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Newbie humidor seasoning problems

FryFry Posts: 12 ✭
in Cigar 101
So I started getting into cigars a few months ago.  Ordered one of the sampler packs here that came with a humidor.  Like most of us newbies, I couldn't wait to season the humidor and shoved my cigars into the box along with some of that propylene glycol gel to keep humidity at 70.  

This winter break I decided it was time to do it right and season the small humidor correctly. ( I think)   Took all my cigars out of the humidor and placed a small glass of distiller water in the humidor along with a digital hydrometer for about two weeks.  Opened the humidor up and it was at 62 RH.....thought it should have been much higher by now.   I then did the wipe down method to see if that would help raise the rh.  After 2 days it raised it to 65 rh, but then dropped to 62 there after, so I'm assuming it's just a bad seal on the humidor.

At this point I've given up on the humidor and decided to move to a tupperdore (sp?).  So I took one of my wife's Tupperware containers, placed my cigars in it as well as 65 rh heartfelt beads(half pound).  I think I may have charged the majority of the beads cause when I checked on the container later in the day the rh was around 80.  I took the beads out of the container over night to get a better 50/50 mix and lowered the rh in the container to 60 by leaving the top off for a bit. Placed the beads back into the container and now it's at 75 rh.    

What at am I doing wrong to not get 65 rh?

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    jsnakejsnake Posts: 5,979 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Do you have a calibrated hygrometer for accuracy? That could be an issue if it isn't calibrated correctly. For the humidor seal you can stick a dollar bill in and close the lid on it and see if it slides out easily. 

    This stuff is one reason I use either Boveda packs or my Cigar Oasis electronic humidifier. 

    Ive kind of been out of the game for a year but there are plenty of old timers here that can help you further. Welcome by the way. 
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    FryFry Posts: 12 ✭

    Thanks for the reply Jsnake.  Yeah, I calibrated my hygrometer using the salt test right before I attempted to season my humidor.

    I tried the dollar test as well.  Seemed like it was fine, but Im not sure how big of a role the gaps in the attached image will have on not keeping rh up.


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    WaterNerdWaterNerd Posts: 3,296 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited January 2017
    Hi @fry and welcome to the forum! I had the same problem and was told to put the humidor in a chest or cooler. Once I did that my humidor stayed at 68%. That simple trick solved all of my humidity problems. I did a quick search and here's a link to a ton of suggestions Link
    Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt
    — Abraham Lincoln


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    FryFry Posts: 12 ✭
    Thanks for the reply WaterNerd.  I've read a lot of those threads already and do plan on getting a cooler soon.  In the meantime, I'm trying to figure out why my humidity is so high in my Tupperware Box.  I'm assuming my Tupperware has just as good as a seal as a cooler, hence the high humidity readings.  I thought the heartfelt beads would have equalized my humidity to 65%, but it doesn't seem to be doing the job as it keeps rising into the 70's RH.  Is there something I'm doing wrong to cause this? 
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    YaksterYakster Posts: 25,724 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Tupperdors don't breathe or leak really. Boveda's would be perfect but drying half the beads should work too. 
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