Expert: James Yee - 3/7/2008

Question
QUESTION: Mr. Yee,

First of all, I've been reading a lot of your answers to other cigar aficionados
and learnt a lot about cigars since I'm still new to this hobby. Thank you!

I bought myself a 50-cigar humidor in december at Vasco Cigars in Montreal,
one of the best cigar shop around here, I heard, and paid about 200$ for it. It
looks well-built and I'm pretty sure it's of good quality.

I started by seasoning the humidor by rubbing inside walls with 50/50
solution and distilled water. Soaked the humidifier for 30 minutes into 50/50
solution. Repeated the rubbing a few times, but forgot to calibrate my analog
hygrometer and didn't want to do it after starting the humidor since I didn't
want to lose the humidity and have to restart again. Since I wasn't sure about
the reading (was always indicating 64%), I decided it would be a good idea to
buy a digital hygrometer.

So I bought a 20$ one and put it inside the humidor. Humidity varied between
71 and 75 since I put it in last week, but my analog one still indicates 64%
and doesn't really move.

I have approximately 20 cigars in there (cohibas, montecristos, R&J, partagas)
brought to me by some friends who went to Cuba. Cigars are now sitting in
there for at least a month and some of them were kind of dry when I got
them; and it doesn't seem to change! I feel like I can't get the freshness of a
cigar I buy from a good cigar shop. My cigars seem dry, and also smoke a bit
dry.

Do I have to wait longer before seeing them become more humid? Is there
anything more I can do to help? By the way, the temperature is almost perfect
varying between 69 and 71 degrees Farenheit.

Thank you very much!

Frank

ANSWER: Hi Frank,

Because digital hygrometers are more accurate than analog hygrometers, it’s always best to trust your digital hygrometer instead of your analog hygrometer.  It sounds like your analog hygrometer is defective or not properly calibrated yet so if you can remove the hygrometer from your humidor, remove it and conduct a “salt test” to check if it’s working properly.  

To conduct a salt test, place the hygrometer in a plastic Ziploc sandwich bag or a flat plastic container (such as a Tupperware container).  Next, take a small dish and add one tablespoon of regular salt and a tiny bit of water.  Mix the water into the salt so that it has a paste-like texture.  Leave the dish of salt paste in the container with your hygrometer and let it sit for at least 12 hours.  After some time has passed, check on your hygrometer.  It should read exactly 75%.  If it does not read 75%, calibrate the hygrometer by adjusting the humidity needle so that it reads 75%.  (You should be able to adjust the pin from the back of the unit.)

If the analog hygrometer is not removable (as some hygrometers are permanently secured to the humidor facade), simply calibrate it so that the humidity reading matches your digital hygrometer’s reading.  (You should still be able to reach the calibration pin on the back of the hygrometer.)

Also, when seasoning a humidor, it is always important to remember that you only use distilled water on the interior cedar wood.  Do not apply any 50/50 humidor solution on the wood.  Many 50/50 mixtures contain Propylene Glycol which is a liquid that limits the amount of water evaporation (humidity) produced.  50/50 mixtures are best used in your humidification device when it is producing too much humidity.  In a humidification device, Propylene Glycol will balance out the humidity perfectly at 70% humidity but applying it to the cedar wood may cause erratic humidity performance.  50/50 mixtures should only be applied to the humidification device(s).

Seeing how your humidity isn’t greatly affected, there shouldn’t be any worry that you applied 50/50 mixture to the interior wood.  Currently, your digital hygrometer is reading around 71% humidity and that’s good.  If your humidity climbs above 75%, add two or three drops of Propylene Glycol to the humidification device and it will lower the humidity to a reasonable level.  (The safe range is 67-74%)  Propylene Glycol is available at most drug stores and pharmacies.  It can last a long time inside a humidor (on average 2 years) so you only need to add it just once.  After adding it to your humidor, all you need to do is add distilled water to your humidification device when needed.

As for your cigars, all they need is time inside your humidor.  As long as you maintain the humidity at around 70%, the cigars should be fully rejuvenated in a matter or weeks.

Hope this answers your question.  If you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask.

Regards,
James


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

QUESTION: Hi James,

I still can't keep the humidity inside the humidor higher than 63-65%. Even if
I refill the humidifier with distilled water, the higher I get is 65%. To get to
the 70s, I need to season the humidor every week, it goes up to 80% and then
after a few days, it begins to go back down to 63-65%. I recently bought a
new humidification sponge device because I thought the one that came with
the humidor might not be good anymore, I charged it with 50/50  but it
didn't change anything. I'm afraid all this variation may not be good for the
cigars in there (which are still dry). Can the problem actually be the humidor
itself? It has a glass top, I heard it might be a problem sometimes. There's
also the fact that I bought the box at a good cigar shop for quite an
expensive price (between 200 and 300 for a 50-stick humidor).

What can I do?

By the way, all the readings come from my digital hygrometer.

Thanks again,

Frank

Answer
Hi Frank,

It's possible that the glass top is causing the problem.  Some humidors with glass top lids have been known to leak humidity due to a loose seal around the edges of the glass.  A humidor lid with a loose seal can also cause low humidity as humidity slowly and constantly seeps out from the not-so-tight lid.  

Have you tried using an additional humidification device?  In cases like this, adding a second, smaller humidification device (charged with 50/50 solution) will increase the humidity to a more reasonable level.  Humidors with low humidity but no visible exterior damage usually don't need to be repaired so instead, you can easily compensate humidity simply by adding a second unit.

If adding an additional humidification unit still doesn't boost the humidity, the humidor may be defective beyond repair so you should then consider returning it or contacting the manufacturer.

Regards,
James