Minor humidity issue (newb question)

[otto_sear]

Howdy all,

I am new to cigars and purchased my first humidor in December- a nice 100-count model. I currently have it stocked with about 75 sticks. It has two new credos installed- one large rectangular model and one of the small, round ones. Both were moistened with 100% distilled water at the inception. I also "seasoned" the spanish cedar interior with distilled water as well- not too much, just wiped it down with a new sponge. The humidor is kept upstairs in my house, out of the sunlight, in a room that stays around 68 degrees Farenheit all day.

In the 2.5 months that I have had this setup, I noticed that in the last couple of weeks, the humidity seems to dropping down to around 60 to 62 percent. I was trying to keep it around 65. I added a little bit of distilled water to the large credo, but it really didn't have much of an effect. I re-calibrated the digital hygrometer, and everything is fine there. I also checked the seal on the lid (using the flashlight trick), and everything is fine there too.

I am not really nervous about this. I mean, the cigars smell great, don't feel overly dry, and have smoked fine thus far. I was just wondering if I am missing something- overlooking something I should be doing that is causing the humidity to drop ever so slowly. I just don't want the cigars to dry out over time or start smoking poorly due to the lower humidity. Any help/comments will be greatly appreciated.

Oh yeah- I am a lawyer in the Pittsburgh area. I like to smoke about one cigar a week, if I have time. If there are any members in the area, let me know. I would love to meet and talk cigars some time. Thanks!

[twenty4valve]

Originally Posted by otto_sear

I mean, the cigars smell great, don't feel overly dry, and have smoked fine thus far.

this answers your own question if they smoke good to you then they are fine less worry more enjoyment.

[twenty4valve]

and I almost forgot welcome to the board...

[Rob G]

You are probably fine. But to make life easier you should ditch the credos and get yourself some HF beads.

By the way, welcome to CW.

[jazznut]

Originally Posted by otto_sear

I also "seasoned" the spanish cedar interior with distilled water as well - not too much, just wiped it down with a new sponge.

I believe this might perhaps be the root cause of the RH fluctuations you've recently been experiencing. For while a wipe-down with distilled water may seem the logical approach to seasoning the interior surfaces, it is, in fact, quite the opposite. Such a wipe-down process will quickly raise the moisture level of the exposed portions of the Spanish cedar, but will, in the longer term, do little in terms of allowing the moisture to permeate the wood much beyond that. Furthermore, this sort of attempt to rapidly alter the ambient moisture content of the wood will tend to raise the surface grain.

Likely, you did not give the interior wood enough of an opportunity to absorb the water. And a few openings and closings were sufficient to dissipate whatever water had been absorbed.

By far the best manner in which to climatize your humidor is to simply place open vessels (glasses, bowls, etc.) partially filled with distilled water inside your humidor and leave them there until the ambient humidity level rises to around 70% RH. This gradual process can take upwards of a week. At this point, you can then install your humidification devices and place your cigars inside.

If you still have a bit of room inside your humidor, I'd recommend placing a small vessel partially filled with distilled water back inside for a little while. THis should help to raise the RH back the 3% or so you're aiming for. You'll want to be careful, though, so as to not move the humidor and spill the water!

[audio1der]

Wow- Jazznut's post was tremendous.
Once you get the RH% to a maintainable level, if you want to keep along the DW (distilled water) route, you'll want to add some PG (Propelyne Glycol- ask your pharmacist) to aid in conrolling the fluctuations as well as aiding in the fight against mold.

A MUCH easier route is to buy the aforementioned beads. They release and absorb humidity within your humi to control it within a tight tolerance. It sounds crazy, but they work extremely well, and your maintenance will be cut down dramatically.
There are often beads for sale/trade around here, and I have extra white mesh bags to hold them (some members use panythose which works, but looks- uh- bad) PM me if you'd like 1 or 2.

Audio

[otto_sear]

Unfortunately, I read about the wood grain rising as a result of the water treatment about two days after three people told me to wipe the interior with a sponge. I am going to put a small vessel of DW in there for a few days and see what happens. If this keeps re-occurring, it sounds like beads are the way to go, because I feel stupid constantly checking the humidity level and dicking around with the credos. I appreciate the offer, audio1, and will likely take you up on it in the near future. Thanks to all who replied.

[tonycsmoke]

Lots of good replies - just one other suggestion. One cigar a week, you need to smoke more

[SmoKerch]

How about checking the humidity just once a week, when you get a cigar to smoke. Duh. :P

Maybe then the RH will have a chance at staying stable, at or near the 65% level.

[casual]

Yep, keep the lid closed and dont be tempted to check daily. This time of year, if you are using forced air heat especially, you can watch your hygrometer quickly drop whenever you open the lid.

Keep it closed until you want a cigar or are adding cigars and trust you have done everything right.