"RH is low" Humidor in winter time when heat is on

Dear all,

I am a newbie, and I am having trouble keeping my humidor's RH now when the heat is on. The RH now in my humidor is around 60%; also, it's fluctuating. The humidor comes with a hygrometer, and I got myself a round digital hygrometer, too. The humidor hygrometer is a built-in one that, I assume, is monitoring the bottom of the humidor. About the digital one, I place it in the surface corner that's far away from the other hygrometer, because I heard that RH in one humidor varies due to the design of the humidor.

Now the built-in hygrometer is showing 59%, while the digital 63%, which is still away from the "ideal" range. Is that fine?

Also, I noticed that the RH is decreasing heavily when the heat is on; so I place a shot glass containing 2 soaking wet cosmetic cotton in the corner in the humidor, trying to compensate some humidity. After this, I don't see a lot increase in the RH, however. Is what I am doing correct? What do you guys usually do when the RH is far behind being ideal? Any tips? Thanks!

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jgibv

ok, i see this question a lot and have personally dealt with the same problem in the past on my humis:

first some food for thought:
63% is acceptable for RH.
the old rule of thumb is 65-75. but some folks prefer to keep them closer to 60.
it's one of those things, as long as the cigars are smoking to your liking i wouldn't worry about it too much.
now, if you get below 60 for an extended period of time, then you may start to have issues with them drying out/cracked wrappers/etc.

now to address your specific situation; first a few questions for you....
1) how long have you had this humidor?
1a) have you ever "seasoned" the humidor? if so when was the last time you seasoned it?

2) have you ever calibrated the hygrometers? if so, when was the last time you calibrated them?

3) how long ago did you place the shot glass inside the humidor?

4) where is the humi located? (is it near a window/in direct sunlight or within 5 ft of a heat vent?)

5) gas or electric heat in your home? do you run any room humidifiers or possibly a whole-house humidifier that's built into your furnace?

Bob_Luken

Sounds like you're doing things right. But, wintertime humidor dryness is one of the toughest problems to overcome. This season, I actually gave up entirely. My desktops are tucked away in coolers for now. Many unique variables that are at play here. One thing to consider is moving the humidor's location. It may be in the line of fire when it comes to your heater ceating dry heated air. If this air is moving directly at your humidor it will create a challenge to keep your humidity up. You could put the humidor in a drawer or cabinet where no air would be moving around it. Another thing to look at is your seal. You can wipe distilled water on the overlapping parts in hopes that they will swell and therefore seal better. Or you can try to build up your seal slightly and achieve a tighter seal with masking tape. Be cautious of the odor of the tape's adhesive if you try this.

bigharpoon

It takes a while for wood and cigars to accept moisture. The last thing you want is your humidor and cigars doing crazy swings quickly. Also, RH is a function of temperature so while checking your RH make a note of what temperature you are checking that RH at, it will make a big difference.

The3Stogies

Winter's tough, and this winter has been cold and dry, as far as rh. I usually have a 2 shot glasses in my large humi's, actually 3 in the big one right now. Try and keep them around 65% all the time, but it drops quickly when you open them and rummage around.

mmkuchi

see below post plz...here's a wrong post

mmkuchi

jgibv:
ok, i see this question a lot and have personally dealt with the same problem in the past on my humis:

first some food for thought:

63% is acceptable for RH.

the old rule of thumb is 65-75. but some folks prefer to keep them closer to 60.

it's one of those things, as long as the cigars are smoking to your liking i wouldn't worry about it too much.

now, if you get below 60 for an extended period of time, then you may start to have issues with them drying out/cracked wrappers/etc.

now to address your specific situation; first a few questions for you....

1) how long have you had this humidor?

1a) have you ever "seasoned" the humidor? if so when was the last time you seasoned it?

2) have you ever calibrated the hygrometers? if so, when was the last time you calibrated them?

3) how long ago did you place the shot glass inside the humidor?

4) where is the humi located? (is it near a window/in direct sunlight or within 5 ft of a heat vent?)

5) gas or electric heat in your home? do you run any room humidifiers or possibly a whole-house humidifier that's built into your furnace?

1) 3 weeks;
1a) Yes, i have seasoned it when it came about 3 weeks ago

2) I have a digital round Xikar hygrometer;

3)just from yesterday....

4)away from the heat, but my room is small;

5)electric heat, and no built-in humidifier...

variant2

This is what I did to my 2 humidors and it works great keeping the RH levels consistent in the winter. I added the blue painter's tape to the flat edge (non-lip side) of the opening.

Just make sure the tape is laid perfectly flat with no creases or overlaps.

mmkuchi

variant2:
This is what I did to my 2 humidors and it works great keeping the RH levels consistent in the winter. I added the blue painter's tape to the flat edge (non-lip side) of the opening.

Just make sure the tape is laid perfectly flat with no creases or overlaps.

Damn....I like this!

jgibv

mmkuchi:
1) 3 weeks; 1a) Yes, i have seasoned it when it came about 3 weeks ago 2) I have a digital round Xikar hygrometer; 3)just from yesterday.... 4)away from the heat, but my room is small; 5)electric heat, and no built-in humidifier...

Ok sounds like you are on the right track brother.

If you just put the additional water dish/shot glass in yesterday, probably hasn't had enough time to respond yet.
I know it's difficult, but patience is key here...these things take time.

I would say, before you hassle with or try any other fixes....just leave everything "as is" & give it a week or so. Keep an eye on it and you **should** see your RH gradually increase.

If, after a week you do not see much change in the RH level then you may want to consider other solutions....(like reseasoning the humi, recalibrating hygrometer, adding tape to help the seal like variant2 did, transferring to a plastic coolerdor, etc.)....but, before fussing with that just sit tight because the problem may correct itself.

You may just have to keep a dish of distilled water in your humi during the dryer months to keep the RH up, that's what I have to do and it has worked just fine

One last tidbit: if you're like me you'll want to open the lid & check inside the humidor 2-3 times/day to see if anything's changing....but don't do it man!!!
The less you open the lid, the better your RH will recover b/c every time you open the lid some humidity escapes and then it has to "recover" once you close it all up again. So just be aware that the more frequently/longer you have the lid open, the longer it will take for the RH to respond.

Cigary

Cold weather can make life miserable when it comes to controlling our RH and we've all dealt with it in one way or another. I've learned using certain humidors one needs to set them up a bit differently to combat the effects of the cold. When using tupperware it's imperative to line the bottom and sides with cedar sheets and to use a good media ( I use KL ) and that has been a proven method for me. When using a wood humidor try to use one that is large enough to accommodate more cigars as smaller ones tend to aggravate an already difficult situation when the weather gets cold. A simple answer is to keep the inside temps in your home at 70 degrees but when you live in one of those cold regions that can get expensive to heat your house to keep your cigars at an acceptable level. A shot glass of DW is another short cut to use but be careful not to knock the darn thing over.

CharlieHeis

mmkuchi:
variant2:
This is what I did to my 2 humidors and it works great keeping the RH levels consistent in the winter. I added the blue painter's tape to the flat edge (non-lip side) of the opening.

Just make sure the tape is laid perfectly flat with no creases or overlaps.

Damn....I like this!

I remember someone mentioning this last winter. I forgot about it. Definitely going to do this.