My humidor won't go over 55%, and I can't figure out why.

I bought a humidor from Amazon (if you search for "The Elegant 50
Cigar Glass Top Humidor" you'll find the one I got). It holds about
50 cigars (supposedly), but I only have 20, so it's just under 1/2
full. I have 3 different humidifying elements in there, 2 of the
green foam things and one with a clear gel. I refill them every week
or two. I have 2 hygrometers, one analog on the humidor, and a
digital one inside the box, and both read 55%. I even tried putting a
small cup of water in there to get more water in the air. No luck.

Obviously 55% is lower than where I want it to be. I'm relatively new
to cigars, and this is my first humidor, so I could be doing something
wrong.

Any and all ideas are welcome.

Thanks!

In article
<d54b315a-b4d3-4bfe-8498-08936f7e255a@j35g2000yqh.googlegroups.com>,


Not enough moisture.

* Google this group for "salt test", and make sure your hygrometer is
calibrated. If you're using the cheap one that came with the humidor,
it's almost certainly a $2 piece of junk. Spend $20-30 on a decent one
(digital or analog, in that price range, they'll both be plenty-good
quality), and check it's calibration.

The important bit here is that you could be at 78%, reading 55% -- best
to check.

* Google this group for "humidor seasoning" -- when you first buy one,
it's VERY DRY wood, and has to be "seasoned" to get it ready to use.

The important bit here is: prepare your humidor before use.

Luck!

--
Please take off your pants or I won't read your e-mail.
I will not, no matter how "good" the deal, patronise any business which sends
unsolicited commercial e-mail or that advertises in discussion newsgroups.

Miss Elaine Eos laid this down on his screen :

And once it's prepared if it's still problematic, put the whole thing
in a large zip-loc bag to see if your humidor is leaking. If it's ok
in the bag, and it not when it's out if it, it's probably leaking.

--
The Cigar Diary
http://www.cigardiary.com

60's is OK for me.
CigarBaron
(stores 'em cooler too)

On Feb 22, 11:23 am, Murali Kulathungam <MSK20...@yahoo.com> wrote:


60's is OK for me.
CigarBaron
(stores 'em cooler too)

I used to store them cooler, but when I lived in Thailand, the average
temperature of my refrigerador was 85 degrees and I found that the cigars
aged much faster (which I was thrilled about). While I don't think that it
is by any means a direct proportion, It seems to me that my colder/dryer and
warmer/more humid cigars smoke equally well with the only real difference
being that warmer cigars tend to mature quicker. Of course there is a risk
of beatles, but I have never had any problems with those at any temperature
(even with the humidor floating around 90 degrees and no freezing
beforehand). My experiences certainly don't constitute scientific research,
but based upon them, I would suggest using a warm humidor for someone who
wants to get fresh cigars through the sick period faster. My nicaraguans
were smoking great at 6 months which is at least 3 or 4 months faster than
they used to take when my wisconsin humidor hovered around 60 degrees.

Moodoscience

The non-Cuban cigars will take higher heat as they've pesticides have
been more liberally used on those crops. Cuban cigars IMO have a much
higher rate of non-pesticided (is that word?) tobacco, hence a higher
chance of eggs hatching. I've had beetle problems twice in the past:
both times when my office temperature hit 80 degrees for several
days. And, both times only with Cuban cigars. I've left my non-Cuban
cigars in my car-o-door (where heat can be over 100 degrees for
periods of time in the summer) and never had a beetle problem (but
these always have been non-Cuban cigars.)

Most of my stash is stored at 60% and 58 degrees...in my wine cellar.

CigarBaron

Are you really that stupid or do you just play one on ASC? ROTFLMFAO

Since I have 2 different hygrometers that both read the same, I didn't
think it was a problem with the hygrometers or their calibration. So
I took the digital one and one of the green foam elements and stuck
them in a ziploc bag. Lo and behold, it was up to 72%. I think this
shows that the problem isn't with the humidifying elements or with the
hygrometers, but with the humidor itself, right?

How can I figure out where the leak is? Do I just seal everything
that I can find? Or should I just suck it up and get a new humidor
(which I'd rather avoid if I could)? Is it possible that this is a
result of improperly seasoning the humidor when I got it? If so, if I
take the cigars out and re-season, will that solve my problem?

Thanks again!

Little Guy...I also have found that cigars develop much more quickly
at higher temps. My first hint of this was some tubos left in the car
during the Texas summer...they were less than a year old and lost
their "bite" after only a month. (Note...I torque down the caps when
they are gonna be outside the cabinet for any extended period od
time...usually keeps the RH in) I, however, HAVE had beetle outbreaks,
so now freeze everything. Since I started freezing I have had no
beetles, regardless of storage temps. YMMV

There is a trick some of us pipe smokers use to "quick age" unopened
tins of tobacco. Leave the tin on the dashboard on a hot summer day with
the windows up. Seriously, not yankin' your chain, it actually works.

BTW I prefer my cigars in the 60-65% RH range.