How an amateur can fix a leaky glasstop humi

kaisersozei · 02-15-2011, 10:25 AM

Once the glass is exposed, use the chisel to scrape as much of the old glue as possible.

Note the gaps between the lid & the glass. No wonder this humidor leaked. I’m about to fix that problem

using fishtank silicone. I picked this tube up at PetCo, I think it was a couple bucks. It smells like solvent when it’s going on, but once it hardens the smell goes away.

I ran lines of silicone all along the cracks and beneath where the hold-down strips went.

I then repositioned the hold-down strips of wood, and clamped them with the 2 clamps I own. If silicone oozes out along the exposed glass, you can use a razor knife to trim it once it dries.

I did this on all four sides, leaving the clamps in position for about an hour before moving on. If I had more clamps, the job would have been done faster, but I wasn’t in any real hurry. I then reattached the woodstrips by pressing them in to the exposed staples on the inside of the lid.

kaisersozei · 02-15-2011, 10:27 AM

The next big area of leakage was around the inset hygrometer. I don’t have any pictures of this, but what I basically did was cut a circle of wood out of a piece of 3/8” plywood, run a bead of silicone along the underside and pressed it into the hygrometer cut out hole inside the box. I then ran silicone along the seam. It got a little messy and didn’t clean up well, but once the humidor is back together you won’t be able to see this anyway.

Not too pretty, but it's fixed!

All of the silicone completely firmed up in 24 hours and then I left it to air out for an extra 24 hours.

For the next week, I put a bowl of steaming water on a small rack inside the humidor and left it overnight. After 7 days of this, I put my sack of shilala beads in there with the water bowl and left all that alone for another 7 days.

The result?

Rock solid humidity at 65% in an empty humidor.

I can’t wait to put my cigars back in there this weekend!

Hope this helps some of you with leaky humidors and limited skills like me!

BloodSpite · 02-15-2011, 10:28 AM

Very nice!!!

02-15-2011, 10:25 AM	#1
kaisersozei The Homebrew Hammer Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Gerard Location: Midlothian, VA Posts: 3,183 Trading: (40)	Re: How an amateur can fix a leaky glasstop humi Once the glass is exposed, use the chisel to scrape as much of the old glue as possible. Note the gaps between the lid & the glass. No wonder this humidor leaked. I’m about to fix that problem using fishtank silicone. I picked this tube up at PetCo, I think it was a couple bucks. It smells like solvent when it’s going on, but once it hardens the smell goes away. I ran lines of silicone all along the cracks and beneath where the hold-down strips went. I then repositioned the hold-down strips of wood, and clamped them with the 2 clamps I own. If silicone oozes out along the exposed glass, you can use a razor knife to trim it once it dries. I did this on all four sides, leaving the clamps in position for about an hour before moving on. If I had more clamps, the job would have been done faster, but I wasn’t in any real hurry. I then reattached the woodstrips by pressing them in to the exposed staples on the inside of the lid. __________________

02-15-2011, 10:27 AM	#2
kaisersozei The Homebrew Hammer Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Gerard Location: Midlothian, VA Posts: 3,183 Trading: (40)	Re: How an amateur can fix a leaky glasstop humi The next big area of leakage was around the inset hygrometer. I don’t have any pictures of this, but what I basically did was cut a circle of wood out of a piece of 3/8” plywood, run a bead of silicone along the underside and pressed it into the hygrometer cut out hole inside the box. I then ran silicone along the seam. It got a little messy and didn’t clean up well, but once the humidor is back together you won’t be able to see this anyway. Not too pretty, but it's fixed! All of the silicone completely firmed up in 24 hours and then I left it to air out for an extra 24 hours. For the next week, I put a bowl of steaming water on a small rack inside the humidor and left it overnight. After 7 days of this, I put my sack of shilala beads in there with the water bowl and left all that alone for another 7 days. The result? Rock solid humidity at 65% in an empty humidor. I can’t wait to put my cigars back in there this weekend! Hope this helps some of you with leaky humidors and limited skills like me! __________________

02-15-2011, 10:28 AM	#3
BloodSpite He Who Dares...WINS! Join Date: Oct 2010 First Name: Joe Location: Southwest, Missouri Posts: 364 Trading: (1)	Re: How an amateur can fix a leaky glasstop humi Very nice!!!