When to give up on your humidor?
Long time lurker, first time registering/posting. I'd like to think I've read everything there is on humidors trying to get mine to hold humidity. I've conditioned it with mineral water and new/clean sponge probably over ten times by now over the course of months. I've done the flash light test and the dollar bill test. Added painters tape to the location that the bill wasn't as grabby but even then, that location still wasn't exactly loose. Reconditioned, added a wet sponge (not resting on the wood), and waited...the box would go from 90% to 70% in a day and then continue to drop. I'd wait til it go to the low 60's and then start over and reconditioned again...for weeks.
Finally added weather stripping thinking that must seal it! Reconditioned several times over the course of weeks. Finally, swapped the sponge out for 2 shot glasses of mineral water after another recondition and it's already dropped to 67% and seems to be going down 1% a day.
Have I missed anything?
Outside temp is usually 68*F and humidity is ~52%. I have 2 digital and 1 analogue gauge in the box and they are all in agreement on the indicated humidity.
Finally added weather stripping thinking that must seal it! Reconditioned several times over the course of weeks. Finally, swapped the sponge out for 2 shot glasses of mineral water after another recondition and it's already dropped to 67% and seems to be going down 1% a day.
Have I missed anything?
Outside temp is usually 68*F and humidity is ~52%. I have 2 digital and 1 analogue gauge in the box and they are all in agreement on the indicated humidity.
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Don't know what else you can do, you seem to have doe it all.
Almost forgot. One new humidor did present a "different" problem. Found it because of light coming in around the key parts. Fixed that with a popsicle stick.
First, Mineral water? Not distilled water? I've never heard of using mineral water, although that may be my own ignorance, but I've always used distilled water, and I've NEVER wiped down my humidors with any kind of water.
Second, what's the humidity lever in the room where the humidor is? And, is it in the path of airflow from an AC / Heating vent? Lastly in this category, does the sun ever shine in directly on it? My desktops won't hold humidity in the winter months unless I run a humidifier in the room where they are. Even with 4 or 5 60 gram 69% bovedas in the humidor. I've learned to make sure that they are out of the path of sunlight, and nowhere near the central air vents.
Lastly, I went for decades relying on plain old Tupperware. Works every time.
Good luck.
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
1. Get some thin weather stripping with adhesive and line the inside of the lid. This probably won't work because it will not allow the box to close correctly.
2. Get some food grade silicone and run a bead down the seams of the wood on the inside. You probably have a better shot with this than with the first one, but it's a lot of effort.
It's out of the sunlight on the bottom shelf in the picture. Humidity in the room was ~40% but I've been having issues with since summer when the outside humidity was much higher.
I'll have to double check there isn't a vent over there though. Solid advice, thanks!
Silicone is next I guess.
This is actually the humidor I got from my cigar bar/club membership that I took home to season. Just trying to make sure I exhaust every seasoning option before I ask them for a new one.
Trapped in the People's Communist Republic of Massachusetts.
Even if it isn't leaking, you will lose some humidity over time, unless you have proper humidification.
That is, of course, assuming that your hygrometer is reading correctly.
That being said, I probably have a dozen or so humidors that I no longer use for cigars. Cooler or tupperware really work well.
Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy cigars and that's close enough.
Update: Took saran wrap and made a couple laps around the lid. Added a wet sponge to the 2 shot glasses already in there and........HUMIDITY WENT UP!
Re-wrapped, waited til it was in the high 70%'s and swapped it out for 72% boveda's and no saran wrap. Next day it was already back down to 63%.
Good news I guess, I know it's a problem with the seal of the lid now. New problem: WTF else can I do to seal it? I guess I'll take the weather stripping off because that isn't working and maybe try masking tape again.
Oh well, the quest continues!
Trapped in the People's Communist Republic of Massachusetts.
Many people like the Sterilite Gasket Boxes Clear with Latches or the IRIS Weathertight Gasket Boxes which stack and come in different sizes.
That is a trick I have not heard of before. I applaud your idea for its diagnostic success in identifying the problem.
I agree with @Bob_Luken. So now that you know, you can just sock in a good supply of Saran Wrap and wrap her up every time you open and close it.
Or you can do what maybe should've been done a while back; pitch that sumbitch and don't look back.
You can always put your prized humidor inside a humidified cooler and just take it out when you want a cigar.
https://cigarobsession.com/2014/04/25/how-i-maintain-my-humidity-beads/
That guy lives in Florida though... but I thought I would add ... something.