new gel, high humidity

taythegibs

after discussing my coolidor with several people i went with a small thing of gel from ccom (http://www.cigar.com/cigars/viewcigar.asp?prod=M-HUM33) that i got with the Cuban Heritage Ashtray Combo. After 8 hours in my coolidor it brought the humidity up to 78% from 68%-71% that i had with the foam ive had for nearly 2 months. The gel came in already 'wet' could it have been just over saturated or is it just too much for my coolidor (maybe i just need more cigars )

Krieger

u sure ur calibrated right? that cigar jar usually holds between 69 and 72 for me. You replace the foam or are you using them both? Might be just way too much.

taythegibs

my digital hygrometer reads one higher than it is (as of the end of nov, i hope it is still right, but its not one you can calibrate). right now it just has the jar in it, im tempted to put the foam back in for now.

Krieger

dont. let everything settle down for a bit and measure it then. Also, how few sticks are we talking about here? You can also burp the humidor a bit to bring it down and see if goes right back up.

taythegibs

ive got about 25-30 (about a dozen of which are low end victor sinclairs) in the coolidor

Krieger

I read your humi setup thread, but did you get some boxes in there? the wood will help keep the humidity more under control. You can also try getting some Silica sand as found in unscented cat litter, or online for a good bit more $. They function as a two way humidity setup. They release humidity when the environment goes below say 65%, but also can absorb any excess humidity if the environment climbs higher than that same 65% mentioned before.

taythegibs

no boxes yet, havent found them locally. i do have a few small blocks of spanish cedar in there though.

taythegibs

its gone down now after i forgot to completely close the coolidor, after an hour closed its at 68% and i hope it stays there!

taythegibs

it leveled off at 71....then i was in there putting a shelf in, i need to just keep my hands out of it for a day or two!

docbp87

Have you salt tested your hygrometer?

taythegibs

yeah, in November I did and it reads 1% lower than actual ie 68% instead of 69% but ive heard a few people say you need to check every 3-4 months with the one i have so ill test it again soo and see if it has changed. i just opened the coolidor (for the first time since last night) and checked, its reading right at 70% which makes sense to me knowing that the gel said it is good for 75 cigars which is just over double what i have in there.

pbchevo

pm'ed you gibs

taythegibs

and replied, thanks.