HELP. I can't get consistency in my Humi.

[BHalbrooks]

Well, as the Thread states, I either have really low (About 50% Humidity, which occurs most often) or high (Like 71% Humidity.) I've included Pictures of what I'm using, because I've almost literally no knowledge of what everything is called. I've been smoking for a couple years, but this has always been a huge problem. I humbly beg for help.

I've done the Dollar Bill test on the Humidor, and the seal seemed fine. But the Glass, and front part where the Hygrometer are could be the problem.

[Blak Smyth]

The first question is did you do a salt test on your hygrometers?

[BHalbrooks]

No. I thought the Xicar being digital would work without it. Lately I've had really hot burning Cigars, figured that was a sign of under-humidification?

[shilala]

Originally Posted by BHalbrooks

No. I thought the Xicar being digital would work without it. Lately I've had really hot burning Cigars, figured that was a sign of under-humidification?

That's step one of diagnosing your humi. You absolutely have to salt test your hygrometer. Doesn't matter if you just did it last week, it's absolutely critical.

I'm not sure when the dollar bill test came into being, but it really says absolutely nothing about whether the humi leaks or not. If you want to see all the places she's leaking, fill her up with distilled water and turn her over. You'll see exactly how bad she leaks and where.
At that point you can seal the glass with silicone and add some foam weather stripping and a latch and test it again.
If you can get the old girl water-tight, she's going to be air-tight. Period.
Good Luck, my man!!!

[Blak Smyth]

Originally Posted by shilala

That's step one of diagnosing your humi. You absolutely have to salt test your hygrometer. Doesn't matter if you just did it last week, it's absolutely critical.

I'm not sure when the dollar bill test came into being, but it really says absolutely nothing about whether the humi leaks or not. If you want to see all the places she's leaking, fill her up with distilled water and turn her over. You'll see exactly how bad she leaks and where.
At that point you can seal the glass with silicone and add some foam weather stripping and a latch and test it again.
If you can get the old girl water-tight, she's going to be air-tight. Period.
Good Luck, my man!!!

Scott is very wise in this area, he recently did a great job sealing a huge cabinet

Also after you try this fill and flip test, your humi will be nice and humidified

[bobarian]

Calibrating the hygrometer is a starting point. Getting rid of all but one of those humidifiers is the second. Any ONE of them is sufficient for that size humidor. Sealing the glass top and the area around the built in hygrometer is the final step.

[BHalbrooks]

Oh I don't need a puck, and the gel beads? Interesting! I did the flip test. Needless to say I need to get some silicone... How would I seal the front hole where the hygrometer goes? It had a small leak. The glass was pretty bad though.

[jluck]

There's always the option to get a solid (bigger) humidor. you could sell the one you have. The glass view is nice but I think most are prone to leaking.

[Taki]

I am having somewhat of the same problem...it seems that the glass (all 4 sides of it) is just not the ideal situation for a humi, although I am having no problems with my cigars burning or otherwise. I am going to do a salt test shortly but all summer long I was running 68% and once winter hit, I started running around 55%-58% kinda a huge swing but it seems to happen every winter and I heard that this will happen during the winter months but that big of a swing sometimes worries me

[colinb913]

I have the same humidor, and the biggest problem I had when I first got it was the seal around the glass top. Try some silicone seal around where the glass, and wood meet, same with around the analog hygrometer. You'll be set.

[Hem]

I thought it was bad to soak the wood when trying to get your humi up to par?

[shilala]

Originally Posted by BHalbrooks

Oh I don't need a puck, and the gel beads? Interesting! I did the flip test. Needless to say I need to get some silicone... How would I seal the front hole where the hygrometer goes? It had a small leak. The glass was pretty bad though.

Just pull out the hygrometer, spooge it up with silicone and jam it back in. I generally put a piece of scotch tape over the hole in the back of the hygrometer, that way I can water test again after the silicone is dry.

[shilala]

Originally Posted by Hem

I thought it was bad to soak the wood when trying to get your humi up to par?

It completely depends on the construction of the humi.
The one we're dealing is laminate over composite. It's not even "real wood". It can't be harmed unless someone were to leave it full of water for days.
If you have a humi that's lined with real spanish cedar, say an 1/8" thick, then it's a different story. I'd attack that in another way altogether. I'd also consider what type of glue was used before I'd fill the humi with water. I'd set a fan up to dry the humidor after I wet it.

As a rule, distilled water doesn't harm spanish cedar, not a bit.
The reason why guys are told not to soak or spray their humidors is because if they do, then close it up and have a relative humidity at 80% or above (or standing puddles of water), mold will grow and stain the wood.
To make things simple, it's a lot easier just to say "don't do it".

[shilala]

I should also mention that there are step by step instruction threads here on how to fix and seal these kinds of humidors. I did a couple a long time ago but the pics are now gone. Someone else did one more recently, and for the life of me I can't remember who did it.
They should be in accessories discussion, I'd think.

Originally Posted by jluck

There's always the option to get a solid (bigger) humidor. you could sell the one you have. The glass view is nice but I think most are prone to leaking.

Or if you wanted a project you could convert it using some Spanish cedar planks and hardwood...

[bobarian]

Originally Posted by BHalbrooks

Oh I don't need a puck, and the gel beads? Interesting! I did the flip test. Needless to say I need to get some silicone... How would I seal the front hole where the hygrometer goes? It had a small leak. The glass was pretty bad though.

Looking at your original picture, I see five different types of humidification. Does the puck have a sponge or beads inside? If they are beads and you used your "Cigar Juice"(propylene glycol) to moisten them, then I am going to suggest you check the directions for the puck. Beads and gel should only be moistened with distilled water. PG solution will clog the pores of beads and render them useless.

Calibrate your hygrometer using the salt test shown in the stickies in the accessories forum.

Seal your humidor following Scott's suggestions or follow the thread in the accessories forum.

Choose one form of humidification. FWIW most of us here use either Scott's beads or heartfeltindustries.com beads. 1oz should be more than enough for that size humidor, but there is a calculator on the heartfelt site that will give you an idea of the amount needed.

[MrClean]

Brian I have that exact same humi, the seal around the lid seem pretty good on mine. But the glass and hydrometer need sealing (on mine they were bad).
The hydrometer should come out easily by pushing on it from the inside. Just run a bead of silicone around it and pop it back it.
The glass was a little more tedious. The four pieces of cedar that butt up against the glass, I removed those with a pair of pliers (I put a clean shop rag over the wood so I wouldn't damage/mar it). They are held in with little brad nails. The glass will have a couple of spots of silicone on it, it wasn't easy to get loose, but it's tough glass. I just cut away what silicone I could get to, closed the lid and pushed down on the glass, it'll come out.
Run a good bead of silicone all the way around the inside lip (where the glass sits). At this point I let mine sit for 3 days so the silicone could cure and the smell dissipate. I have a brad nailer so putting the wooden strips back in was easy, you could glue them I suppose.
If you don't want to take the lid apart, the only option would be to silicone it from the outside, which for me, wouldn't look as nice.

Good luck brother!

[Hem]

Originally Posted by shilala

It completely depends on the construction of the humi.
The one we're dealing is laminate over composite. It's not even "real wood". It can't be harmed unless someone were to leave it full of water for days.
If you have a humi that's lined with real spanish cedar, say an 1/8" thick, then it's a different story. I'd attack that in another way altogether. I'd also consider what type of glue was used before I'd fill the humi with water. I'd set a fan up to dry the humidor after I wet it.

As a rule, distilled water doesn't harm spanish cedar, not a bit.
The reason why guys are told not to soak or spray their humidors is because if they do, then close it up and have a relative humidity at 80% or above (or standing puddles of water), mold will grow and stain the wood.
To make things simple, it's a lot easier just to say "don't do it".

Gotcha. I just got mine in the mail today from Cbid and have 2 small bowls of distilled in there along with the 2 pucks it came with..hoping for good results. Appreciate the clarification!

[BHalbrooks]

Wow thank you all!
So do you or don't you need to salt test a digital hygrometer?

[colinb913]

Yes you need to salt test it.