It's that time of year...

havanaal

I can't seem to budge my hygrometer above 50 in the dead of winter, no matter what. Lately, I've been cutting down on stock (100 ct humidor but only 30-40 cigars) and loading up the extra space with water pillows. Even that's temporary. I just got a larger humidifier and loaded it with gel, and the humidifier went up to 55. What's the solution here?

dr_frankenstein56

what the temp the humi has been sitting at? the colder.... the drier it tends to be...

Aj

havanaal

Sitting above the fireplace in the master bedroom. About 63 degrees.

Rhamlin

If you use the fire place then that's a bad spot for the humi. When was the last time you reseasoned the humi? Also sounds like you might have to much empty space blow up some ziplock bags and put in it to take up empty space.

havanaal

Rarely use the fireplace (who wants to haul wood up the stairs?), but filling up the space is a good idea.

Bob_Luken

Although I use KL and gel, I'm convinced that bovedas are a wintertime necessity. They got my collection of desktops out of a similar jam this season.

pelirrojo

Yep, I went to bovedas this winter and am hovering right where I want to be. I had similar trouble last winter. Since winter just turns into a time for my sticks to rest and me to look longingly into the future when it will be warm and I can smoke again, I want to keep the humidity steady.

PAtoNH

+1 on a Boveda pack. I added a 75 to my 100 count humi after a couple of dry snowy weeks and it finally reached 67%. You might salt test your hygrometer to make sure it's reading correctly. If all that fails maybe pull your sticks and re-season your humi?

Lee.mcglynn

I'd probably reseason it...but I would also just switch storage too something more airtight. Coolers really never have any fluctuations and the humidifiers tend too last forever

dr_frankenstein56

check the seal on you humi... I noticed with mine, the seal dries out after about a month. I just run a finger lightly dipped in distilled water around the seal edge when i check it. swells the seal back up and the humi will stabilize.

Cigary

As long as there is a good seal and your hygro is accurate there is a very easy way to get that RH up within 6 hours and it has already been mentioned. For that size of humidor you need a container that will hold about 12 ounces of kitty litter...as long as you have a container that will expose as much surface area as possible...the better. Even a small soap dish works...small tupperware...etc. Fill it up and spray the surface area about 5 times and then let it sit for about 6 hours and see where your RH is...since it's at 50 then when it rises you can do the math...5 spritzes equal whatever rise in RH you get. Let's say it rises by 8%...then you know that 5 sprays will equal 8% and if you want your RH to be around 66% then you spray it 5 more times and you should get your RH that you want. KL is probably the easiest way to get and keep your RH stabilized...let me know how that goes because I have 33 humidors that are KL only and I have been able to get any % I want in each one.

Bob_Luken

dr_frankenstein56:

check the seal on you humi... I noticed with mine, the seal dries out after about a month. I just run a finger lightly dipped in distilled water around the seal edge when i check it. swells the seal back up and the humi will stabilize.

This is a great idea.

I figure all of us are talkin' about basic (cheap) imported desktops with seals good enough for most of the time but when humidity hits the extremes they can be hard to manage.

Bob_Luken

Cigary:

As long as there is a good seal and your hygro is accurate there is a very easy way to get that RH up within 6 hours and it has already been mentioned. For that size of humidor you need a container that will hold about 12 ounces of kitty litter...as long as you have a container that will expose as much surface area as possible...the better. Even a small soap dish works...small tupperware...etc. Fill it up and spray the surface area about 5 times and then let it sit for about 6 hours and see where your RH is...since it's at 50 then when it rises you can do the math...5 spritzes equal whatever rise in RH you get. Let's say it rises by 8%...then you know that 5 sprays will equal 8% and if you want your RH to be around 66% then you spray it 5 more times and you should get your RH that you want. KL is probably the easiest way to get and keep your RH stabilized...let me know how that goes because I have 33 humidors that are KL only and I have been able to get any % I want in each one.

YES! This works very well too. (But in case you haven't heard of using kitty litter with cigars, make SURE you get the right kind of Kitty Litter. It MUST be 100% silica kitty litter and it must be 100% odor free. Beware of those that do not even mention odor because some of them will have an odor when it gets wet.)

Good kitty litter VS bad kitty litter (LINK)

dr_frankenstein56

Bob Luken:

dr_frankenstein56:

check the seal on you humi... I noticed with mine, the seal dries out after about a month. I just run a finger lightly dipped in distilled water around the seal edge when i check it. swells the seal back up and the humi will stabilize.

This is a great idea.

I figure all of us are talkin' about basic (cheap) imported desktops with seals good enough for most of the time but when humidity hits the extremes they can be hard to manage.

Absolutly... it get real real dry here during the winter and my humi's are only about 10 feet from my fireplace so it can be a challange at times. I exclusively use the bovedas year round and have had great luck with one 72% in a box of 100 thats got about 73 sticks in there and a shot glass with kitty litter thats been sprayed 3 times. As long as i keep the seal nice and tight... its a piece of cake to keep right at 69... but if it dries out... it will swing 10% or more in a day like nuthing.

Aj

allsmokedup

I've taken to just placing a shotglass of water, with maybe a third of it full, in everything wooden that I own during the winter. If you have a humidifying medium such as Boveda or beadsKL, it'll keep the RH relatively stable right around 70% in my experience. You can remove the shotglass after a few days and re-add as necessary. Just be careful not to rifle through the humi with reckless abandon!

havanaal

Okay so I reseasoned the humidors, ensured the seal, added the Bovedas, and doubled the Propylene Glycol. I didn't go for the Kitty Litter yet. But the hygrometer is inching towards 70 for the first time since October! Obviously the key is working on the humidity as if your cigars' lives depended on it! Good thing too, just in time to drop in my Christmas booty. Greatest prize this year: 5 Cuban Cohibas. And these are from a coworker whose son in law just got back from Cuba--so while counterfeits are possible, very unlikely I'd say.Thanks for all the suggestions.

Lee.mcglynn

havanaal:

Okay so I reseasoned the humidors, ensured the seal, added the Bovedas, and doubled the Propylene Glycol. I didn't go for the Kitty Litter yet. But the hygrometer is inching towards 70 for the first time since October! Obviously the key is working on the humidity as if your cigars' lives depended on it! Good thing too, just in time to drop in my Christmas booty. Greatest prize this year: 5 Cuban Cohibas. And these are from a coworker whose son in law just got back from Cuba--so while counterfeits are possible, very unlikely I'd say.Thanks for all the suggestions.

umm not to burst a bubble but still highly likely. There are many versions of fakes! But I hope you enjoy none the less

Cigary

Yeppers...have done that with stubborn humidors in the past and found those sunsabeeches had an inherent problem....the seal was off after doing a "flashlight" test...and that is where I saw the leak. Sooo, I did use the little shot glass because the lid of this humidor has warped just enough to have a small leak on one side so instead of trashing it I just called it my little troubled humidor as it held 300 cigars. The shot glass kept it at 67% for a couple of months and all I needed to do was keep a monthly watch over it to ensure that it was at least below 70 and higher than 62.