should I wipe the humi with distilled water ?

Not if the spikes are temporary. If it goes up to 80% and holds steady, then your cigars may develop mold, or be too wet to smoke. If it goes to 80% and then comes back down to 70% or 65% (or whatever your target humidity level is), then it will just take some time for the humidity inside the cigars to come down as well, but once it does, they'll be fine.

Whatever level your beads are rated, the humidity should begin to go towards that level. If the humidity is higher than the level for the beads, then you want the beads to be mostly dry (so they can absorb the extra humidity). If the humidity level is lower than the beads, then you want the beads to be mostly wet (so they can release humidity).
 
I was a bit worried that the humidor might not have seasoned properly, so last night I put an egg cup with distilled water and the humidifier in the humidor (I left the beads out) Since last night it's been a steady 82 humidity. Do you think it has properly seasoned now?

Do you think i should let it season longer?


I have ran out of distilled water,can I use deionized water with the beads?
 
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you're fine. just throw some cigars in there and watch the humidity. with the beads there's no need to be paranoid, but just go buy some distilled water. it's cheap and worth the peace of mind.
 
jkim05 said:
you're fine. just throw some cigars in there and watch the humidity. with the beads there's no need to be paranoid, but just go buy some distilled water. it's cheap and worth the peace of mind.
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:tpd: Distilled water only. Anything else will have impurities. Besides, it's like 79 cents a gallon or something. Also, I think it's done seasoning. Throw some cigars in there and just watch the levels for a couple weeks. Fluctuations are normal when first filling the humidor.
 
There you go.....now introduce your sticks and sit back and watch the RH% adjust over the next few days. By Sunday the RH% should have stabilized and then you can decide whether to take any further action or leave the humi well enough alone.

A word of advice, do not repeatedly open the humi on the hour every hour to check the RH%.....if it's a glass top, then position the digital hygrometer where you can see it. Otherwise, you only need to check the hygrometer once a day. Enjoy your new seasoned humi!

Oh and leave the PG solution out. Your beads will properly regulate the humidor with no help needed from the PG solution. Your call...
 
Ewan154 said:
Hi,
Thanks for the reply. For the last few days the humiditiy has been 72.
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No problem, always glad to help out. I was pretty unsure whether or not I was doing it right the first time too. :)

Fill 'er up! But don't forget to smoke one before you get them in the humi, for all the work you did. :ss
 
Hi,
The humidity has stabilized at about 71. I have put the 65% beads in the humi,but the humity is still 71.

Could the reason for this be-

I have wet to much of the beads?


Also-some of the beads are broken or chipped-will they still work ok?
 
Ewan154 said:
Hi,
The humidity has stabilized at about 71. I have put the 65% beads in the humi,but the humity is still 71.

Could the reason for this be-

I have wet to much of the beads?


Also-some of the beads are broken or chipped-will they still work ok?
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One possibility is that somehow you got the 70% beads. Though unlikely, mixups can happen.

It's possible that the beads are too wet. You can pull them out and dry them out (very low temp in oven) until most of them are whitish (as opposed to clear) and then stick them back in the humidor. They should start to absorb the extra humidity.

What's the ambient humidity in the room they're being stored? If it's really high, it may just take more time to come down. (I doubt it's THAT high, but you never know.)

Also, is your hygrometer salt-tested properly? (You got the Western III, I assume?)


Finally, about the beads cracking/chipping, it's no big deal. They'll work fine.
 
i understand why you use distilled water when adding to the beads or humidifier, but is it entirely necessary when you're simply placing a small container of water in a humidor?

i always assumed that tap water would be adequate because you're not actually pouring it on the wood or element??
 
celticgent said:
i understand why you use distilled water when adding to the beads or humidifier, but is it entirely necessary when you're simply placing a small container of water in a humidor?

i always assumed that tap water would be adequate because you're not actually pouring it on the wood or element??
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Tap water contains microbials and other things that can get into the air, and therefore into your cedar/cigars. For the microbials, they like nothing more than a humid place to hunker down and grow. Give them food (cigars), and they're even more happy.

Ever try to drink tap water after a big storm? You'll likely taste a lot of chlorine -- it's used to try to kill all the microbials that get into the water. Chrlorine can also be smelled from the water -- and if you can smell it, that means it leaves the water and goes into the air. Do you want cigars to taste like chlorine? :)

Now, I'm not saying that you will have tons of problems if you season your humi using tap water. But why? At 89 cents per gallon for distilled water (or whatever it is), use distilled to season and distilled to wet the beads. No reason to chance it just to save a penny (literally, that's about all it takes to season a humi -- a penny's worth of distilled water).
 
Hi,
Thanks for the advice drawfour:tu I have done what you said and put the beads in the humidifer. The only problem now - is how do wet the beads?
 
Ewan154 said:
Hi,
Thanks for the advice drawfour:tu I have done what you said and put the beads in the humidifer. The only problem now - is how do wet the beads?
Click to expand...

Just open it the same way you put the beads in it and then spray some distilled water on it. Or you can use a droplet (like for eye drops, etc...) to stop distilled water into the container.
 
I decided to smoke one of the cigars out off my humi to see what it was like- I really enjoyed it! I thought it was perfect!!

1 off the cigars in the humi is a bit hard,while the other cigars are springy-do you think I should add a bigger humidifer? I was thinking about getting a humidifer like the one in the picture.

The humiditiy in the humi is about 63/64
 
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