about that for 24 hours. Should I move the water and sponge to the bottom to make sure it has been well saturated? If not then im ready for the KL right?
moved the sponge and dish down to the bottom. bottom reads 64rh top reads 65rh. not climbing any higher but evening out. my worry is if I add dry KL, the rh will drop. I guess it would be worth a try or maybe just wait a couple more days. she is pretty big.
moved the KL in last night, no time to spray in the morning. Came home late tonight to 58rh up top and 60rh bottom. Sprayed the KL 4 times and closed with sponge still in. She currently sitting at 61 bottom and 60 top(about 3 hours later). Also double checked the seal last night and shes good. I had forgot to check before seasoning.
I'm really looking for 65rh, all my cigars are sitting at 65rh in the other humis and shouldnt lower rh much if at all, and I was just reading the 40+ cigars I ordered and have sitting in bags from cc and the sister might actually raise the humidity a touch.
Spray them again, it will go up. I had the same issue with this one as it is large. Give a good bit of water dude, the first time I used KL I did that and it went too high lol.
im trying not to do that. it seems pretty stable right now. I sprayed three more time and i'll let it sit tonight. im hoping for sponge out and cigars in tomorrow.
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I'm really looking for 65rh, all my cigars are sitting at 65rh in the other humis and shouldnt lower rh much if at all, and I was just reading the 40+ cigars I ordered and have sitting in bags from cc and the sister might actually raise the humidity a touch.