Humidor at 60% in March in Boston

JRigs

I bought this humidor back in... June of 2014. I seasoned it with Boveda seasoning packets for two weeks, then loaded up my cigars. I used 69% Bovedas, 6 in all, for the 150 ct humidor. My rh read between 64-67% all summer, and most of the fall. So now I've been weathering the winter here in Boston, and I switched to 72% Boveda because the humidity dipped below 60 in January. For a month or so, maybe longer, the rh was at 63% with the 72% Boveda. In the last month it has remained steady at 60%, sometimes 61%. I try to only open it once or twice a day. Sometimes less. Some of the cigars I've smoked seem a bit dry. They seem to smoke faster and I deal with the occasional cracked wrapper. I'm nervous at this point, though we are leaning toward warmer weather and things should improve naturally. Is it just the Winter causing this? The hygrometer was calibrated, the humidor was seasoned, and the humidor is pretty full at this point. I'm using 10 Boveda packets, 72%. I thought maybe it was the seal so have been planning on buying a new humidor, but I just did the flashlight test and the room was pitch black. Couldn't see any light coming from the humidor with the flashlight in there. I guess I just want to know if this is just because rh is hard to deal with in Winter, that this is common, or if I'm doing something wrong? I'm fairly new to cigars, only been a bit over a year that I've started to really collect and regularly smoke cigars. I'm getting a better sense of likes and dislikes in terms of cigars, and it has been a really enjoyable thing to try different brands/blends. Now I just worry about keeping them in prime condition. Any advice from more experienced BOTL's is very much appreciated.

rsherman24

Just a way of life during winter in the NE. I got sick of chasing the RH through the seasons so I switched over to a cooler (and I bought too many damn cigars). My cooler stays within 1-2 RH all year with 2 small containers of kitty litter inside. I keep a small wooden desktop humi for cigars I want to smoke soon. I can control that with 1 or 2 Boveda packs. You can try a sponge with distilled water in a glass in your humi during the dry months.

bigharpoon

Think of it this way: your humidor is made of solid wood. That wood has moisture in it that is escaping into the dry winter air not only when you open the lid but from all six sides that are facing outwards 24 hours a day. The box is drying out into your room faster than your little boveda packs can recharge it from the inside.

Even though the humidor has a finish on the outside it is only slowing down the effect of RH equilibrium, not cancelling it. You should put all your cigars into a ziploc bag, don't open it and re-season your humidor. RH will be on the rise soon enough but you may want to consider going to a cooler by next winter.

The3Stogies

Try and keep mine 65% or over, I add extra Boveda packs and shot glasses. May want to get a small room humidifier/vaporizer for the winter months just to kick it up a notch where they are. This winter has been brutal. bigharpoon is right it seems with humi's environment has a lot to do with it. Wondering if I'll be needing my AC this year, not for a while it seems.

KCW

Yes. Life in New England. What I do is sometimes is, I'll put a little dish of Distilled water in the Humi to bump up the RH% but you have to remember that cold temps can not support as much moisture as warmer temps. So moving the Humi to a warmer spot in your home may also help. You just have to keep an eye on things around here during the cold winter months.

JRigs

i thought about getting a shot glass or little dish in there, I just wouldn't know where to put it. My humidor is pretty jammed. But that's a good tip for next winter. Don't know about a cooler. My habit just isn't there yet. Though when I buy a box or boxed sampler I have been saving them in case I end up switching over. I just don't know if I have the space in this dump. I just wasn't sure if the problem was my humidor or what. I knew the rh would drop but I didn't expect to have 10 Boveda in there and still worry. But this Winter has been especially cold. Just all around rough. So I guess it has just been rough on my cigars as well. Thanks so much for the tips. Hopefully my cigars will bounce back a bit after they get a drink of water this spring/summer.