Uh... Problem..
 

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?

Re: Uh... Problem..
 

http://www.shilalasbeads.com/2010-02...structions.pdf

second half of page 1

Re: Uh... Problem..
 

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.

Re: Uh... Problem..
 

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.

Re: Uh... Problem..
 

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:

Re: Uh... Problem..
 

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.

Re: Uh... Problem..
 

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?

Re: Uh... Problem..
 

Seal dries up.

Wood warps.

Several potential reasons.

Re: Uh... Problem..
 

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.

Re: Uh... Problem..
 

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?

Re: Uh... Problem..
 

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.)

Re: Uh... Problem..
 

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

Re: Uh... Problem..
 

Just trying to help.

Re: Uh... Problem..
 

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...

Re: Uh... Problem..
 

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.

Re: Uh... Problem..
 

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

Re: Uh... Problem..
 

Meh.




;) :r

Re: Uh... Problem..
 

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.

Re: Uh... Problem..
 

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'.

Re: Uh... Problem..
 

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.