Uh... Problem..

[dwoodward]

Somehow my hcm beads in my humidor have gone all out of wack, the RH in my humidor is less than 60%... This literally has happened in a span of a couple days while recalibrating my hygrometers. Both are working perfectly and are reading the same in my humidor. I don't know what happened?

How do i recharge the HCM beads before my cigars dry out?

[Lumpold]

http://www.shilalasbeads.com/2010-02-20Rev-A-BeadInstructions.pdf

second half of page 1

[CigarNut]

As was pointed out the instructions are on the website. Make sure that the problem is that the RH of the beads is not correct by placing the beads in a container with a hygrometer for several hours. Once you know if the problem is the beads (or not) we can proceed from there.

One thing to note - a change like this will not ruin your cigars, particularly if you caught in early. Once you get the problem identified and resolved your cigars will come back just fine with a little time.

What I am trying to say -- is don't panic. I know that this is easier said that done. I am confident that everything will turn out OK.

[dwoodward]

Okay. I just took the beads out and put them in a bag with a hygrometer. I will watch what happens over the next couple hours. Maybe they just need to be recharged.

[dwoodward]

Okay, its been a couple hours. I went downstairs to my humidor and looked at the bag. 65%.

So I guess that means that the beads are fine. What could cause such a huge drop in RH? My humidor doesn't leak, its been at 65% for like 2 months now. The only thing I have done recently was pull some cigars out for sevans105 and put in the cigars he gifted me.

Very Confused... :confused:

[CigarNut]

It coult be lots of things; did the ambient temperature or humidity around the humidor change?

Maybe the humidor did not get closed all the way -- check the area around the lid to see if some debris has gotten in the way.

It also maybe that with changes over time your humidor has developed a leak, so if all else fails you might do a leak test on the humidor itself.

[dwoodward]

It coult be lots of things; did the ambient temperature or humidity around the humidor change?

Maybe the humidor did not get closed all the way -- check the area around the lid to see if some debris has gotten in the way.

It also maybe that with changes over time your humidor has developed a leak, so if all else fails you might do a leak test on the humidor itself.

UGH so frustrating. I don't know what happened, but I put the bag back in the humidor and the hygrometer is reading 60% again. I don't know what is going on? How does a leak just form?

[icehog3]

UGH so frustrating. I don't know what happened, but I put the bag back in the humidor and the hygrometer is reading 60% again. I don't know what is going on? How does a leak just form?

Seal dries up.

Wood warps.

Several potential reasons.

[bobarian]

UGH so frustrating. I don't know what happened, but I put the bag back in the humidor and the hygrometer is reading 60% again. I don't know what is going on? How does a leak just form?

You can't expect beads to instantly raise your Rh. If your smokes are at 60%, they will be fine. It may take up to a week for the beads to raise the humidity to 65%. And depending on the ambient humidity, every time you open to check the humidity may drop.

[dwoodward]

You can't expect beads to instantly raise your Rh. If your smokes are at 60%, they will be fine. It may take up to a week for the beads to raise the humidity to 65%. And depending on the ambient humidity, every time you open to check the humidity may drop.

I have a window on top to look in.

But I mean the ambient RH just dropped like seemingly overnight...

Last night before I went to sleep tho, I moved as many cigars out of my humidor into the humidor I just seasoned, which currently is resting at a nice 69%. Of course, not all could make the trip so I still have some in my larger humidor, but I wanted to save the integrity of as many as I could while i get this problem solved.

I just checked and the RH in my larger humidor is at 61% after the night. Can I just put a bowl of water in there to speedy up the process or something?

[icehog3]

Changing the environment (taking out a large number of cigars, for instance) will change the RH and cause stabilization to take even longer. (Just so you're aware.)

[dwoodward]

Meh. It's already done so nothing I can do about that now. I just want to get the RH back up.

[icehog3]

Just trying to help.

[CigarNut]

The key thing to remember here is patience. It can take a while (weeks) for a humidor to stabilize. It can take longer for cigars to adapt to a new environmnt (humidor) that is different from the previous environment (humidor, B&M, shipping, etc.).

The only time I have seen a cigar react quickly to a change was when I took a cigar from my 70° F, 65% RH humidor to smoke outside -- 90° F, 100% RH -- wrapper cracked just after I started smoke it. I could almost see the cigar swell...

[14holestogie]

Okay, its been a couple hours. I went downstairs to my humidor and looked at the bag. 65%.

So I guess that means that the beads are fine. What could cause such a huge drop in RH? My humidor doesn't leak, its been at 65% for like 2 months now. The only thing I have done recently was pull some cigars out for sevans105 and put in the cigars he gifted me.

Very Confused... :confused:


That's where I think the RH swing comes from.

You could actually do more harm than good chasing minor RH swings. I know, I've been there/done that, adding water for every 2 point decline, freaking out when the RH peaks higher than I'd like right after rehydrating.

Loading up with new cigars from vendors, I've seen the RH spike up 10 points easily. Loading them up with someone's other cigars that may be drier than those already stored will cause the RH to decline.

Give it some time for the new cigars to acclimate.

The bead setting checks out according to your test. Give them time to do their thing that they do so well.

[kugie]

Seal dries up.

Wood warps.

Several potential reasons.


Screws fall out....
The world is an imperfect place

[icehog3]

Screws fall out....
The world is an imperfect place

Meh.




;) :r

[dwoodward]

I suppose so. I guess I am freaking out because I have a couple orders coming in this week. And with my humidor all out of wack I wont have anywhere to put them.

I guess I should just try to relax lol.

[XTRazzer]

It does take time for everything to stabilize. I've also noticed that many digital hygrometers have a sampling rate of one minute or more. Meaning that it won't instantly adjust to changing conditions.

I leave a small glass 'pinch bowl' in my humidor at all times. That way if the RH drops enough all I need to do is add a few drops of distilled water to the 'pinch bowl'.

[kaisersozei]

I suppose so. I guess I am freaking out because I have a couple orders coming in this week. And with my humidor all out of wack I wont have anywhere to put them.

I guess I should just try to relax lol.

Yes, you should. Once you put those new sticks in your humidor, it will be "all out of wack" again anyway. Trust us, it will be just fine.

[dwoodward]

Yes, you should. Once you put those new sticks in your humidor, it will be "all out of wack" again anyway. Trust us, it will be just fine.

I've just never seen it flux so much from just putting 5 new sticks in...

Also, just checked RH again, i haven't opened the humi at all today, and its down to 59%... do I have a leak?

[Chingas]

I've just never seen it flux so much from just putting 5 new sticks in...

Also, just checked RH again, i haven't opened the humi at all today, and its down to 59%... do I have a leak?

Derrick, relax my Brother. The best thing you can do is wait. Check everyday, if you can without pulling your hair out but it could take a month to sit right.

If it makes you feel better, check a few times a day, morning, afternoon and night and record the temp and rH. You should see a trend if something Is wrong. Otherwise, don't consume yourself in this.

[dwoodward]

Well the humidity is still dropping... looks like I have a leak, problem is that I don't know how in the world I could fix it. The seal on top is as good as always, its just the fact my humidor has windows that scares me, it could be any one of the 3 that might be leaking...

[sevans105]

Time for a cooler! Not as pretty, but they sure do seal!

[dwoodward]

Time for a cooler! Not as pretty, but they sure do seal!

I checked them out at walmart the other day... 50qt Coleman's for like $30... pretty nifty pricing for the size. But how do they keep humidity without cedar?

[sevans105]

I checked them out at walmart the other day... 50qt Coleman's for like $30... pretty nifty pricing for the size. But how do they keep humidity without cedar?

Just fine actually. The cedar is a nice touch, but if you are worried about it I'll give you a bunch of pieces I used to use in my coolers...just cigar boxes I broke the sides off of. Smells nice, humidity is solid, temp is rock steady.

Alternate solution, put your humidor IN the cooler for now. No leakage!
:tu

[dwoodward]

Just fine actually. The cedar is a nice touch, but if you are worried about it I'll give you a bunch of pieces I used to use in my coolers...just cigar boxes I broke the sides off of. Smells nice, humidity is solid, temp is rock steady.

Alternate solution, put your humidor IN the cooler for now. No leakage!
:tu

haha... its much too big for that, it wouldn't fit... the leaky one is my 300ct desktop humidor.

[sevans105]

haha... its much too big for that, it wouldn't fit... the leaky one is my 300ct desktop humidor.

Then I'll send you some cedar pieces. I've got a bunch. PM me your address, I'll get it out tomorrow well...later today. It's already tomorrow I guess.

[dwoodward]

How would you suggest placing the cedar strips? Just laying them in there on the bottom or wherever?

[sevans105]

How would you suggest placing the cedar strips? Just laying them in there on the bottom or wherever?

I used them as dividers and on the sides and bottom. Doesn't matter really. They are fairly decent sized...(former cigar box lids and bottoms) so, just stick them where they fit. I "seasoned" them before putting the cigars in by spritzing them with distilled water (not too much). You'll need to do the same as they will be dry by the time they get to you.

[sevans105]

Here is a great post on building up a "coolerador"

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1205&highlight=coolerador

[dwoodward]

Here is a great post on building up a "coolerador"

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1205&highlight=coolerador

lol! That looks amazing! Makes me almost want to find a cooler that can do that, with the ridges inside. Too bad my entire cigar collection is singles and 5 packs, I suppose I could add some sort of home made shelving tho.

Besides, projects are always fun. :D

Maybe I can convince one of my B&M's to give me some empty cigar boxes to place some of my cigars in and then just label the boxes with sticky notes or something lol.

[sevans105]

Cigars International had 10 wood boxes for 15 bucks...pretty decent deal. I bought 30. Dani is gonna use some of them for craft stuff. They still have the deal going though.

[sevans105]

Found this one by you.... price is right

http://siouxfalls.craigslist.org/hsh/1941477387.html

[CigarNut]

There are lots of threads on repairing a leaky humidor. (Scott) Shilala has posted several. If your humi did work fine for a while then fixing it up should not be too difficult. Most humidors with glass leak around the glass and you can seal that up any number of ways (silicone sealer, etc.) -- of course, you need to put your cigars in another container for a week or so while you are repairing the leaks.

You should also cover up the glass with something opaque and due the flashlight test to see if there are any other problem areas. Also, check out the wood around the hinges to make sure that there are no cracks.

Or, you could just raise the RH of your beads until they are able to keep your humidor where you want; you may need to recharge the beads more frequently, but that may be easier than repairing the humidor.

The local cigar bar gave me a humidor so that I could keep some cigars there; it is a pretty cheap humi and stored in less than ideal conditions (under the TVs). I had to set my beads up to 70% RH in order to keep the humi at 65%...

[aich75013]

Maybe I can convince one of my B&M's to give me some empty cigar boxes to place some of my cigars in and then just label the boxes with sticky notes or something lol.

That's actually a good idea. Ask your local B&M.
Mine has a bunch of boxes near the front door.
I asked once and he thought about it and said how about 5 boxes for $2.
I'm assuming if I were more of a regular customer he would have just given them to me.

I purchased this cooler after seeing it recommended a few times here.
70qt Coleman Extreme (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-70-Quart-Xtreme-Cooler/4807332)
I guess it no longer has free shipping to home, but you can still do free site-to-store shipping.

[sevans105]

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