Thanks, makes sense now, just hope my humi does not throw up or take a dump...lol
There is nothing giong on in the humi right, like when I open it, steam comes out, or has a certain smell...its just a box and the temp on the hydrometer needs to read around 65%-70% right?
Yes between 65% and 70% is good. It depends on how you like to smoke your sticks. As for the humidity? I would leave my beads in the humi thruout the process as they are able to absorb as well as give off humidity. Once the humi reads within the range that you want it to, the beads will be charged and will maintain the RH from that point on. Be careful if you are spraying your beads as they are easy to overcharge. That is why leaving the beads in the humi with the bowl of water works well. You are seasoning your humi while charging your beads at the same time.
Thanks, makes sense now, just hope my humi does not throw up or take a dump...lol
There is nothing giong on in the humi right, like when I open it, steam comes out, or has a certain smell...its just a box and the temp on the hydrometer needs to read around 65%-70% right?
Yes between 65% and 70% is good. It depends on how you like to smoke your sticks. As for the humidity? I would leave my beads in the humi thruout the process as they are able to absorb as well as give off humidity. Once the humi reads within the range that you want it to, the beads will be charged and will maintain the RH from that point on. Be careful if you are spraying your beads as they are easy to overcharge. That is why leaving the beads in the humi with the bowl of water works well. You are seasoning your humi while charging your beads at the same time.
If you fill them up too much, they can't absorb humidity, only release it. When I've done this, I find my humidity typically spikes by a few degrees for a day or two (nothing too bad; typically from 67% to 72% or so)
Thanks for all the help fellas. When I came home and checked, it was at 80%, so lower than I usually get. So I just took all the beads out and just placed some in a dish. Hopefully this should do the trick.
Just saw this thread... Whats the verdict ? When I do mine.. And I've done a few in my times I put a bowl of Distilled water in my humi and shut the lid ,lock it and give my wife the key so I can't get into it. 12 days later she gives me the key back and bingo ! all is good inside the magic humidor. The more you check it and open it the harder it will be to get it right. I did the same thing you are doing with my first humi( checking it every day or so) and it took me 2-3 months to get it to stabilize, The guys on this site who helped me with it will remember the PIA time I had with it.
RIght now this morning, it only has a small shot glass of beads in it, and its down to 74%. That is a good sign for me because it was at 81% yesterday. So I will check after 24 hours, and once it hits the 65-70%, I will let it sit for another day or two, then if all the % are good, I will start adding my 21 sticks..lol.
Also, my analog one says like 65% this morning, and the digital one was at 74%.....I did calibrate the digital one, but never the analog one. I should just go by the digital right?
Also, my analog one says like 65% this morning, and the digital one was at 74%.....I did calibrate the digital one, but never the analog one. I should just go by the digital right?
I threw a tube of beads in the upper tray of mine and I still get a gradual loss of RH. Looks like I don't have enough beads still. I really need to buy a few boxes and get this thing more filled up, that's probably my problem.
I threw a tube of beads in the upper tray of mine and I still get a gradual loss of RH. Looks like I don't have enough beads still. I really need to buy a few boxes and get this thing more filled up, that's probably my problem.
I threw a tube of beads in the upper tray of mine and I still get a gradual loss of RH. Looks like I don't have enough beads still. I really need to buy a few boxes and get this thing more filled up, that's probably my problem.
Yup yup, had that URL thrown at me before, that may be my next move. I want to fill this thing up with sticks instead, but I want to make sure I don't get crappy ones. So I'm smokin through this house label sampler I picked up last week.
Just saw this thread... Whats the verdict ? When I do mine.. And I've done a few in my times I put a bowl of Distilled water in my humi and shut the lid ,lock it and give my wife the key so I can't get into it. 12 days later she gives me the key back and bingo ! all is good inside the magic humidor. The more you check it and open it the harder it will be to get it right. I did the same thing you are doing with my first humi( checking it every day or so) and it took me 2-3 months to get it to stabilize, The guys on this site who helped me with it will remember the PIA time I had with it.
Cank, do you wipe the inside before you do this or not ?
Just my two cents:
I got a CCOM 20 ct about a month and a half ago. I didn't wipe, but put in a shot glass (well, the bottom half of a Solo cup, hahaha) of distilled water for a couple of days. It got up to the 70s so I put my sticks in and took the "shot glass" out. I noticed I had some variations - it stuck at 70% for a while, but sometimes it would go as low as 60%, especially when I realized I always left my hygro by the humidifier. Other places in this small humidor, it was as much as 5% lower. So I took the sticks out, put the "shot glass" in there again and left it for a week. It was up to 69%, I took the shot glass out and left it for two days. Two days later, it was at 65%, so I figured it was holding humidity well.
I put the sticks back in, and I also put my Drymistat tube in as secondary humidification; the humidifer in there is a puck which I don't really trust. Now I can't get the thing to get too low, haha. It maintains a very consistent 70%, even if I open the humi for a few seconds.
The moral of the story? Patience with seasoning makes a very happy humidor And for me, patience really only meant a week.
So after I took out the beads and left just a small ounce of beads in there for two days. I checked the % this morning and its still at about 73%-74%, but the analog one is at about 65%.
So do I just leave it alone for a bit longer? Its been just 7 days today, so I just gotta be a little bit more patient right?
You may be able to put your cigars in - the sticks will absorb and regulate the humidity by now and you should be ok
I'm gonna ask a dumb question. But my humidor is ready when the % says its ready right? I mean, there is nothing that I will notice differently, like hot air coming our of my humidor or a certain smell or anything that will say..."hey, fill me up!" right?
So if its holding that % for a few days, it should be ok to put the sticks in, along with the tubes I have. Again, I can put more beads than I need right since they will balance themselves out.
Yes, there's no outward sign that the humidor is ready to receive your sticks - it boils down to your own judgment/experience. If the humidity is holding steady, then the cedar has stopped seasoning and is saturated (which is the only reason you season in the first place)
You gotta remember though, the humidity in an empty humidor is always gonna be different than that of a full humidor because the cigars themselves act as humidifiers when they absorb/release humidity - that's why it's recommended to keep your humidors full, because more cigars = more humidity regulation. The cigars and the cedar are the primary humidification devices in your humidor - the beads are just secondary. The cedar/cigars absorb or release humidity to equalize everything out, the beads only absorb excess or provide some humidity when it gets too low.
One you put the cigars in, your humidity's gonna fluctuate as the cigars themselves adjust - this is normal, and should be finished in a day or so. I'd say if the humidity is holding steady while empty, put your cigars in and check the RH tomorrow morning.
Well I put my cigars in last night, because inside the humidor the digital would not move off 74%, and that was with beads and without beads. So I just checked now as to the % and its still at 74% with 65% heartfelt beads, and there is enough in there. I sprayed them with distilled water and shook them and have about a little over half charged. So I'm just nervous that its at 74% after 18 hours with a full humidor. I just dont want my cigars to go bad or anything and want to make sure they are in good condition. I'm just thinking with the 65% beads, shouldnt my rh be under 70% at least?
I just hope my digital hydrometer is accurate. I will check before I go to bed, and if the rh has dropped, I will let it go, if not, I will replace the beads with dry ones. Sound good?
Even if it does drop a little and your beads are already 70% clear, it can't go much further. I'd dry them out a little anyways, leave them about 25% clear.
The first few I did wipe down with no problems, The last one I did I tried without wiping it down and just used a bowl of distilled and it worked great ! no spike in humidity and it took about a week and a half but have also seen some stabilize in 7 days. ( depending how much humidity is already in the wood) So I prefer not to wipe them down as there is no crazy fluctuation.
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So do I just leave it alone for a bit longer? Its been just 7 days today, so I just gotta be a little bit more patient right?
So if its holding that % for a few days, it should be ok to put the sticks in, along with the tubes I have. Again, I can put more beads than I need right since they will balance themselves out.
You gotta remember though, the humidity in an empty humidor is always gonna be different than that of a full humidor because the cigars themselves act as humidifiers when they absorb/release humidity - that's why it's recommended to keep your humidors full, because more cigars = more humidity regulation. The cigars and the cedar are the primary humidification devices in your humidor - the beads are just secondary. The cedar/cigars absorb or release humidity to equalize everything out, the beads only absorb excess or provide some humidity when it gets too low.
One you put the cigars in, your humidity's gonna fluctuate as the cigars themselves adjust - this is normal, and should be finished in a day or so. I'd say if the humidity is holding steady while empty, put your cigars in and check the RH tomorrow morning.