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Great tool for maintaining humidity

youngryan216youngryan216 Posts: 1,127 ✭✭✭
in Cigar 101
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There's been a lot of discussion lately (mostly among us newbs) about maintaining the desired humidity in our humidors in spite of dastardly heaters sucking the rh out of our lives.

I have a ceramic space heater that I run in the bedroom bc there are three exterior facing walls and it gets cold even with the central heat on.

This little personal humidifier is sitting on my dresser next to my humi ( facing away ) and has really been helping me maintain a solid 63-66 % rh. I thought I would share and figured maybe this will be a good idea for someone else as well.

Cost $30 at bed, bath and beyond. If you wait for Sunday's paper and there is one near you, BB+B usually does a 20% off coupon too.
Long ashes!
ISO Ramrod and Ron Mexico

Comments

  • HaysHays Posts: 2,337 ✭✭✭
    Sounds like a great idea - I´ve had this thought before, but never had a particular problem with room humidity so didn´t do it. Interesting to see that someone´s tried it out.
    ¨The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea¨ - Isak Dinesen

    ¨Only two people walk around in this world beardless - boys and women - and I am neither one.¨
  • jlmartajlmarta Posts: 7,881 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Curiously enough, I've only recently begun paying attention to the RH around where I live and am finding out a few things. For instance, the weather here seems pretty constant in that the overnight humidity seems to get up into the 80's and 90's and drops into the teens and 20's during summer days. But this time of year it drops only to around the 60's or so during the day.

    What that means is that I can leave a cigar sit in the ashtray all day and it doesn't seem to dry out or be otherwise compromised. I've even forgotten one or two and picked them up and re-lit them the next day and they weren't too bad. I guess I'm really lucky regarding my local climate.
  • youngryan216youngryan216 Posts: 1,127 ✭✭✭
    A lucky man indeed. ^ It's been so dry here in the Midwest already this year. I think the heater really sucks it out of the air, and I don't like to be cold.

    I've since bought an even larger room humidifier and things are staying just about perfect for me at 67%Rh. And my skin isn't as dry either.
    ISO Ramrod and Ron Mexico
  • jlmartajlmarta Posts: 7,881 ✭✭✭✭✭
    youngryan216:
    A lucky man indeed. ^ It's been so dry here in the Midwest already this year. I think the heater really sucks it out of the air, and I don't like to be cold.

    I've since bought an even larger room humidifier and things are staying just about perfect for me at 67%Rh. And my skin isn't as dry either.

    Hee hee, I remember a construction job I was on one time back in the late 70's in Delaware City, Delaware. Talk about humidity!! We rented a house in Bear, DE, that had a family room in the basement. The house came with a de-humidifier that had a collection jar about a quart in size. If we sat in the family room to watch TV, I had to empty that collection jar about every other hour or it'd turn itself off. And in the mornings, after showering to get dressed for work, by the time I got dried off I needed another shower. You'd have thought we were living in the Amazon Basin.... LOL
  • Lee.mcglynnLee.mcglynn Posts: 5,960 ✭✭✭✭
    youngryan216:
    A lucky man indeed. ^ It's been so dry here in the Midwest already this year. I think the heater really sucks it out of the air, and I don't like to be cold.

    I've since bought an even larger room humidifier and things are staying just about perfect for me at 67%Rh. And my skin isn't as dry either.
    the heat does not leer humidity the cold does. When it's cold outside it is like having your house in a fridge. It is easier to get a higher rh achieved in warmer climates since there is more space for moister in the air. The reason for loss of humidity in the winter is since the air in your house is from the outside it has very low humidity. When you heat that low humidity air up the rh goes down since now there is more space for moister to gather. What you did with the humidifier is a good move and the room it is in will also feel slightly warmer as well
    Money can't buy taste
  • youngryan216youngryan216 Posts: 1,127 ✭✭✭
    Lee.mcglynn:
    youngryan216:
    A lucky man indeed. ^ It's been so dry here in the Midwest already this year. I think the heater really sucks it out of the air, and I don't like to be cold.

    I've since bought an even larger room humidifier and things are staying just about perfect for me at 67%Rh. And my skin isn't as dry either.
    the heat does not leer humidity the cold does. When it's cold outside it is like having your house in a fridge. It is easier to get a higher rh achieved in warmer climates since there is more space for moister in the air. The reason for loss of humidity in the winter is since the air in your house is from the outside it has very low humidity. When you heat that low humidity air up the rh goes down since now there is more space for moister to gather. What you did with the humidifier is a good move and the room it is in will also feel slightly warmer as well
    +1 Meteorology :)
    ISO Ramrod and Ron Mexico
  • CigaryCigary Posts: 630 ✭
    For less than $17 you can buy a jug of unscented Kitty Litter that will last you for the rest of your life. It keeps RH at any level you want....just spray distilled water over the crystals until it achieves the RH you want. Usually 2 to 3 sprays will bring RH up to about 2%.....example: put the KL in dry in a small container and see what it is after about 4 hours and if it is at 60% then spray it about 3 times and check RH again in another 4 hours and see where your RH is and keep spraying until you get to what you want.....65% usually takes about 4 - 5 sprays total.
  • Lee.mcglynnLee.mcglynn Posts: 5,960 ✭✭✭✭
    Cigary:
    For less than $17 you can buy a jug of unscented Kitty Litter that will last you for the rest of your life. It keeps RH at any level you want....just spray distilled water over the crystals until it achieves the RH you want. Usually 2 to 3 sprays will bring RH up to about 2%.....example: put the KL in dry in a small container and see what it is after about 4 hours and if it is at 60% then spray it about 3 times and check RH again in another 4 hours and see where your RH is and keep spraying until you get to what you want.....65% usually takes about 4 - 5 sprays total.
    yup yup blah blah
    Money can't buy taste
  • RainRain Posts: 8,958 ✭✭✭
    That escalated...quickly.
  • First_WarriorFirst_Warrior Posts: 3,426 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The NC mountains are classified as a temperate rain forest. Ambiant humidity here in the summer is 85-95%. I use only Bovedas in my humidors in summer and have a time driving down the humidity below 70%. In the winter i heat with wood and have to add beads to my humidors to keep them at 65-70%. I might get a room humidifer as I also tired of hand cream and lip balm.
  • youngryan216youngryan216 Posts: 1,127 ✭✭✭
    Kl is takes up way more space / effort than my water based room humidifiers, but, to each his own.
    ISO Ramrod and Ron Mexico
  • Lee.mcglynnLee.mcglynn Posts: 5,960 ✭✭✭✭
    Rain:
    That escalated...quickly.
    sorry randy but it happens I need to stop drinking and posting!
    Money can't buy taste
  • Lee.mcglynnLee.mcglynn Posts: 5,960 ✭✭✭✭
    Sorry guys I edited my post and I understand we should be able to post our advice. I really don't want to leave the wrong impression but I wish people would just well you know
    Money can't buy taste
  • RainRain Posts: 8,958 ✭✭✭
    Haha, drinking so early? I like it.
  • youngryan216youngryan216 Posts: 1,127 ✭✭✭
    Classy move. I found it amusing though.
    ISO Ramrod and Ron Mexico
  • Bob_LukenBob_Luken Posts: 10,734 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Lee.mcglynn:
    Sorry guys I edited my post and I understand we should be able to post our advice. I really don't want to leave the wrong impression but I wish people would just well you know
    You wish people would just,..........what? Shut up about the Kitty Litter? :) LOL
    I wish I could have seen the original post. I would have enjoyed a nice "discussion" about Kitty Litter,.... or politics,........ or religion ;)
  • Lee.mcglynnLee.mcglynn Posts: 5,960 ✭✭✭✭
    Bob Luken:
    Lee.mcglynn:
    Sorry guys I edited my post and I understand we should be able to post our advice. I really don't want to leave the wrong impression but I wish people would just well you know
    You wish people would just,..........what? Shut up about the Kitty Litter? :) LOL
    I wish I could have seen the original post. I would have enjoyed a nice "discussion" about Kitty Litter,.... or politics,........ or religion ;)
    hahaha really my point was in winter it's hard for anything to hold humidity no matter what you use if you use a conventional humidor. It's all about maintaining the surrounding humidity level. Yes a crap load of stuff in your humi will do the trick but something as simple as a small humidifier works better and is much easier!
    Money can't buy taste
  • Bob_LukenBob_Luken Posts: 10,734 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Lee.mcglynn:
    Bob Luken:
    Lee.mcglynn:
    Sorry guys I edited my post and I understand we should be able to post our advice. I really don't want to leave the wrong impression but I wish people would just well you know
    You wish people would just,..........what? Shut up about the Kitty Litter? :) LOL
    I wish I could have seen the original post. I would have enjoyed a nice "discussion" about Kitty Litter,.... or politics,........ or religion ;)
    hahaha really my point was in winter it's hard for anything to hold humidity no matter what you use if you use a conventional humidor. It's all about maintaining the surrounding humidity level. Yes a crap load of stuff in your humi will do the trick but something as simple as a small humidifier works better and is much easier!
    You're right, winter is the real tough season for us. You know what I did? I gave up. I stuck all my desktops down in a cooler. LOL!
  • Lee.mcglynnLee.mcglynn Posts: 5,960 ✭✭✭✭
    Bob Luken:
    Lee.mcglynn:
    Bob Luken:
    Lee.mcglynn:
    Sorry guys I edited my post and I understand we should be able to post our advice. I really don't want to leave the wrong impression but I wish people would just well you know
    You wish people would just,..........what? Shut up about the Kitty Litter? :) LOL
    I wish I could have seen the original post. I would have enjoyed a nice "discussion" about Kitty Litter,.... or politics,........ or religion ;)
    hahaha really my point was in winter it's hard for anything to hold humidity no matter what you use if you use a conventional humidor. It's all about maintaining the surrounding humidity level. Yes a crap load of stuff in your humi will do the trick but something as simple as a small humidifier works better and is much easier!
    You're right, winter is the real tough season for us. You know what I did? I gave up. I stuck all my desktops down in a cooler. LOL!
    thats a good idea! But yeah that and the humidifier are both great ways to help keep things stable. This is another reason why coolers just work really well
    Money can't buy taste
  • CigaryCigary Posts: 630 ✭
    Lee.mcglynn:
    Sorry guys I edited my post and I understand we should be able to post our advice. I really don't want to leave the wrong impression but I wish people would just well you know
    Should just what...let you give out all definitive opinions so that way the rest of us can just listen to you and not write anything at all....amazing how some just want to give out their own opinions and then criticize others. Your first sentence was right on target but yet how quickly it went south. People should be able to give others a choice about accessories and what works for them w/o having to deal with those who get their panties in a twist because they don't like what they read....it's called "if you don't like it move on to the next post" w/o leaving that wrong impression.
  • Lee.mcglynnLee.mcglynn Posts: 5,960 ✭✭✭✭
    Cigary:
    Lee.mcglynn:
    Sorry guys I edited my post and I understand we should be able to post our advice. I really don't want to leave the wrong impression but I wish people would just well you know
    Should just what...let you give out all definitive opinions so that way the rest of us can just listen to you and not write anything at all....amazing how some just want to give out their own opinions and then criticize others. Your first sentence was right on target but yet how quickly it went south. People should be able to give others a choice about accessories and what works for them w/o having to deal with those who get their panties in a twist because they don't like what they read....it's called "if you don't like it move on to the next post" w/o leaving that wrong impression.
    I really think you should take your own advice!
    Money can't buy taste
  • The3StogiesThe3Stogies Posts: 2,652 ✭✭✭✭
    Up here the winters are worse, rh can go down in the 10's and 20's, it's 23 right now. I decided a while ago to keep my humi's in one room and try and control that environment. Used to keep them in the basement during the summer months running a de-humidifier, didn't have to worry about temps. Always nervous about keeping them in the basement, bad things can happen in the basement. Blow a hot water relief valve, or spring any leak not noticed would do some damage just from the steam and water alone. September I would bring them back up and fight the rh all winter. Controlling the room seems to be the best idea, at least for me. I have an AC for the summer and it also keeps humidity somewhat down. September the AC comes out and the humidifier goes in, try and keep it around 50 to 60% rh. All is well, as long as the electricity is on.
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