Humidity question

Joined Apr 2007
6 Posts | 0+
Hello all. A newbie and this is my first post here.
Is there any danger to using an open container of water to humidify a humidor, other than the obvious issue of the container spilling?
I have salt tested my hygrometer at least 6 times over the past month and every time it reads dead on 80% so I know it is not accurate but it is at least very consistant.
I was able to get the humidor up to about 65% (reading 70% on the hygrometer) with the humidor full of cigars but now that there are only about 20 cigars in it I cannot get it to hold even 60%. I do have a another order coming which will fill the box again but it will get empty again.
The box holds maybe 80-100 cigars and I now have a small humidification device of unknown type (2" tube filled with distilled water and a membrane with adjustable vent at one end), two fully loaded water pillows out of their protective bags and a shot glass half filled with distilled water sitting open in the humidor and am getting close to 65% but without the shot glass and the water pillows in their bags I can't get it over 60%.
Like I said, short of spilling the water, is there any danger of the cigars getting over humidified in this situation as long as I keep an eye on the situation. That is, will the cigars actually soak up more moisture than the hygrometer reads inside the box?
AS a side note, about how long does it take for cigars to adjust to the climate in the humidor? For example, if a box is sealed from cigar.com and in transit, in an airplane and traveling through the desert (I live in AZ - no humidity) for a few days and drop to say 40 or 50% (I don't know I am just guessing), how long should it take to get them back to 65%?
Sorry for the long post, I figured since it was my first I ought to make it a doozy.
 
Hi Rolf and welcome to the forum. Theres a section at the bottom of the forum called Introduce Yourself, let us know a little about yourself if you care to.

As far as your problems, I'm not an expert mainly because I have never had problems seasoning or bringing a humidor to desired rh. If I was you I would definitely ditch the open container of water, thats a tragedy waiting to happen. Next I would buy some beads and maybe a seasoning kit from http://www.heartfeltindustries.com/ The beads will give you a guaranteed rh of your choosing (they come in 70-65-60 rh) and the seasoning kit will let you start anew before adding the beads.

What kind of hygrometer are you using? Analog or digital? If an analog then trash that thing and get a digital. Much more reliable.

I wouldn't worry about oversaturation, if you can't get to the desired rh now I don't think a few cigars added are going to change that any.

As far as worrying about rh levels in stuff from C.com, I wouldn't. They ship everything with a humi pillow. My personal preference is to let whatever I buy sit in my humi for a month at least. Seem to smoke a little better that way, thats my opinion anyways.

Good luck to you.
 
Rolf,

Living in the desert, it will take you longer for your humidor to get a stable humidity than most. It may take quite a few days. It did for me and I was in South Carolina, so in Arizona, I could only imagine it would take a while.

The "I have a new humidor, what next?" stickie has some great info if you haven't seen it yet. As for the water pillows, keep 'em in their baggie and just leave the baggie open...the moisture will get out of them without risking damage to the cigar.

I don't see a problem with leaving some water in there to season it...but there is quite a bit of risk there. Be careful.

If your humidor is not keeping humidity, there may be an issue with the humidor. You can check its seal with a dollar bill being closed in the seal and seeing if you can remove it easily. If there's a side that the dollar moves easy, it may be a seal issue. You can also put a flashlight in it and turn off the lights. If you see light, there could be a seal issue.

Good luck to you and hope you stay a while here!
 
Rolf, I live in Phoenix. Just make sure you keep your air on, and constanly check your humidity. I use the Oasis, and have to refill about every 3-4 weeks. You may want to try humi-beads, I have heard of people having good success with those.
 
cmontgomery said:
Rolf, I live in Phoenix. Just make sure you keep your air on, and constanly check your humidity. I use the Oasis, and have to refill about every 3-4 weeks. You may want to try humi-beads, I have heard of people having good success with those.

Knowing just a little about how an AC works - Wouldn't running the AC pull moisture out of the air and dry up your smokes? Now a swamp cooler/evaporative cooler would be different.

BigMatt
 
Thanks everyone. I am just trying to make do with what I have on hand for the time being. I build furniture/cabinetry for a living and as soon as I get a chance I plan on building a temperature and humidity controlled humidor but for now I just have a jewelry box that didn't turn out so I lined it with half inch thick spanish cedar. It is absolutely air tight, I literally have to pry the lid open.
I am really careful with the water so I am not concerned with spilling it, I just wanted to know if there was any other reason not to use just water.
I am with you, A/C plays a huge factor in drying the air, and that along with the RH being about 15% outside right now means it is probably close to nothing inside the house. That is why I want to build a temp and humidity controlled humidor. Even if I could stand to turn my A/C down to 70 I wouldn't be able to afford the electricity (unless I gave up beer and cigars and THAT'S not going to happen)
I know cigar.com ships individuals with the water pillows but not bundles and boxes. I just received a bundle today and there were no pillows. I have yet to buy a box but since they seal them in plastic as well I wouldn't think the pillows would do any good there either.
If anyone is interested I will keep you posted when I start in on the real humidor.

Thanks again.
 
Rolf,
I'd be happy to send you a water pillow or two if that helps...

PM me anytime...
 
If your in the Phoenix area I know a shop that sells them for about 50 cents each. PM me if interested.

Craig
 
Welcome to the forum! I hope you get your humidity issues resolved soon. Unfortunatly, I dont really have any ideas that would help.

Cheers
Brett
 
I appreciate the offer but I wasn't implying that I needed any water pillows, just that I didn't think they would do any good during shipping with a sealed bundle or a sealed box. My question in that regard being how much humidity does a sealed bundle or box lose during the extremes of air travel, shipping warehouse, and delivery truck and how long would it take to bring it back to normal in a humidor? Not really concerned about it, just curious.

Anyway, I have been able to get the humidor a bit over 65% now using the open container of water and I will remove it if it goes a little higher and see if it stays there without the open container. I did crumple up a paper towel and stuffed it in the glass to prevent splashing if the box gets bumped. I think that provides a little more surface area for evaporation as well.
 
Rolf,
You will find the majority here will put away any new purchases for 2 weeks minimum, 30-45 days is what MY cronies will swear by. YMMV.
This is, of course, in order to allow the cigars to stabilize. Especially after an overseas flight... (who gets those? I have no idea..)