Expert: James Yee - 9/12/2010

Question
Hi James,

Ive got a situation in my humidor that is quite puzzling.   Anyways, I got sick of worrying about relative humidity and bought a Cigar Oasis XL.   Anyways, it seems to be working great, but I also keep my digital hygrometer in the humidor just in case.

Anyways, I learned right away that when my cigar oasis displays 70%, the digital hygrometer displays about 73%.   I was fine with that, assuming the digital hygrometer was off by about 3%.   However, its been about 2 weeks since I got the cigar oasis, and all of a sudden, the digital hygrometer displays 70% with my cigar oasis displaying 70% as well.

Do you have any ideas what might be going on?   what happened to those 3%?   During the 2 week span, the digital hygrometer always seemed to be higher, and all of a sudden its displaying the same relative humidity.  

Any ideas on what happened?   anything I should be worried about?

Answer
Hi Andy,

I've been told that the Cigar Oasis hygrometer is not as sensitive as some of the high-end hygrometers.  If you have a good-quality digital hygrometer, it's possible that it was picking up the extra 3% humidity.  Don't worry, this is normal.  After adding an electronic humidifier, there is always a slight increase of humidity for about a week or two.  After two weeks of regularly opening and closing your humidor, it appears that the extra 3% humidity has dissipated and your humidity level has finally stabilized.

The extra 3% humidity could also be due to the placement of your other digital hygrometer.  If it's placed in a corner or surrounded by cigars, the obstruction can trap excess humidity and give a false reading.

In any case, both units are showing 70% so it seems that your humidity level has finally stabilized.

Hope this answers your question.  As always, if you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask and I will be happy to help.

Regards,
James