I just pick up one of those end table humidors, which hold about 500 sticks. I set up the hunidor as per the instructions on how to brake in a new humidor. I charged the humidifiers with 50/50 and placed a cup of distilled water in it for a few days. When my hygrometer reached 70% humidity (about 3 days time) I took out the cup of water and then put in about 300 cigars. To my surprise, for the past 2 days the humidity level keeps droping. I'm at about 65% humidity. Is this normal or is something wrong.

The cigars are absorbing the moisture. Put a shot glass of water back in till everything returns to normal. Then take it out and see if it stays the same. Also check the quality of the seal of your humidor. Around the inside of the lid, see if the panels are loose.

ajeroth

Also, if the Spanish Cedar wasn't brushed with water before you placed the cigars inside, the cedar will absorb some moisture as well. I would give it a week and see if the humidity comes back up. I actually keep many of my sticks at 65%. It markedly improves both draw and burn.

Cheers,

Grond

What grond said.

If it drops more, add the cup of h2o.

Keep us posted.

it's the cedar that is absorbing the water ... and it's good that you did NOT 'brush' the cedar with water since water can raise the grain of the wood ... what you probably should have done is leave the bowl of water in there longer ... but, since you haven't, don't worry if the humidity doesn't fall too far below 65 ... actually, 65 is, IMO, better than 70 anyway ...

No offense SteveS, but every humidor (including the 600 ct. Oxford I just received for Christmas) states in the
BASIC GUIDELINES FOR HUMIDOR CARE AND USAGE
* Wipe interior with a damp sponge or towel before first use.
* Use distilled water in your humidor
* yada yada yada

I've treated all five of my humidors (3 25 ct, 1 150 ct and 1 600 ct) this way and never had any warping problems. The humidity has always stabilized at 65 - 70% (depending on my ratio of PG/water).

My only problem is getting my current huge 600 ct. stabilized but I'm testing the hygrometer right now (using the salt water method) to see if I have a faulty hygrometer.

I think (IMHO) that 65% is ideal! But I prefer Maduros and they react better at 63 to 65%!

Charlie

Stick with it. I have the same humidor myself and it took me a couple weeks to get it to stabilize. With a humi that big, there are a lot of cigars and a lot cedar to soak up the moisture.

Drop me an e-mail.

SAllenHumidors at aol dot com