Expert: James Yee - 12/30/2008

Question
QUESTION: I recently won a humidor and box of cigars during a recent Macanudo 1968 promotion. The humidor has a front mount hygrometer. I can't seem to get the humidity above 60% according to the hygrometer. I properly seasoned the humidor with distilled water and have kept the humidifier moist with a 50-50 mix of distilled water and propylene glycol. I kept adding the mixture in an attempt to get the humiudity up, but to no avail. However, when I recently placed the hygrometer actually in the humidor the reading is 80%. The only think I can think of is that the inside air is not getting to the hygrometer in the front mount position. I am thinking of drilling additional holes in the area behind the hygrometer to allow more inside air to reach the hygrometer. What do you think?

ANSWER: Hi Pete,

Humidors with a front-mounted hygrometer is always complicated because these hygrometers usually cannot be removed.  As a result, it's extra tricky to test and calibrate them and over-crowding the humidor with cigars can obstruct humidity flow.  

Usually when the hygrometer isn't reading the humidity properly, it's because the hygrometer is blocked from the humidity flow.    What you should try first is to rearrange the cigars so that they do not obstruct the hygrometer.  Make sure that there is a clear path from the humidification device to the hygrometer and the hygrometer should be able to read the humidity more properly.  If you have lots of cigars, keep them stacked away from the hygrometer.

Drilling additional holes into your hygrometer (or humidor) in hopes of improving humidity flow may actually compromise their performance negatively and/or damage them permanently.  I would suggest re-arranging the cigars in your humidor or using a secondary hygrometer - such as a digital unit - in your humidor instead of drilling holes.  

Lastly, the installation of the hygrometer or the hygrometer itself  may just be faulty so you may want to contact the manufacturer and see if you can receive a replacement humidor or have this humidor repaired by a professional.

Hopes this helps.  If you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask and I will be happy to help.

Regards,
James

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks James. I am sure that the airflow is not being blocked. I am able to remove the front mount hygrometer and have calibrated it using both the "wet cloth" and "damp salt" method and it is accurate. There are 5 small holes behind the hygrometer. Is this normnal? Do 5 holes normally allow enough air to reach the hygrometer? As I said, the humidity inside is OK and the hygrometer is properly calibrated. The humidor was custome made for General Cigar for the Macanudo 1968 launch this past fall. There were only 300 made and they told me it is worth 200 bucks, so it is not a cheapie. Anyway, I guess my question boils down to "are 5 drilled holes in back of the hygrometer usually enough to let enough air to the hygrometer to get a proepr reading? Thanks!

Answer
Hi Pete,

It really depends on the size of the holes.  If they're really small pin holes, they may not be enough to pick up a proper humidity reading.  Analog hygrometers usually have a grilled back or wide slats around the rim of the back housing to allow a proper humidity reading.

Small holes in the hygrometer housing can be enough to read the humidity but you may need to locate the humidification device closer to the hygrometer when using it in your humidor or it may take longer for your hygrometer to register a proper reading.

Again, drilling holes into your hygrometer may damage the mechanism so I wouldn't recommend doing that unless you feel very confident about disassembling the hygrometer and drilling holes into it.  What you could try first is to visit your local cigar stores and see if they have any front-mounting hygrometers that are the exact same size but have a better housing design to pick up humidity.

Regards,
James