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Martysmoke
Rookie Topic Starter

10 years ago

Hi,

I am just starting out in the hobby and am having issues with keeping the proper humidity in my humidor. I admit I bought one of those cheap starter kits, small Humidor w/ 20 cheap cigars and a lighter and I don't have the money to upgrade right now. However, I have some nice sticks now that I don't want to ruin. I upgraded to a digital hygrometer and put crystals in the humidity puck with no luck. I am know using 8 gram boveda packs but I can only get up to about 55% humidity. I have 18 sticks in there right now.

Any advice would be helpful.

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Jnorman
Enthusiast

10 years ago

I would put in a 60 gram Boveda pack to begin with, those are pretty cheap, about $4 for one. Either a 69% or 72% is my recommendation.

deadeyedick
Herf-A-Holic

10 years ago

Did you salt test your hygrometer? Digital or not, they are all notorious for being off quite a bit.

Speyside
Herf-A-Holic

10 years ago

Did you season the humidor first?

Furiousg3org3
Enthusiast

10 years ago

Depending how much you open it. It might be hard to maintain a good humidity in the box. I would recommend winning a humidor at least a 100 count and start there.

Also take a look at the seal the smaller humidors could have a really crappy seal on it. The one I had would leak even fully closed. I had to put tape around the creases

Jnorman
Enthusiast

10 years ago

^ both of those are crucial

Martysmoke
Rookie Topic Starter

10 years ago

I seasoned the humidor for 48 hours but I haven't done the salt test with the hygrometer. I open it about once a day to check humidity and maybe a couple more times on days I smoke.

ZRX1200
Herf-A-Holic

10 years ago

If it really is 55% that's not the end of the world, high humidity is MUCH worse. Also MORE cigars will help maintain correct humidity.

Palama
Herf-A-Holic

10 years ago

Until you can upgrade the humidor, maybe placing your cigars in a Tupperware container could be the workaround. You know the seal will be tight so you won't have to worry about leakage.

Buckwheat
Herf-A-Holic

10 years ago

#10

Until you can upgrade the humidor, maybe placing your cigars in a Tupperware container could be the workaround. You know the seal will be tight so you won't have to worry about leakage.

Palama wrote:

DrMaddVibe
Herf-A-Holic

10 years ago

#11

I seasoned the humidor for 48 hours but I haven't done the salt test with the hygrometer. I open it about once a day to check humidity and maybe a couple more times on days I smoke.

Martysmoke wrote:

Stop opening it for a week. Let it settle in.

The humidor might be the problem.

DrafterX
Herf-A-Holic

10 years ago

#12

throw some lettuce in there... 😟

joshander
Enthusiast

10 years ago

#13

You could probably quickly check your hygrometer by placing it in a plastic bag with your boveda pack. The salt test always gives me mixed results and then I'm left wondering if I did it right.

FYI - heartfelt beads seem to be a top choice for humidification if you have room. Those boveda packs seem expensive to me.

namadio
Herf-A-Holic

10 years ago

#14

joshander wrote:

If you recharge your bovedas and buy on sale they are fairly cost effective. Hf beads is champ though.

+2 to tupperware. Target by me has super inexpensive tupperware with gaskets. Sams club has 70 dollar 150 qt coolers, just saying.....

Cesar.iii
Enthusiast

10 years ago

#15

Place a flashlight or smartphone flashlight inside your humidor, close it with the lights turned off, and see if you can see light around the seal, hopefully there isn't too much, but that will help you determine if your have a leak. For a quick test on the digital, i think you should be able to wrap a damp, not wet, towel around it for 30 mins, when you unwrap it, it should say 100%, just a quick check, i could be wrong about all this. Hope this helps a bit.

BlueDude
Herf-A-Holic

10 years ago

#16

Where is your humi located?
Keep it as far away as possible from any heat source.
Window, heat run, radiator, kitchen, space heater, etc.

cello on or off?

Martysmoke
Rookie Topic Starter

10 years ago

#17

I keep it in my office which stays pretty cool all day and a little cold at night. I keep the cello on.

Thanks everyone else for the great advice!

gummy jones
Herf-A-Holic

10 years ago

#18

well looks like the guys/gals pretty much covered it

1. salt test to make sure reading correct
2. season humidor properly
3. use bigger boveda
4. bring humidor closer to capacity to maintain more stable humidity
5. dont open 5x a day to admire your swishers if you can help it
6. dont sit it in the sun or next to the radiator

DrafterX
Herf-A-Holic

10 years ago

#19

don't forget the lettuce... 😟

Martysmoke
Rookie Topic Starter

10 years ago

#20

Sorry, but I am not putting lettuce in my humidor. lol

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