Humidity question

[malba2366]

I just received my first box from our host and noticed that the humidity in my wineador has gone up from 65 to 71% since I put the box in. Does anyone know if the boxes are stored in extra humidity for some time before being shipped?

[CUBANO]

Every time I open the door on my humidor the humidity goes up, but it goes down once it stabilizes. I wouldn't worry about it

[PapaDisco]

Just out of curiosity, I sometimes pull a few cigars out of a newly arrived box and toss in a digital hygrometer and seal the whole shootin' match in a ziplock just to see what the rH is after their arduous trip across the Pacific. Every box I check registers somewhere in the mid 60's. Have never had one different than that.

[PigFish]

Your question contains so many variables it is really impossible to answer.

The best answer from the onset is the air exchange answer. What is your ambient? Not just rH but temperature as well.

I tell my customers not to refrigerate their cigars. My humidors are build for stability, not refrigeration. Do what you want certainly!

If you look over a psychometric chart and do some plotting, you might find that your ambient conditions are at odds with your refrigerated space. How so?

You open your door and the cool air runs out and the ambient air runs in. Guess what! All those refrigerated space parts, plastic, boxes, wood, cigars, instruments are all points of potential condensations. Did you think of that? Suddenly everything in your humidor is covered with minuscule droplets of liquid water. Is that what you wanted? Was that your intent when you drove your temperature down to 65˚F?

You have to consider the real world when you store cigars. Your humidor is not a tomb for cigars, but a place that makes them available for smoking. The air exchange from opening is almost instantaneous and complete. You can put a ton of water in your humidor in just a few minutes by opening the door depending on conditions.

I am not saying that this is what is happening to you, it is just what "can" happen to you given the right set of conditions. Solid surface humidors, if not balanced and cooled need to be dehumidified. (MHO) I have years worth of evidence to prove it….

Cheers and best of luck on your project. -the Pig

[Optic101]

Just out of curiosity, I sometimes pull a few cigars out of a newly arrived box and toss in a digital hygrometer and seal the whole shootin' match in a ziplock just to see what the rH is after their arduous trip across the Pacific. Every box I check registers somewhere in the mid 60's. Have never had one different than that.

I check all boxes after arrival and they are in the mid 60's. Very happy with that.

[Laynard]

I don't think one box would add that much humidity. But there are a lot of factors. How big is your wineador? How full is it? What's the ambient environment like? Is your wineador on?

There could be a coincidence, in that your wineador is running a lot lately if it is real hot where you are, and you are getting condensation, and that is causing the spike, not the recent addition.

[PapaDisco]

Every time I open the door on my humidor the humidity goes up, but it goes down once it stabilizes. I wouldn't worry about it

And, of course, if you store you sticks in their boxes then it's likely that the humidor will correct any wiggle in your rH long before the sticks feel it.