Gap in Cedar between humdior wall and floor...Bad Seal? (With Pics)

shilala · 03-02-2010, 07:43 AM

Good advice here. I was going to say the same thing about the cedar lining.
Michael raised an excellent point about the seasoning. You have to give it time.
The winter weather thing...
If a humi isn't sealing well, the low ambient RH will cause the RH in your humi to plummet, but only if it doesn't seal well or you open it 20 times a day (or leave it open all day by mistake, like I do sometimes). If you are rewetting the beads every four days, it's leaking like a sieve.
A humi is intended and designed to be airtight, or with an extremely minimal transfer of air. Refilling the beads every four days says that it is neither. That's a huge amount of water to be escaping.
You definately have an issue. Whether it's the crack or the lid or the seal or the closure, it's hard to tell without filling it with water and clamping it shut to find the leaks.
Another thing...
These kinds of humidors tend to get leak in the winter more than the summer because they aren't very substantial, meaning the wood isn't very thick. A tiny bit of shrinkage will set them to leaking furiously. I fix them all the time, I have three on the bench right now and just fixed one Sunday. The glass tops are a royal pain in the ass, and they leak worse than an onion sack.
You can try to defeat the seasoning issue by putting the whole humi and everything in a garbage bag, add a few big distilled water sponges on a plate, and season that bad boy from the outside in. It might be enough to get it swelled up so the joints and cracks tighten up. Not real likely, but it's worth a shot.

If that process doesn't slow down the amount of water you're losing, and doesn't allow you to get your humidity up, you can try sealing with caulking and add some weatherstripping and a clasp. Sending it back and getting another one will likely yield more of the same, and it's liable to cost you time and money.
I love a cheap humidor, but man, they're rough. It's a shame they don't make pretty wood coolers and oak rubbermaid containers.

03-02-2010, 07:43 AM	#8
shilala Dear Lord, Thank You. Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Scott Posts: 13,721 Trading: (252)	Re: Gap in Cedar between humdior wall and floor...Bad Seal? (With Pics Good advice here. I was going to say the same thing about the cedar lining. Michael raised an excellent point about the seasoning. You have to give it time. The winter weather thing... If a humi isn't sealing well, the low ambient RH will cause the RH in your humi to plummet, but only if it doesn't seal well or you open it 20 times a day (or leave it open all day by mistake, like I do sometimes). If you are rewetting the beads every four days, it's leaking like a sieve. A humi is intended and designed to be airtight, or with an extremely minimal transfer of air. Refilling the beads every four days says that it is neither. That's a huge amount of water to be escaping. You definately have an issue. Whether it's the crack or the lid or the seal or the closure, it's hard to tell without filling it with water and clamping it shut to find the leaks. Another thing... These kinds of humidors tend to get leak in the winter more than the summer because they aren't very substantial, meaning the wood isn't very thick. A tiny bit of shrinkage will set them to leaking furiously. I fix them all the time, I have three on the bench right now and just fixed one Sunday. The glass tops are a royal pain in the ass, and they leak worse than an onion sack. You can try to defeat the seasoning issue by putting the whole humi and everything in a garbage bag, add a few big distilled water sponges on a plate, and season that bad boy from the outside in. It might be enough to get it swelled up so the joints and cracks tighten up. Not real likely, but it's worth a shot. If that process doesn't slow down the amount of water you're losing, and doesn't allow you to get your humidity up, you can try sealing with caulking and add some weatherstripping and a clasp. Sending it back and getting another one will likely yield more of the same, and it's liable to cost you time and money. I love a cheap humidor, but man, they're rough. It's a shame they don't make pretty wood coolers and oak rubbermaid containers. __________________