A little humidification help...

[Poncho]

Hi All,

I'm brand new to the forum so thanks for letting me join; there seems to be a lot of good info here.

I started smoking cigars about 18 months ago and my favourites are the Monte Cristo Open Master, Partagas D4 and Bol?var.
Around 5 months ago I received a gift of a used Adorini Firenze (including two 69% Boveda packs and a Caliber IV hygrometer). When I received the humidor the hygrometer read 69% literally every time I checked it.

About 2 months ago I got some new 69% Boveda packs. Since then the humidity varies anywhere between 62% - 66% which I'm not pleased with. In order to rectify this I've tried rubbing down the timber with distilled water which changed things for a few days but then it dropped back down again.

I've also checked the hygrometer with a Boveda 75% calibration pack which showed the instrument was accurate. I've then use the hygrometer to check the 69% Boveda packs and they've shown up as being correct as well.
I've recently ordered an extra shelf insert and decided to get the Boveda 84% seasoning pack to got with it in the hope that it will change things.

My questions are:
(1) Am I correct in thinking that the humidity should be 68% - 71% so this situation needs correcting?
(2) Have you faced a similar situation before and what did you do to correct it?


Thanks for taking the time to read this. Any advice offered would be much appreciated. Hopefully over time I will become a contributing member to the forum.

Many thanks,
Alex

[PeeJay]

Hi Alex and welcome to the madhouse, don't sweat it, I'd be happy with 62-66%

[nubchugger]

Welcome Poncho.

Quite new myself to Cigars but my take on Rh is down to personal taste, i prefer my cigars to be around 65% give or take a couple of percent, i find around the 70% mark i get more burn issues and more re-lights.
As long as it's not too high as to risk mould, or too low and dry your cigars out, they will be fine at what you are getting.

Could your recent Rh fluctuation be just down to a change in the weather?

I use 69% bovedas and usually achieve 64-67% in my humidor, that'll do me😎👍


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[cj121]

Hello.

Have you changed the location of the unit? Also, perhaps take into account the seasonal change in temperature since you first took charge of you humidor. Also, how many packs do you have, are there enough for the size of your unit.

You don't say whether you have any cigars in you humidor currently. As you've wiped it down inside, I guess not. An empty humidor is much harder to stabilise than one which has a decent amount of it filled with stock. Sorry if I'm off track here.

Personally, I would advise against introducing another shelf until you are personally happy with performance and stability. It's another variable in your situation. After that, you'll deduce that any new fluctuations are due to the new 'timber' in there and can either season or simply wait until your RH comes back up.

[SHAMZ84]

Hi alex, welcome to UKCF,


I'm fairly new to cigar collecting too...one thing i've learnt while being on here, like peejay and nubchugger said as long as your not over humidifying the humi you should be fine..one thing to consider is where your placing the humi...try find a nice place in your house/apartment where the temperature doesn't fluctuate too much which will help the humidity to stay constant.

i used 69 and normally get between 67-69%RH

if you haven't got a digital hygro, i would also invest in one of those too

[Poncho]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for the quick responses and making me feel welcome.

It seems that perhaps I was overreacting to the readings and actually there's nothing inherently wrong with what I'm seeing - just a matter of taste within a certain range.

Peejay, thanks for the welcome, I like your avatar picture.

Nubchugger, do you know at what RH% they dry out at? If it's below my bracket (as I imagine it would be given the responses) then I think I'm ok.

CJ, I did change some other furniture around such that more sunlight may be falling on the general area where I keep the humidor so maybe that's the explanation. At the moment, until I figured out the source of the fluctuation, I didn't want to put any in the Adorini and was instead keeping a few in a Xicar travel humidor (with a 69% Boveda pack - I've smoked a few from this and they seem to be well preserved).
Shamz, you're getting at the same idea there as well so I'll move it so a different spot and see how that goes.

Regarding packs, I have 2 in the unit as that's what the previous chap had and he also had a dedicated holder for them - holder has a capacity of 2 packs. Boveda seem to recommend 1 pack per 25 capacity and I originally thought the Firenze had 50 capacity but when buying the new shelf the website suggested it had 75 capacity so that was a thought that crossed my mind as well, perhaps I need an additional pack.

Not putting the shelf in seems sensible for the time being, CJ, until I can get a bit of stability from the unit. The reason I was getting it was more to give a couple of friends the option of keeping a few at my place rather than because I have a huge collection so there's no immediate urgency.


Thanks again for the welcome and the quick responses.

Alex

[Wigan]

Hi, most if not all of use went thru this stage of over thinking things. Basically leave it alone. Every time you open the lid you screw with the humidity. Keep it at least half full and out of direct sunlight. As long as the boveda is squishy it's fine. You will just need to learn to trust that. Don't chase a couple of percent. You are doing more damage trying to rectify the problem.

[nubchugger]

..........

Nubchugger, do you know at what RH% they dry out at? If it's below my bracket (as I imagine it would be given the responses) then I think I'm ok.

............


Alex

Not a clue mate, but i would SOIL MY PANTS 💩💩💩💩😨😨😨😨😨 if they went below 60%


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[cj121]

Not a clue mate, but i would SOIL MY PANTS  if they went below 60%
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If your pants drop lower than 60%, that's not a good time to soil as it may end up on your socks

[nubchugger]

If your pants drop lower than 60%, that's not a good time to soil as it may end up on your socks

Pmsl ��������

wouldn't be the first time.........��

I really need to read what i'm posting with my twisted mind in the ON position

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