RH drops from 70-71 to 63-66 when opening Coolidor.
 

Is it NORMAL for it to take a day to reach back up to 70%? I noticed if I open it once, it drops to 66-67 sometimes and if I open it again when it was at that RH it will drop to 63-65 RH. Is that normal? Is it normal to take a half a day/day to reach back up to 70? Usually when I go to sleep and wake up it is back at the right temp unless I was effing with the beads. Thoughts? Is opening the coolidor too much harmful?

Re: RH drops from 70-71 to 63-66 when opening Coolidor.
 

Interesting. I wonder if my refrigerator takes that long to come back up to temp after I open it. Wait ... it has "active" refrigeration so when the temp drops the compressor kicks on and the whole refrigeration thing does it's .. thing fans moving air and all.

Beads are "passive" in that there are no mechanical parts just little pieces of silica or clay that like to be at a particular RH. Depending on how full your coolidor is will have a big impact on how long It takes to come back to your bead set point. Beads best and highest purpose IMHO is maintenance of RH vs humidification per se.

A totally full coolidor whos contents are at your desired RH will recover much faster than one with a couple boxes in it. Just a guess but yours is not very full?

Answer to your question - no its not harmful. If you are worried about it but cant control yourself either buy more cigars to fill it up and or get more beads to shorten the recovery cycle.

Alternatively - you can supplement your coolidor humidification with an active device like a cigar oasis. (I always used both)

Re: RH drops from 70-71 to 63-66 when opening Coolidor.
 

We have a smart ass here huh? Just kidding... You're right it isn't full at all and I'm waiting until the end of the month to purchase the cigars that I want to put more into it. Yes, comparing mine to other coolidors I have seen, mine is a barren wasteland. I'm gonna check that out right now, actually have never heard anyone say anything about a cigar oasis.

Edit: That Cigar Oasis is right up my alley.

Re: RH drops from 70-71 to 63-66 when opening Coolidor.
 

He’s smarter than the average ass.

Don’t worry about temporary swings in humidity, especially if your cigars are stored in boxes.

The same “swing” happens if you open an oven, a coffee roaster, or a smart ass refrigerator. If you leave it open, you have a problem. Otherwise, an average RH in your target zone will be fine.

Re: RH drops from 70-71 to 63-66 when opening Coolidor.
 

Cool cool cool. Don't really see anything under 63% so I just need to get over my OCD and realize that it's going to be anywhere between that and 71%. Oh I like ass!:r

Re: RH drops from 70-71 to 63-66 when opening Coolidor.
 

Adding to what Dave said.

The area exposed when the cooler is opened is large in comparison to the cooler to the cooler volume. Coolers should be expected to have a large fluctuation but recover in an hour or two.

Re: RH drops from 70-71 to 63-66 when opening Coolidor.
 

Yea sounds about right.

Re: RH drops from 70-71 to 63-66 when opening Coolidor.
 

You’d be hard pressed to find someone who didn’t stare at the hygrometer for hours on end, worrying about the slightest fluctuation. I’ll admit I worried about it too. I’m lucky to check in more than once a month for long term storage, and am happy with any time my hygrometer reports 58-68%

Just a quick check... you are using a digital hygrometer, yes? And you’ve checked calibration?

Re: RH drops from 70-71 to 63-66 when opening Coolidor.
 

Yes and yes kind of. I'm 100% positive this hygrometer is calibrated correctly, I used it for something that needed EXTREME precision compared to cigars and it did the job perfectly. I'm being too lazy to buy salt... But that's also because I don't really have to do it because I already know. I'll do it sooner or later. as long as it's within 2% of what it's supposed to be, I'm cool with it.

Re: RH drops from 70-71 to 63-66 when opening Coolidor.
 

Good enough. Just a standard line of questions. I still think you’re good with swings when it opens, especially if there are extreme differences between the room and the cooler. If it’s back where you want it after it’s been closed a day or two, don’t worry about a thing.

Also worth noting that MANY of us store in the low sixties anyways!

Re: RH drops from 70-71 to 63-66 when opening Coolidor.
 

Yea I noticed that because it seems like that's a comfortable place for them environment wise.

Re: RH drops from 70-71 to 63-66 when opening Coolidor.
 

It should be noted ... scientific instruments are NOT accurate 30 days after their last calibration .

When I worked in the oil and gas industry ... measurement instruments had to be calibrated every 30 days or they were not considered valid for sales .

So ... no matter how expensive or high end your hygrometer is ... it is only an approximate RH .

derrek