America's #1 Online Cigar Auction
first, best, biggest!

Last post 21 years ago by cayman2b. 14 replies replies.
Dry winter months
Jump to Bottom | Previous Topic | Next Topic
Phat Man Offline
#1 Posted: Fri, Feb 14 2003, 7:28 AM EST
Joined: 09-05-2002
Posts: 43
I live in the blustery cold of the midwest, and during the winter, my humidor gets really dry. I swear that I can fill up my humidifiers every week, and the relative humidity only gets to the low 60's. I have an El Rey humidor that is mostly filled, and my humidifiers are the standard, round ones that I got with it (2 of them). In fact, I was so desperate to get more moisture in there that I put a small synthetic sponge in the bottom of my humidor in which I put some distilled water. Even that doesn't help much!

HELP! What can I do to bring up the humidity?
Robby Offline
#2 Posted: Fri, Feb 14 2003, 7:56 AM EST
Joined: 10-30-2002
Posts: 5,067
Try "seasoning it". Take the cigars out and put them in zip locks. Open the humidor and get some paper towels wet and wipe down the inside good. Get it good and wet, then close it up and let it sit for a while. Over night? The next day, open it up and put your hygrometer back in and your humidification devices. (Be sure to use some propylene glycol in those) You should see the humidity come down from a very high level to 70%. A side note is that you need to be concerned with RH> Note, as the temp falls, the humidity needs to go UP to maintain a consistent RH.
There's a scientific explanation: http://www.branom.com/literature/rel-hum.html

You can look at the table and see the impact of temperature and RH.
barryneedleman Offline
#3 Posted: Fri, Feb 14 2003, 8:34 AM EST
Joined: 08-23-2000
Posts: 1,689
Make sure your Hygrometer is calibrated. Do your cigars feel dry????
octowings Offline
#4 Posted: Fri, Feb 14 2003, 8:59 AM EST
Joined: 10-22-2002
Posts: 390
I live in the midwest also. Same problems here.

My devices are calibrated, my element is full, I've seasoned & reseasoned. I have several humidors, same problem in all. I've tried your thing with the sponge also. This coming from several years of winters. Summer's not a problem though.

Heck, I've even considered playing those damn rainy "sounds of nature" c.d.'s, because I have so much love for my 'gars.

All I can say is that it's a daily process. Winter just sucks all the humidity away no matter what temp your 'gars are at.

Keep the sponge in the 'dor. Keep your elements filled. Spray the top of your 'dor with distilled water every four days (not too much)! Rotate your stock on a regular basis.

My thoughts are with you!

...octo
xrundog Offline
#5 Posted: Fri, Feb 14 2003, 8:59 AM EST
Joined: 01-17-2002
Posts: 2,212
It is common for your humidifier to dry out faster in the winter months. I have to recharge mine more frequently this time of year. During the summer, you can sometimes take a humidifier out and it will take days for the humidity to drop. My opinion is that the discs just can't keep up with demand. Either make your own larger humidifier or, a good low profile humidifier is the Diamond crown. You must have a 25 to 50 cigar humidor. The smallest size Diamond crown would work fine. The Paradigm humidifiers work well too but take up more space.
Robby Offline
#6 Posted: Fri, Feb 14 2003, 9:33 AM EST
Joined: 10-30-2002
Posts: 5,067
Or the ultimate answer... The "Ploomidoor". Posted under pictures as "Drum Roll Please". :-) Never gets dry. It's all climate controlled.
penzt8 Offline
#7 Posted: Fri, Feb 14 2003, 10:33 AM EST
Joined: 06-05-2000
Posts: 1,771
My storage cabinet really gets a workout this time of the year too. I'm probably adding a quart of water a week.

The other thing that helps is to buy a large room humidifier and run it in the room where your humidor sets. With higher humidity in the surrounding room, the humidor shouldn't lose as much moisture. If your humidor is in a large open space, consider moving it to a smaller room for the winter. It will be easier to humidify a smaller room.

We run a couple humidifiers in our house during the winter. It helps quite a bit.

Spiny Norman Offline
#8 Posted: Fri, Feb 14 2003, 2:46 PM EST
Joined: 09-04-2002
Posts: 899
I have made several small credo's out of 35mm film canisters. Then I just add an extra credo as needed. problem with this solution is it starts to take up room better spent on Gars.
cayman2b Offline
#9 Posted: Sat, Feb 15 2003, 2:52 PM EST
Joined: 05-19-2000
Posts: 1,734
I live in the Detroit area and have the same conditions...


I "simply" adjust the square inch of wet florist
in each container to deal with the current conditions..

Practice- experience makes perfect.. also, a consistant storage container is helpful..

I have two hand made cherry wood humidors that I just love! and one of lids is warping.. big time! I'm P'd!!
xrundog Offline
#10 Posted: Sat, Feb 15 2003, 7:56 PM EST
Joined: 01-17-2002
Posts: 2,212
Cayman, is the lid twisting so that it doesn't close properly or are you seeing joint seperation?
madal Offline
#11 Posted: Sun, Feb 16 2003, 7:32 AM EST
Joined: 11-14-2002
Posts: 141
I'm in New England and have the same problem. The cigars still smoke fine. I personally wouldn't condition my humidor by wiping in down because it will cause the cedar to swell and whatever is inherent with that. When the humidity in the room is 30-40% as it is much of the time it will suck the humidity from the box. I've noticed when the cold spells break the humidity sky rockets from the addtional devices which can cause your wrappers to split.
scottypop Offline
#12 Posted: Sun, Feb 16 2003, 4:51 PM EST
Joined: 01-25-2003
Posts: 48
I have the solution to your problem!

I was having trouble keeping mine up to 70 for awhile so I took the humidor and placed it in my bedroom where I leave a warm air humidifier running overnight because the air gets too dry when the heat is on. After a few hours my humidor SHOT up to 80% in that room. I moved it back to the other room and it leveled out.

Obviously, the problem was not with my humidor but with the relative humidity of the room I keep my humi in. Invest in a small inexpensive warm or cold air humidifier for your humi room so your poor little humidor doesn't have to work so hard.

I got mine at a drug store for around $30-50 and it rather large.
cayman2b Offline
#13 Posted: Tue, Feb 18 2003, 7:03 AM EST
Joined: 05-19-2000
Posts: 1,734
X- its "twisting"..

Any help would be appreciated... I love these things!!

Hand made out of Cherry.. 18x10x5 od

Thanx
xrundog Offline
#14 Posted: Tue, Feb 18 2003, 10:36 AM EST
Joined: 01-17-2002
Posts: 2,212
Man that is a good size 'dor! Twisting, ouch! That's a bad one. I think it is due to the use of wood that is not dried sufficiently. If the body is twisting, I don't think it can be repaired. If it's the lid, maybe. I had one with a warped lid. I sanded the inner edge even. Then I sanded the top even. Wasn't perfect, but it looked ok. And more important, it worked fine. Of course it needed to be refinished. E-mail me some pics or a reply. xrundog at aol dot com.
cayman2b Offline
#15 Posted: Tue, Feb 18 2003, 2:27 PM EST
Joined: 05-19-2000
Posts: 1,734
X- Right now I dont have a prob with retaining 69-71% but it seems to be getting worse every winter. I dont have a digital camera ( yeah,yeah!) I'll grab one from work and take a few pics and shoot them your way.. or even maybe post them here.. back @ you soon..
Users browsing this topic
Guest
Back to Top