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help a newbie

J

John Thompson

New Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2016
Messages
7
I have a couple questions. I bought my second humidor just now. it wasn't elaborate or anything ($100), but it's different and I have questions.

It has 3 drawers then a glass door that closes over all of them. The mid-drawer has a cheap hygrometer in it ( i do have a digital Hygrometer I can use if this doesn't work but would rather not stick another in it). It also came with humidifier blocks. one for each drawer, but I've had very good luck with the drymistat tubes. I bought enough to put 2 in each drawer, plus have 2 for backup (yes, I'm that way).

I am starting to season it now and this is where my questions come in.

1. How wet do you get the wood? i used distilled water, and wiped it down, on ALL surfaces, but when i got done with one drawer, where I started was already drying up, obviously the water was soaking in. So do i need to get the surfaces VERY wet? I didn't get them soaked, just damp

2. the hygrometer concerns me, the open face for it is in the back of the second drawer, so won't' i get false readings? if the second drawer is more humid than the others I will see higher readings won't I?

Sorry for the ignorance, i did not have good luck with my first unit, I'm hoping for a better result this time (the last one would range wildly in humidity. one day 65% and 24 hours later it would jump to 73%. I want to keep a STEADY level.
 
Welcome to CP. When you get a chance, head to the Intro forum and introduce yourself. Ever have a guy kick in your door and start asking a whole bunch of questions? This is our home.

1 - Do not wipe the wood. You run the risk of it warping. Seasoning a humidor takes time. Sometimes a week. Sometimes longer.

2 - Assuming it's a built-in one, the hygrometer it came with is most likely junk. Keep it there as a decoration, and never pay attention to what it says. Take the digital one you have, make sure it's calibrated, and trust that one for readings.

And finally, search is your friend. At the very top of this forum are two pinned threads you'll want to read - how to season your humidor (that would answer question #1), and how to salt test your hygrometer (that will help you with #2).
 
Crap I didn't see the thread about seasoning, sorry.

I'll do an intro.

I wasn't going to wipe it down, but it came with instructions telling me to wipe all surfaces, wait 24 hours then repeat. Guess I won't do the 'repeat'.

I actually did calibrate the digital hygrometer so I'm good there (and assumed the installed hygrometer was decoration so that isn't a surprise) thankfully there's a gap between the drawer faces and the glass. I can stick the digital hygrometer on the door face. I just want to make sure I can see it without having to open it.

Thanks again, i'll read that thread and follow those instructions. I'm actually unhappy with the humidor (they lied by 30% on the dimensions) so i may return it and look for something else.
 
I think you'll find the opinion of many here is that glass-topped or -front humidors, as nice as they may look, will give you a lot more problems than they're worth. Keeping the humidity in (or out) from the seal around the glass is often an issue. And then the temperature inside if you have any sun in the room can be a problem as well. If you are thinking of returning it, I would suggest doing that, and stay away from the glass.
 
I read the seasoning thread and it makes sense. At least I'm not the only one wiping :)

I guess maybe I should return this and get something else. to be honest I wasn't sure what to get. This was a cheap humidor (I assume, i don't know prices). I paid $110+10 shipping.

the reason i got the glass was that I thought it would be best so I could see the RH without having to open it. Also, I don't like 70% myself, i prefer 66% (though maybe that small difference is mental masturbation, not sure) HOWEVER, i am using this humidor differently so it probably matters

Thanks again, i'll see if I can find some recommendations here for a humidor.
 
Lots of opinions here for sure and this is just mine. I have a beautiful table humidor with glass insert on the lid and a glass insert on the front. I don't have one lick of issues with it maintaining temp or RH. Granted it is not in direct sunlight but no humidor should be, glass or no glass.
 
That's what bugs me so much is I had measured this..... I have a credenza on the back of my desk (u shaIped). on the left side are shelves. they are 13x12. the humidor I bought said it was 12.5x11.2x11.2 Now i had a problem in that i have 3 separators that are adjustable in height, but the bottom on is built in and is only 11 high. I actually had to break (i cut with a dremel) to take the shelf out so there would be enough clearance.

Then the humidor comes in. The measurements? 9.5x9.5x9.5. so i destroyed the base level shelf for nothing. I bought this because if the measurements had been right it would have just fit and it would look beautiful in that spot. but no, now it looks TINY.

No direct sunlight and no a/c vents blowing. I keep my office at 69 degrees. I have so many electronic in here (i'm a network engineer) that i had to put a windo unit in on top of the central a/c and even have to run it when it 10 degrees outside because the heat of the equipment would get the room over 75 degrees, even in the dead of winter.

So the temp control is perfect. but humidity varies.

What do you think is a fair price for a decent desktop Humidor? is $100 way too low?
 
jbfurdog said:
Lots of opinions here for sure and this is just mine. I have a beautiful table humidor with glass insert on the lid and a glass insert on the front. I don't have one lick of issues with it maintaining temp or RH. Granted it is not in direct sunlight but no humidor should be, glass or no glass.
Click to expand...

Same here. One of my humis is a little 100-ct with a glass top. Never wavers outside of 65-67% RH. Temp is usually +/- 1 degree of room temp.
 
Tons of good info already. My second humidor was a 150 count without glass and I like it so much for than #1 because it holds humidity better.. But like everyone has said it is opinion and everyone has different experiences. Just like you said abou your preferred humidity.
 
Buy boveda seasoning packets. Follow instructions. Tada. Ready to use. Get a digital hygrometer also. Or 3 cheap ones off of eBay. 1-2 bucks. Get hygrometer calibration boveda kits or ziplocks with a thumbnail or shot glass with salt/distilled water.
 
I used distilled water in 4 condiment plastic cups filled with distillled water I left it in there for a week and seemed to work fine. I didn't want to wipe the wood inside as I read different opinions about whether to do it or not. Levels are maintaining since I added heartfelt beads to Madison Humidor I have their large round bead get up. I think just now doing dimensions made a slight mistake,may need another smaller one to add to the large. But the humidity levels are staying around 65. I was going for 70 but I did paper test on front big opening door. So I had to use some masking tape(the blue tape had a chemical smell so I just used masking tape it had no smell) 65 is fine though. I'll see what humidity levels do after a bit. Not perfect but the seam in the door is a lot better not as big of a crack as before. As long as the humidity is safe is all I'm worried about now. Cigars are not Dry and not overly soft or squishy. Feels kinda firm but not really crackly as Dry cigars get when not properly humidified. Thanks to everyone who helped me get started I appreciate everyone here on the forum. Very helpful :)
 
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