AlBaron Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Gents, I've been busy last couple of weeks setting up my coolerdor, and not paying too much attention to 2 desktop humidors that I have. Both of them were properly seasoned, pretty much full with cigars, and operating at pretty solid 65% RH using Boveda packs. Then suddenly I noticed that RH fell to below 60. Hmm,,, what could it be? Boveda packs didn't feel dry, but I went ahead and changed them anyways. That didn't help... I used the painter's tape to improve the seal (I can barely close them now, the seal is definitely tight). That didn't help either.... What could be my problem? The only other possibility I can think of is the fact that the room that humis are in has a very very low ambient humidity. I'm talking 10-15%. Could it be the cause of my problem? Have my humidors dried out from the outside? Please help, I'm at a complete loss here. My humidors are running at about 55-57% now Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubleuhb Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Most likely it's the low humidity in the room. How often do you open them ? it will take time to recover every time you open the lid. Add a couple more Bovedas if that is what you use, it won't hurt your cigars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlBaron Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 Most likely it's the low humidity in the room. How often do you open them ? it will take time to recover every time you open the lid. Add a couple more Bovedas if that is what you use, it won't hurt your cigars. I wish it was that simple. There are more than enough Boveda packs in each (I'm talking 4 or 5 packs in the 100-count humi), and I've given them days to recover. It stays steady around 55% Help!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cns187 Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 I wish it was that simple. There are more than enough Boveda packs in each (I'm talking 4 or 5 packs in the 100-count humi), and I've given them days to recover. It stays steady around 55% Help!!!! try a different room in the house? The cold winters really do dry it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garbandz Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 how long did the humis hold 65% before dropping? what is the % of the Bovedas? has the temp in the room dropped recently? has the room Humidity dropped recently? have you calibrated the hydrometer? were both about the same before the drop? we will figure it out............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colt45 Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 My first thought is to try adding supplimental moisture ( a small container of distilled water, not more packs ) and see what happens. A wooden desktop will typically be affected by the surrounding environment. In a very dry environment, the packs can only give off as much moisture as they contain (why add a desiccant to a dry environment), just as in an overly humid environment, they can only remove so much excess moisture (why add moisture to an overly humid environment). For me, I suppose in a perfect environment, the packs work (I have tried them). In less than perfect conditions, I feel I ask too much..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlBaron Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 how long did the humis hold 65% before dropping? - at least a couple of months - what is the % of the Bovedas? - 65% - has the temp in the room dropped recently? - no. Steady AC at 69 degrees throughout the whole Chicago winter - has the room Humidity dropped recently? - no, it's been fluctuating around 10-15% most of the winter - have you calibrated the hydrometer? were both about the same before the drop? - Yes, I have. I have also tried 4 different ones (all calibrated) - same results - we will figure it out............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnS Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Where do you store the coolerdor, near your desktop humidors? If so, there may be only so much water vapour in the air and the Bovedas are working harder to maintain rh. If the coolidor is near the other humidors, move the coolidor and see if things return to what they were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Hemingway Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 FIRST thing to do is calibrate the hygrometer IMO. I had the same thing happen to me and bugged out wondering why my RH was lower even though I didn't change a thing. After some extensive research, I found out my hygrometer went out of whack and was off. Toss the hygrometer in a zip lock bag with one of those Boveda packs. It should read exactly the RH of the pack after 12 hours (maybe less). Adjust the hygrometer as necessary. If that is not the culprit, move on to the next thing.....at least you will have peace of mind your hygrometer is correct,. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlBaron Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 FIRST thing to do is calibrate the hygrometer IMO. I had the same thing happen to me and bugged out wondering why my RH was lower even though I didn't change a thing. After some extensive research, I found out my hygrometer went out of whack and was off. Toss the hygrometer in a zip lock bag with one of those Boveda packs. It should read exactly the RH of the pack after 12 hours (maybe less). Adjust the hygrometer as necessary. If that is not the culprit, move on to the next thing.....at least you will have peace of mind your hygrometer is correct,. Already checked and replaced both hygrometers (that was the first thing I did), that's not it 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moryc Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 This happens to me sometimes as well. The air in the room where I keep my desktop humidors is very dry. When this happens I usually just wipe the inside of the lid as well as the lip where the lid connects with the bottom part of the humidor with distilled water. Wiping the lip gives it a good seal. The humidity spikes at first but then it levels off in a couple of hours so I don't think its really a big issue. I repeat this every 24 hours or so until I achieve the humidity that I want. I did this just recently for two days in a row and I brought up the humidity from 63% to 67% and holding steady. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlBaron Posted March 14, 2015 Author Share Posted March 14, 2015 Moryc, I certainly hope that you're right, and I'll try later on today. I moved both of the humidors in the living room about 6 hours ago with the hope of it changing, but the I"m showing 54% now... Stay tuned. Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moryc Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 Let me know how it works out for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PigFish Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 If input does not equal output you will have a problem. You could: Buy an airtight container to put your desktop in and humidify it also at your desired rH. Buy a room humidifier to bring the rH up in your room. Low rH is bad for woodwork, musical instruments and human skin... Tell your wife it is therapy for the house and the kids... Low rH is also bad for the heating bills in winter and there is even a comfort level for summer with the AC. I run a humidifier or two all year round unless the ambient in the house goes over 50rH. Cheers! -Piggy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlBaron Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 Thanks for everyone who's responded. Looks like both of my humis have indeed become "unseasoned". Wiping them down with distilled water and placing a shot glass with water seems to start raising the humidity a little. I'm up to 59-60%. I think its just a question of time at this point. Lesson learned: pay attention to the ambient humidity! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manover84 Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 I had this problem and it didn't start until winter was in full swing here in NY. My humble opinion is as my house was cranking more heat to keep up with the negative temps outside, the forced air heat just sucked up the moisture outside my humidor. That means also that my humidor must leak to a degree. I re-seasoned and added some extra moisture. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlBaron Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015 Update: I ended up temporarily unloading one of the humis into a tupperware container with Boveda, and putting two sponges soaked with distilled water. After 30 hours or so, removed the spunges and put cigars back in. It's holding at 63% so far, but need to see if it drops overnight or not. If it does - I jumped the gun and didn't give it enough time. Sponges will go back in for at least 48 more hours Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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