High humidity issues.

So over the last few months I have noticed my wineador creeping up in humidity. I know the entire unit is sealed, including the drain plug. I also know that the humidity is probably from opening the door to grab a smoke or add new cigars. It has been a horribly wet and humid year so far in the northeast.

I have been using the kitty litter method with a few pounds split between underneath the bottom drawer and on the top shelf in filter media bags. I also have a bunch of boveda packs in each of the drawers as additional humidity mediation.

So, in the interest of sparking some conversation on the topic again, how do you prefer to dry out your kitty litter / beads? I have read about using the oven, the microwave, hair dryers and even just setting them outside.

Would you recommend removing and drying all of the litter or just some of it?

My thought was to remove the litter in the top of the wineador and dry that, replace it and see what it does to lower the rh a bit. I don't want to remove too much and have it drop too low too quickly and I know that humidity rises so adding the dry litter to the upper part is probably the most effective.

I also plan on getting a new dehumidifier for my basement where my smoking room and humidors are. My current one does not seem to be able to keep up with the current humidity. That should help with the humidity in the rest of my basement and keep me from adding moist air every time I open my wineador.

Anyone see any issues with that or have any advice? I know a few of you from Florida probably deal with this every summer.

I almost never have to dry my KL. If I did, I would probably use the microwave with occasional stirring.

What type of wine for do you have? Do you also use it for cooling? (i.e. Is it plugged in?)

It is a Newair 281. Never had it plugged in as the basement sits between 62-65 in the summer without it so it is basically a fancy cooler. It does not see direct sunlight and has been in the exact same spot since I set it up. It was fine last summer and all winter as both were fairly dry around here.

I use HF beads and both of my wineadors have creeping humidity. I sealed the drain plugs and there does not seem to be any obvious leaks. I have accepted the fact that these things are just not 100% airtight combined with the Florida humidity. So every few months I have to take out all the beads and I put them on baking trays in the oven....250 degrees for about 30 mins always does the trick. It has just become routine maintenance for me.

Just add more KL and ensure that your hygro is calibrated. KL is the best thing since the ultra thin condom and dry KL will hold your RH where you want it. Where I live in HumidityFromHell it works well even at 100% RH.

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Originally Posted by FidelCastro

Just add more KL and ensure that your hygro is calibrated. KL is the best thing since the ultra thin condom and dry KL will hold your RH where you want it. Where I live in HumidityFromHell it works well even at 100% RH.

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They are both calibrated. I can also tell the humidity is up thanks to the way my cigars have been feeling and smoking. I might try just adding new KL once I check and see what rh the half full bag is at.

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Originally Posted by Hardheaded

They are both calibrated. I can also tell the humidity is up thanks to the way my cigars have been feeling and smoking. I might try just adding new KL once I check and see what rh the half full bag is at.

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My advice would be to remove some of the saturated KL already in the wineador and replace with fresh and dry litter. Otherwise you'll just saturate the newly added litter and probably have the same result of high humidity!

Speaking from personal experience from my own setup. This is what i did and everything is perfect going on 4 months.


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KL works best in shallow containers and not in those bulk bags or mesh. Spray the distilled water over the litter...about 5 sprays to start so you don't over load it and I use those small rubbermaid containers that are about 2x5x3. 2 inches deep is great and as long as you have room you can get those cheaper at Dollar Stores. For a buck you can get any size container to hold your KL.

If for some reason my rh creeps up on me, I just microwave my KL in 2 minute increments.

Make sure to let it cool before putting it back in there obviously

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I am happy to report that after a little dry time my humidor is right as rain and sitting back at 63/63.

Temp and humidity are very important, if you're 63f and 63% your still on the wet side. If you ran the temp up to 70f it would probably be over 70%.

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Originally Posted by AlanS

Temp and humidity are very important, if you're 63f and 63% your still on the wet side. If you ran the temp up to 70f it would probably be over 70%.

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Thats the information I cannot find or maybe just don't understand when I do find it. I cannot find anything that easily compares the two.

I do know that I dropped the RH by 3 points after drying, so it is at least better than before and back where I liked it prior to the RH creeping up.

*edited* I use adjustable hygrometers and calibrated them using 62% Boveda packs at that temperature, so they RH reading should be accurate.

The cigars I had in tupperdores with the same rh Boveda packs and temp smoke just fine with no burn issues or getting squishy in the final third. I'm aware that they will be wetter than a cigar at 63% and 70 degrees but they certainly don't smoke like any I have had stored at 70% at 70 degrees did.

I used to have a chart that showed how temp affects humidity, lost when we moved. I'll try to locate a new one, and post it.

Food for thought
http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/...psracm8zdl.jpg

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Originally Posted by AlanS

Temp and humidity are very important, if you're 63f and 63% your still on the wet side. If you ran the temp up to 70f it would probably be over 70%.

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I'd have to respectfully disagree with this. 63% RH with 63 degree temps aren't going to be on the wet side at all. 65% RH is a common range whereas temps at 70 F would move the RH needle to around 67%. One could keep their temps at around 75 F and keep their RH at 63% and still be ok. The real issues are when their are extreme numbers on one side or the other and temps should never be over 76-78 unless you are keeping your RH at 60....but even then I'd probably not endorse those kinds of numbers. The 70/70 is a real number but few will follow that because of the issues of keeping ones cigars lit so quite a few will keep their RH @65%. Another variable is bouncing numbers as that creates havoc over time when resting our cigars. Tobacco will go through changes when the numbers go up and down and stability is important which is why wine a dors are so popular. The summer months tend to make things a challenge because some don't want to pay for A/C energy bills to keep their cigars at optimum temps so we end up playing with a combination of RH/Temps that will get us through those hot sticky months. For those with basements we're lucky because we can store our cigars there where basements usually keep a 70 degree average temperature. At any rate these things are not written in stone as much as we tend to follow our noses when it comes to what WE want in our cigars regardless of RH/Temps. As long as were not making it an incubation chamber for mold or beetles then we try to keep things stable and carry on.

As an addendum to the 70/70 rule that number is for tobacco as it is associated in a growing environment and not a recipe for storage. Tobacco thrives when it is in a 70/70 and not so much in storage and most of us know. Nothing worse than a cigar that is wet and you feel like you're sucking a golf ball through a garden hose.