New humidor and hygrometers
Hey all,
New to cigars. Bought a cheap 50 count humidor on Amazon. I looked all over the internet and learned basically how to season a humidor and how to calibrate hygrometers. I didn't wipe down the cedar lining, not trusting myself to do so. I filled the humidifier and put a wet sponge on a plastic bag inside the humidor. I calibrated the hygrometer using the salt test and put it in/on the box. When I had calibrated it is was 5% low so I set it to 75% immediately after taking it out of the bag. So, after one night with the sponge and hygrometer in place, it read nearly 80%. I took the sponge out and it maintained about 70% for a day. I found this really odd as it generally takes days to season a humidor.
I had also ordered a digital hygrometer, hearing that they are more accurate. I had read reviews that this one came calibrated (in most cases) right out of the box, and that it was a good hygrometer for the price. I put it in the box as well, and it read about 62%. So there were two different readings.
This morning I decided to put them both in a bag with the moistened salt. It has been about 5 hours and already the analog that came with the box is holding at 75% and the digital is at 70%. I'm going to wait a few more hours, but at this point I'm confused as to whether or not the salt test is totally accurate. The instructions for the digital hygrometer says they are not. I ordered a boveda calibration kit but it won't come for a few days. I also hope they are not needed. I'm hoping to get this more or less resolved, my cigars come in a couple of days. I at least want to be able to season my humidor.
Am I overthinking this? Any suggestions?
New to cigars. Bought a cheap 50 count humidor on Amazon. I looked all over the internet and learned basically how to season a humidor and how to calibrate hygrometers. I didn't wipe down the cedar lining, not trusting myself to do so. I filled the humidifier and put a wet sponge on a plastic bag inside the humidor. I calibrated the hygrometer using the salt test and put it in/on the box. When I had calibrated it is was 5% low so I set it to 75% immediately after taking it out of the bag. So, after one night with the sponge and hygrometer in place, it read nearly 80%. I took the sponge out and it maintained about 70% for a day. I found this really odd as it generally takes days to season a humidor.
I had also ordered a digital hygrometer, hearing that they are more accurate. I had read reviews that this one came calibrated (in most cases) right out of the box, and that it was a good hygrometer for the price. I put it in the box as well, and it read about 62%. So there were two different readings.
This morning I decided to put them both in a bag with the moistened salt. It has been about 5 hours and already the analog that came with the box is holding at 75% and the digital is at 70%. I'm going to wait a few more hours, but at this point I'm confused as to whether or not the salt test is totally accurate. The instructions for the digital hygrometer says they are not. I ordered a boveda calibration kit but it won't come for a few days. I also hope they are not needed. I'm hoping to get this more or less resolved, my cigars come in a couple of days. I at least want to be able to season my humidor.
Am I overthinking this? Any suggestions?
Comments
Now to your original questions.....
----"Bought a cheap 50 count humidor on Amazon."
Have you checked the seal on it? Do a search on Google for "the dollar bill test" and give that a shot. Sometimes the "cheaper" humidors will have not-so-great seals and leak humidity. I have a small humi like this and find myself refilling the humidifiers more often than my other humidors that have good seals.
Second suggestion: a full humi is a happy humi. Your cigars will be the main regulator of humidity in the humidor. And it's hard to maintain humidity in an empty humidor.
----"I had also ordered a digital hygrometer, hearing that they are more accurate......I put it in the box as well, and it read about 62%. So there were two different readings."
Digital is more accurate & reliable than analogue in my experience.
It's common to get different readings from different hygrometers. Good on you for trying to calibrate it......but.......
----"This morning I decided to put them both in a bag with the moistened salt. It has been about 5 hours and already the analog that came with the box is holding at 75% and the digital is at 70%. I'm going to wait a few more hours, but at this point I'm confused as to whether or not the salt test is totally accurate."
I think part of your issue is you're not waiting long enough. Leave the hygrometers in the bag with the salt test for 48 hours then check them and adjust accordingly --- they should be at 75% with the salt test. Just make sure the bag is not in direct sunlight and is not directly in front of any open windows or air ducts ... those will evaporate the moisture quickly and throw off your test.
I've always had good luck with the salt test on digital and analogues.
----"I ordered a boveda calibration kit but it won't come for a few days. I also hope they are not needed."
If you want to retest your hygrometers with the Boveda packs when they arrive, go for it --- but after 48 hours with the salt test you should be good to go.
----"I'm hoping to get this more or less resolved, my cigars come in a couple of days. I at least want to be able to season my humidor."
You will be fine, just take out the sponge when the cigars show up and put in the cigars with your humidification device (recommend beads, gel, or boveda packs --- ditch the black case humidifier with green foam that probably came with your humi. Those things are magnets for mold and cause more harm than good.)
---"Am I overthinking this?"
LOL, probably. Just a little bit.
But we've all been in your position when we were first getting into cigars. Don't fret too much. All will be ok :-)
But it sounds like you are having fun so far, right? Welcome to the ccom forum
The seal on my humidor is not great. I tried the dollar test and the dollar comes out fairly easily (some resistance, but it certainly doesn't come close to tearing). There is a "whoosh" when the lid is closed slowly, and you can feel the air being forced out, but if you just drop the lid from a couple of inches it slams right in. But I can't afford another humidor, so I'll just have to deal with a leaky one for now.
I did buy a four pack of boveda packs.
When the hygrometers are calibrated I'll restart the seasoning process and leave the sponge in for a least a couple of days, checking it on day two. I don't want to mess up the seasoning process and end up with my first batch of cigars being dry.
And I'll be sure to be (relatively) sure my humidor is seasoned before I put the cigars in.
So I left the sponge and humidifier in for a few days, and the reading on my calibrated analog hygrometer was consistently above 80%. I calibrated the digital and it is within 1% (thing jumped around some even after 24 hours in a boveda test). I put in the digital and took out the sponge and the humidor stayed at 70% for a day. I took out the humidifier and put in 2 Boveda 69% packs. My humidor read 68%, then 65% last night, and this morning reads about 64-65% on the digital hygrometer, 63-64% on the analog and I worry about it dropping more. I have five cigars in there and by the end of this week there will be 8 more (12, total, as I plan to smoke one tonight).
The only change I could think to make was to take out the divider in the humidor, as I had one boveda pack on an empty side.
Any suggestions?
2) Add more cigars & get your humi close to "full". (Seriously, this will be the best way to keep it stable)
3) Give it another day or two to stabilize. 65% RH is fine for your cigars. The cigars may have been a little dry due to a number of reasons and are recovering now, sucking up some extra moisture. No need to worry
4) Disregard your analogue hygrometer reading and only worry about the number on the digital.
5) If the RH starts dropping down to the mid-50s then add more humidification (more boveda packs, gel jars, etc.)
6) If you want your RH to be in the upper 60%, add more boveda packs (maybe throw in a 72% pack)
7) Do you live in a dry climate? If so, you may have to add extra humidification due to the climate. Or you may never be able to reach 69% RH or more with a wood humidor. I notice that in the drier months my humis run a couple RH % lower than they do the rest of the year. I have to recharge my humidifiers more often and usually toss in a couple extra boveda/humi-paks in the humis to get through those drier months. Never had a problem though.
The five cigars I have in there took a week to get to me so I imagine they are dry. More cigars on the way, and I plan to go to this shop I discovered nearby, an old fashioned cigar parlor.
The digital now says 64%, and I plan to put the cigars in a tupperware with the Boveda and put the sponge back in if it drops to 60. Maybe I didn't season it long enough?
So I'll be watching this closely.
You are on the right track, JRigs. Just need a little patience and some more time for everything to stabilize.
Give it until, let's say Saturday or Sunday, and see where the RH is at then.
To calibrate the hygrometer follow steps on the 1st page of this thread....or do a Google search for "hygrometer salt test". Is you hygrometer digital or analogue?
Anyways, try the salt test (or if you want to be super sure get yourself a Boveda hygrometer calibration kit), let it sit undisturbed out of direct sunlight and away from drafts (aka not right next to a window or air duct) then in 2-3 days and let us know what the hygrometer says.
In the meantime I'm going to assume it looks something like this humi:
And the back of the hygrometer probably has a small hole in the center, with maybe a slot in the center? .... If so, you can put a flat head screw driver in the hole on the back, and when you turn it it should adjust the display hand on the front of the hygrometer
There should be a way to "pop" it out too, so you can get it calibrated. You will probably have to apply a little pressure and push it from the back....but it should come out. Did it come with a black humidifier with foam inside, similar to this?
(It might be a circle, or slightly different size)
If so, throw it away. Seriously. It will only cause problems down the road. These types of humidifiers are not very good at regulating humidity and are magnets for mold. They come included with most humidors because they are cheap.
You would be better off with bead, gel jars, or boveda packs.
Amount of humidification devices will depend on which type of humidification you go with But usually you can find a recommendation on how many you need in the product description (if ordering online) or on the packaging (if purchasing at a store). Ok, before you can determine if the humi is seasoned properly (or if the seal's bad, etc etc etc) you'll have to get a calibrated, working hygrometer.
Try to get the analogue one calibrated....
If not, order a digital one like this http://www.cigar.com/cigars/viewcigar.asp?prod=M-HYG10.
Once you have a properly calibrated hygrometer you can set it in the humi and keep an eye on the seasoning process.
Oh, and one last question --- do you have any cigars in the humidor at the moment? Or is it empty?
As far as #5, I can't say because I don't have one.
I like the look of that model though.
I know some of the BOTLs here have a similar model and I think most of them like it.
And the only 1 other suggestion I have --- (and it's probably obvious) --- but leave the humi empty until you get the hygrometer calibrated and reinstalled, and you get the humi seasoned.
Those are things you can't rush...might take a week total.. Say 2-3 days to get the hygrometer calibrated. Then reinstall it in the humidor and another 3-4 days to season the humidor and get everything "leveled" out.
If you get any cigars in the meantime, you can store them in a tupperware container or ziploc bag with one of the small humi-paks (the kind that usually included with your order)...that will keep the cigars humidified and nice & safe for the short term until you can put them in the humidor.
Just met it sit.
After 48 hrs you **should** notice the dial has moved since you started. It May not be up to 75 when you're done but it shouldn't be at the same place as before you started the test,
After that 48 hours, then you can adjust the hygro so the dial reads 75. I'd then "recharge" the salt, put the hygro back in for another 24 hrs and see if it stays steady around 75.