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Last post 20 years ago by Deriffe. 7 replies replies.
Is my humidity too high?
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MiniFan Offline
#1 Posted: Fri, Aug 8 2003, 7:43 AM EST
Joined: 07-25-2003
Posts: 14
I have a 50-60 cigar humidor and am using a small Credo humidification device which got charged up with 50/50 last week. The box sits in my basement office so it rarely is about 73 degrees. The hydrometer in the humi MUST be out of whack since it says 90, I'll test it later with one of the various ways to test an analog device but here's my question,
after not opening it for a while, I opened it up today to notice what could be described as hairs, crystals, ?? on most of the cigars. I know anyhting higher than 65% is a relative no no, but I can't believe it's 90 since I left it out and the room has a 50% level and it still said 60%. Can a small Credo be too much for the box?
eleltea Offline
#2 Posted: Fri, Aug 8 2003, 8:15 AM EST
Joined: 03-03-2002
Posts: 4,562
Did you calibrate the hygrometer? Are the cigars expanding and/or getting soft to the touch? What's the ambient humidity (in case your humidor is not airtight)?
THL Offline
#3 Posted: Fri, Aug 8 2003, 8:55 AM EST
Joined: 10-22-2002
Posts: 3,044
Do the salt test right away. Why guess and take chances? If your cigars are getting hairy that's mold not bloom. Except for my "ready to smoke" humidor, all of my other cigars are in my basement in a cooler or humidor. I run a de-humidifier down there and water is constantly running from it into my sump pit. The humidifiers that are in my basement humis need water at about 1/3 the rate of my upstairs humi. And much of the time I leave the lid cracked open along with the drain plug on the cooler. If your ambient humidity is over 70% you'll have a hard time keeping the humidity down inside your humi.
MiniFan Offline
#4 Posted: Fri, Aug 8 2003, 9:46 AM EST
Joined: 07-25-2003
Posts: 14
The ambient humidity in the room is 49%. None of the feet appear to have expanded. I set the Hygrometer out in the room and it reads 70%, so the humidty level read 20% higher on the guage,too bad it will probably break if I adjust it, at least now I know it reads 20% higher whch means the humi is about 70%.

MiniFan
redneck1 Offline
#5 Posted: Fri, Aug 8 2003, 10:03 PM EST
Joined: 11-15-2000
Posts: 813
Your problem sounds like my growing pains of a few years back. Here are my thoughts. Get rid of that analog hygrometer and go digital. 20 or 30 bucks is nothing compared to ruining good cigars. The small credo isn't too big for the humidor. Just make sure it isn't too wet. The 50/50 solution adds moisture when needed but the PG also absorbs it. Good luck.
al'Thor Offline
#6 Posted: Mon, Aug 11 2003, 4:52 AM EST
Joined: 06-17-2003
Posts: 2,793
My local tobacconist just talked me out of buying a $30 digital hygrometer saying that the analog is more reliable once you do the test to calibrate it (do both to really make sure)...
smithbw Offline
#7 Posted: Mon, Aug 11 2003, 10:15 AM EST
Joined: 09-01-2001
Posts: 2,444
Analog more reliable....Hmmm! Can't agree with that one. Everyone's different...

Regards,



B
Deriffe Offline
#8 Posted: Tue, Aug 12 2003, 6:37 AM EST
Joined: 06-30-2003
Posts: 522
A GOOD digital hygrometer is much better than an analog one.

Take one of your cigars, clip it and do a prelight draw. Is it easy or does it feel like you are trying to suck a golf ball through a garden hose? Sometimes, if the sticks get too wet, they will draw hard. Too dry and it's like sucking through a straw with no taste at all. Do the cigars feel spongee or do they feel dry and hard?
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